IT'S TIME FOR TARGET STORES TO GET OFF THE "GLEE" APPROACH TO DIVERSITY

AND THE GLEE APPROACH TO DIVERSITY CALLS FOR

E-RACE-SURE, STEREOTYPING or BOTH

TARGET GETS IT RACIALLY WRONG - AGAIN-

One of these things is not like the other ...in more ways than one
And four of these things look very much the same as they always do - polished and enhanced to the max

How is is possible to "randomly" choose four white models all near the "normal" standard of beauty size-wise then decide to make African American the plus sized model?

And not only did Target make the African American model the plus sized model, they went out of their way to choose a plus sized model that doesn't look like a model at all.

In other words, all the right junk is not in all the right places.

The African American model also looks to be half a head taller. And that head is positioned so as to make her look like she's some distance away from the group. And was she placed directly next to the bony thin white model to make her look --dare I say it-- as monstrous as possible? And what the hell is it with that defiant (almost standard angry) black woman expression on her face

Excuse me, but if I've seen one then I've seen 100 black, plus sized models dressed, posed, and photo-shopped better than the on in this target ad.

EXHIBIT A: Sports Illustrated Plus Sized Model

White thin models are always photo-shopped to perfection. In fact, I'm almost sure the model on the far left has had her thighs thinned down in the editing room. So why does the African American model have that bulges at the top of her inner thighs? Why haven't her bulges, cellulite, and skin tone been smoothed out like it has for this white plus sized model in Exhibit A?

Exhibit B 

As far as plus sized African American beauty goes, black men manage to post pictures of gorgeous plus-sized women daily (by white model standards) 

In fact Serena Williams is very, very likely a plus sized as big as her muscles are (this only requires one be a size 8 or 10 in the model universe alternate reality). But if a Serena Williams body is too hard to find, then a Serena body minus 15 to 20 pounds of muscle which is probably still plus sized AND sexy. 


Beyonce's body 15 to 20 pounds ago probably would fit into the plus sized model category for sure (at size 8 or size 10)

Exhibit C
Toccara Jones -  America's Top Model

The sexy plus sized body exists in real life plus sizes upwards of 16. But let me remind you again, even though I have zero photography experience, I can tell almost zero care was taken with the African American woman's image. Zero.  The body positive campaign that Dove was promoting, not so long ago, wasn't even going for that "sexy at every size look." Yet, most of the women involved in that campaign, widely ranging in size and age and physical fitness, were posed and presented better than this African American woman in the target ad.

More important than any of this: Why go the "Glee" route to diversity in the first place?

Why decide to stuff all the diversity in one non-white place....well away from white femininity? 

Why is it that white, large-and-in-charge have to have standard white female beauty scattered everywhere then put the diversity off to side all in a single location?

Actually, this Target ad is like "Glee" on steroids.

If Glee had had a single character that was black, female, plus sized, in a wheel chair, singing with a speech disorder - while having the other 20 members of the huge ensemble cast be the white, thin, empty-eyed and sold as "beautiful" as usual, that would be the "Glee" representation of this Target Store advertisement.

What is it about true diversity that the advertisement exec's at Target and the producers of "Glee" are having a hard time with? Why couldn't one of the four white models be the plus sized model? And why couldn't one of the four white women have been asian or latina?

I don't know how we can not take the ad at the top as someone's idea of a mean-spirited joke?

Exhibit D

Sometimes I think white advertising executives just go looking for that Aunt Jemima, motherly shape on automatic pilot because mammy stereotype is just so familiar and likable?

Exhibit: OFF THE CHARTS Bullsh**

By the way, this was not Target's first time out of the racial box.

Little Quvenzhane Wallis was playing "Annie' at the movies not long ago. And instead of putting up ads with the black actress up all over the store, as usual, to push an "Annie" clothing line or other "Annie" crap (lunch boxes, backpacks - I don't know) they used a little white girl. I don't recall seeing a little white actress replaced in this way...um...ever? Do you? 

Despite all the criticism, Target refused to apologize to Wallis for replacing her in ads with a white model (read more: http://urbanintellectuals.com/2014/12/31/target-will-not-apologize-to-quvenzhane-wallis-for-removing-her-from-in-store-ads/)

What all this means to me is this: The first place that Target needs to add some diversity is within their Executive Staff. And if their executive staff already has some diversity among those in charge of advertising, then the people they already have need to be replaced by new people with these things called backbones.

Apparently the Huffington Post could use a tich more diversity as well. They totally missed the boat on this. But commenters didn't. Read the original story here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/06/12/target-swimsuit-ad-body-positive_n_7571998.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

By the way, more than one person has suggested that this is what white people found so comforting about Oprah. Regardless of her business acumen, looks count on television. And Oprah's look was mammy familiar.