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Categories: Camille: Modeling and PhotoshootsTags: #featured, Beauty, Camille, Denver Models, Fashion, Gender Queer, LGBT, punk couple, Transgender, Transgender Models
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Tag: Fashion
Denver Unique Week Of Fashion 2019
Denver Unique Week Of Fashion 2019
Event: Denver’s Unique Week Of Fashion: Jana Smith
Make Up and Hair: Stacey James
Clothing Designers: @shaina_swallow @litamaxwell45 @thefabulousapproach
Make Up and Hair: Stacey James
Clothing Designers: @shaina_swallow @litamaxwell45 @thefabulousapproach
Monday’s Night Walk:
April 08 2019
The Falls Event Center
8199 Southpark Ct, Highlands Ranch, CO 80120, United States
@shaina_swallow @denveruniqueweekoffashion2019 #DUWFdenver#transgendermodel #alternativemodel #tattooedmodel #denvermodel#denvermodels #darkfairy #modelsover40 @atyourserviceeventspr
Thursday’s Night Walk
April 11 2019
Temple Denver
1136 Broadway, Denver, CO 80203, United States
@litamaxwell45 @denveruniqueweekoffashion2019 #DUWFdenver #transgendermodel#alternativemodel #tattooedmodel #denvermodel #denvermodels#modelsover40 @atyourserviceeventspr
Friday’s Night Walk
April 12 2019
Mirus Gallery Denver
1144 Broadway, Denver, CO 80203, United States
@thefabulousapproach for @denveruniqueweekoffashion2019 #DUWFdenver #transgendermodel#alternativemodel #tattooedmodel #denvermodel #denvermodels#modelsover40 @atyourserviceeventspr
Social Media Marketing for Transgender Fashion Models: Part Nine: Conclusion
Conclusion
Transgender models have had trouble finding work within the modeling community due to the lack of inclusion in the fashion industry. Some Transgender models have found opportunities with other identifiers such as alternative modeling to try and avoid discrimination within the modeling world. As acceptance and understanding of the trans community grow, Transgender fashion models are beginning to find a home within the fashion modeling industry. While the fashion world has started to embrace more trans people, they have become more visible recently with the use of social media tools such as Instagram to gain visibility.
With models like Andrej Pejic and Peche Di, there are growing opportunities for models who work outside of the traditional gender lines. Transgender modeling opportunity has become possible due to social activism and new media marketing using social media platforms. One of the most significant challenges for Transgender models is still exposure. Transgender models still face challenges in finding photographers and both professional and amateur opportunities within the fashion world.
The prevalence of high profile trans models and entertainers, as well as the growth of exposure through social media, has made for a more receptive environment. Many of these Transgender models have a strong sense of pride in their identity and work, which might be the most significant theme of the trans community in the 21st century. Ultimately those voices are becoming heard, and Transgender models are finding more opportunities in a variety of fields. The task of inclusivity and visibility has been successful with the use of social media tools such as Instagram to show the market need and showcase future modeling talent within the Transgender and Fashion community.
In the Yahoo lifestyle article, “For the modeling industry, the future is Transgender”, journalist Landon Peoples says,” When we think of what makes a model a ‘super,’ it’s not only the ability to win fans, but also to turn the runway into a global stage on which they represent the best of what’s to come. Whereas getting on the catwalk was once the entire point, now, it marks the beginning of something more. We’re in the middle of some revolutionary shifts in our culture, and models have been vocal about keeping the industry honest and pushing it forward. From calling out racial inequality and sexual harassment to confronting body shamers, and turning their platforms into political stages, they’re not afraid to fight for justice — and to not take no for an answer” (Peoples 2018). This article also showcases the rise of the Transgender models on the catwalk. Peoples explains, “After several seasons that saw an increasing number of transgender models on the catwalk from 12 to 45, during spring 2018 — transgender visibility is increasing, though it’s all but clear. Teddy, Leyna, Castle, Gia, and Geena are some of the biggest names in the community, and it’s time the world knows them by their first names, too. Though their stories are different, they all possess an honest investment in where fashion is going, and how their presence in the industry contributes to the cultural zeitgeist at large” (Peoples 2018). Peoples also reminds us that to employ an openly transgender model was once taboo; in fact, it was unheard of. At a moment when fashion is more than just the clothing on our backs, there’s never been a more critical time to get rid of labels than now. This rise of inclusion will be seen as a social revolution as the first generation of openly Transgender fashion models pave the way for future Transgender and gender variant models.
These rising models continue to use platforms such as Instagram to keep their activism and Transgender visibility. Transgender fashion model Gia Garrison is showcased in the article “For the modeling industry, the future is Transgender,” “If fashion is art and the industry is a museum, Gia Garrison is the Mona Lisa. Still a teenager, Garrison is both a veteran and rookie of Brooklyn nightlife a persona that, via social media, has drawn the eyes of the industry on her way. In just a few years, Garrison has secured her stake among the fashion elite, attending and hosting parties that would otherwise require cocktail attire with Garrison showing up in next-to-nothing glam chokers, chains, and miniskirts” (Peoples, 2018). Another prime example in the article “For the modeling industry, the future is Transgender,” fashion model McAuther explains, “Being open about my gender in the industry, I don’t have anxieties over people finding out I am trans. It forces me to love myself as a trans person and to see the beauty in this experience. It helps me realize that this is completely normal, and every trans individual deserves to feel normal about themselves, he says. Sentiments like this are frequent on his Instagram, where McArthur often calls on the industry for radical improvements to the way it regards transgender models. We are not modeling being transgender. We are modeling the clothing, the art, the fashion, and so many other things that are not focused on our gender. Your gender can’t hold you back” (Peoples 2018).
Transgender fashion model Rocero opens up about her Transgender led projects in the Peoples article, “I recently executively produced a documentary with LogoTV called Made to Model, on the history of trans models. One of the models that we featured said she experienced misgendering and mistreatment about 80% of the time during shoots. It’s incredibly sad but common. I think it’s important to set intentions in the work environment. Before the shoot, educate the whole production team on language and pronouns, along with the goal of making the day on the job fun, inclusive, and supportive” (Peoples 2018).
Regarding support, it’s helpful to remember that most transgender models, didn’t adhere to a formula for revealing their gender identity. There is no blueprint for coming out as Transgender model. For Rocero, that wasn’t exactly a bad thing, in the article written by journalist Peoples, “I wish when I was starting out there were a lot of out, celebrated trans-identified models. But I also think of the many trans youth seeing me and others on social media; I can only hope that it gives them a sense of reflection that they, too, can claim their space” (Popeles 2018).
The method of social media has been a successful strategy and has resulted at the beginning of a new era with the birth of Transgender modeling agencies. As the Transgender population continues to be represented in the modeling world, this helps create opportunities and equality for future Transgender models. Ultimately the work of all these models, high and low profile, helps to shift attitudes and make Transgender modeling an established piece of the modeling world.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bauch, Anita De. 2016. “How to Model Without an Agency.” New Haven Publishing Ltd.
Bendoni, Wendy. 2007. “Social Media for Fashion Marketing: Storytelling in a Digital World.” London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Bornstein, Kate. 2013. My New Gender Workbook: a Step-by-step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
Campos, Maria Consuelo Cunha. 1999. “Roberta Close and M. Butterfly: Transgender, Testimony and Fiction.“ Estudos Feministas 7: 37-52, Accsessed April 21,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/60367113?accountid=14608.
Carroll, Henry. 2017. “Read This If You Want to Be Instagram Famous.” Read This. London: Laurence King Publishing, Ltd.
Carlsbad. 2018. “Fashion Industry Still Lacks Inclusivity, Transgender Model Says”. (2018, Mar 13). University Wire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2013197109?accountid=14608
Charlesworth, Alan. 2014. “Digital Marketing: a Practical Approach.” second ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Cope, Jon, and Dennis Maloney. 2016. “Fashion Promotion in Practice.” Required Reading Range. London: Fairchild Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, PLC.
Council of Fashion Designers of America. 2015. “Designers on Instagram: #fashion.” New York: Abrams.
Entwistle, Joanne, and Ashley Mears. 2012. “Gender on Display: Performativity in Fashion Modelling.” Sage Journal. http://journals.sagepub.com.du.idm.oclc.org/doi/abs/10.1177/1749975512457139 (accessed May 4, 2018).
Harris, Clare. 2017. “The Fundamentals of Digital Fashion Marketing.” Fundamentals. London: Bloomsbury.
Holland, Gwyneth, and Rae Jones. 2017. “Fashion Trend Forecasting.” London: Laurence King Publishing.
Keegan, Cael M. 2016. “Revisitation: a Trans Phenomenology of the Media Image.”MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research 32, no. 61.
Krueger, Alyson. 2017. Transgender Models Find A Home. New York Times, March 3.
MacPherson, Marko, Shawn Dahl, and Nicole Phelps. 2017. Digit@l Girls: Fashion’s New Tribe : Risk Takers, Rule Breakers, and Disrupters.” New York: Rizzoli.
Peoples, Landon. 2018. For The Modeling Industry, The Future Is Transgender. Refinery 29, February 7. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/modeling-industry-future-transgender-140000971.html.
PR Newswire. 2013. “Suddenly fem(TM) features new local rising M2F transgender model, mercedes demarko, in 2013 spring fashion launch catalog.” PR Newswire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1339471074?accountid=14608
Press, Debbie. 2004. “Your Modeling Career: You Don’t Have to Be a Superstar to Succeed.” 2nd ed. New York: Allworth Press.
Sayej, Nadja. 2017. These Trans Modeling Agencies Pave the Runway for Transgender Acceptance They’re creating a more inclusive fashion industry. Vice Impact, July 18. https://impact.vice.com/en_us/article/qvpnnq/these-trans-modeling-agencies-pave-the-runway-for-transgender-acceptance.
Siemen, Thora. 2017. How Did An Entire Group Of People Become A Fashion Trend?. Refinery 29, November 16. https://www.refinery29.com/2017/11/180669/transgender-fashion-models-rights(accessed May 5, 2018).
Sherman, Gerald J., and Sar Perlman. 2010. “Fashion Public Relations.” New York: Fairchild Books.
Sinha, Chinki. 2017, “How a Nepalese transgender model fought her way to Lakme India Fashion Week.“India Today, Accessed April 20,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1863316059?accountid=14608
Song, Aimee. 2016. “Capture Your Style: Transform Your Instagram Images, Showcase Your Life, and Build the Ultimate Platform.” New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Strashko, Stav. 2016 “Born Identity.” Teen Vogue, 06, 94-n/a. Accessed April 18,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1795970682?accountid=14608.
Swami, Viren, and Emilia Szmigielska. 2012. “Body image concerns in professional fashion models: Are they really an at-risk group?” Elsevier. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/psychres.
Teich, Nicholas M. 2012. “Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue.” New York: Columbia University Press.
Tuten, Tracy L., and Michael R. Solomon. 2015. “Social Media Marketing.” 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage.
Volmers, Eric. March 9, 2018. “Aiming High in The World of Fashion; ‘An Incredible Story’: Trans Model’s Journey from Instagram to Paris.” Edmonton Journal, Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2012383240?accountid=14608.
Wolstencroft, Dauphin. 2017. “Transgender: Anjali Lama: The World’s First Transgender Runway Supermodel.” New York: Independently published.
http://www.mediakix.com. 2018. “Top Instagram Models: Infographic of New IG Models.” Accessed May 19, 2018. http://mediakix.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Top-Instagram-Models-Infographic-New-IG-Model.jpg.
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Social Media Marketing for Transgender Fashion Models: Part Eight: Recommendations
Recommendations
The future for Transgender models is beginning to look positive. Within the past two years, a couple of Transgender modeling agencies are being created as a result of the lack of inclusion and the use of social media to create the demand. In a Vice article written in 2017 named “These Trans Modeling Agencies Pave the Runway for Transgender Acceptance,” founder of Apple Modeling explains her motivation for the creation of her modeling agency. Peche Di explains, “She founded the agency when she was having difficulty finding work. For one modeling job, Di didn’t tell a client she was trans, and she was cut out of the campaign when the client found out. Di saw this kind of thing happening all the time outside of her own experience, which prompted the mission of the agency. She wanted not only to represent models for their personality and their looks but also take a stand against ongoing prejudice in the fashion industry” (Sayej 2017). As a result, Apple Modeling Agency became a first of its kind to represent Transgender models. Shane Henise, a Transgender model, explains “I am so happy and honored to be representing the community and bringing visibility where there hasn’t been before.” Henise told VICE Impact. “This is a significant step towards normalization and acceptance of trans people and trans love. Henise is represented by Trans Models New York, New York City’s first transgender modeling agency. It’s part of a growing movement of trans models and modeling agencies making their mark on the fashion industry. But it seems to be more than just an agency; it’s also an advocacy group and community for trans people in fashion. (Sayej 2017).
The opening of the world’s first Transgender modeling agency inspired similar agencies to follow. In the article written by Nadja Sayej, she cites, “Another trans modeling agency on the rise is Slay Models, which is run by Cecilio Asuncion, a Los Angeles-based writer and filmmaker who directed a documentary on trans women in 2012 called What’s the T” (Sayej 2017). Slay Model Management is a California based modeling agency representing transgender fashion talent. In their mission statement Slay Modeling states, “We see trans individuals as beautiful. Our strong commitment to developing them as successful models is not about quantifying the model’s gender; it is about their passion and commitment to be the best possible models they can be. We’re here to Slay, and we’re here to stay” (slaymodels.com 2018). Even with these success stories, Slay Modeling recognizes the discrimination still present in the fashion industry, especially for trans models, “Trans models can and will fight discrimination in the industry by simply existing, no longer hiding their true selves,” said Asuncion. “From the get-go, it was never about selling a ‘trans thing.’ It’s about having an agency that has strong, employable models” (Sayej 2017).
Both Slay Modeling, and New York Transgender modeling agencies are using this as a platform to bring Transgender awareness and strive for equality in the fashion industry. Kami Sid, who is an international Transgender model still struggles to find representation in her home country of Pakistan. Kami Sid states, “Modeling is a duty and responsibility. It’s essential to raise awareness about the transgender community. But it remains a struggle. Currently, we are fighting for our equal rights opportunities” (Sayej 2017). With the rise of Transgender modeling agencies and the messages created by the Transgender community for their fight for equal rights, we may see a union between the Instagram modeling realm and the opportunity to sign with a Transgender modeling agency for future Transgender fashion models. Many of these models who have joined these Transgender modeling agencies have used Instagram and the hashtag #transgendermodel to direct potential clients and agents to their Instagram profile.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bauch, Anita De. 2016. “How to Model Without an Agency.” New Haven Publishing Ltd.
Bendoni, Wendy. 2007. “Social Media for Fashion Marketing: Storytelling in a Digital World.” London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Bornstein, Kate. 2013. My New Gender Workbook: a Step-by-step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
Campos, Maria Consuelo Cunha. 1999. “Roberta Close and M. Butterfly: Transgender, Testimony and Fiction.“ Estudos Feministas 7: 37-52, Accsessed April 21,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/60367113?accountid=14608.
Carroll, Henry. 2017. “Read This If You Want to Be Instagram Famous.” Read This. London: Laurence King Publishing, Ltd.
Carlsbad. 2018. “Fashion Industry Still Lacks Inclusivity, Transgender Model Says”. (2018, Mar 13). University Wire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2013197109?accountid=14608
Charlesworth, Alan. 2014. “Digital Marketing: a Practical Approach.” second ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Cope, Jon, and Dennis Maloney. 2016. “Fashion Promotion in Practice.” Required Reading Range. London: Fairchild Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, PLC.
Council of Fashion Designers of America. 2015. “Designers on Instagram: #fashion.” New York: Abrams.
Entwistle, Joanne, and Ashley Mears. 2012. “Gender on Display: Performativity in Fashion Modelling.” Sage Journal. http://journals.sagepub.com.du.idm.oclc.org/doi/abs/10.1177/1749975512457139 (accessed May 4, 2018).
Harris, Clare. 2017. “The Fundamentals of Digital Fashion Marketing.” Fundamentals. London: Bloomsbury.
Holland, Gwyneth, and Rae Jones. 2017. “Fashion Trend Forecasting.” London: Laurence King Publishing.
Keegan, Cael M. 2016. “Revisitation: a Trans Phenomenology of the Media Image.”MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research 32, no. 61.
Krueger, Alyson. 2017. Transgender Models Find A Home. New York Times, March 3.
MacPherson, Marko, Shawn Dahl, and Nicole Phelps. 2017. Digit@l Girls: Fashion’s New Tribe : Risk Takers, Rule Breakers, and Disrupters.” New York: Rizzoli.
Peoples, Landon. 2018. For The Modeling Industry, The Future Is Transgender. Refinery 29, February 7. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/modeling-industry-future-transgender-140000971.html.
PR Newswire. 2013. “Suddenly fem(TM) features new local rising M2F transgender model, mercedes demarko, in 2013 spring fashion launch catalog.” PR Newswire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1339471074?accountid=14608
Press, Debbie. 2004. “Your Modeling Career: You Don’t Have to Be a Superstar to Succeed.” 2nd ed. New York: Allworth Press.
Sayej, Nadja. 2017. These Trans Modeling Agencies Pave the Runway for Transgender Acceptance They’re creating a more inclusive fashion industry. Vice Impact, July 18. https://impact.vice.com/en_us/article/qvpnnq/these-trans-modeling-agencies-pave-the-runway-for-transgender-acceptance.
Siemen, Thora. 2017. How Did An Entire Group Of People Become A Fashion Trend?. Refinery 29, November 16. https://www.refinery29.com/2017/11/180669/transgender-fashion-models-rights(accessed May 5, 2018).
Sherman, Gerald J., and Sar Perlman. 2010. “Fashion Public Relations.” New York: Fairchild Books.
Sinha, Chinki. 2017, “How a Nepalese transgender model fought her way to Lakme India Fashion Week.“India Today, Accessed April 20,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1863316059?accountid=14608
Song, Aimee. 2016. “Capture Your Style: Transform Your Instagram Images, Showcase Your Life, and Build the Ultimate Platform.” New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Strashko, Stav. 2016 “Born Identity.” Teen Vogue, 06, 94-n/a. Accessed April 18,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1795970682?accountid=14608.
Swami, Viren, and Emilia Szmigielska. 2012. “Body image concerns in professional fashion models: Are they really an at-risk group?” Elsevier. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/psychres.
Teich, Nicholas M. 2012. “Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue.” New York: Columbia University Press.
Tuten, Tracy L., and Michael R. Solomon. 2015. “Social Media Marketing.” 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage.
Volmers, Eric. March 9, 2018. “Aiming High in The World of Fashion; ‘An Incredible Story’: Trans Model’s Journey from Instagram to Paris.” Edmonton Journal, Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2012383240?accountid=14608.
Wolstencroft, Dauphin. 2017. “Transgender: Anjali Lama: The World’s First Transgender Runway Supermodel.” New York: Independently published.
http://www.mediakix.com. 2018. “Top Instagram Models: Infographic of New IG Models.” Accessed May 19, 2018. http://mediakix.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Top-Instagram-Models-Infographic-New-IG-Model.jpg.
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Social Media Marketing for Transgender Fashion Models: Part Seven: Discussion
Discussion
When researchers tackled the broad topic of new media marketing, their research can come to a complete halt as a result of so many social media platforms. According to the author of the book Instagram Power by Jason G. Miles mobile platforms dominate the market with social media sites. Miles, 2014, explains, “The world is migrating to mobile devices. These powerful new handheld tools include iPhones, iPads, Kindle, and similar Internet-enabled products. The worldwide adoption of these web-enabled tools is revolutionizing the online experience, including social media marketing” (Miles 2012, pg XV). Mobile-based social media APPS dominate the market and platform used by potential clients and consumers. In the fall of 2012, Instagram surpassed 100 million users (Miles, 2012) showing the migration to mobile as a large potential marketing tool. For fashion models, this photograph based social media site is ideal for showcasing print work and the aesthetics of a fashion model. In the book, Instagram Power 2012, author Jason Miles explains the role Instagram plays in the mobile social media market. Miles states, “Instagram is the breakout social network of the iPhone revolution. In less than two years, it has grown into a full-fledged social network. The pace of user adoption went from 887,00 daily active users to 7.3 million” (Miles, 2012, pg 3).
Research has shown that of all the social media platforms, Instagram is the most successful platform for new media marketing in the fashion industry. According to the fashion article by Influence marketing company MediaKix, “For those seeking success in today’s modeling landscape, Instagram is just as important as the runway. Before the social media boom, models used opportunities like Fashion Week and magazine shoots to kickstart their careers.
Today, though, a new category of social media influencers and models has emerged through Instagram. To find out who has the industry buzzing and who might be the next big talent, we’ve compiled a list of Instagram’s most famous traditional and Instagram models who are making a name for themselves one post at a time” (MediaKix.com 2018). The term Instagram Model is also an industry term that has submerged from the fashion culture with the expansion of models using Instagram as their primary platform for new media marketing.
To keep the focus and scope of this research paper, we will analyze the use of Instagram as a new media platform for fashion model self-promotion. Below is a SWOT analysis of Instagram as a social media platform for new media marketing.
Strength
• Massive audience reach (Both Personal and Professional)
• High engagement levels
• A way to engage with audiences that adds value
• Hashtags to capitalize on real-time trends
• A way to engage with readers and prospective readers in a channel that they love
• Established platform with many industry people already accessible with Instagram accounts
• Easy to show collaborations with industry professionals using hashtags and Instagram handle tagging.
• Developed on a mobile platform
Weakness
• Oversaturation
• Possible view as “entry level” model
• Self-contained traffic
• Photo based posts only
Threats
• Established agency websites
• The growth of model specific social media platforms
• Not used as a professional tool in most professional industries (Link’d In)
• Facebook and Twitter are more established with algorithms to drive paid business
• Limited activism posts
Opportunities
• Instagram is moving toward paid presence vs. organic presence
• Platform avoids social commentary compared to Facebook and Twitter
• Able to link to a Facebook Professional page to expand social media presence
Amiee Song has used Instagram as a platform for presence in the fashion world. In her book, “Capture Your Style” Fashion blogger Diane Von Furstenberg opens the book with “As one of the fashion industry’s most influential bloggers, Amiee Song is living her American Dream. With one perfectly curated Instagram photo at a time, she has become a symbol of today’s successful, stylish young women” (Song 2016 pg 06). The platform of Instagram continues to be a successful platform for individuals to showcase their lifestyle while presenting a fashion portfolio to be shopped by modeling agents and brand ambassadors. The use of Instagram has helped launch multiple modeling careers, both within the Transgender community and the Cisgender modeling population. By using this successful platform used by many models within the fashion industry, Transgender fashion models can take advantage of adding their voice and lifestyle to the market via Instagram.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bauch, Anita De. 2016. “How to Model Without an Agency.” New Haven Publishing Ltd.
Bendoni, Wendy. 2007. “Social Media for Fashion Marketing: Storytelling in a Digital World.” London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Bornstein, Kate. 2013. My New Gender Workbook: a Step-by-step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
Campos, Maria Consuelo Cunha. 1999. “Roberta Close and M. Butterfly: Transgender, Testimony and Fiction.“ Estudos Feministas 7: 37-52, Accsessed April 21,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/60367113?accountid=14608.
Carroll, Henry. 2017. “Read This If You Want to Be Instagram Famous.” Read This. London: Laurence King Publishing, Ltd.
Carlsbad. 2018. “Fashion Industry Still Lacks Inclusivity, Transgender Model Says”. (2018, Mar 13). University Wire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2013197109?accountid=14608
Charlesworth, Alan. 2014. “Digital Marketing: a Practical Approach.” second ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Cope, Jon, and Dennis Maloney. 2016. “Fashion Promotion in Practice.” Required Reading Range. London: Fairchild Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, PLC.
Council of Fashion Designers of America. 2015. “Designers on Instagram: #fashion.” New York: Abrams.
Entwistle, Joanne, and Ashley Mears. 2012. “Gender on Display: Performativity in Fashion Modelling.” Sage Journal. http://journals.sagepub.com.du.idm.oclc.org/doi/abs/10.1177/1749975512457139 (accessed May 4, 2018).
Harris, Clare. 2017. “The Fundamentals of Digital Fashion Marketing.” Fundamentals. London: Bloomsbury.
Holland, Gwyneth, and Rae Jones. 2017. “Fashion Trend Forecasting.” London: Laurence King Publishing.
Keegan, Cael M. 2016. “Revisitation: a Trans Phenomenology of the Media Image.”MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research 32, no. 61.
Krueger, Alyson. 2017. Transgender Models Find A Home. New York Times, March 3.
MacPherson, Marko, Shawn Dahl, and Nicole Phelps. 2017. Digit@l Girls: Fashion’s New Tribe : Risk Takers, Rule Breakers, and Disrupters.” New York: Rizzoli.
Peoples, Landon. 2018. For The Modeling Industry, The Future Is Transgender. Refinery 29, February 7. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/modeling-industry-future-transgender-140000971.html.
PR Newswire. 2013. “Suddenly fem(TM) features new local rising M2F transgender model, mercedes demarko, in 2013 spring fashion launch catalog.” PR Newswire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1339471074?accountid=14608
Press, Debbie. 2004. “Your Modeling Career: You Don’t Have to Be a Superstar to Succeed.” 2nd ed. New York: Allworth Press.
Sayej, Nadja. 2017. These Trans Modeling Agencies Pave the Runway for Transgender Acceptance They’re creating a more inclusive fashion industry. Vice Impact, July 18. https://impact.vice.com/en_us/article/qvpnnq/these-trans-modeling-agencies-pave-the-runway-for-transgender-acceptance.
Siemen, Thora. 2017. How Did An Entire Group Of People Become A Fashion Trend?. Refinery 29, November 16. https://www.refinery29.com/2017/11/180669/transgender-fashion-models-rights(accessed May 5, 2018).
Sherman, Gerald J., and Sar Perlman. 2010. “Fashion Public Relations.” New York: Fairchild Books.
Sinha, Chinki. 2017, “How a Nepalese transgender model fought her way to Lakme India Fashion Week.“India Today, Accessed April 20,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1863316059?accountid=14608
Song, Aimee. 2016. “Capture Your Style: Transform Your Instagram Images, Showcase Your Life, and Build the Ultimate Platform.” New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Strashko, Stav. 2016 “Born Identity.” Teen Vogue, 06, 94-n/a. Accessed April 18,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1795970682?accountid=14608.
Swami, Viren, and Emilia Szmigielska. 2012. “Body image concerns in professional fashion models: Are they really an at-risk group?” Elsevier. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/psychres.
Teich, Nicholas M. 2012. “Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue.” New York: Columbia University Press.
Tuten, Tracy L., and Michael R. Solomon. 2015. “Social Media Marketing.” 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage.
Volmers, Eric. March 9, 2018. “Aiming High in The World of Fashion; ‘An Incredible Story’: Trans Model’s Journey from Instagram to Paris.” Edmonton Journal, Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2012383240?accountid=14608.
Wolstencroft, Dauphin. 2017. “Transgender: Anjali Lama: The World’s First Transgender Runway Supermodel.” New York: Independently published.
http://www.mediakix.com. 2018. “Top Instagram Models: Infographic of New IG Models.” Accessed May 19, 2018. http://mediakix.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Top-Instagram-Models-Infographic-New-IG-Model.jpg.
Social Media Marketing for Transgender Fashion Models: Part Six: Solution
Solution
The solution that is presented by researchers and myself is the use of social media marketing to gain exposure and raise awareness for the Transgender community. The most striking case was the study of Andreja Pejic (notable transgender model/actor) in the published book “Digit@l Girls” by authors MacPherson, Marko, Shawn Dahl, and Nicole Phelps. (McPaterson, Dahl, and Phelps 2017, pg 102). In this book, the authors present the solution as, “The fashion media landscape has evolved drastically with the emergence of fashion’s newest vanguard of pioneering women, whose unique takes on fashion and beauty have propelled them to become true powerhouse personalities. This is done via their blogs, websites, and social-media profiles” (McPaterson, Dahl, and Phelps 2017, pg 10). This case study shows the success of Transgender fashion model Andreja Pejic’s use of social media marketing to gain acceptance and recognition in the fashion industry with the use of digital media.
A second striking case study was presented by author Eric Volmers in his article “Aiming High in The World of Fashion; ‘An Incredible Story’: Trans Model’s Journey from Instagram to Paris” (Volmers 2018). This article follows the Transgender fashion model Harlow Monroe who has used the social media platform of Instagram to propel her career as an international Transgender Fashion Model. In this article Volmers states, “Less than six months ago, Harlow Monroe’s modeling career consisted of posting photos of herself on Instagram. They were generally taken by friends and featured Monroe in a variety of supermodel poses. Since she had always dreamed of being a model, she began tagging the photos accordingly: #fashionmodel, #model, #modellife. Which may be why the pictures initially caught the attention of Chantale Nadeau, a Toronto modeling agent who most recently discovered up-and-coming Canadian teen model Emma Arruda” (Volmers 2018).
This concept has led Transgender models to the skill set needed to be marketing professionals themselves on a platform of social media. Successful Instagram cisgender model Amiee Song presents her successful tactics of Instagram media marketing in her book, “Capture Your Style: Transform Your Instagram Images, Showcase Your Life, and Build the Ultimate Platform” (Song 2016). In her approach, Song explains the importance of lifestyle marketing by connecting a lifestyle to the modeling photographs to appeal to a larger following. This formula of success seems to fit the needs of the Transgender modeling community to use social media platforms such as Instagram to advocate for Transgender equality while presenting themselves as fashion models who live the Transgender lifestyle.
To dive deeper into the digital fashion marketing solution, academic textbooks such as author Claire Harris’s “The Fundamentals of Digital Fashion Marketing” (Harris 2017) takes our research into a practical step by step guide to accomplish the goal of lifestyle marketing using the platform of digital and social media. The opening statement in the books lays down the purpose of the books as, “The Fundamentals of Digital Fashion Marketing introduces and explores contemporary digital practice within the fashion industry. It is designed to inform and inspire today’s graduates as the next generation of creative marketers. It identifies key digital marketing approaches and emerging technologies and examines their place in contemporary fashion careers and the opportunities they create for fashion graduates to design, promote and market themselves in a range of sites and formats” (Harris 2017 pg 4). This final proposed solution by researchers and Transgender models helps models bridge the gap between the idea of necessary social media presence to using these tools professionally as a career tool.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bauch, Anita De. 2016. “How to Model Without an Agency.” New Haven Publishing Ltd.
Bendoni, Wendy. 2007. “Social Media for Fashion Marketing: Storytelling in a Digital World.” London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Bornstein, Kate. 2013. My New Gender Workbook: a Step-by-step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
Campos, Maria Consuelo Cunha. 1999. “Roberta Close and M. Butterfly: Transgender, Testimony and Fiction.“ Estudos Feministas 7: 37-52, Accsessed April 21,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/60367113?accountid=14608.
Carroll, Henry. 2017. “Read This If You Want to Be Instagram Famous.” Read This. London: Laurence King Publishing, Ltd.
Carlsbad. 2018. “Fashion Industry Still Lacks Inclusivity, Transgender Model Says”. (2018, Mar 13). University Wire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2013197109?accountid=14608
Charlesworth, Alan. 2014. “Digital Marketing: a Practical Approach.” second ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Cope, Jon, and Dennis Maloney. 2016. “Fashion Promotion in Practice.” Required Reading Range. London: Fairchild Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, PLC.
Council of Fashion Designers of America. 2015. “Designers on Instagram: #fashion.” New York: Abrams.
Entwistle, Joanne, and Ashley Mears. 2012. “Gender on Display: Performativity in Fashion Modelling.” Sage Journal. http://journals.sagepub.com.du.idm.oclc.org/doi/abs/10.1177/1749975512457139 (accessed May 4, 2018).
Harris, Clare. 2017. “The Fundamentals of Digital Fashion Marketing.” Fundamentals. London: Bloomsbury.
Holland, Gwyneth, and Rae Jones. 2017. “Fashion Trend Forecasting.” London: Laurence King Publishing.
Keegan, Cael M. 2016. “Revisitation: a Trans Phenomenology of the Media Image.”MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research 32, no. 61.
Krueger, Alyson. 2017. Transgender Models Find A Home. New York Times, March 3.
MacPherson, Marko, Shawn Dahl, and Nicole Phelps. 2017. Digit@l Girls: Fashion’s New Tribe : Risk Takers, Rule Breakers, and Disrupters.” New York: Rizzoli.
Peoples, Landon. 2018. For The Modeling Industry, The Future Is Transgender. Refinery 29, February 7. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/modeling-industry-future-transgender-140000971.html.
PR Newswire. 2013. “Suddenly fem(TM) features new local rising M2F transgender model, mercedes demarko, in 2013 spring fashion launch catalog.” PR Newswire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1339471074?accountid=14608
Press, Debbie. 2004. “Your Modeling Career: You Don’t Have to Be a Superstar to Succeed.” 2nd ed. New York: Allworth Press.
Sayej, Nadja. 2017. These Trans Modeling Agencies Pave the Runway for Transgender Acceptance They’re creating a more inclusive fashion industry. Vice Impact, July 18. https://impact.vice.com/en_us/article/qvpnnq/these-trans-modeling-agencies-pave-the-runway-for-transgender-acceptance.
Siemen, Thora. 2017. How Did An Entire Group Of People Become A Fashion Trend?. Refinery 29, November 16. https://www.refinery29.com/2017/11/180669/transgender-fashion-models-rights(accessed May 5, 2018).
Sherman, Gerald J., and Sar Perlman. 2010. “Fashion Public Relations.” New York: Fairchild Books.
Sinha, Chinki. 2017, “How a Nepalese transgender model fought her way to Lakme India Fashion Week.“India Today, Accessed April 20,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1863316059?accountid=14608
Song, Aimee. 2016. “Capture Your Style: Transform Your Instagram Images, Showcase Your Life, and Build the Ultimate Platform.” New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Strashko, Stav. 2016 “Born Identity.” Teen Vogue, 06, 94-n/a. Accessed April 18,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1795970682?accountid=14608.
Swami, Viren, and Emilia Szmigielska. 2012. “Body image concerns in professional fashion models: Are they really an at-risk group?” Elsevier. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/psychres.
Teich, Nicholas M. 2012. “Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue.” New York: Columbia University Press.
Tuten, Tracy L., and Michael R. Solomon. 2015. “Social Media Marketing.” 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage.
Volmers, Eric. March 9, 2018. “Aiming High in The World of Fashion; ‘An Incredible Story’: Trans Model’s Journey from Instagram to Paris.” Edmonton Journal, Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2012383240?accountid=14608.
Wolstencroft, Dauphin. 2017. “Transgender: Anjali Lama: The World’s First Transgender Runway Supermodel.” New York: Independently published.
http://www.mediakix.com. 2018. “Top Instagram Models: Infographic of New IG Models.” Accessed May 19, 2018. http://mediakix.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Top-Instagram-Models-Infographic-New-IG-Model.jpg.
Social Media Marketing for Transgender Fashion Models: Part Five: Literature Review
Literature Review
In approaching this problem, others have approached it with the aim of learning best practices that applied to model careers as a transgender fashion model. The best way to evaluate the issues to move towards an understanding was to research those who have written on the subject. I wanted to find articles with a Transgender model’s personal experience to site the lack of inclusion first hand. The goal was to see if this observation was shared by Transgender models in the fashion industry to gain perspective on the topic.
The articles found by my research stemmed from resources such as The New York Times article “Transgender Model Finds a Home” (Krueger, 2017) and Refinery 29’s article “How Did an Entire Group of People Become a Fashion Trend?” (Siemens, 2017). These articles reassured investigators that the problem of the fashion world lacks the inclusion of transgender models and this was a discussion within the industry. Reading that the dialogue of this problem has begun in periodicals and internet magazines gave a foundation for my research. I discovered that a lack of inclusivity of Transgender models was relevant and the solution to this unique problem was one that both Transgender models and the fashion industry wanted to solve.
The next level of research reflected was the book in print on the fashion industry with proposed solutions and best practices to be implemented into the Transgender model’s career. Books on modeling careers such as “Your Modeling Career” by Debbie Press (Press, 2004) to lay down the framework of the modeling career process. These books gave me a baseline for what is seen as a normal career path within the fashion modeling profession. Biographies on transgender models such as the book “Transgender Anjali Lama: The World’s First Transgender Runway Supermodel” (Wolstencroft, 2016) helped analyze how Transgender models can become successful in a gender orientated profession. All of these publications pointed to using new media marketing as a way to build presence and activism within the fashion community to show the need for expanding the world of fashion models to include members of the transgender community. With this solution in mind, I expanded to published books on the fundamentals of new media. The title I use the most frequent for this part of my research was “The Fundamentals of Digital Fashion Marketing” by Clare Harris and Social Media for Fashion Marketing: Storytelling in a Digital World by Wendy K. Bendoni. The books have served as textbooks used in academic on practice and theories on new media and social media marketing.
The academic world has also published printed material to peer-reviewed articles on the subject of Transgender models in the fashion industry. These articles were accessed from The Denver University Library using the Compass, an academic resource tool used by The University of Denver masters and doctoral students. The Sage Publication peer-reviewed article “Gender on Display: Performativity in Fashion Modeling” (Entwistle and Mears, 2012) served as an anchor for academic integrity. This article approached the same topic regarding questioning gender normative culture and how this can hinder the presence of transgender fashion models into the industry. For a first-hand account of a transgender fashion model the University Wire article “Fashion Industry Still Lack Inclusivity, Transgender Model Says” (Carlsbad, 2018) reiterated that this problem was still in exitance as of March of 2018.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bauch, Anita De. 2016. “How to Model Without an Agency.” New Haven Publishing Ltd.
Bendoni, Wendy. 2007. “Social Media for Fashion Marketing: Storytelling in a Digital World.” London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Bornstein, Kate. 2013. My New Gender Workbook: a Step-by-step Guide to Achieving World Peace Through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
Campos, Maria Consuelo Cunha. 1999. “Roberta Close and M. Butterfly: Transgender, Testimony and Fiction.“ Estudos Feministas 7: 37-52, Accsessed April 21,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/60367113?accountid=14608.
Carroll, Henry. 2017. “Read This If You Want to Be Instagram Famous.” Read This. London: Laurence King Publishing, Ltd.
Carlsbad. 2018. “Fashion Industry Still Lacks Inclusivity, Transgender Model Says”. (2018, Mar 13). University Wire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2013197109?accountid=14608
Charlesworth, Alan. 2014. “Digital Marketing: a Practical Approach.” second ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Cope, Jon, and Dennis Maloney. 2016. “Fashion Promotion in Practice.” Required Reading Range. London: Fairchild Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, PLC.
Council of Fashion Designers of America. 2015. “Designers on Instagram: #fashion.” New York: Abrams.
Entwistle, Joanne, and Ashley Mears. 2012. “Gender on Display: Performativity in Fashion Modelling.” Sage Journal. http://journals.sagepub.com.du.idm.oclc.org/doi/abs/10.1177/1749975512457139 (accessed May 4, 2018).
Harris, Clare. 2017. “The Fundamentals of Digital Fashion Marketing.” Fundamentals. London: Bloomsbury.
Holland, Gwyneth, and Rae Jones. 2017. “Fashion Trend Forecasting.” London: Laurence King Publishing.
Keegan, Cael M. 2016. “Revisitation: a Trans Phenomenology of the Media Image.”MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research 32, no. 61.
Krueger, Alyson. 2017. Transgender Models Find A Home. New York Times, March 3.
MacPherson, Marko, Shawn Dahl, and Nicole Phelps. 2017. Digit@l Girls: Fashion’s New Tribe : Risk Takers, Rule Breakers, and Disrupters.” New York: Rizzoli.
Peoples, Landon. 2018. For The Modeling Industry, The Future Is Transgender. Refinery 29, February 7. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/modeling-industry-future-transgender-140000971.html.
PR Newswire. 2013. “Suddenly fem(TM) features new local rising M2F transgender model, mercedes demarko, in 2013 spring fashion launch catalog.” PR Newswire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1339471074?accountid=14608
Press, Debbie. 2004. “Your Modeling Career: You Don’t Have to Be a Superstar to Succeed.” 2nd ed. New York: Allworth Press.
Sayej, Nadja. 2017. These Trans Modeling Agencies Pave the Runway for Transgender Acceptance They’re creating a more inclusive fashion industry. Vice Impact, July 18. https://impact.vice.com/en_us/article/qvpnnq/these-trans-modeling-agencies-pave-the-runway-for-transgender-acceptance.
Siemen, Thora. 2017. How Did An Entire Group Of People Become A Fashion Trend?. Refinery 29, November 16. https://www.refinery29.com/2017/11/180669/transgender-fashion-models-rights(accessed May 5, 2018).
Sherman, Gerald J., and Sar Perlman. 2010. “Fashion Public Relations.” New York: Fairchild Books.
Sinha, Chinki. 2017, “How a Nepalese transgender model fought her way to Lakme India Fashion Week.“India Today, Accessed April 20,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1863316059?accountid=14608
Song, Aimee. 2016. “Capture Your Style: Transform Your Instagram Images, Showcase Your Life, and Build the Ultimate Platform.” New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Strashko, Stav. 2016 “Born Identity.” Teen Vogue, 06, 94-n/a. Accessed April 18,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1795970682?accountid=14608.
Swami, Viren, and Emilia Szmigielska. 2012. “Body image concerns in professional fashion models: Are they really an at-risk group?” Elsevier. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/psychres.
Teich, Nicholas M. 2012. “Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue.” New York: Columbia University Press.
Tuten, Tracy L., and Michael R. Solomon. 2015. “Social Media Marketing.” 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage.
Volmers, Eric. March 9, 2018. “Aiming High in The World of Fashion; ‘An Incredible Story’: Trans Model’s Journey from Instagram to Paris.” Edmonton Journal, Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2012383240?accountid=14608.
Wolstencroft, Dauphin. 2017. “Transgender: Anjali Lama: The World’s First Transgender Runway Supermodel.” New York: Independently published.
http://www.mediakix.com. 2018. “Top Instagram Models: Infographic of New IG Models.” Accessed May 19, 2018. http://mediakix.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Top-Instagram-Models-Infographic-New-IG-Model.jpg.
Social Media Marketing for Transgender Fashion Models: Part Three: The Problem Statement
Part Three: The Problem Statement: From My Masters Dissertation Project at Denver University (2018)
The Problem Statement
This solution to modeling exposure for transgender models may seem simple at the surface level but has become a struggle within the transgender community as the fashion world is slow to accept and include transgender fashion models to represent their brand. In the article “Fashion Industry Still Lacks Inclusivity, Transgender Models Says,” by author Carlsbad 2018, he interviews a male to female Transgender model Peche Di on her views about the topic and shares her first-hand experience and expertise on the subject. Carlsbad begins with “Di discussed the importance of representation of transgender people in the modeling industry and the ways activism on social media has fostered a strong community for transgender people” (Carlsbad, 2018 pg 1) According to the article by Carlsbad 2018 “Transgender model Di discussed the importance of representation of transgender people in the modeling industry and the ways activism on social media has fostered a strong community for transgender people” (Carlsbad, 2018 pg 1). Peche Di and the research author have both concluded that there is a lack of inclusion of Transgender models in the fashion industry and that this is an essential platform for Transgender people to represent the Transgender Community.
Transgender fashion model Peche Di gives her insight and experience as she reflects on her career as a fashion model, “A lot of modeling agencies in New York City are trying to tell you-you’re too feminine be like a man, act like a man, they try to change you to suit the type of model that the brand would like to represent. Transgender fashion model Peche Di said her industry still is not fully inclusive of all models, including different races, body types and gender identities” (Carlsbad, 2018 pg 2). Many modeling agencies fail to represent Transgender models as their chosen gender identity. For example, if a Transgender model was assigned male at birth but chose to transition to a woman, these agencies will try and represent them as a male model despite their gender transition or gender identity. Dismissing the model’s gender s can be a problem and will cause Transgender models to feel excluded as their gender presentations are ignored. Carlsbad and Di, 2018, continue, “There are still things that I will never do because I am trans. There are still certain jobs I won’t get. But I feel like the boundaries are starting to diminish. People are starting to realize that trans women and trans men are like everybody else. The doors are opening up more” (Carlsbad, 2018 pg 2). While there have been improvements, the industry still lacks inclusivity and opportunities to represent various gender identities as celebrated by the transgender community. Education about the Transgender community has helped move the career of Transgender models forward as more models from the Transgender population are represented in the fashion world. The Transgender community would like the opportunity to modeling jobs that are offered to cisgender individuals. Cisgender people are women who are assigned women at birth and men assigned men at birth who showcase their gender identity in compliance with gender normative culture. Cisgender models are given more opportunities than Transgender individuals who stray from their assigned at birth gender.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bauch, Anita De. 2016. “How to Model Without an Agency.” New Haven Publishing Ltd.
Bendoni, Wendy. 2007. “Social Media for Fashion Marketing: Storytelling in a Digital World.” London: Bloomsbury Visual Arts.
Bornstein, Kate. 2013. My New Gender Workbook: a Step-by-step Guide to Achieving World Peace through Gender Anarchy and Sex Positivity. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge.
Campos, Maria Consuelo Cunha. 1999. “Roberta Close and M. Butterfly: Transgender, Testimony and Fiction.“ Estudos Feministas 7: 37-52, Accsessed April 21,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/60367113?accountid=14608.
Carroll, Henry. 2017. “Read This If You Want to Be Instagram Famous.” Read This. London: Laurence King Publishing, Ltd.
Carlsbad. 2018. “Fashion Industry Still Lacks Inclusivity, Transgender Model Says”. (2018, Mar 13). University Wire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2013197109?accountid=14608
Charlesworth, Alan. 2014. “Digital Marketing: a Practical Approach.” second ed. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Cope, Jon, and Dennis Maloney. 2016. “Fashion Promotion in Practice.” Required Reading Range. London: Fairchild Books, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing, PLC.
Council of Fashion Designers of America. 2015. “Designers on Instagram: #fashion.” New York: Abrams.
Entwistle, Joanne, and Ashley Mears. 2012. “Gender on Display: Performativity in Fashion Modelling.” Sage Journal. http://journals.sagepub.com.du.idm.oclc.org/doi/abs/10.1177/1749975512457139 (accessed May 4, 2018).
Harris, Clare. 2017. “The Fundamentals of Digital Fashion Marketing.” Fundamentals. London: Bloomsbury.
Holland, Gwyneth, and Rae Jones. 2017. “Fashion Trend Forecasting.” London: Laurence King Publishing.
Keegan, Cael M. 2016. “Revisitation: a Trans Phenomenology of the Media Image.” MedieKultur: Journal of Media and Communication Research 32, no. 61.
Krueger, Alyson. 2017. Transgender Models Find A Home. New York Times, March 3.
MacPherson, Marko, Shawn Dahl, and Nicole Phelps. 2017. Digit@l Girls : Fashion’s New Tribe : Risk Takers, Rule Breakers, and Disrupters.” New York: Rizzoli.
Peoples, Landon. 2018. For The Modeling Industry, The Future Is Transgender. Refinery 29, February 7. https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/modeling-industry-future-transgender-140000971.html.
PR Newswire. 2013. “Suddenly fem(TM) features new local rising M2F transgender model, mercedes demarko, in 2013 spring fashion launch catalog.” PR Newswire Accessed April 20, 2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1339471074?accountid=14608
Press, Debbie. 2004. “Your Modeling Career: You Don’t Have to Be a Superstar to Succeed.” 2nd ed. New York: Allworth Press.
Sayej, Nadja. 2017. These Trans Modeling Agencies Pave the Runway for Transgender Acceptance They’re creating a more inclusive fashion industry. Vice Impact, July 18. https://impact.vice.com/en_us/article/qvpnnq/these-trans-modeling-agencies-pave-the-runway-for-transgender-acceptance.
Siemen, Thora. 2017. How Did An Entire Group Of People Become A Fashion Trend?. Refinery 29, November 16. https://www.refinery29.com/2017/11/180669/transgender-fashion-models-rights(accessed May 5, 2018).
Sherman, Gerald J., and Sar Perlman. 2010. “Fashion Public Relations.” New York: Fairchild Books.
Sinha, Chinki. 2017, “How a Nepalese transgender model fought her way to Lakme India Fashion Week.“India Today, Accessed April 20,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1863316059?accountid=14608
Song, Aimee. 2016. “Capture Your Style: Transform Your Instagram Images, Showcase Your Life, and Build the Ultimate Platform.” New York: Harry N. Abrams.
Strashko, Stav. 2016 “Born Identity.” Teen Vogue, 06, 94-n/a. Accessed April 18,2018, https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/1795970682?accountid=14608.
Swami, Viren, and Emilia Szmigielska. 2012. “Body image concerns in professional fashion models: Are they really an at-risk group?” Elsevier. http://www.elsevier.com/locate/psychres.
Teich, Nicholas M. 2012. “Transgender 101: A Simple Guide to a Complex Issue.” New York: Columbia University Press.
Tuten, Tracy L., and Michael R. Solomon. 2015. “Social Media Marketing.” 2nd ed. Los Angeles: Sage.
Volmers, Eric. March 9, 2018. “Aiming High in The World of Fashion; ‘An Incredible Story’: Trans Model’s Journey from Instagram to Paris.” Edmonton Journal, Accessed April 20, 2018 https://search-proquest-com.du.idm.oclc.org/docview/2012383240?accountid=14608.
Wolstencroft, Dauphin. 2017. “Transgender: Anjali Lama: The World’s First Transgender Runway Supermodel.” New York: Independently published.
http://www.mediakix.com. 2018. “Top Instagram Models: Infographic of New IG Models.” Accessed May 19, 2018. http://mediakix.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Top-Instagram-Models-Infographic-New-IG-Model.jpg.
Social Media Marketing for Transgender Fashion Models: Part Two: The Importance Of The Problem
Part Two: Background and The Importance of the Problem: From My Masters Dissertation Project at Denver University (2018)
The Importance of The Problem
This blog series will be focused on the Transgender community, I would like to share some gender theory to help with some terms used. Sex, gender identity/expression, and sexual orientation are components that makeup everyone’s identity. Sex refers to physical characteristics (i.e., genitals and other secondary features). Gender identity /expression refers to an individual’s “mental” gender and how they choose to present themselves. Sexual orientation refers to a preference of sexual partners. Not strictly binary (female/male, feminine/masculine, heterosexual/homosexual), each of these characteristics can be seen as ranges that represent a wide variety of identities and expressions.
Transgender is an umbrella term that refers to those individuals whose gender identity and expression does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. The transgender umbrella includes a wide range of individuals and can encompass identities ranging from transsexuals (those who undergo medical procedures to help live as their desired gender) to crossdressers, drag performers, genderfluid/genderqueer individuals, and even those who identify as androgynous. Gender identity can be simple or complex, but for many it is a key part of their identity, as Van Burnham (who wrote a great piece on androgynous modeling) explains: “I don’t feel like a boy, and I don’t feel like a girl, but I love both of these things.” Many transgendered individuals openly and proudly embrace trans as a part of their identity, while others – most frequently those post-transition – may prefer to simply identity as male or female” (Teich 2012 pg 34).
“Transition” is the term most often used for the social and medical changes that an individual can make to match their presentation with their desired gender identity. A transition can involve counseling, hormonal therapy, gender reassignment and other surgeries depending on the individual’s needs. Not every trans-identified person transition and many opt for only some of the available medical options both out of cost (gender reassignment costs can reach into the tens of thousands of dollars) and out of personal preference. (Teich 2012 pg. 38)
Transgender models have found it difficult to find work within the modeling community in many of the same ways other models can. While the fashion world has begun to embrace more male-to-female (MtF) trans individuals in prominent roles. Also, female-to-male (FtM) trans people have become more visible recently with the high-profile coming out of Chaz Bono and through the work of magazines like Amos Mac’s Original Plumbing and well-known adult model Buck Angel, among others. With the small but growing ranks of fashion models like Andrej Pejic and Casey Legler who identify as Transgender models, there still lacks opportunities for models who work outside of the traditional gender lines.
There are as many reasons to work with trans models as there are variations of transgendered identities. Working with trans models is not dramatically different than working with any other type of model, but a little extra sensitivity, respect, and openness will go a long way to creating the excellent rapport between photographer and model.
One of the most significant challenges for trans and gender variant models is still exposure, according to Chelsea Von Chastity. Trans and gender variant models still face challenges in finding photographers and both professional and amateur opportunities. “The only challenge I have experienced is being asked to model for a photographer only for them to come back and say they didn’t look at my portfolio. They sometimes do not want to shoot because they realize I am a TS [transsexual],” (Wolstencroft 2017 pg67)
However, these attitudes are changing. Both in the United States and abroad, the prevalence of high profile trans models and entertainers, as well as the growth of alternative modeling, has made for a more receptive environment in the social media arena. With the social media platform, trans and gender variant models are often in a position of representing trans individuals, on the whole, making social media intimidating. The expectation to represent an entire community as a fashion model is unique to Transgender models. Chelsea Von Chastity elaborated in the book Transgender: Anjali Lama: The World’s First Transgender Runway Supermodel by Dauphin Wolstencroft, “One is placed in a situation to represent a group of stigmatized individuals who are often stealth in their presentation but can be rather beautiful as well,” Chelsea Von Chastity
Many of these models have a strong sense of pride in their identity and work, which might be the largest theme of the trans community in the 21st century. Shelby Chang sums it up nicely: “My goal is to empower the transgender community and allow our voices to be heard through acting, dialogue, and photography.” (Wolstencroft 2017 pg 98). Ultimately those voices are becoming heard, and trans and gender variant models are finding more opportunities in a variety of fields.
According to the book Transgender: Anjali Lama: The World’s First Transgender Runway Supermodel, in 2012, trans model and Vancouver, BC, native Jenna Talackova registered to compete as part of the Miss Universe Canada pageant but was initially barred from competition. News media quickly picked up on the story, and within days a petition collected tens of thousands of signatures to get Talackova in the pageant. Amid mounting pressure from lawyers and the general public, the pageant ownership reversed its decision and allowed Talackova to compete. She reached the top 12. (Wolstencroft 2017 pg 22).
Ultimately the work of all these models, high and low profile, helps to shift attitudes and make trans and gender variant modeling an established piece of the modeling world. “Generally, the biggest reward is seeing people’s reactions to the photographs. It means a lot to me when people write and say that one of my photographs opened their eyes to gender,” Van Burnham said in the published book “Transgender: Anjali Lama: The World’s First Transgender Runway Supermodel” 2017.
One of the leading public stages for gender norms and gender acceptance is within the platform of the fashion modeling industry. This inherent quality gives me an opportunity to question and examine the ideas of gender normative culture. Fashion modeling also shows how it relates to gender identities outside the normative spectrum of male and female representation in new media. As a result, the fashion industry is slow to represent Transgender models. The fashion world can become a visible platform to express the Transgender lifestyle and move this community towards social acceptance in the fashion industry. According to a case study conducted by Entwistle and Mears, 2012, on gender-normative culture, “This study examines gender performativity among men and women who work in the highly gendered occupation of fashion modeling. Gender, as ethnomethodologists and feminist theorists argue, is a matter of ‘doing,’ and not passive being.” (Entwistle and Mears 2012). In the fashion world, the matter of doing is based on the visual representation of Transgender individuals in the fashion modeling industry. Ethnomethodology, or the study of social order in which people live in, are focused on the social order or gender normative culture as it relates to gender presentation.
In an industry that follows inherit rules of gender representation, the fashion world provides a glimpse of the social acceptance of transgender models. This reveals an opportunity to use transgender fashion models as a platform for social awareness and social change. Entwistle and Mears 2012, research states, “Our case study extends this scholarly work to non-organizational practices inside the freelance world of fashion modeling. In modeling, there are no prescribed organizational rules or codes, yet there exist normative gender scripts which models must perform.” (Entwistle and Mears, 2012).
This negotiation of transgender inclusion has presented an inherent problem as the labor market of models struggles to be appealing to potential clients. Entwistle and Mears 2012 continue to state “Indeed, modelling is a prime site to examine the ongoing reproduction and negotiation of discursive and embodied gender regimes: modelling practices constitute one important arena for reproducing discourses about gender, in imagery often criticized by feminists, and these representations result from mundane everyday work on the part of models, their agents and other key figures (photographers, editors, etc.). (Entwistle and Mears, 2012)”.
Due to lack of transgender inclusion, transgender models struggle to find agencies to represent themselves. In pursuit of a professional modeling career to be used for personal financial gain and the much-needed social awareness for this community to challenge the gender scripts outside the professional fashion world. In Entwistle and Mears 2012 research article “Gender on Display: Performativity in Fashion Modeling, they state “Fashion modelling is the professionalization of multiple types of gender performance; it is a market in which performances of masculinities and femininities are used to sell commodities and, in addition, a labor market where models commodify themselves to clients – fashion designers, photographers, and casting directors and are promoted as such by modelling agents.” (Entwistle and Mears, 2012)
With this background in place, the social media arena is still an unexplored subject to examine and study to bring these theories into the digital world where the influence new media and social media platforms have on the industry. Social media can be an area where we can examine how gender is interrupted and used in the fashion industry in the social media realm. Entwistle and Mears continue to state, “Bringing these two ethnographies together provide insights into the comparatively different ways that male and female models ‘do’ gender within the same industry.” (Entwistle and Mears 2012)
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Social Media Marketing for Transgender Fashion Models: Part One: Abstract
Part One: Abstract: From My Masters Dissertation Project at Denver University (2018)
Social media platforms have now created a platform to give transgender models a chance for direct casting, booking, and brand ambassadors creating social change in the fashion market. I’d like to solve the problem of using new media marketing to create a presence in the fashion modeling world as a transgender woman. The most influential platforms to represent myself as a model to become my own agent. I want to take this opportunity to create a step by step guide on how to overcome this obstacle in the fashion market. This topic will help me explore my career as a Transgender and Alternative Fashion Model. To help me research this topic I will explore the modeling world from the lens of a Transgender Model.
-Camille Hansen
CAMILLE HANSEN 
