✖️ THE LACK OF DIVERSITY IN THE BLOGGING INDUSTRY (AND GENERAL)

GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS

Lately, diversity has been a major hot topic within the blogging community. In our attempts to define and describe a person, particular characteristics will immediately come to mind, such as gender or age. Diversity can be a complex subject to examine without first understanding which subtopic is being discussed, therefore, we need to be as specific as possible.

At a first glance, society would place me as a white, middle-class female, but my ethnicity goes further than that. Although I feel as though I recognize my white privilege, it wasn’t so easy growing up French and going through the French Immersion program at school. I wasn’t so lucky to have a completely loving family, and to have full meals on my table and in cupboards; because of this, it has resulted in some trauma and caused me to become mentally unstable at times.

Telling my story and raising mental health awareness sometimes doesn’t get the recognition I believe it deserves. It is often overlooked and not as interesting. I don’t live in a Pinterest looking home, my Instagram isn’t filled with gorgeous marble and rose gold, and I don’t write my posts on a MacBook. I try to post raw material of my life, and what I go through day-to-day, while trying to share a positive message.

REPRESENTATION MATTERS

This is just the tip of the iceberg. In general, when talking about diversity, representation plays a large roll. To be specific: we will talk about race. Women (and people) of colour (WOC, POC) are disregarded in a vast majority of the blogging community. There may be a small amount of black people making a living, reaching a large amount of views, and working with huge campaigns, but that number is very low compared to how many white people are doing that. Keeping in mind that black people are a minority, even in the blogosphere. There are multiple POC creating and publishing astonishing content, but the sad fact is that you need to deeply search for diverse people, or those who don’t fit into society's standards or ‘norms.’

“THE MOST DISRESPECTED PERSON IN AMERICA IS THE BLACK WOMAN. THE MOST UNPROTECTED PERSON IN AMERICA IS THE BLACK WOMAN. THE MOST NEGLECTED PERSON IN AMERICA IS THE BLACK WOMAN.”

• MALCOLM X

Unfortunately, we are still living in a time where brands will not use your picture unless you fit with their aesthetics, which is typically a thin white girl, with a slight tan, and expensive clothing. There is no issue with girls who look like that, the only issue is when brands display this as the only way to be beautiful or to have worth. No matter what your age, scale number, height, race, religion, or ethnicity; we all have worth, and are all gorgeous and remarkable.

HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD?

1. CALL OUT BRANDS WHO AREN’T SUPPORTING DIVERSITY: Do not be afraid to stand up and argue large or small brands. Don’t be scared of the outcome or starting ‘drama.’ The more noise we make, the bigger the chance of change happening.
2. SUPPORT FELLOW BLOGGERS WHEN THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT EXPERIENCES AS A POC: Nobody deserves to go through things alone, or looked down upon if you cannot relate to them. We all deserve respect, and should be helping each other as a community.
3. SEEK OUT DIVERSE CONTENT: Instead of sharing posts from the same group of bloggers, seek out new bloggers and show them some love as well.
4. CHECK YOUR PRIVILEGE AND ACKNOWLEDGE IT.
5. BE THE CHANGE YOU WOULD WANT TO SEE: The blogging community should be lifting each other up and helping others grow, not creating drama and being nasty for no good reason. If you cannot say something kind and respectful, don’t say anything at all. We don’t need to hear it.

BOYS, BOYS, BOYS

Another topic that isn’t discussed as frequently as it should be, is men and their mental health. Just like women, men come in all shapes and sizes, colours, flavours, and backgrounds. Men also, like women, have unreal standards to live up to in society. It is a known fact that men are more reserved when it comes to discussing their feelings and displaying emotions.Why? Because society’s ideal of ‘manly’ are those with a sixpack, beards, drinks whiskey, tanned, and are into sports. Often, men aren’t able to talk about their emotions freely without being mocked or being seen as overly emotional.

In the last few months we have lost Chris Cornell and Chester Bennington, but in honesty,  I have lost friends due to mental health, and have came fairly close to losing some as well. The topic of men's mental health is often skimmed over and not as discussed in depth, which is problematic, and needs to change.

HOW CAN WE HELP?

Below are a few mens mental health charities that offer counseling services and helplines.

1. Mind - Show that people with mental health problems are cared about, understood and listened to.
2. The Calm Zone - The Campaign Against Living Miserably is dedicated to preventing male suicide, the single biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK.
3. The Mix -  A UK based charity that provides free, confidential support for young people under 25.
4. Kids Help Phone - No matter what you’re up against, there are places in your area that can lend a hand.
5. PRO TIP: We can also help by listening but not belittling, sharing their stories, raising awareness, and acknowledging this issue.

It’s perfectly okay to not be okay. Nobody deserves to suffer alone, and if we all came together and helped one another, we would all seem a little less lonely.

I hope this post has left its mark.

Do you have any tips that could help us move forward?

Do you have any personal experiences with diversity?