Chante Joseph explains the position of black students at the University of Bristol.
Hello Epigram readers,
Welcome to my first and final read of 2017, sit back and enjoy the shade and get ready to feel uncomfortable.
The day in the life of a black Bristol student is far from amusing, whenever I pucker up the courage to leave my house getting to my 9AM on time is the last of my worries. Trying not to roll my eyes into the back of my skull every time I see a white student dressed like the seventh member of N.W.A is certainly a more challenging task.
I remember being in PRYZM for the first SCORE of the academic year and being asked by a white girl in first year where my ‘Black’ was from and how in her culture the way I was dancing ‘wasn’t very acceptable’ but she thought I could dance ‘very well’. Two questions came to mind firstly: What kind of bizarre and intrusive question is that? Babes, I don’t even know you. Secondly: What culture? Do not front sis’, I know you’ve seen Taylor Swift’s Shake it off video.
This is exactly the issue, black students are not seen as humans we’re seen as cool props, we define the culture but we’re not credited with it. You want the cool black friend but not the socially conscious one because they’re ‘too angry’, or, you like when we’re sassy and preppy but when we have to call you out you we’ve ‘got attitude’. You cannot win as a black student.
These incidents have sparked many issues, notably the lack of response by the university chancellor
These incidents have sparked many issues, notably the lack of response by the university chancellor who proceeded to list several services that students should go to, dismissing their actual problems and not reflecting on the fact that university has a lot of work to do.
Though the role of the university is incredibly important in this, these issues require a response from all of us. Realistically, your long facebook statuses and white tears really mean nothing if you do notchallenge the racism in your own families and your friendship groups. Please, do not complain on Facebook about your racist uncle if you did not attempt to challenge him. It’s boring, I’m tired and you won’t get any sympathy from me.
these issues require a response from all of us.
It is very apparent that Bristol students have a bizarre obsession with black culture but are not too keen on acknowledging the issues that black students face. Whilst we’re on the topic of culture, let’s comment on this obscene obsession with Grime. I tackle this in my gal-dem piece on the Mercury Prize and heads up listening to Stormzy doesn’t mean that you’re not racist, it just means you’ve got good taste in music.
They continue to perpetuate a dangerous perception of black people
Let me tell you why dressing like you’re from Peckham when you’re from the Northern Powerhouse is an issue, I’d like to quote myself here:
This harks back to the age old idea that being black is cool despite our grievances and the suffering of our people. Middle-class white kids can take off their tracksuits and take off the accents when they’re tired of wearing our culture as a costume and walk into spaces to not be harassed or deemed a threat. They continue to perpetuate a dangerous perception of black people whilst simultaneously absolving themselves from any of the negative stereotypes attached to the culture. I see it as the equivalent of poverty porn and it’s disgusting.
I’d like to highlight that this is not solely an attack on the actions of white Bristol students as Black men are notoriously known for being flakey in their support of black women in almost every aspect of life. I would go as far as to argue that black men in Bristol are equally as responsible for the way in which black culture, especially surrounding black women, has been co-opted and abused by white audiences without a consideration for the lives of black female students.
This is due to them being complicit with racism and refusing to challenge the issues that affect us. As it stands there are four black female officers at Bristol SU and even more women of colour and no black men, in fact none of them even stood as officers to start with. In general they are heavily underrepresented in activist spaces with women always starting and fuelling the movement.
Racism is systematic and insidious and you will never be at one with a system that is inherently prejudiced.
I’d like to take some time to talk directly to all black students who are hellbent on denying the very existence of racism on campus as a means of appeasing their white friends. I really don’t know what you’re putting on your avocado and toast in the morning but it has certainly got you acting silly.
You have to understand that just because you feel you have assimilated into these structures, does not mean you actually have and it certainly does not mean you’re safe forever. Racism is systematic and insidious and you will never be at one with a system that is inherently prejudiced. All the vacation schemes and fun nights out in motion cannot protect you from systematic racism, in the words of High School Musical, we’re really all in this together.
Just because you do not feel you have experienced racism does not mean that it does not exist. In addition, It should not take being racially attacked in a club for you to understand the severity of the situation. If you do not acknowledge these issues unless they’ve impacted on you directly and so blatantly, I will not be starting any hashtags for you anytime soon.
I am honestly sick and tired of black students, particularly black men, gaslighting and insisting that people are simply ‘angry’ when they call out problematic behaviour. Many of you insist that we focus on the ‘bigger picture’ but do any of you even know what that is? Or are you simply trying to ignore a blatant issue and dismiss the concerns of your fellow students.
Many of you insist that we focus on the ‘bigger picture’ but do any of you even know what that is?
Racism, like any system of oppression at its foundations is a series of microaggressions and we all know the saying microaggressions are death by one thousand cuts. So instead of insisting that we are pedantic and going out of your way creating fear around call-out culture how about engaging with the issues at hand and then perhaps students can start to create a positive environment around them.
Out of all the incidents that actually take place not all of them are reported only giving a small glimpse of the reality of the black and brown student experience. I raise awareness of this because it is time white students stopped ignoring the plight of black and brown students and profiting off our culture and actually stood with us in facing these issues.
I want to leave you with this thought: If all the white girls wearing cornrows, bantu knots, fetishising black men and all the boys that dressed like Busta Rhymes circa 1980 religiously reciting Stormzy ‘Shut Up’ decided to actively campaign against racism as opposed to just appropriating the culture maybe we’d see some real change in society.
http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/25985/1/i-was-sexually-harassed-as-a-male-model Stock image, not the authorPhotography by Sasha Kargaltsev via Creative Commons
Yesterday Cara Delevingnespoke out about sexual harassment in the fashion industry – bringing rightful attention to the way models, particularly young women, are treated. This isn’t to downplay the harassment that female models experience in the industry, but male models face it too. I know, I’ve experienced it first hand. In my short 18-month span as one – aged 19 – I had my fair share sexual harassment.
During one shoot for a magazine I was asked – quite unnecessarily – to strip down to my underwear so that the stylist could “look at my body objectively”. Later on that shoot, I was disallowed from wearing underwear under a pair of tight trousers – the stylist then proceeded to put his hand down those trousers to “adjust the fly”.
Another time, I travelled out to Paris for Fashion Week and after a long day of castings was told by my agent that I had a shoot that evening. Cool, I thought. The shoot in question was in the photographer’s hotel room. At 11.30 at night. I was asked if I wanted a shower and, after several shots, if I would mind doing some “underwear shots”. Needless to say, I declined both offers – something I’m eternally grateful I did.
On other shoots, there would be men present whose role was unclear. They would stand, leering at me and the other male models present when we were being dressed or having our hair and make-up done. At the end of the day, they would seedily ask if we “would like to come for drinks.” A question which, according to my more seasoned colleagues, translated as “would you like to fuck.”
I have more stories and other male models I know do too. I’m sure I could have told my agency what was going on and I trust that they would have acted accordingly. However, it’s only with retrospect that I’ve realised that what I experienced wasn’t necessarily appropriate. In what other workplace would a man sticking his hand down your trousers be classed as an acceptable form of behaviour?
That said, I was young and blissfully (or perhaps woefully) naïve. But then, the majority of models are young: according to the Model Alliance, 54.7 per cent of female models start their careers between the ages of 13 and 16. So naïvety should be expected and education, or at least a head’s up, should be given so they know what was out of line.
And that’s the other reason I didn’t say anything to my agency – I didn’t know what was normal, what kind of behaviour was acceptable and what wasn’t. There was no leaflet titled “Here’s what to do if a stylist touches your junk”, no crash course in sexual harassment law. Maybe this is something agencies could work on. OK, maybe not the leaflet, but giving their models – female and male – some preparation.
Because for the majority of models, they aren’t prepared for work in the fashion industry. They've been plucked off the streets, straight from school or university, and thrown into the deep end. It’s a new – and for the most part, exhilarating – world to be a part of.
Admittedly, I never had it that bad. I never felt like I was in any real danger. Myself and the male models I became friends with were never coerced into the profession. We were supremely privileged – enough to make money out of how we look (or looked...), do some travelling, go to some amazing parties and be surrounded by creative, inspired people.
My only reason for sharing these stories is to agree with Cara that sexual harassment exists within the fashion industry – and that it happens to guys too. If this is what I have experienced, during my brief stint as a model, what about models who work for years? What about models who start their careers at a younger age than I did? What about models who do feel like they are in danger? I really worry whether enough is being done to protect young people in this industry – whatever their gender.
We're thinking of steering our project towards male models and how they are represented rather than females as its quite obvious, and male models aren't talked about as much.
Rob, Amie & Laura are thinking of going to a few modelling agencies on Wednesday to try and speak to them and get a better understanding. I'm not sure if they'll let them in, but I think they're going to ring up first and ask.
Had a quick group meeting today and we're liking the idea of modelling agency, and the pressure put on models.
At this point, the fashion world is quite used to coming under heavy criticism for enabling women's unhealthy ideas of their own bodies. The lack of body diversity in magazines and runway shows is still a major area of contention for designers and models alike, but it's less common for people to talk about the opposite side of things—when women are shamed for being "too skinny."
Victoria's Secret model Bridget Malcolm was recently the target of Internet body shamers, who shortly following last week's Victoria's Secret Fashion Show took her to task for being too thin. Malcolm responded in kind, expressing a rarely heard opinion in the fashion world: that being thin is just as valid a body type as being curvy, petite, tall, or anything else.
We salute her for standing up for the right of all women to their own individual bodies! Keep scrolling to see more photos of Malcolm, and to read her poignant response to body shamers!
"Can we stop with the skinny shaming please? I am extremely fit and healthy, and am not in the slightest way anorexic. I have worked hard to look like this and am proud of my body. I may not be the curviest, but I am a woman who has every right to look the way I do. Maybe today take a look inside yourself and wonder why you feel the need to shame strangers over the Internet about their bodies. Peace and love to you all; let's change the conversation."
