For more than 20 years, one group has united all sexes and skin colors at Ohio University through a shared passion for fashion and the catwalk. More importantly, though, the group has allowed its members to love the skin they’re in — whatever color it is.
The modeling club FACES put a face on racial minorities last fall when OU’s Students Teaching About Racism in Society (STARS) featured its members in the “We’re a culture, not a costume” campaign this past fall. The advertisements, which condemned label-inducing Halloween costumes, received national attention from CNN and Color Lines.
“(Models) are in a good position to change stereotypes,” said Keith Hawkins, a junior studying astrophysics at OU and the president of STARS. “My hope is that FACES will battle those stereotypes through their work.”
But minority models sometimes find it difficult to battle stereotypes, which have long been criticized for racial discrimination.
Top models Naomi Campbell and Tyson Beckford, with a group of about 70 others, launched a campaign in 2007 to put pressure on the fashion industry to face the homogeny issue, which they claimed was comparable to the ’60s.
“We’re always fighting for our place as a culture,” said Ashanti Murdoch, a senior in specialized studies at OU. “You get stereotyped because you’re asked to play a role, which is usually the sex symbol or the bad guy.”
Despite efforts to change it, Murdoch said minorities are still underrepresented in the fashion industry. And her mission in FACES is to encourage aspiring models at OU to keep their spirits high.
“The world isn’t all one race,” she said. “It’s important that everyone feels beautiful.”
For Seth Williams, an OU junior who also majors in specialized studies, skin color isn’t the only factor working against him as a model. Williams, who was featured in the “We’re a culture, not a costume” campaign, said though he has never faced discrimination as a black male model, he knows it exists.
“As African Americans, we have to prove ourselves,” he said. “I want to show the world that we can do it.”
But the obstacles that linger in the industry have hardly dampened Williams’ passion for fashion. The former Little Tikes model now has a fashion blog and will be donning tribal wear at this weekend’s fashion show.
At FACES’ “Don’t Call it a Comeback” fashion show Saturday, the group will be donning a diverse set of costumes.
“In the modeling world, we’re always dealing with racism,” Murdoch said. “But we’re telling people that they’re beautiful regardless of their skin color.”
oy311909@ohiou.edu
