Tag Archives: racism

Teen Beauty from B or Diversity and Politics

I was actually going to write about my disgust for French politicians and their racistic, demagogic and economically-driven anti-immigrant policies but it just sickens me too much. I want to remain optimistic today.

In order to brighten up the day, I then chose to post here another pretty Brazilian guy who’s got a lot to show (pardon the pun).

Jonathan Dalcin is not 18 yet but his manly teen looks have gotten him quite a lot of attention in the last São Paulo Fashion Week, which was when I first saw him.

Jonathan’s foreign last name is a reminder of how important it is to keep doors open to diversity and natural integration.

Openness towards foreigners strengthens a land and not the opposite. Xenophobic laws which seek to create a single and thus illusory notion of citizenship do not contribute to any country’s identity.

To be governed by narrow-mindedness is to deny different people the chance to help build an innovative and more beautiful future. Let us not remain static.

As for Jonathan Dalcin, thank goodness his family came.

Pictures by Vitor Shalom via MadeinBrazil.

How to divert attention

The French Government is carrying out an expulsion of Roma (Gypsy) of its territory. Legally, these people are European citizens, which makes the manoeuver illegal according to EU law.

Earlier this week, the EU Justice Commissioner, Viviane Reding, allegedly compared the actions fiercely defended by Nicolas Sarkozy to Germany’s policies of expulsion during World War II.

Right served him.

Not so many people are aware of the fact that other ethnic, religious and political minorities were also persecuted during the third Reich: gypsies, Africans, homosexuals, Jehovah Witnesses, communists and even people with mental illnesses suffered during the regime.

The French government is going through a major political crisis linking the president with illegal moves involving obscure campaign money donations and power influence. Not to mention the economic crisis, also rather clumsily handled.

Creating an outrageous scandal based on right-wing populist measures with racistic ideals is quite an effective way of distracting the people’s attention, is it not?

No matter how big our prejudices might be, we must not repeat the errors of the past, even if they seem like the easiest way out of a crisis.

We must be smarter than that.

Der Eintänzer (2009), by Rebecca Horn

Isolation has never solved anything.

The North’s Ugly Face







Just like I did, years ago.

Not all as pretty as it seems


Role model

When I was writing yesterday’s post about Brazilian models of Italian or German background, I also had in mind to write a different chapter of my male beauty book showing black guys too.

What a hard task.

First of all, I couldn’t remember the name of any off the top of my head. That was a little surprising. Then, I started searching for it in various places and it is just unbelievably hard to find any representative name.

Finally, I ended up coming across a discussion on how Eurocentric the fashion industry is, and that not even initiatives like Vogue’s Black Issue suffice for changing people’s minds. I had to convince myself that the discussion was more fruitful than just posting an image.

Although there are parts of Brazil where it is very rare to see black people (namely the South of the country), this is not what I and most people who grow up in the enormously populated and multiracial states of Rio, São Paulo or Minas Gerais are used to.

As always, I turn to music in the hopes of helping building a better world:

Grace Jones is unparalleled both as a fashion icon and as an artist.

Draw your own conclusions.