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Last night the (ahem) prestigious Victoria’s Secret fashion show aired on CBS and the only thing that was different about the show beside the lace placement and that every horny old man tuning in for the umpteenth year in a row being a year older was that, for the first time in the line’s history, an Asian model was included. In some arenas, the inclusion of models of different ethnicities has been common for some time. It is no longer a rarity to see a variety of skin colours used in advertising for holidays, beauty products and websites like party poker, or other online gaming facilities. However, the fashion world is often criticised for its lack of diversity when it comes to model ethnicity, so it’s great to see that this is beginning to change.
From CNN.com:
Four years ago Liu Wen entered a modeling contest in China to win a computer to use for school. Little did she know it would lead her to the Victoria’s Secret runway in New York.
Wen, who will appear in the Victoria’s Secret fashion show airing Tuesday on CBS, will be the first Victoria’s Secret model of Asian descent to walk the catwalk, the company said.
“I was surprised when my agent told me,” Wen said hours before she was set to walk the runway. She seemed only slightly overwhelmed: clad in a pink robe, one technician assigned to her fingernails, another to her toenails and another adding extensions to her already long black hair. “I asked my agent if she was joking. I didn’t think an Asian girl would get this job.”
Victoria’s Secret plucked Wen, 21, out of a regular model casting call.
While this is a huge breakthrough, it’s really shouldn’t be. These stories often get picked up and the brand/network/whatever is praised for catching up to the times (“Yay! Vogue included a model over 110 pounds! Yay! They cast a black woman in a role written for a white woman!”.) I love that I live in a country that celebrates every advance toward equality, but why wasn’t I writing a piece about how the exclusion of Asian (and Middle Eastern) from Victoria’s Secret fashion show (and countless others) is completely infuriating? Because it is, when you think about it.
Not even Liu Wen saw this one coming.
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she’s painfully thin, but its a step forward for VS
most of VS models would be incredible with a couple of extra pounds, like H.Klum, or D.Kroes, IMO
When will a white woman appear on the cover of Ebony?
Wow, that’s ridiculous even by your standards. Are you seriously trying to argue that VS only makes clothes for white women?
WHAT??? Where the hell are you getting THAT from?
Because you’re arguing that having an Asian woman modeling for VS is the same thing as having a white woman appear on the cover of a magazine aimed at black women which implies that you don’t believe VS clothes are aimed at Asian women.
When Ebony stops being a magazine solely aimed at black women. EBONY. Get it?
Seriously, how many white women read Ebony? I can promise you with 100% certainty that it is probably a fraction of a percent of the amount of black women who shop at Victoria’s Secret.
Though I have no idea how this is even relevant, seeing as this is about an ASIAN woman (who I doubt reads Ebony either, seeing as that publication is aimed at BLACKS), and she is a model in a fashion show, not in a magazine.
It’s disappointing that the race debate is commonly black-white only. It’s frustrating that Asian Americans are hardly a blip in the eyes of policymakers. When will people realize that the “model minority” stereotype hurts Asian-Americans?
Well it’s all about numbers as far as policy makers are concerned. Blacks are 12% of the population, Hispanics are 40-50% depending on area so that naturally translates to larger voting blocks which is all politicians really care about. Asians being only 1-2% of population aren’t going to generate that much interest except in areas where there are large populations. As far as the fashion industry is concerned I see numerous asian models on the runway and in magazines. I agree they need more representation on tv though. It’s a shame Margaret Cho’s show went off the air, I enjoyed it.
Agreed. Everything in this country is a black issue or a white one. Hispanics and Asians are barely acknowledged, heaven forbid someone is mixed race or Native American or even something else. However, Hispanics are becoming a majority, Asians are a big enough chunk to count for something, and mixed people are on the rise with every passing year (and really, any person who’s been in this country for more than a few generations claiming not to be mixed in any way is a damned fool).
Perhaps it’s because of the US’s strange history of considering Asians ‘white enough’ in certain aspects, but not allowing them things like, you know, citizenship….we operate on a sliding scale of ‘whiteness vs. blackness,’ but fact is, plenty of people don’t fit on that scale at all.