96 True colours Challenging beauty standards
We spoke to Dove influencers about the representation
and inclusion of women in the media – and how they’re playing their part to challenge beauty standards.
HAVE YOU EVER FELT UNDERREPRESENTED IN ADVERTISING OR MEDIA?
I started working in the TV industry in the late ’90s after I finished university. Back then, there weren’t any other women who looked like me in the industry. Skin-lightening creams and lotions were popular, which meant that even the African women I did see on SA TV were light-skinned, thin, and the majority of them came from modelling. Of course, this is an unrealistic picture of society, because we don’t all look the same.
Sthandiwe Kgoroge is an actress and fashion designer, best known for her roles in Generations and Isidingo.
WAS THERE EVER AN INSTANCE WHEN YOU FELT EMPOWERED BY SEEING WOMEN LIKE YOU IN CERTAIN POSITIONS?
Brenda Fassie was a famous musician, and yet she looked just like me. I bumped into her once, in the corridors of the SABC, when I travelled to Joburg for the first time to audition. She took one look at me and said, “You’re beautiful!” That said to me, “I’m seen, and I have the right to walk on the same ground everyone else does.” Brenda changed the way I saw myself. Long live MaBrrr!
DO YOU FEEL THE MEDIA AND ADVERTISING INDUSTRIES NEED TO STEP UP REGARDING THEIR REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN LIKE YOU? WHY?
Yes. Media needs to be deliberate in reflecting back to us who we are and not enforcing their standards of beauty, especially in Africa, where shades and sizes are so beautifully varied. But in 2019, we’re still trying to get them to see that. The public also needs to take their power back, by not supporting a program on TV, or a magazine, that doesn’t try to know you or show you.
DO YOU FEEL A CAMPAIGN LIKE PROJECT #SHOW US WILL MAKE AN IMPACT FOR WOMEN LIKE YOU, AND FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS?
Project #Show Us is extremely important. Other corporates need to adopt this model, too. This campaign is important, and if pushed to the maximum limit, it will change the narrative of this century, for the benefit of this generation and future generations.
The media industry has come a long way in representing women through an inclusive lens that encourages diversity in size and shape, race, complexion, physical ability and age. But there’s still a long way to go.
HAVE YOU EVER FELT UNDERREPRESENTED IN ADVERTISING OR MEDIA?
KHANYI: My initial experience of advertising was actually what got me into it in the first place. I remember seeing two ads for the same sanitary towels: one was targeted at white women, and the other was targeted at black girls. I remember feeling like I could never be like the white woman in the ad, who was wearing a light, silk dress and doing the tango with some guy – even though she was on her period! That I’d always be stuck in a classroom, singing about my insecurities.
NOBANTU: My frustration came from the briefs I used to receive – clients would actually ask for black women to be caricatures of themselves (shouting loudly over the tops of fences, “Bonanza!”). There was a time when I hardly used to see black women driving cars, or being successful and in control of their narratives.
DO YOU THINK WOMEN SHOULD BE REPRESENTED DIFFERENTLY IN MEDIA AND ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS THAN THEY ARE AT THE MOMENT?
We’re constantly having to work with production houses to shoot for campaigns, because we often require imagery that isn’t readily available. Social media has helped in a big way – hashtags like #Black Girl Magic, and other such user-generated content, have become our inspiration boards – and the more women show themselves o, whatever their shape, size or colour, the more we can fight for their representation in the boardrooms. Of course, this would require more women to be in the creative boardrooms to begin with (agency and client).
WAS THERE EVER AN INSTANCE WHEN YOU STRUGGLED TO FIND IMAGES OR CONVINCE
A CLIENT TO FULLY REPRESENT WOMEN AS THEY ARE FOR A CAMPAIGN?
Often. But in ways you’d never imagine. Today’s fight is, mostly, based on dispelling myopic views on womanhood. There are so many complexities to being a woman, and having to explain those complexities is the hardest part of our job. When clients look at us, they see two black women and assume we’re exactly the same – but our experiences, contexts and ways of living are so vastly dierent that we can’t possibly be represented in the same way. The worst is, sometimes the closest reference we can find when we’re trying to make a point is an international series or an actress.
DO YOU FEEL THE MEDIA AND ADVERTISING INDUSTRIES NEED TO STEP UP REGARDING THEIR REPRESENTATION OF WOMEN LIKE YOU? WHY?
There have been some improvements since we started out in the industry. This is also due to the increase in black, creative women who are sharing their stories.
Media is a powerful platform and it has the power to make a social impact. There’s a lot more work to be done. We need more women in the production houses, the client rooms and in the brainstorm meetings. A broad spectrum of women should be represented, not just those who are white, ablebodied, cisgendered and heterosexual.
DO YOU FEEL A CAMPAIGN LIKE PROJECT #SHOW US (PROVIDING A BANK OF IMAGES FOR THE INDUSTRY) WILL MAKE AN IMPACT IN THE MEDIA AND ADVERTISING INDUSTRIES?
It’s a great start to having richer conversations around the work we do. However, like all things, it depends on how it’s executed: who’s shooting it? Who’s directing it? Who’s responsible for the lighting? All these things may seem unnecessary, but they play a part in telling the greater story. You can tell when women have been involved in a photo shoot with people who don’t understand their individual narrative.
“A broad spectrum of women should be represented, not just those who are able-bodied and heterosexual”