When color and covering is everything.
Books on colorism, what you should know about the Burqini™/Burkini™ and telling our stories
Hello everyone,
This week’s letter introduces you to a hotly debated swimwear item, offers a crash course on the politics of skin color and invites you to help us write ‘Our Fashion History.’
Speaking of ‘invitations to write,’ we are now able to move forward with our goal of providing compensation for editorial pieces from contributors. This wouldn’t be possible without those of you who have been able to donate to our fundraising campaign. Since Anna Tendler Mulaney and John Mulaney made the incredibly generous offer to match your donations up to $20,000, we’ve raised $30,000 CDN in our first week! We know that asking for donations in these times is quite an ask, so to those of you who have been able to give, thank you.
Our fundraising campaign is still going, though! Visit our donation page and if you have questions about making a gift, please contact rachel@fashionandrace.org. Know that when you donate, your support directly funds our immediate and future endeavors, like providing fair and incentivizing compensation for our team and, of course, keeping the lights on over here.
Objects That Matter: The Burqini™/Burkini™
The creation of the Burqini™/Burkini™ has encouraged the involvement of visibly Muslim women in sports and has also become the center of political controversy surrounding topics of multiculturalism and immigration.
Research Assistant Safia Sheikh was eager to get her feet wet (so to speak) with her very first ‘Objects That Matter’ post, and it’s ready for you to dive into! Since we relaunched, Safia has greatly expanded our database when it comes to Muslim representation. A debated but beautiful and ingenious object, let Safia introduce you to the Burqini™/Burkini™ and its impact.
Is there an object you’d like to write about and add to our growing canon of marginalized fashion? Pitch the object via our contributor page.
Photo: [Burqini™/Burkini™ Installation], 2018, Contemporary Muslim Fashions on view at the de Young Museum, San Francisco. Courtesy Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
The Library: Colorism
When it comes to the nuances of racism and discrimination, we must also talk about the insidious nature of ‘race’ in terms of skin color and shade. Similar to the linkages of hair texture with ‘beauty’ and ‘refinement,’ the color or shade of our skin has been used throughout history as a measure of privilege and aspiration. So far, we have gathered several books on colorism and added them to our section, The Library. We are adding new sources weekly, and you can look forward to a full spectrum of books, articles and podcast episodes that further address this issue.
Color Matters: Skin Tone Bias and the Myth of a Postracial America by Kimberly Jade Norwood
Exploring Shadeism by Sharon Hurley Hall
Pigmentocracies: Ethnicity, Race, and Color in Latin America by Edward Telles
The Color Complex: The Politics of Skin Color in a New Millenium by Kathy Russell & Midge Wilson & Ronald Hall
The Global Beauty Industry: Colorism, Racism, and the National Body by Meeta Rani Jha
Call for Contributors: ‘Our Fashion History’
We view fashion history as a patchwork of diverse stories, threaded together by the ingenuity and often-unseen contributions of BIPOC individuals over time. This includes the humble, everyday photos of our BIPOC family members who have used dress and adornment to fashion a sense of resilience and a stylish life for themselves.
Do you have a story to tell? We invite short essays of 500-800 words narrating 3-5 family photos to help us expand the conventional narrative of fashion history. Our rate for contributing 500-800 words is $295 CAD. Visit the contributor page for details and to send us your pitch.
Photo: Cousin Jimmy and Cousin Mary (ca. 1940s), from the family archive of Founder Kim Jenkins.
See you next week! Yours in service and solidarity,
The Project Team
(Kim, Rachel, Adriana, Safia)