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| Michelle Williams, an American Actress who posed for the spring-summer issue of AnOther Magazine. |
For a very long period of history, the Aboriginal community has been wronged by many countries, including America and Canada. There is a current stereotype that many people have against them, one being called "Indian". The right terms to describe them would be Aboriginal, Indigenous or native. There is not just one group of them, but many different tribes that each exist separately from one another.
The issue being presented here is American Actress Michelle Williams being put under fire because it seemed as though both the magazine and her were mocking Aboriginals and encouraging the racism, that is already present. The feather that is in Michelle's head is one stereotype of how Aboriginal people dress. This misrepresents how women of Aboriginal descent look in the media, since a famous actress is representing them in a specific get up. Now when people think of Aboriginal women, they have a clear stereotypical image of them, since the media misrepresented them. In reality, there is no specific way to identify an Aboriginal women since they may look like an average person.
While the magazine representatives clearly stated that they had no intent to mimic or stereotype any specific type of group, do you think otherwise? If so, why? Do you think that there is a specific stereotype of how women of Aboriginal descent dress? Do you think today's society is becoming more immune to stereotypes? Is there a way to reduce stereotypes?
To answer your question whether or not the magazine's claims of innocent is true, I believe so. Although there intentions are misplaced, the rest of the editorial with Michelle Williams do not feature any Aboriginal paraphernalia. As seen in this post, http://www.anothermag.com/current/view/2512/AnOther_Magazine_SS13_featuring_Michelle_Williams. I believe that they are enforcing the stereotypes of Aboriginal dress but did so, because of what society's generally accepted image of Aboriginals are. In other words are ignorant to what is the truth. They are just interpreting the culture through high fashion, which may be offensive. There are many examples were fashion photographers take inspiration from cultures like from China with the Cheongsam or with Taino tribal printing with body art. Why does society not call foul in these cases as well?
ReplyDeleteI believe that society does not call those cases foul, since they are apart of Chinese culture, and they do not get targeted in media in a negative way or in Canada as much. For the Taino tribal printing with body art, they would not get it if they did not like it, so sharing their culture in a positive way is different from Aboriginal stereotypes, such as feathers in hair, or long hair and braided. Not all Aboriginal women put the headdress on unless there are special occasions.
DeleteAlso for the printing with body art, I feel that it may have been more offensive if it was portrayed in the media and if it was shown to have a deep meaning behind it.
I believe that the model who wanted to represent Aboriginal women made is more stereotype than trying to represent them. The actress, Michelle Williams was dressed in a certain way that the society would recognize as a Aboriginal. To have Michelle Williams dressed in long baggy clothing, braided hair and the feather on the side is just a misrepresentation, because Aboriginal women do not all have to look the same. Not all of them will have long braided hair, nor do all wear long jackets on top of plaid tops. Many Aboriginal women dresses like how society dress today.
ReplyDeleteI think the society is becoming more stereotype, because they are listening to everything media is saying. If a magazine posts an photo of a group of people, many of the viewers will agree with it. To reduce the stereotypes, media should post more ads of equality, and how each group of people dressed as a regular person. For example; instead of having Michelle Williams dressed a certain way that people think Aboriginals are dressed, they should be dressed like the regular society, thus individuals will understand that not all Aboriginals are like how the photo in your blog is listed.
I understand what you mean when you say that society believes everything they see in the media and also how we are becoming more stereotypical. I also think that although Michelle Williams may not have intended to offend Aboriginals or try to represent them, I think she should have understood and placed herself in the shoes of an Aboriginal women. No one would like to be told how they dress or look, since in reality that is not how these young women look. There is no way to identify what an Aboriginal person looks like just by looking at them. Also I agree that media should generalize the photos they take instead of targeting one group. I think that society already has a misunderstanding of how Aboriginals look, regardless if they stop now or not.Trying to stop doing it from on would be better for the younger generations understanding.
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