The Diversity of Nude

Incorporating inclusion, diversity and equality into society are some of the biggest challenges we face today. Clearly, these issues existed before, but finally, minorities and disrespected populations are giving a voice to their frustration and are demanding attention - from the society, politics and the economy.

A campaign of empowerment

source: twitter.com

For years, and sometimes decades, the needs of anyone who did not fit into the 'mainstream' mold of society have not been heard. From an economic point of view, the long-standing ignorance of, for example, women, different ethnic groups, religions or sexual orientation all ask to identify market niches and to bridge this gap. An outstanding way of communicating an inclusive and diverse message is the NUDE-campaign by Nubian Skin, which creates lingerie and hosiery for a range of skin tones but especially for women of dark skin. The founder of the brand, Ade Hassan, speaks of “having something so simple like nude not represent you, feels very exclusive." She used Instagram and Twitter to spread the word and a report by the BBC considers her as one of the pioneers of the ‘inclusive nude’ fashion movement. 

Fortunately, not only has the economy become aware of deficits and gaps, but science is also embracing multidimensional diversity. One of the probably most important and influential interfaces in order to overcome these challenges is public relations, since it’s the profession’s highest goal to represent interests. “Communicating across, within and between, cultures: Toward inclusion and social change” is an excellent scientific example on how, but also who is communicating with whom. Most crucial is the message that whilst diversity is happening more and more, inclusion is the key to success. Achieving this inclusion requires empathic and socially responsible communication practitioners, who guide society through this complex and rapidly evolving environment. A valuable tool to achieve this goal are 'frames'. In particular, the study by van Gorp (2007), who sees the benefits of frames as a link between individual cognition and culture, strongly suggests that frames are a compelling invitation, a kind of stimulus to perceive a story in a particular way. Ultimately, a frame is used to place a story within a cultural context and let the story be told through the practitioner’s eyes. 

Talking about inclusiveness is not enough

Multiculturalism is not only an issue within frame theory, but also in relation to the profession of public relations. The feeling of not being represented is not just a circumstance that is reflected in the fashion industry, but has been scientifically studied in the field of PR. The study by Donnalyn Pompper shows a significant lack of African-American women who are practicing public relations, which displays a delay in incorporating a diverse work environment. This means that there is still no correct representation of minority groups that is consistent with the multicultural realities in the world. This imbalance has the consequence that interests are represented according to an Anglo-Eurocentric world view, and a marginalisation and stereotyping of minorities continues.  

source: shrm.org

It is a fact that diversity is part of our society, but better ways of how each interest group is represented have to be found — the feeling of exclusivity is simply notan option for our future.

________________________________________

About Alice Claridge

She is a master student at the University of Amsterdam for Political Communication. She likes to see social movements raising and people being excited by a good cause. Hopefully, more Public Relations campaigns will address such issues with creativity and engagement.

Scholarly sources on which this article is based on:

Gurchiek, K. (2018). 5 Ways Companies Make Multicultural Women a Priority. Retrieved from https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/behavioral-competencies/global-and-cultural-effectiveness/pages/5-ways-companies-make-multicultural-women-a-priority.aspx

Pompper, D. (2005). Multiculturalism in the Public Relations Curriculum: Female African American Practitioners' Perceptions of Effects. Howard Journal Of Communications, 16(4), 295-316. doi: 10.1080/10646170500326582

Sison, M. (2017). Communicating across, within and between, cultures: Toward inclusion and social change. Public Relations Review, 43(1), 130-132. doi: 10.1016/j.pubrev.2016.10.015

Van Gorp, B. (2007). The Constructionist Approach to Framing: Bringing Culture Back In. Journal Of Communication, 57(1), 60-78. doi: 10.1111/j.0021-9916.2007.00329.x