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L’Oreal Drops Transgender Model After ‘All White People’ Racism Post

D

DogDude

Member
https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc...r-model-after-all-white-people-racism-n798096

Transgender model Munroe Bergdorf made history earlier this week when it was announced that she would be the face of a L'Oréal UK campaign. But after attention was called to her Facebook post on racism following the events in Charlottesville, Va., the cosmetics corporation decided to let her go.

UK media outlet Daily Mail published Bergdorf's Facebook post in which the model said white people must "admit their race is the most violent and oppressive force of nature on Earth."
Click to expand...

bergdorf said:
Honestly I don't have energy to talk about the racial violence of white people any more. Yes ALL white people," Bergdorf wrote in the post. "Because most of ya'll don't even realise or refuse to acknowledge that your existence, privilege and success as a race is built on the backs, blood and death of people of colour. Your entire existence is drenched in racism. From micro-aggressions to terrorism, you guys built the blueprint for this s***
Click to expand...

Mod Edit: her follow up post:

First up, let's put my words in context, as the Daily Mail failed to do so. This 'rant' was a direct response to the violence of WHITE SUPREMACISTS in Charlottesville. It was not written this week.

Secondly, identifying that the success of the British Empire has been at the expense of the people of colour, is not something that should offend ANYONE. It is a fact. It happened. Slavery and colonialism, at the hands of white supremacy, played a huge part in shaping the United Kingdom and much of the west, into the super power that it is today.

Whether aware of it or not, in today's society the lighter your skin tone (people of colour included) the more social privileges you will be afforded. Whether that's access to housing, healthcare, employment or credit. A person's race and skin tone has a HUGE part to play in how they are treated by society as a whole, based on their proximity to whiteness.

When I stated that "all white people are racist", I was addressing that fact that western society as a whole, is a SYSTEM rooted in white supremacy - designed to benefit, prioritise and protect white people before anyone of any other race. Unknowingly, white people are SOCIALISED to be racist from birth onwards. It is not something genetic. No one is born racist.

We also live in a society where men are SOCIALISED to be sexist. Women are SOCIALISED to be submissive. Gay people are SOCIALISED to be ashamed of their sexuality due to heterosexual people's homophobia. Cisgender people are SOCIALISED to be transphobic. We do not need to be this way. We are not born this way and we can learn to reject it. We are just socially conditioned to think this way from an early age. With the right education, empathy and open mindedness we can unlearn these socialisations and live a life where we don't oppress others and see things from other people's points of view.

So when a transgender woman of colour, who has been selected to front up a big brand campaign to combat discrimination and lack of diversity in the beauty industry, speaks on her actual lived experience of being discriminated against because of her race and identifies the root of where that discrimination lies - white supremacy and systemic racism - that big brand cannot simply state that her thoughts are not "in line with the ethics of the brand".

If you truly want equality and diversity, you need to actively work to dismantle the source of what created this discrimination and division in the first place. You cannot just simply cash in because you've realised there's a hole in the market and that there is money to be made from people of colour who have darker skin tones.

The irony of all this is that L'Oréal Paris invited me to be part of a beauty campaign that 'stands for diversity'. The fact that up until very recently, there has been next to no mainstream brands offering makeup for black women and ethnic minorities, is in itself due to racism within the industry. Most big brands did not want to sell to black women. Most big brands did not want to acknowledge that there was a HUGE demographic that was being ignored. Because they did not believe that there was MONEY to be made in selling beauty products to ethnic minorities.

If L'Oreal truly wants to offer empowerment to underrepresented women, then they need to acknowledge THE REASON why these women are underrepresented within the industry in the first place. This reason is discrimination - an action which punches down from a place of social privilege. We need to talk about why women of colour were and still are discriminated against within the industry, not just see them as a source of revenue.

Racism may be a jagged pill to swallow, but I suggest you force it down quickly if you want to be part of the solution. Doing nothing, does nothing and solves nothing. Empowerment and inclusivity are not trends, these are people's lives and experiences. If brands are going to use empowerment as a tool to push product to people of colour, then the least they can do is actually work us to dismantle the source, not throw us under the bus when it comes to the crunch. At times like this, it becomes blindly obvious what is genuine allyship and what is performative.

I stand for tolerance and acceptance - but neither can be achieved if we are unwilling to discuss WHY intolerance and hate exist in the first place.
Click to expand...
 
L

Linkura

Member
So was the post actually verified? The reason why I ask is because the source is the Daily Fail and we all know they love to make up shit.
 
M

MartyStu

Member
Can't blame them.

Blanket throwing an entire race under the bus is exactly the kind of thing we want less of. Regardless of the dynamics.

That said, they did it because they wanted to not court too much controversy. That's bad for business.
 
P

Ponn

Banned
This was on Yahoo earlier. I made the mistake of reading the comments which made me so sick and just really proved her comments right except she should have added Transphobic and bigoted. .
 
I

iammeiam

Member
Her post is definitely not something you make/leave public if you're serving as the face of a major brand; it's not a great end result but given that the nature of the work would literally mean serving as a face of the company, I don't think their reaction to the post is totally unexpected. It's part of why I think society needs to get better about imprinting on people how things you say on the internet will haunt you forever.

I kind of feel like I'm replying to a joke post I'm missing the origin of but if not:
Madness said:
Nope. Just like that BLM post about asking white people to give their houses to black people as a way to combat white surpremacy.
Click to expand...

That's not what that was; it was a list of suggestions for white people who actively wanted to act like allies of things they could do, up to and including giving away properties they had no use for or just intended to sell for cash. That certain segments of the internet picked it up and successfully sensationalized it the way they did, turning it into looney liberals trying to punish white people instead of what it was is disappointing.

In the end, this white person trying to supposedly combat white supremacy makes everyone else look bad, causes white supremacists to dig their heels in even more and we are often left worse off.
Click to expand...

This doesn't make sense if you clicked the article and saw a picture of the model.
 
W

wandering

Banned
Madness said:
Nope. Just like that BLM post about asking white people to give their houses to black people as a way to combat white surpremacy. These far left folks are just too weird for my taste. Especially someone like this so full of self hate, guilt etc. I honestly believe this is someone like those caricatures who say I am so much against white supremacy I won't even have children because they'll be white and I will propagate white supremacy etc. Also has the tumblr buzzwords of micro aggressions down pat.

In the end, this white person trying to supposedly combat white supremacy makes everyone else look bad, causes white supremacists to dig their heels in even more and we are often left worse off.
Click to expand...

1. She's not white

2. Microaggression is a psychological term coined in the 70s, not Tumblr slang.
 
K

KojiKnight

Member
To be fair, I think she made this statement BEFORE she got hired... But yeah, ouch. Nothing like being the face for an underrepresented people (trans) and then being tossed out almost immediately.
 
S

Syder

Member
If you have secure employment and are doing well in life...



STOP WITH THE HOT TAKES ON SOCIAL MEDIA
 
E

excelsiorlef

Member
Since this thread I'm sure is largely going to be about tut tutting a trans woman of colour for speaking out of turn...

I think her brilliant follow up from the article that was omitted from the OP are necessary


First up, let's put my words in context, as the Daily Mail failed to do so. This 'rant' was a direct response to the violence of WHITE SUPREMACISTS in Charlottesville. It was not written this week.
Secondly, identifying that the success of the British Empire has been at the expense of the people of colour, is not something that should offend ANYONE. It is a fact. It happened. Slavery and colonialism, at the hands of white supremacy, played a huge part in shaping the United Kingdom and much of the west, into the super power that it is today.
Whether aware of it or not, in today's society the lighter your skin tone (people of colour included) the more social privileges you will be afforded. Whether that's access to housing, healthcare, employment or credit. A person's race and skin tone has a HUGE part to play in how they are treated by society as a whole, based on their proximity to whiteness.
When I stated that "all white people are racist", I was addressing that fact that western society as a whole, is a SYSTEM rooted in white supremacy - designed to benefit, prioritise and protect white people before anyone of any other race. Unknowingly, white people are SOCIALISED to be racist from birth onwards. It is not something genetic. No one is born racist.
We also live in a society where men are SOCIALISED to be sexist. Women are SOCIALISED to be submissive. Gay people are SOCIALISED to be ashamed of their sexuality due to heterosexual people's homophobia. Cisgender people are SOCIALISED to be transphobic. We do not need to be this way. We are not born this way and we can learn to reject it. We are just socially conditioned to think this way from an early age. With the right education, empathy and open mindedness we can unlearn these socialisations and live a life where we don't oppress others and see things from other people's points of view.
So when a transgender woman of colour, who has been selected to front up a big brand campaign to combat discrimination and lack of diversity in the beauty industry, speaks on her actual lived experience of being discriminated against because of her race and identifies the root of where that discrimination lies - white supremacy and systemic racism - that big brand cannot simply state that her thoughts are not "in line with the ethics of the brand".
If you truly want equality and diversity, you need to actively work to dismantle the source of what created this discrimination and division in the first place. You cannot just simply cash in because you've realised there's a hole in the market and that there is money to be made from people of colour who have darker skin tones.
The irony of all this is that L'Oréal Paris invited me to be part of a beauty campaign that 'stands for diversity'. The fact that up until very recently, there has been next to no mainstream brands offering makeup for black women and ethnic minorities, is in itself due to racism within the industry. Most big brands did not want to sell to black women. Most big brands did not want to acknowledge that there was a HUGE demographic that was being ignored. Because they did not believe that there was MONEY to be made in selling beauty products to ethnic minorities.
If L'Oreal truly wants to offer empowerment to underrepresented women, then they need to acknowledge THE REASON why these women are underrepresented within the industry in the first place. This reason is discrimination - an action which punches down from a place of social privilege. We need to talk about why women of colour were and still are discriminated against within the industry, not just see them as a source of revenue.
Racism may be a jagged pill to swallow, but I suggest you force it down quickly if you want to be part of the solution. Doing nothing, does nothing and solves nothing. Empowerment and inclusivity are not trends, these are people's lives and experiences. If brands are going to use empowerment as a tool to push product to people of colour, then the least they can do is actually work us to dismantle the source, not throw us under the bus when it comes to the crunch. At times like this, it becomes blindly obvious what is genuine allyship and what is performative.
I stand for tolerance and acceptance - but neither can be achieved if we are unwilling to discuss WHY intolerance and hate exist in the first place.
Click to expand...
 
Trojita

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
excelsiorlef, that post was her rebuttal after the Daily Mail article. It's obvious by the beginning of her statement.
 
P

Permanently A

Junior Member
excelsiorlef said:
Since this thread I'm sure is largely going to be about tut tutting a trans woman of colour for speaking out of turn...

I think her brilliant follow up from the article that was omitted from the OP are necessary
Click to expand...

Absolute facts 100%

unfortunately most white people aren't willing to admit they are complicit in institutional racism

Kayhan said:
I am sorry what?

Are you saying all white people are racist or am I misunderstanding you?
Click to expand...

"When I stated that "all white people are racist", I was addressing that fact that western society as a whole, is a SYSTEM rooted in white supremacy - designed to benefit, prioritise and protect white people before anyone of any other race. Unknowingly, white people are SOCIALISED to be racist from birth onwards. It is not something genetic. No one is born racist."
 
M

Madame M

Banned
She needs to go back to math class, the official formula is now racism = power + prejudice, can't complete the equation without the prejudice.
 
P

Ponn

Banned
Flashbacks to the White Fragility thread, which didn't go well either for similar issues of lack of self awareness and critical thinking.
 
T

TheBryanJZX90

Member
I can understand the end result and thinking it's not a good look but the people that actually get personally offended by "all white people" statements are the absolute worst.
 
F

Foggy

Member
Permanently A said:
Absolute facts 100%

unfortunately most white people aren't willing to admit they are complicit in institutional racism



"When I stated that "all white people are racist", I was addressing that fact that western society as a whole, is a SYSTEM rooted in white supremacy - designed to benefit, prioritise and protect white people before anyone of any other race. Unknowingly, white people are SOCIALISED to be racist from birth onwards. It is not something genetic. No one is born racist."
Click to expand...

Which is a much more appropriate response than "the racial violence of white people any more. Yes ALL white people". Casting systemic racism as racial violence with no indication that you're talking about systemic oppression is a rough way to go about it.
 
J

Jarsonot

Member
I think "all white people benefit from racism" is closer to the mark than "all white people are racist" or "all white people are racially violent."
 
M

Madness

Member
wandering said:
1. She's not white

2. Microaggression is a psychological term coined in the 70s, not Tumblr slang.
Click to expand...

Eh, I never heard it during my psychology classes, scoiology classes studying race, media, etc. I googled it and it does say coined in the 1970's bt a certsin professor, but all the sources are post 2011 books making heaby use of the term to encompass an even broader definition. A lot of these buzzwords are recent generalizations and creations meant to be reductionist in nature and wide encompassing to try and explain what is difficult to explain and so I have never been a fan. But I'll leave it at that. My point was these kinds of posts never do any good, no matter how strongly you agree with what was said.
 
K

Khezu

Member
Should always pull a Gary Whitta when you get hired for something like this.

Sucks for everyone involved.
 
C

Caelus

Member
Kayhan said:
I think being 'guilty of racial violence' makes you a racist.
Click to expand...

No. The implication of her statement is that all white people, by default, (I'm speaking to predominantly Western, white countries) are born with privilege which means they are inherently complicit in racial violence, which isn't necessarily physical violence or outspoken racism.

She then goes on to say that "most of ya'll" (so, clearly not every single one), refuse to acknowledge this privilege. Which means she is clearly aware (obviously) of the white people who understand and are willing to fight back against racism, even though they are inherently born with privilege.
 
N

Nere

Member
iirate said:
Seriously. It's important that all white people take responsibility(and help solve) for the institutional problems facing the US right now. I wish her the best.
Click to expand...

Because the US is the only country in the world where white people live and that quote doesn't target all white people, right?
 
W

whitehawk

Banned
She's right about her history, but she's not right about all white people bring racist or not admitting they're past.

I'm a white male, and I'm very, very aware of the privelage I have because of it.
 
D

Dead Man

Member
Caelus said:
No. The implication of her statement is that all white people, by default, (I'm speaking to predominantly Western, white countries) are born with privilege which means they are inherently complicit in racial violence, which isn't necessarily physical violence or outspoken racism.

She then goes on to say that "most of ya'll" (so, clearly not every single one), refuse to acknowledge this privilege. Which means she is clearly aware (obviously) of the white people who understand and are willing to fight back against racism, even though they are inherently born with privilege.
Click to expand...

I don't think your line of logic is accurate, specifically this:
born with privilege which means they are inherently complicit in racial violence
Click to expand...

That just doesn't follow to me.

Complicit means actively involved or aiding.
 
K

Kid Kamikaze10

Member
It was never meant to be if that is something L'Oreal can't handle.

Brands are very sensitive to stuff like that. It's why a branded celeb tends to say generalized to the point of meaningless takes like love conquers all and crap.

Gotta be above the brand to really say this stuff without getting dropped. And most models? Aren't.
 
C

Caelus

Member
Dead Man said:
Complicit means actively involved or aiding.
Click to expand...

Complicit means involved in, that or I'm not good with using that word. Inadvertently aiding, perhaps. The argument is that to be white is to be involved in racism by default, no matter what degree of violence.

I'm not saying I agree, I'm offering an explanation for her statement, which is more philosophical than literal.
 
A

Aaronrules380

Member
Caelus said:
No. The implication of her statement is that all white people, by default, (I'm speaking to predominantly Western, white countries) are born with privilege which means they are inherently complicit in racial violence, which isn't necessarily physical violence or outspoken racism.

She then goes on to say that "most of ya'll" (so, clearly not every single one), refuse to acknowledge this privilege. Which means she is clearly aware (obviously) of the white people who understand and are willing to fight back against racism, even though they are inherently born with privilege.
Click to expand...

I'd argue that benefiting from white privilege and being complicit in it are not the same. Being complicit in it to me would indicate that you're actively involved in some way with trying to maintain the status quo or make things worse.
 
W

wandering

Banned
Madness said:
Eh, I never heard it during my psychology classes, scoiology classes studying race, media, etc. I googled it and it does say coined in the 1970's bt a certsin professor, but all the sources are post 2011 books making heaby use of the term to encompass an even broader definition. A lot of these buzzwords are recent generalizations and creations meant to be reductionist in nature and wide encompassing to try and explain what is difficult to explain and so I have never been a fan. But I'll leave it at that. My point was these kinds of posts never do any good, no matter how strongly you agree with what was said.
Click to expand...

Search through Google Scholar and you can find plenty of articles from before 2011.

If you're so concerned about reductionism then why did you rush to call her a self-hating far left white person?
 
C

Caelus

Member
Aaronrules380 said:
I'd argue that benefiting from white privilege and being complicit in it are not the same. Being complicit in it to me would indicate that you're actively involved in some way with trying to maintain the status quo or make things worse.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what I meant, I'm not very good with words. :/
 
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