It is strange that everyone thinks the fashion industry has some deeper, moralistic or aesthetic aim. Fashion is a business, just like selling lamps or cars. The only difference is that they try to sell you clothing on the basis that they are "beautiful" and trendy.

That being said, do business men have a moral obligation to represent a wide variety of races in their ads or services? Most people would say no. Businesses are not humanitarian projects - their primary objective is to make money, not to jeopardize their business with daring politically-correct moves. A smart business man could tap into that market to broaden his clientele.

So, I feel very ambivalent about the "race issue" in fashion. Do I REALLY want race to be commodified and packaged, like the United Benneton ads? I know this is a lot more than just commercializing race (diversity, providing role models, stressing that beauty is not always white, etc) but it seems like this is a very strange battle to fight.

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A nitpicky point, though: does anyone else cringe when people use "ethnic" as a noun and not the adjective it was intended to be?

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Sad and probably very true (and maybe unconscious).

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What depresses me, too, is that even within the confines of white models, those who get picked are incredibly homogenous. They do look all the same, more or less. Depressing.

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