Like many knitters I've been mulling over recent events in the knitting community. I'm going to refrain from commenting on the initial post that started it all and focus on the resulting discussions.
It would be an extreme case of tunnel vision to think that racism and exclusion doesn't exist in the knitting community. Brandishing a pair of knitting needles doesn't automatically make a person free from prejudice. Nor does it make the social feeds you follow, the magazines you read or the products you buy diverse. The unwillingness of people in the knitting community to accept this fact is what has made me so uncomfortable. If people are telling us that they've been on the receiving end of blatant and passive racism, have been excluded or treated differently because of the colour of their skin or that they feel unrepresented in the pages of magazines full of white designers and models, then maybe it's time to consider that our fuzzy community has it's fair share of barbs.
It really doesn't take much to be inclusive and supportive of people of colour in our community. They've voiced their concerns over the various discussions across all platforms over the last few days, maybe it's time for a bit of community spirit and see what we as a whole can do.
Personally I'd like to see more publications follow suit of @pompommag with regards to diversity in their models with regards to ethnicity, age and body shape and my gut tells me that after recent events a lot more will listen and make a change. Unless there's some sort of shortage of POC models that I'm unaware of I really don't see why not.
I'm going to make an effort to diversify my social feeds as well. As instagram is my main place for perving over wool I'll be starting here so if you account suggestions for me to follow then please let me know!
It really doesn't take much on our part to listen to and decide to support everyone in our community.
#diverseknitting #knittersofinstagram #irishknitter #knittersoftheworld #itsnicetobenice
