SEATTLE, WASHINGTON– A group of black mannequins are calling out the retail industry for their lack of dummies of color, saying white mannequins still predominately constitute the majority of the retail as well as fashion industry.
After years of being underrepresented, the dummies had decided that enough was enough and began petitioning retailers to start hiring more black mannequins to close the racial gap that has been plaguing the mannequin industry for decades.
CeeCee is a black human-sized doll who slammed the retail world for its failure to not only increase the number of mannequins of underrepresented groups, but also for the fact that black store mannequins make less money on average compared to their white dummy counterparts.
“There’s no question we need to employ more black mannequins in the US,” CeeCee wrote in a post on her Twitter account. “We need actionable plans to combat diversity problems inside stores.”
She went on to say that throughout history black mannequins have often been silenced for trying to speak out against the inequality, pointing to the fact that many companies will only hire black mannequins with smooth faces and no mouths.
Fashion retail market Poupée Blanche pinned a solidarity tweet to their Twitter account pledging to amplify black mannequin voices by hiring more dolls of color and only purchasing ones who have mouths to speak and be heard.
“Increasing our pool of black mannequin talent is a good start, but it’s not enough” CeeCee explained after numerous companies came out and pledged to fire most of their white mannequins and then hire only black ones. “Perhaps we should be paid some type of restitution payment or reparation for all the years we’ve been discriminated against and for lost work due to white mannequin privilege.”
