Blog One: Lecture Reflection Teleica Kirkland – Representation
At the start, Teleica Kirkland mentioned the points of discussion for the lecture being, what both diversity and representation are, why they are necessary, how can both diversity and representation improve creative output and lastly the effects of when they are not done correctly. At first I started thinking how they would link to sustainability, social responsibility and diversity all of which are the Better Lives themes. In a way I assumed they would perhaps link in terms of how having accurate representation in the fashion industry would ensure that diversity was achieved which in turn would be sustainable as examples would be followed meaning future generations would have the instinct to do things correctly when it came to electing the people most suited for jobs. It would be a company’s social responsibility to achieve this in today’s age to make sure the path is set for those in charge of the future.
Without going too deeply into the definition of diversity or representation I felt that Kirkland explained why they are important very well early into the start of the lecture. “Western culture, popular culture has been predicated on a mono-culturalist ideology” this spoke volumes not only to me but I felt others in the room too as it instantly exposed how wrong representation has been done in the past. By only displaying one race, maybe only one nationality but most definitely only one sexuality, it creates the idea that those who do not pertain to those looks are not to be considered beautiful or maybe even worthy or, in Kirkland’s words, “dangerous or undesirable”. This is obvious not only in the context of fashion where we see time and time again the same models on magazine front covers or fashion brands labelling someone who is very much not plus sized that way but mainstream news has been projecting this discrimination since it began. News stories showing how ethnic minorities are incarcerated over petty crimes while the white male is labeled ‘mentally ill’ after committing homicide in a place of worship indicates who has always been preferred in the eye of the media.
By shedding light on this flawed ideology, Kirkland allowed us to understand how misrepresented means of mass communication really are and how with our fashion practices we can be the change even if not big at first. I felt that this was so significant as it makes individuals want to be different in the sense that they won’t be part of the discrimination but instead welcoming those that were never celebrated. To me this can be done through sharing posts on social media of beautiful Black people and their businesses that deserve all the accolades or even sharing the models who in the past have not been conventionally beautiful due to disability or body size in order to again shed light on their beauty. My ‘theory’ seemed far-fetched at first but I feel that’s the only way the topic of the lecture would link to the themes and begin to shape our minds as we start a new practice.
Kirkland.T 2020. Representation. Available at: https://moodle.arts.ac.uk/mod/page/view.php?id=400928 Accessed on: 21/02/2020