(models posing with africans and asians in their native garb - or, as the accusation goes: using the natives as "props") No, not racist. Sometimes I think people who see racism in small shit like this are really "agent provocateurs" - undermining the fight against real racism by making it all seem as trivial as this. You can't expect anyone to be absolutely perfect. Question is: is it belligerence? If not, there are definitely bigger fights to fight.
I'm one of the most racially sensitive people I know(!)lol:shock:, but I think some people are either deranged or race paranoid. What the fuck is wrong with posing next to PEOPLE from a specific region of the world. It's the juxtaposition of a glamorous Western female bikini model in parts of the world where the concept of a 'bikini model' is a foreign concept that makes these photos IMO provocative. How is this reinforcing stereotypes?? Newsflash, there are Chinese fishermen.....IN CHINA!!:smt095 I like these photos, but then again I might be an overgrown gigaboo who doesn't know any better.:toimonster: When people make an issue of no issue at all, IMO it trivializes those actual cases of real racism.
There is one thing to use exotic places and animals as props, but using people as "exotic" props, is kinda messed up, IMHO.
This isn't racism but it is objectification. Just like what's been posted earlier; Native's aren't props.
"policing" stuff like this so fastidiously and granularly is counterproductive. Ironically, expecting people to be perfect or close to it, is expecting them to be better than you are (presuming you're not perfect yourself... I know I'm not!).. If you consider yourself blessed with smarts, you owe a certain amount of patience with the rest of humanity. Those photos are nothing to be offended at. Real haters will look at the "offense" taken at this small thing and say stuff like "See? What a bunch of whiners these people are. Constantly overreacting ... just like the trevon martin case!" Dodai Stewart (the writer at Jezebel) who called this "racism" out, is probably just jealous of the supermodels in the pics. I bet ms stewart carries around her own special brand of racism and bigotries (maybe even against yours truly), and she's probably not slow to act on them.
No. I do not believe in any way, shape or form that the annual Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is racist. The issue uses exotic locales to show case the swimwear, the designers of the swimwear, the photographers and the models who wear them in these settings. A simple stage is not enough. The world is SI's oyster. This publication has been around for decades for the edification of male readers. I had not looked at it since it came out this year. Probably because since I live in Miami, you see one bikini, you've seen them all...or not.
The reason it could be called racist. Is because the "exotic" people are not given named credit in the photos they arn't thanked or acknowledged. And if they were paid they damn sure didn't get the same paychecks as the models. So those people are for all intents an purposes, human props.
everything is a matterof perspective...did you guys read the whole article. I can see the point but at the same time...ehh
I'm going to get off the subject of SI for a bit and ask if any of you remember actress Pamela Bellwood(from Dynasty). When she was not acting, she was a professional photographer. She also modelled in those photos herself. She travelled all over the world and she loved to shoot in Africa. She loved it there. She even posed among a tribe and dressed in female tribal dress(topless). Just thought I'd put that out there. Carry on.
