- A chronological view of gender representation on fashion media
Introduction
A lot has happened in representation of gender minorities in fashion media over the last 50 decades or so. Once, transgender models had to carry their gender a secret and fear getting outed, but today an increasing amount of nonbinary models appear in fashion campaigns, on runways and on covers of fashion magazines, especially since the 2010’s.
I have chosen examples of models representing this minority to take a closer look at have they were/are treated, and especially how their gender is represented and expressed in the fashion media.
No representation
There once was a time where being transgender in the model industry was not something you openly expressed. Let’s start out with the story of American model, Tracey Norman. Tracey is a black transgender woman who through the 70s build herself an impressive career as a fashion model only to see it all fall apart as soon as it was discovered she was transgender. She worked for makeup brands, modelled for Vogue and she was the face of the most popular Clairol hair color.
Surely, no special attention towards gender influenced the representation of Tracey in fashion media as she kept her “true identity”, as she has called it, a secret. Tracey resembles her co-models in the Ultra Sheen Cosmetics shoot, and her overall appearance connotes femininity, which also must have been how the industry have perceived Tracey, given the fact that she was hired to model for women’s clothes, makeup and hair dye.
In 1980 Tracey’s career took a turn, when an assistant on the set of a shoot for Essence magazine “exposed” Tracey to the director of the magazine and the shoot was cut short. According to Tracey her modeling days were over after this incident.
The example of Tracey Norman tells of a time where transgender models were forced to conceal their identity and hope not to get caught as this would lead to the end of their employment. No matter how their appearance resembled the ones of other binary models of the time, and no matter how talented they were in front of the camera or on the catwalk, very few to none would represent them.
In 2015 New York Times brought the story of Tracey Norman to the attention of many, and transgender celebrity Laverne Cox, whom I will mention later on, called her her muse.
At the age of 63 (in 2015) Tracey was contacted by Clairol for whom she had modelled. They wanted her to become the front face of their new ad campaign called “As Real As You Are”. This definitely tells of a change of time as transgender models are now sought out and contacted by the industry. BUT, it must not go unnoticed that Tracey lost all employment in the 80s, which therefore also must include any further cooperation with Clairol. Clairol chose to contact her again at a time where gender diversity was very much a “hype” topic in fashion media. It could appear as a coincidence of tokenism or perhaps optical ally points (terms borrowed from theory of racism), but the intentions of the brand could of course also be an attempt to move on from earlier mistakes and take on a new stand.
Pioneering acceptance
A transgender model who was accepted in the fashion industry during the 80s was Teri Toye, muse of designer Stephen Sprouse. Teri was openly transgender, but she did not work with mainstream clients. In 1984 Stephen Sprouse held a catwalk show showcasing a new collection of clothes. Teri walked on the catwalk and she posed for pictures of the collection.
Though Teri was openly transgender this doesn’t seem to be emphasized in how she was represented in this campaign shooting. She posed alongside both male and female co-models who all wore dresses, heels and makeup. In a time where fashion experimented with gender expression, as it did in the eighties (men wearing makeup, women wearing suits), perhaps Teri was a great fit. Representation and acceptance now begins to take place, but no further focus on her gender minority is displayed. Teri’s modelling career stopped for a long while after the 80s.
A Challenger of gender conventions
Moving from accepting gender queer models in the fashion industry to accepting unconventional gender expressions. Model Andreja Pejic is an interesting case when it comes to challenging and pushing normative perceptions of gender in fashion media.
Before undergoing sex reassignment surgery, Andreja went under her birth name Andrej and worked as an androgynous male model posing as both male and female for Marc Jacobs and Jean Paul Gaultier. At the time Andreja went by the name Andrej and was identified as “he”, he truly contributed to diversity with his look and thereby influencing the industry. Both on the runway and in campaigns his appearance was often genderfluid, combining normative gender expressions of both male and female.
2012, Michalsky Autumn/Winter 2012 runway fashion show
2013, Yohji Yamamoto men's Fall-Winter 2013 collection runway show
His looks washed out the line between male and female and thereby confront the conventions of having to identify as either male or female. In this way, he became a representative of gender queer models, who do not wish to conform. Also, fashion media got to widen its horizon and present a wider and more inclusive content to its viewers.
Not only gender is questioned, but also the conventions of beauty represented in fashion media.
2011, Dossier Magazine In 2014 Pejic underwent gender reassignment surgery, and the year after she was the first openly transgender model to be featured in Vogue America.
2015, Vogue America
After coming out as transgender, Andreja’s looks in fashion media have been more subtle conforming to a more conventional female model look. It is interesting to think of why she wasn’t featured in Vogue before conforming to a normative female appearance. The sociological term “passing” comes to mind; Andreja now passes for being and appearing female, and therefore she is accepted and can be represented by fashion media’s big players. It is not a nice thought, but it is worth questioning.
2018, Vogue Australia
The Celebrity The story of Caitlyn Jenner, once known as Bruce Jenner, can very well have impacted fashion media in a very positive way. Being a famous and well known person going through this transformation and choosing to let the public in must have taken some courage. Furthermore, it gives people insight and an opportunity to understand and accept. Caitlyn Jenner was on the cover of Vanity Fair Magazine in 2015 after coming out transgender, along with an article telling her story of the both physical and mental transformations and challenges.
2015, Vanity Fair
The pictures emphasize femininity and sensuality. Caitlyn, not being a model and also being a mature woman, does not resemble the typical model, which contributes to diversity in fashion media.
The article and pictures express a tribute to Caitlyn and an inclusive attitude towards her from the side of the magazine. The intention of the magazine can of course have been partly based on sensation as the story of Caitlyn Jenner was popular worldwide. Nevertheless, it seems as a breath of fresh air in fashion media.
The first Vogue Paris Cover
Transgender model Valentina Sampaio was the first model to appear on the cover of Vogue Paris. Valentina resembles a classic female model, and the magazine portrays her in a blurry neon colored light functioning like a filter, and she thereby appears mysterious and intriguing. The cover text reads “La beauté transgenre” (transgender beauty), which thereby brings the transgender aspect to focus In spite of the text, the cover still resembles a typical fashion cover, and its “mystique” vibe could perhaps roughly or to some extent be transferred to the mystique some might feel towards transgender persons. This combined with the cover text could be seen as exoticizing transgenderism to awaken interest in the reader and at the same time still maintaining normativity, representing nothing more challenging or groundbreaking.
The first British Vogue Cover
Not until 2019 did Vogue Britain feature a transgender person on their cover, and it was actress Laverne Cox. A very simplistic cover focusing on her full frontal picture. No attention is put towards her gender and the pictures appear honest and empowering.
Laverne is a well-known and praised actress, so the magazine most likely did not take a chance When they chose Laverne for their cover. Nevertheless, Laverne Cox is a very successful woman in her industry and portraying her on the cover of the magazine brings her inspiring story to focus without any apparent attempts of blurring or appropriating her expression by the magazine.
Conclusion
As I started saying, an increasing amount of representation of gender minorities have blossomed. As the examples show the development has gone from rejection to acceptance and from acceptance to actual representation.
The industry is all in all moving in a more inclusive direction with room for transgender and genderqueer people, and the normative gender expressions also seem to get challenged now and then by different gender performances. Some are challenging, some more subtle, but all helped/help blaze the trail for gender minorities and for normalizing diversities in fashion media.
By Signe Pedersen
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