Jena Catalano
jenacatalano@gmail.com
The beauty industry continues to fail women of color, even today. Famous brands and mainstream companies often do not offer products made for women of all different skin tones. The lack of products and cultural appropriation women of color experience does not only appear in beauty products; we also see discrimination and racism through beauty companies' advertising and commercial campaigns. The beauty industry must step-up its ethical and moral values to produce products available to everyone in society.
Racism in the beauty industry is, sadly, nothing new. Women of color are wildly underrepresented or misrepresented completely. From cultural appropriation to the lack of top Black models, the fashion industry has consistently slighted the Black community to the point where improvement seems hopeless. Companies using 'Blackface' is a significant way the fashion world offends Black people. Tanning and using heavy bronzer to mimic darker skin is just one of the many ways racism still lingers in beauty and fashion today.
Another way women are misrepresented is through the use of advertisements and commercials for new products. A beauty campaign aired in 2017 from the well-known soap company, Dove. Dove released a video advertisement showcasing their new body wash line. However, the first frame shows a dark-skinned model in a bathroom with a new Dove body wash bottle. The woman then reaches down and lifts her shirt to reveal a smiling white woman. In an article written for The Washington Post, they pose the questions, was Dove saying that inside every Black woman is a white woman? Was Dove invoking the centuries-old stereotype that Black is dirty and white is pure? Dove quickly came out with an apology for the advertisement.
These advertisements are inappropriate and insensitive and are still only a small fraction of women's experiences from beauty companies. Most beauty journalists always assume readers are white. Cosmetic brands are making an effort in their marketing, but most skincare brands are not. Still today, there are tone-deaf brands that do not believe darker-skinned women are their 'audience' and have purposely limited their foundation colors. Beauty columnist Funmi Fetto reveals that after years of accepting and wearing foundations that were not made for her skin color, it was not until the 1990s that MAC became the first mainstream brand to create foundations covering a broad spectrum of hues.
However, today we do see some more brands shifting towards a more comprehensive array of color shades. We can see sustainability, diversity, and inclusivity climbing to the top of many beauty companies' agendas. A prime example of a company that is showcasing an extensive diversity range is Rihanna's Fenty Beauty. Her company addresses the whitewashing of the beauty industry, and her company helped ensure any company with fewer than 40 shades of foundation are seen in a negative perspective.
Powerful changes are slowly happening in the beauty and fashion industry through companies such as Fenty. Many of these big beauty companies lack growth because their head decision-makers lack diversity. These men and women in charge are invariably informing what ends up on the advertising campaigns. The issue is not about foundation productions; it is about representation and equality among all women through the beauty industry.
No comments:
Post a Comment