Technically, Fashion Week exists to serve those working in the fashion industry—buyers looking for new merchandise for their stores, magazine editors reporting on the trends, stylists pulling for their clients’ next big red carpet, and so on. But with every passing year, its audience grows wider. Through live stream videos and Instagram Stories and other social sharing, there are more eyes on the shows than ever. And that has brought about an increased scrutiny about what we see on the runway.
In its seasonal Diversity Report, The Fashion Spot found that the Spring 2019 shows (which happened last September), were the most diverse ever in terms of ethnicity, size, gender identity, and age of models on the runway. The news earned congratulatory headlines—it was a welcome improvement after declining numbers in past years. Still, if you look closer, you start to notice that the same few players come up over and over again as leaders on this front: the Chromats, the Christian Sirianos, the young designers building their brands on inclusivity. And while they are sparking change, industry insiders say it’s only the tip of the iceberg for what representation should really look like in fashion.
“It’s only really been in the last few years that I’ve seen any meaningful diversity and inclusion [on the runway] that actually made me feel it reflects me and my friends, beyond just tokenism,” says designer and blogger Nicolette Mason, who’s been attending Fashion Week for over a decade. She hopes for the day where these moments of inclusivity on the runway won’t spark headlines—they’ll just be the norm: “Runways, just like our media, should reflect our world.”
Leomie Anderson, a model who has walked for brands like Savage x Fenty, Jeremy Scott, and Christian Cowan, agrees: “You can’t just let these moments be stand-alone—we have to keep building on them. We should keep celebrating diverse representation as it happens and keep fighting for it, as well.”
From the first plus-size supermodel to some of the most vocal advocates for inclusivity in the fashion industry, nine individuals explain what it means to have the runway reflect real life. Even though their names are established and respected, their accounts go to show how memorable authentic moments of representation can be for those who don’t fit the narrow definition of beauty that dominated this space for so long.
Gina Marinelli is a writer and editor based in New York. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @ginaalilbit.
Awkwafina is having a history-making year: Not only did she star in Crazy Rich Asians—the first film in years with a cast of Asian descent—but on Saturday she also became just the second Asian women ever to host Saturday Night Live in the show’s 44-year history.
During her opening monologue, Awkwafina told a few great jokes about how she’s not, in fact, a “crazy rich Asian,” instead she’s a “rebuilding-my-credit Asian” who still buys her underwear in “12 packs from CVS.” As she wrapped up, however,, she took a moment to share a heartfelt story about how as a teenager she traveled to 30 Rock to stand outside as her idol, Lucy Liu, became the first Asian woman ever to host the show.
“Back in 2000, I came to 30 Rock and waited outside when my idol, Lucy Liu, hosted SNL,” she said, waiting for a quick applause break from the audience. “I was a kid, and I didn’t have a ticket so I knew I wasn’t getting in, but I just wanted to be near the building. And I remember how important that episode was for me, and how it totally changed what I thought was possible for an Asian-American woman.”
She waited out the hearty applause from the crowd before closing out her monologue and adding, “Standing here tonight is a dream I never thought would come true. So thank you, Lucy, for opening the door. I wasn’t able to make it in the building back then, but 18 years later I’m hosting the show.”
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Awkwafina again addressed the issue of representation in a sketch called “#MeToo, Year Two” alongside several women on the cast. In the sketch, Awkwafina played Sandra Oh. noting that the #MeToo conversation “almost been compounded with [the one around] representation.”
McKinnon, playing her hilarious character of “legend” Debette Goldry laughed off the comment saying, “That’s not true. There were plenty of fabulous parts for Asian gals in the 1940s. And I played all of them!” Clearly, however, there’s still a long way to go.
But a new study from the San Diego State’s Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film reminds us that there’s more work to be done. The twenty-first annual Boxed In report found mixed gains when it comes to female representation and diversity on television. In particular, the study noted that Latina actresses are now in 7 percent of speaking roles on television—a record that, despite being an all-time high and up from 2016’s 5 percent, is depressing in the grand scheme of things.
The numbers are baffling when put into context: As The Hollywood Reporter notes, one in five American women identify as Latina, yet there’s still a huge disparity between how many Latinas are actually portrayed onscreen. That 7 percent also reflects only speaking roles for female characters; when Latina actresses are counted up among all roles running the gamut of cable, broadcast, and streaming network programming, they represent just 2.8 of roughly 4,833 characters.
Progress is slow but, hopefully, incremental as new shows have broadened the scope of what we see on TV. Gina Rodriguez has started an important dialogue about Latinx representation since starring as the lead on The CW’s breakout Jane the Virgin. “From European Latinos to Afro-Latinos, we come in all shapes and sizes and colors and backgrounds and political expressions, and I think it’s important for us to express and explore the complexities of the Latino demographic, because we are loyal consumers, and we deserve the same respect we give to all these industries,” she said at the 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
PHOTO: Adam Rose/Netflix
Justina Machado, Isabella Gomez, Rita Moreno, and Marcel Ruiz on Netflix’s One Day at a Time
Meanwhile, on Netflix, One Day at a Time has brought nuanced Latinx stories into the spotlight with a cast that includes trailblazer Rita Moreno, the first Latina to win an EGOT. Starz has also expanded portrayals of Latinas with Vida from showrunner Tanya Saracho.
And there are more on the horizon: The Charmed reboot includes Latinx characters, and Rodriguez’s castmate and Orange Is the New Black veteran Diane Guerrero has reportedly been working on a show about her own experiences with immigration.
PHOTO: Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images
Melonie Diaz stars in the CW Charmed reboot.
While the data on Latina representation is at the very least a minuscule improvement, The Boxed In report revealed other disheartening declines for women in entertainment. The percentage of women both behind and in front of the camera dipped slightly, going from 42 percent to 40 percent for female speaking characters and from 28 to 27 percent for female creators, writers, directors, executive producers, producers, editors, and directors of photography.
In short, it’s a reminder that more narratives, faces, and experiences are needed across the board in Hollywood.
Netflix is one of the most diverse platforms in entertainment, with hundreds of original titles featuring people of every race, gender, sexuality, and size—both onscreen and off. The streaming giant showcased its diversity last year during a BET Awards TV spot titled “It’s About Time” and a campaign called #FirstTimeISawMe, where black and Latinx talent from Netflix revealed when they first felt represented in entertainment. This year Netflix has a new ad, which aired during the 2018 BET Awards last night, that focuses specifically on black representation.
Photographer Kwaku Alston and director Lacey Duke brought together 47 black actors and creators of Netflix original content for a shoot inspired by the iconic 1958 portrait “A Great Day in Harlem.” Several fan favorites made appearances, including Alisha Boe (13 Reasons Why), Danielle Brooks (Orange Is the New Black), and Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things), who actually narrated the entire video.
“This is a new day,” McLaughlin says in the ad. “Built from the ground broken by legends. A day for our generation to see untold experiences of our blackness. Representing a limitless range of identity. Playing kings and queens of our neighborhoods. Defeating larger-than-life forces trying to flip our world upside down. We stand up on any stage and every screen. A day when black women are boldly the lead character, whether inmates or scholars. We’re not a genre because there’s no one way to be black. We’re writing while black. Nuanced and complex. Resilient and strong. This is not a moment. This is a movement. We are strong black leads. Today is a great day in Hollywood.”
Watch the full spot for yourself, below:
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Here’s the photo the group took, inspired by A Great Day in Harlem. We annotated the pic so you can see exactly where your fave is.
PHOTO: Kwaku Alston/Netflix
Brett Gray (On My Block)
Sierra Capri (On My Block)
Marque Richardson (Dear White People)
Antoinette Robertson (Dear White People)
Justin Simien (Justin Simien)
Lena Waithe (Dear White People; Master of None; Step Sisters)
Ashley Blaine Featherson (Dear White People)
Mike Colter (Luke Cage)
Nia Jervier (Dear White People; Step Sisters)
Logan Browning (Dear White People)
Caleb McLaughlin (Stranger Things)
Chante Adams (Roxanne Roxanne)
Alfre Woodard (Luke Cage)
Kia Stevens (GLOW)
DeRon Horton (Dear White People)
Gabrielle Dennis (Luke Cage)
Britney Young (GLOW)
Spike Lee (She’s Gotta Have It)
Vaneza Oliveira (3%)
Kane “Kano” Robinson (Top Boy)
Cheo Hodari Coker (Luke Cage)
Mustafa Shakir (Luke Cage)
DeRay Davis (How To Act Black)
Derek Luke (13 Reasons Why)
Kat Graham (The Holiday Calendar; How It Ends)
Russell Hornsby (Seven Seconds)
Alisha Boe (13 Reasons Why)
Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black)
Antonique Smith (Luke Cage)
Simone Missick (Luke Cage)
Priah Ferguson (Stranger Things)
Dawn Porter (Bobby Kennedy for President)
Nia Long (Roxanne Roxanne, Dear White People)
Sydelle Noel (GLOW)
Quincy Brown (The Holiday Calendar)
Justine Simmons (All About The Washingtons)
Rev Run (All About The Washingtons)
Rapsody (Rapture)
Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black)
Yance Ford (Strong Island)
Marlon Wayans (Naked; Woke-ish)
Ajiona Alexus (13 Reasons Why)
Steven Silver (13 Reasons Why)
Samantha Logan (13 Reasons Why)
Hayley Law (Altered Carbon)
Sacha Jenkins (Rapture)
Ava DuVernay was included in the video but does not appear in this photo.
Slowly but surely, TV shows are doing a better job at depicting the full scope of the varied LGBTQ+ experience on screen. Things started out small, with shows like Will & Grace and Glee showing slices of queer identity, and now sitcoms, dramas, and everything in between have expanded that showcase, dedicating themselves to getting representation right. The proof: Pose, FX’s new series that premieres Sunday, June 3, features the largest company of transgender actors ever on a single show. That’s huge.
But we didn’t get there overnight. These 13 TV shows, below, did more than just move the dial forward when it comes to LGBTQ+ representation on screen. They broke down the doors. In honor of Pose—and Pride Month kicking off June 1—let’s take a look back. Because really, that’s the only way to move forward.
The Corner Bar
PHOTO: Courtesy Everett Collection
The Corner Bar was a blip-on-the-radar sitcom, airing on ABC from June 1972 to September 1973, but it contains an extremely important character in queer TV history: Peter Panama, a set designer, played brilliantly by Vincent Schiavelli. Peter is widely considered to be the first recurring gay character to ever appear on television; he was so entertaining, though, he should’ve been a series regular.
L.A. Law
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Actresses Amanda Donohoe and Michele Green broke new ground on a 1991 episode of L.A. Law when their characters kissed, the first-ever female-female kiss on network television.
Equally as pioneering was Pedro Zamora’s involvement in The Real World: San Francisco. He was one of the first gay men living with AIDS to be featured on television, and what’s more: His commitment ceremony to boyfriend Sean Sasser was the first same-sex union broadcasted on television. Zamora died at 22 years old in Miami, Florida, from AIDS-related issues.
Friends
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Friends didn’t feature the first same-sex marriage on network television, but it did have the first lesbian one. Yes, before Carol and Susan said, “I do!” on a 1996 episode of Friends, no one had ever seen two women tie the knot on a show. “It was the first lesbian wedding to ever be shown on TV and they blocked it out in some affiliates,” Jane Sibbett, who played Carol, explained on Lorraine. “But it all worked out as we got so much press because they blocked it. We actually won awards for that storyline.” Awards, and an important slot in LGBTQ+ history.
Relativity
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After Ellen dubbed the kiss between Lisa Edelstein and Kristin Dattilo on this short-lived ABC drama the first “real” lesbian kiss, and that’s not an inaccurate statement. One of the characters on L.A. Law in 1991 was straight, but this scene from Relativity marks the first time two female characters who identified as either lesbian or bisexual shared a passionate, open-mouthed kiss on screen.
This Showtime drama is important for many reasons. First and foremost, it’s an addictive series about complex, nuanced queer characters. More notably, though, it was the first hour-long American show to solely focus on the lives of LGBTQ+ people.
Ellen
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Ellen DeGeneres ventured into uncharted territory in 1997, when her character on Ellen (her popular, self-titled sitcom) came out. It marked the first time a character ever publicly declared out loud, “I’m gay” on television.
Will & Grace
PHOTO: AF archive / Alamy Stock Photo
Will & Grace doesn’t have any “firsts,” really. Well, that’s not true; it does contain the first-ever Cher fever dream sequence (see above). What’s so trailblazing about Will & Grace was how normal it was; it featured two gay men at the center who were happy, well adjusted, and successful—for the most part. It was radical back then—especially on network TV—to see gay people just living their lives without having any internal turmoil about being gay.
Queer Eye
PHOTO: Courtesy of Netflix
First, there was the 2003 Bravo show, and now we have the Netflix reboot. Both are alike in many ways, but what they share above all is the pure desire to close the queer-straight gap. Granted, the OG version gets the credit for doing this first, but Netflix is certainly carrying the torch nicely.
Noah’s Arc
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Noah’s Arc became Logo TV’s first scripted series when it debuted in 2005. The comedy-drama featured a largely POC cast, which was particularly refreshing in the early 2000s, when almost all the queer characters in pop-culture were white. To be honest, it’s refreshing in 2018—a time when queer characters are still, for the most part, white, cisgender, and male.
Modern Family
PHOTO: AF archive / Alamy Stock Photo
ABC’s dedication to depicting a loving, nurturing household with two gay men—Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson)—is what makes Modern Family so special, even nine years after its first episode.
This long-running Showtime series is the first to feature nuanced lesbian protagonists. Before this show, women kissing women was often a shock vehicle on screen: something done to get people talking and to boost ratings. The L Word, however, was dedicated to showing the lives of its characters in an authentic way.
Orange Is the New Black is one of the most diverse TV shows running right now, and one of its most impressive accomplishments is garnering Laverne Cox an Emmy nomination in 2014. For her portrayal of Sophia Burset, Cox became the first openly transgender person to receive a nomination from the Television Academy.
Pose
PHOTO: FX
All these TV shows bring us to Pose, Ryan Murphy’s new summer series on FX about New York City’s ball culture in the 1980s. It features the largest cast of transgender actors ever for a TV show. “We are thrilled that Pose pushes the narrative forward by centering on the unique and under-told experiences of trans women and gay people of color,” Pose co-creator Steve Canals said. “Ryan has assembled a strong team of storytellers and innovators to collaborate on telling this important narrative. As a Bronx-bred queer writer of color, I’m honored to aid in ushering this groundbreaking show into homes.”
