Show Us All: Why Media Visuals Need To Reflect BIPOC Women
More fair representation for BIPOC women is called for in media, with some recent successes.
Simone Biles is on the new August cover of Vogue. Viola Davis is on the August cover of Vanity Fair. It’s a good month for visual representation of strong BIPOC women leaders in mainstream media. But it’s been a long time coming. And it’s not nearly enough.
“It’s a good month for visual #representation of strong #BIPOC #womenleaders in mainstream media. But it’s been a long time coming. And it’s not nearly enough.”
Even as the Biles photo shoot was criticized for how the lighting reflected the athlete’s skin tone as photographed by Annie Liebowitz, the trend of celebrating a wider range of women leaders is positive. Davis’ Vanity Fair cover story was the first ever for that magazine by a Black photographer, Dario Calmese.
USA Today reports, “The publication has ‘had a problem in the past with putting Black women on the covers,’ Davis says in an interview for the magazine. Radhika Jones, the magazine’s editor-in-chief, writes in the issue that 17 Black people have been on the cover in the 35 years between 1983 and 2017, and that she was determined to fix the lack of representation when she took over the job.”
Read more in Take the Lead on Latina representation in media
What does visual representation matter for women, and BIPOC women in particular?
Because what you get is what you see. And representation needs to be more fair as a way to have a more fair, diverse, inclusive and equitable society. It is not just about fashion and media and photography. It is about being able for everyone to see themselves in images of popular culture.
“Visual #representation for women, and #BIPOC women in particular is not just about fashion and media and photography. It is about being able to see yourself in images of popular culture. ”
Nancy Wang Yuen, author of Reel Inequality: Hollywood Actors and Racism, tells Forbes, “In 2015, the average US resident consumed traditional and digital media for over 1.7 trillion hours, an average of approximately 15 and-a-half hours per person per day. In the same year, children (eight-to twelve-year-olds) consumed an average of six hours of media a day, and teens consumed nine hours. This mind boggling amount of media consumption shapes how we see the world we live in. Though they are largely fictional, on-screen images can shape our views of reality.”
Read more in Take The Lead on See Jane
Yuen writes, “Popular media can have a negative impact on whites’ perceptions of people of color. One study found that nonverbal racial biases in facial expressions and body language, as represented on popular television shows, influence white viewers’ racial biases. Furthermore, a lack of contact between racial groups can lead to greater reliance on media stereotypes when formulating ideas about people outside one’s race. Studies show that audiences substitute stereotypes they see on screen for reality when they have not had any direct interactions with particular racial groups.”
An employee Resource group at Shutterstock, an international archive and distributor of photography, ShADEs (Shutterstock Afro-Descendant Employees), reports, “Visual mediums like television, movies, and of course, photography, have too often fallen short of meaningful representation. BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and other marginalized groups are not portrayed as often, and when they are it’s often through a stereotype, perpetuating inhuman and dangerous narratives about their race, ethnicity, orientation, or gender.”
The statement continues, “By failing to portray these groups accurately and with meaning, the media advances stereotypes that do harm to these groups. This erasure from mass media also affects how these groups see themselves, diminishing their self-esteem.”
In that equation, who tells the story—and who shoots the photos—matters.
“According to the World Press Photo “The State of News Photography” 2018 survey of photojournalists from around the world, over half of participating photographers identified themselves as ‘Caucasian/White,’ while only 1% classified themselves as ‘Black,’ according to the ShADEs statement.
“Who tells the story—and who shoots the photos—matters. Representation needs to be more fair as a way to have a more fair, diverse, inclusive and equitable society. #SimoneBiles #ViolaDavis”
Another international name in photography, Magnum, the co-op business agency founded in 1947 representing documentary photographers globally, has faced challenges on its lack of diversity and inclusion.
Read more in Take The Lead on women in media leadership
Olivia Arthur, the British documentary photographer, was recently named president of Magnum, the first female president in the agency’s history.
Caitlin Hughes, Magnum’s CEO, tells The Art Newspaper, “We’ve reflected on the question of diversity and what that means in terms of our unrelenting search for talent. But in a globalised world where everyone is able to take photographs, we recognize there is no longer an absolute authority on what quality means. We’re open and vulnerable to that in a way that will progress the collective so it’s a truly diverse collection of talented voices.”
Efforts to change who is seen in visuals include those of Ellie Jade, a white British photographer who founded This is Wellbeing, “a collaborative, not-for-profit photography campaign series designed to promote diversity and inclusion by showing a more representative visual message,” according to MetroUk.
“When I started to read up about this lack of diversity, I found that the majority of people speaking about it and trying to change it were those in minority and marginalized groups themselves. What I didn’t find, was many people of privilege talking about this or taking action to try and change it,” Jade tells MetroUK.
As a leader, taking action when you witness a lack of equity is crucial, says Gloria Feldt, co-founder and president of Take The Lead. In the 9 Leadership Power Tools she created, Power Tool # 7 is “Take Action, Create a Movement.”
“As a leader, taking action when you witness a lack of #equity is crucial, says @GloriaFeldt, co-founder and president of @Takeleadwomen. #TakeAction”
Read more from Gloria Feldt in Take The Lead on taking action
Feldt explains, “Things don’t just happen. People make them happen in a systematic way. And you can change systems.” She adds, “Apply the three movement building principles of Sister Courage (be a sister, act with courage, put them together to create a plan) and you will realize your vision at work, at home or in public life,” Feldt says.
“@GloriaFeldt, co-founder and President of @Takeleadwomen says, “Things don’t just happen. People make them happen in a systematic way. And you can change systems.” #Leadership #AntiRacism”
Because of the heightened global focus on anti-racism efforts in the past few months since the killing of George Floyd, more resources, efforts and outcomes to support diversity, equity and inclusion in media in particular are emerging.
“Because of the heightened global focus on #antiracism efforts in the past few months since the killing of George Floyd, more resources, efforts and outcomes in media are emerging. #BLM”
“The pandemic has upended nearly all aspects of normal life in the last four months, and since May, Black Lives Matter has emphasized the chronic problem of racism occurring in society,” reports Glossy.
“Both cultural moments have forced those in the news industry, in particular, to pivot their businesses. Advertisers have cut back on print and digital ads, and titles are confronting their own coverage in the context of BIPOC readers. For beauty-centric titles, which are so closely entwined with consumers, this means rethinking their coverage of at-home products and amplifying BIPOC-owned brands simultaneously,” according to Glossy.
“One of my biggest goals coming over from Essence was to infuse more visibility for our readers of color, so they see themselves celebrated. [I want] to really talk about the specifics of [BIPOC] beauty, not just seeing a single darker shade of foundation thrown in,” Julee Wilson, Cosmopolitan beauty editor, told Glossy.
Moving forward, the British Journal of Photography “compiled a growing list of educational anti-racism resources, along with petitions and initiatives to support, for those in the photography industry and outside of it” in order to address the imbalance of representation globally.
The calls to action and change are coming from all directions in organizations, as well as individual creatives. In June, iconic Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour sent an email to staffers about the need for change, according to Today.
“The calls to action and change are coming from all directions in organizations, as well as individual creatives. #Media #Representation”
In the email obtained by TODAY, Wintour writes, “I want to say this especially to the Black members of our team — I can only imagine what these days have been like," she wrote. “But I also know that the hurt, and violence, and injustice we’re seeing and talking about have been around for a long time. Recognizing it and doing something about it is overdue."
In response, Salma Noor, a student and aspiring model based in Oslo, Norway, launched the unofficial #VogueChallenge, calling for BIPOC photographers and models to create alternate Vogue covers, Today reports.
“My inspiration for this challenge was the lack of representation of black people that looked like me on the front cover of magazines,” she told TODAY Style in an email.
Looking at key shifts and initiatives launched recently on visual representation created by women photographers, models, agency leaders, editors, scholars and creatives points to the power to change as a collective as well as individual effort.
“Looking at initiatives launched recently on visual #representation created by women photographers, models, agency leaders and creatives points to the power to #change as a collective as well as individual effort.
”
As a leader, Feldt writes, you can indeed make a significant difference, but you can also ask for help.
“Don’t isolate yourself or think that you have to do it all yourself. Reach out to ask for help when you need it, and offer help when you see someone else needs it. As recent research has confirmed, there is power in the pack. Women who support other women are more successful all around. We all need our girl gang, coven, network, sisters,” Feldt writes.
“Remain open to the benefits of working together with others who share your values and intentions, even if not all your methods or opinions,” Feldt writes. “Think expansively about the power of the infinite pie. Abundant resources exist if we have the insights to recognize them.”
““Think expansively about the power of the infinite pie. Abundant resources exist if we have the insights to recognize them,” says @GloriaFeldt. #SupportWomen #Community”
