Comments on: Model and…Prop? Racial Representation in a Fashion Catalogue

By: Preparing the Other: The Politics of Food | Processed Life

Preparing the Other: The Politics of Food | Processed Life — Tue, 16 Jul 2013 12:05:58 +0000

[…] we do see racialized bodies in “ethnic food” commercials they serve as props to enhance the foreignness of the food. In the Lassie Toverrijst commercials, which employ the same […]

By: Patrick Tyrone

Patrick Tyrone — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:13:00 +0000

Yeah right! and they DO like to say that nowdays! For them that works as long as they are out shinning black folks or trying to steal their thunder!

By: Patrick Tyrone

Patrick Tyrone — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:12:00 +0000

and they wonder why black folks have the need for things such as BET, Essense magazine and the such! Some folks are bag of tricks!

By: Preparing the Other: The Politics of Food « PLUG

Preparing the Other: The Politics of Food « PLUG — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 21:40:19 +0000

[…] we do see racialized bodies in “ethnic food” commercials they serve as props to enhance the foreignness of the food. In the Lassie Toverrijst commercials, which employ the same […]

By: Sara

Sara — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:08:00 +0000

So they’re saying that a woman of color should think about wearing their sweater only if she’s smart/educated/reading but not if she’s working class?

By: Roberta

Roberta — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 04:37:00 +0000

Not only is she a prop, she enhances the subject’s cultural capital: if you’ll notice the caption says “Perfect for that *cool* summer evening.” Hanging out with black people makes white people cool, obviously.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 06:47:00 +0000

Wow. I saw the image and wondered which decade it was from. Assumed it must have been the 60s or earlier. Then I saw the date. Holy. Shit. That is horrifying.

By: Natalie Red Morse-Noland

Natalie Red Morse-Noland — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:37:00 +0000

Yikes, they even put her in an apron and headscarf? I didn’t know the “Mammy” look was in this year.

By: wishiwerebaking

wishiwerebaking — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:42:00 +0000

Certainly! Someone asked when these were published: July 1, 2011, was when we received the catalogue.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:13:00 +0000

Thanks for the submission!

By: wishiwerebaking

wishiwerebaking — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:07:00 +0000

Higher-resolution versions of these images at https://secure.flickr.com/photos/wishiwerebaking/5890605362/ and https://secure.flickr.com/photos/wishiwerebaking/5890039553/ .

By: TadMack

TadMack — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:55:00 +0000

Even the columns of the white house echo the Doric columns from the sort of English country home/Southern plantation thingy. The woman of color looks so cute and fun – why couldn’t they have put her in a pair of pedal pushers and her own cardigan? How hard would that have been?

By: Saridout

Saridout — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:45:00 +0000

haha, didn’t even notice that. nice.

By: Pamela Council

Pamela Council — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:42:00 +0000

add to that she’s wearing a wedding ring and reading a book. #CYA

By: Saridout

Saridout — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:39:00 +0000

Ok, here’s an amusing detail that I discovered:

I went to Wool Over’s website to try to find this sweater, and find it I did. The cardigan is modeled by a woman of African descent, and the outfit she’s wearing is almost identical to that of the model from the catalog: http://www.woolovers.us/cotton-silk/womens/stripy-summer-vee-cardigan.aspx

I looked through all the other product listings, and she is the only model who isn’t caucasian.