I am African American girl hoping to pursue a career in the fashion industry as a model, but I struggle to understanding what beauty is. My family says that beauty is confidence, but on television and in magazines, I see hair types, skin complexions, body sizes, and etc. that are so called “beautiful”. As a kid, I saw several commercials with beautiful women and when I finally realized I wanted to be like them, I had to come up with a plan to reach this goal. I am African American and I know it will be hard to get to where I want to be in life because some people still hold on to racism. Nowadays the fashion industry has become more diverse and more chances are opening for African Americans, yet there are still mostly white people in the industry.
…show more content…
Black and white people can have similar body sizes, but black people in particular can have different body shapes. Recent data show that eighty two percent of black women are obese and only sixty three percent of white are overweight or obese (Ogden et al 2). This means that around four out of five black women are overweight and not overweight in general but in the fashion industry (Randall par 1). In the fashion industry, it can be hard to work with larger models especially when the designer clothes are meant for small slender women. Designers used to not make many clothes for plus size women; however, there has been more designers that think more about thicker women when designing their clothes. Most black women are overweight because they want to be; for example, Alice Randall, author of Black Women and Fat in NY times, states that when she was younger she asked God for big thighs like her dance teacher because this is what men liked in black women (Randall par 7). Since some black people want this type of image it becomes harder for a designer to dress a women with this type of shape and size; therefore, giving their more jobs for more slender white women because they are easier to
Black and white people can have similar body sizes, but black people in particular can have different body shapes. Recent data show that eighty two percent of black women are obese and only sixty three percent of white are overweight or obese (Ogden et al 2). This means that around four out of five black women are overweight and not overweight in general but in the fashion industry (Randall par 1). In the fashion industry, it can be hard to work with larger models especially when the designer clothes are meant for small slender women. Designers used to not make many clothes for plus size women; however, there has been more designers that think more about thicker women when designing their clothes. Most black women are overweight because they want to be; for example, Alice Randall, author of Black Women and Fat in NY times, states that when she was younger she asked God for big thighs like her dance teacher because this is what men liked in black women (Randall par 7). Since some black people want this type of image it becomes harder for a designer to dress a women with this type of shape and size; therefore, giving their more jobs for more slender white women because they are easier to