Sudanese supermodel Alek Wek regrets having posed for this photo for Lavazza, for their 1997 espresso and glamour calendar. In a newly released biography, Wek wrote, "I can't help but compare them to all the images of black people that have been used in marketing over the decades. There was the big-lipped jungle-dweller on the blackamoor ceramic mugs sold in the '40s." Sadly, black models still get a raw deal, even on the high fashion runways, where they are rarely seen except to display the lines "edgy" and "exotic" pieces. Anyway, how Wek is perceived in photos is nothing compared with escaping genocide in Sudan.

Related Links: Thankfully, magazines like Trace have been focused on putting strong high fashion images of black women out there, that have nada to do with coffee, chocolate or any other black skin cliche.

I can understand Wek's regret, except that, after viewing the calendar, it represents males and females, light and dark skinned, and the skin color appears to be used for aesthetic purposes, not to evoke a feeling about the skin such as animal prints equating to a wild, exotic nature. Women are often put into canting postures that are associated with acceptance of subordination. I believe Wek was tastefully displayed in the nude instead of being objectified. As for comparisons to Sambos and other Jim Crow era advertising, I'm not at liberty to say since I am not African American, or black (insert preference here). I think the most important thing to realize is that sexism and racism are two sides of the same coin. Addressing one without the other is less effective.

Posted by: ~dani~ at August 14, 2007 11:51 AM

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