Does Fashion Care about Racism?

Amita Handa recently was asked to DJ in Toronto at Fashion Cares - an annual fundraiser organised by MAC Cosmetics, who chose 'Bollywood Cowboy' as their theme for 2005. No, there was not a Gabbar Singh in sight and none of the women there were simple, down-to-earth Basanti-types reminiscent of the classic Bollywood-Western movie Sholay... In fact, the visual entertainment and aesthetic of the event sounds quite silly - here's what Amita had to say...

Fashion Cares-the annual Canadian fashionista fundraiser-asked me to DJ this year to raise money for HIV/AIDS. "Do you realize how big Fashion Cares is?" a friend asked me. Not really I thought. "It's the biggest fashion event in Canada, with famous celebrities and all the whose-who. They draw big-name stars like Cher and Brittany Spears and Missy Elliot and they raise millions of dollars with influential corporate sponsorships. You should feel lucky just that you were asked to participate in this event, my friend jabbed me with his fingers and walked off. As a Bollywood DJ, I thought it fitting they asked me to participate in the Bollywood Cowboy theme they chose this year. But as the marketing campaign unfolded, I became increasingly wary about participating. Blonde girls and white men with cowboy hats, tattoos, and sequined tops in poses evoking Hindu imagery splashed the large posters promoting Fashion Cares across town as the event loomed near.

When the day arrived, I carried my CD cases and DJ equipment into Toronto's Convention Centre. Iwore a plain black summer dress with leather boots. I saw no other South Asians, but lots of white Canadians wearing South Asian exotica. I walked into the boutique area, where clothing stores and designers sport their various fashion wares for sale. Silk sarees, patterned Indian cushions and plush cloths draped the various vendor booths. White women wore dread-head wigs and white go-go dancers awkwardly moved to the Bollywood beats I played. I thought of switching to music they might feel more comfortable with, but then I thought, if you want Bollywood this year, I will give you six hours straight of filmi tunes. The dancers tried. Some left their podiums, others swayed unenthusiastically to the pounding rhythms. They seemed to want all the trimmings of the South Asian diaspora, but little of the "real" thing.

I saw very few, if any South Asian vendors or organizers at Fashion Cares. What unfolded the rest of the evening was akin to white people's Halloween or some Canadians' understanding of multiculturalism. Non-South Asians paraded around in bindis and saris and excitedly moved from stall to stall-selling items, passing around hors d'oeuvres and flipping back their sari pulloos. Belly dancers, hool-a-hoop entertainers, contortionists and harem girls performed repeatedly for the crowd. Somegave well choreographed and tight performances; but I wondered what this hodge-podge of cultural themeshad to do with Bollywood or South Asian-ness for that matter. Can't you even appropriate the culture properly, I thought?

Later in the evening, I entered the auditorium to view the main event, hosted by Pamela Anderson. Performers sported bindis, South Asian silk with gold bordering, body henna and tattoos. I suppose part of me should be happy. The part of me who was called paki, had to listen to paki jokes and was ashamed of being associated with India, or "Indian-ness" because of the racism I experienced as a teenager. Now I have arrived. I am no longer invisible, because my culture is a mainstream commodity on display. But am I? Where are we? No brown folk were up there wearing saris; none of us were asked to participate in the planning or decision making teams of Fashion Cares.

When white people parade around in saris, it is fashionable; when brown people do, it's just ethnic and unmarketable to mainstream consumers.

During the featured entertainment, I saw lots of white people with cowboy hats and tattoos with brown powder on their faces and bodies. After Black people have fought long and hard on the racist use of "black face" in entertainment, I felt disheartened that in 2005, few lessons have been learned. I thought, if you want to see brown people so badly as part of your Bollywood theme, then why not have most of the performances by them?

I did not withdraw from or boycott Fashion Cares because I think raising money for HIV/AIDS is important. But the AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT), the backing organization of Fashion Cares and their corporate sponsors like M.A.C, the Bay and BMO (?what does it stand for) need to develop more sensitive and smarter marketing campaigns. As a society, we need to be aware of the historical themes of colonization and cultural appropriation.

The pairing of cowboys and "Indians" does not consider the historical relationship between cowboys and First Nations peoples in Canada. For many, the "wild west" and the terms "cowboy" evoke the reality of American expansion and an aggressive policy of land take-over resulting in the eradication of First Nations peoples in Canada. In addition, Cowboys have often been depicted as heroes while "Indians" have been depicted as a savage threat that must be exterminated. Aboriginal communities continue to be significantly affected by HIV/AIDS and yet, this fundraiser does not consider the impact of this imagery on First nations peoples. Similar to the oversight of First Nations people, the images used to market Bollywood Cowboy do not show any awareness about the history of colonization of South Asia. Showing predominantly white models with guns or cow horns as representations of Bollywood evoke a reality of white British conquerors. A white blonde woman depicted in one of their ads wields power by brandishing her gun, while the "woman of colour" evokes bordello imagery - she is exoticized and sexually available.

Fashion Cares risks jeopardizing their hard work and dedication to fundraise for HIV and AIDS. An "anti-oppressive community-based organization" like ACT cannot continue to ignore the ways in which stereotypes are reproduced. This is not the first time ACT's campaigns have used "people of colour" inappropriately in their awareness campaigns and fundraising events.In order for ACT to truly move forward, it needs to ensure that these gross misrepresentations will not happen again. A community advisory committee comprised of ethno-racial groups to address concerns around racism at ACT is just the beginning.

- (DJ) Amita Handa