Where's the Diversity?

I had a sudden realization when I was online shopping a couple of weeks ago—there wasn’t a single woman that looked like me. Someone with hips and giant, curly hair from her Puerto Rican mother. Someone with a pudgy belly due to her love of pizza, pasta, and the occasional bits of dark chocolate.  No, I didn’t see a woman with these characteristics on the screen in front of me. If they are featured on the page, it's for “curvy” or “plus-size” clothing options for women. 

Then another paralyzing thought came to me—in a world that is celebrating the diversity of all body types, why are there still fashion brands that don’t represent real women? Why are we hidden at the bottom of the page, or stuck in a category that should never exist in the first place? 

In one brand’s website, I came face to face with the type of woman I had strived to look like since the beginning of high school; someone with straight, thin legs and a nonexistent stomach. Picture after picture of clothing that would never fit me, I was brought back to the memories of high school where I would wish for a thigh gap, or only bring a granola bar to eat for lunch.

Then I was brought back to the sadness of not seeing someone like me in the media, or fashion in general, growing up. In every billboard or magazine spread, I saw the golden woman, a girl with shiny, blonde hair and a thin figure. I never saw a Latinx woman, unless it was for a telenovela or for a “hot and spicy” new thing. 

It got me thinking about all the young girls, or women my age, who feel this way. We go online and see fashion brands and media companies that don’t include real women. The brands who are standing up and putting diversity in their websites and advertisements should be given a round of applause and any other praise because they are the reasons why the stigma is beginning to break apart. 

I know that asking the fashion industry to be more inclusive is like asking all cosmetic companies to become cruelty-free. It’s not going to happen overnight, or even in the next five years. Unfortunately, it takes time and patience for the ball to continue rolling. I see the change happen almost every day, but it’s moments in online shopping where I’m reminded that we have a long way to go. 

One day I hope that a little girl will see herself on a billboard or in a magazine. Someone with real flaws and real body types. Someone with hair types that don’t fit in the category of shiny and blonde. Someone who represents the diversity of women and the simple fact that we’re all human.