White Female Models Essay

In the documentary, Renee fights against what people see as culture acceptance and demonstrates that black female models are just as capable and beautiful as white female models. According to the Oxford Dictionary, racial discrimination is concept that is described to be when a person is being treated less favourable than the other person in a similar situation because of their race, colour, descent, national or ethnic origin. In relation to the fashion industry, racial discrimination occurs when other racial diverse models are being rejected in the fashion environment due to the colour of their skin. The colour of your skin can have an effect on the decisions involved in selecting model for runway shows. In the fashion industry, Elizabeth

It is argued that other racially diverse models are told to work harder in maintaining their “model beauty”. In an interview with a white female model in the article, “managing the semiotic of skin tone,” she states that “they ask more things of black models than they do of white models” (Wissinger, page 165). This can be demonstrated in the documentary when Renee’s New York agent, Justin Peery discuses “beauty” within the industry perspective. He states that when agencies want to include diverse models, they look for women that have white girl features, in other words, he mentions that the fashion industry only accepts “white girls dipped in chocolate” (St. Philps, 2010). Thus, what is being argued is that when comparing a white model to a black model, if a white female model’s features are somewhat “off,” the white model is still given an opportunity although they don’t see her to be “perfect.” For example, a white female that has a big nose but elegant face, the model would still be accepted into the industry even if she did not meet all the requirements. However, when it breaks down to a black female model, everything must be perfect. Not a single feature can be thrown off. Thus, In a African American realm, the model has to be perfect. Black models have a higher expectations in the industry as they have to worker hard to maintain their skin and