Blog 4- peer review
The first thing that drew me to this blog post, was the question “What is diversity?” and the three definitions that were given. I thought that this was straight to the point and effective as I knew what the blog was going to be about, and that the person did their research first, before giving their own opinion on Diversity. Being a bi-racial person myself, I was interested in reading another person of color talking about Diversity, a topic we both are passionate about and to see if there are any points where our opinions on the topic may differ.
She nicely linked the definitions to the different ways that the fashion industry has attempted implementing diversity, specifically the diversity in models used for brands, which is a very external example. This shows how she is looking at the solutions that have been brought up on the issue yet that there is still a lot of room left for full change in the fashion industry.
Furthermore, Mniki adds her opinion on whether there needs to be more Diversity in the Fashion Industry and gives us her backstory, being a light-skinned black woman from South Africa. I think this adds a personal aspect to the blog, which makes it more relatable for me to read, being a black woman myself, and also lets me know that she can identify herself within the topic of Diversity, thus making the blog feel as if she is interested in what she is discussing.
My favorite part of the blog was when Mniki criticizes the fashion industry for focusing too much on Diversity on the outside and not behind the scenes, as this is something that I have also argued in some of my blogs and have argued in various conversations about “ is blackness a fashion trend?”. This is a very important issue, as it reveals how industries’ aren’t as serious in making a change as we think they are, because behind the scenes they aren’t employing as many people of color, not only leaving holes in their cultural and representational ideas, but also going against any statements of being ‘Diverse.’ Therefore, this highlights the importance of inclusivity as well as diversity in the fashion industry, as the two have to go hand-in hand to actually make an effective change.
Finally, the writer concludes the whole blog with a solution to making a change in the fashion industry, covering in detail what I have previously mentioned about inclusivity. This proves to me that she is not only drawing up the problems in the industry, but that she is giving clear solutions to solve them, making me as the reader more likely to make a change by following these solutions. Moreover, Mniki makes a point of placing the responsibility on the people at the top of the industry to employ more people of color and “commit to letting them tell their own and other people’s stories from their perspectives. And it needs to be the people at the top of the industry because they are the gatekeepers of the industry.” I agree with this statement, as the people at the top of the industry have more influence and resources to make this change, than someone who isn’t. And I also agree with her statement about making sure that inclusivity is a long-term change, until it becomes normalized.
Overall, I thought that the blog was well structured, Mniki brought up points and gave effective solutions which makes the whole piece very strong.
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