Yesterday I received an email from the Sikh Coalition, letting me know that there is an opportunity for a Sikh model (male) in or around New York City:

If you are interested in modeling for Kenneth Cole, here is what they are looking for: A Sikh male, about 25 to 35 years old, who is “attractive.” If this works for you, please e-mail your picture to xyz@xyz.com at the very latest by 10:00 a.m. on Thursday morning [Update: The deadline is passed now]. As an incentive, the person they choose will get a “couple thousand” dollars. The shoot will be half a day, here in the city and will be on either the 18th, 19th, 25th, or 26th of this month.

The email got some funny reactions from friends, including one woman who asked if it was a hoax organized by a very desperate and resourceful New York City sardarni .

Obviously I like the basic impulse - standards of beauty are drawn in such a way as to usually exclude Sikh males: clean shaven, waxed chests, short hair, etc.

I know of only a few cases where Sikh men have tried to make a career of modelling in the west - one was Vikram Chatwal who had a spread in Vogue, another was a caucasian Sikh who modelled with his hair open. Both were from wealthy families, and in neither case did their modelling career last long. This isn’t surprising - if African female fashion models are still struggling, Sikh men will have a far harder time.

Still, for all my enthusiasm, there was a part of this effort which brought me up short:

A casting director, working for Kenneth Cole, is looking for a Sikh male to be part of an advertising campaign that dispels stereotypes about marginalized people in our society.

My response to this was pretty clear: “Dang - why we always gotta be exotic? Can’t we just be you know … gorgeous men without qualification? Why we gotta be marginalized?” It’s better than nothing, but we’re a far way from having our “look” accepted. [More photos after the fold]

That said, I have seen some good uses of Sikhs for their “look.” I get a kick out of seeing Waris, in part because I knew him back in the day, but also because I know he is there more as a fashionista than as a clothes rack. I also liked the spread - was it in GQ? - where they took some uncles out of their taxis and put them in some fine clothes. Lastly, I love these shots from Andrew Kelly’s website (I suggest you click through, he’s got a whole bunch of them).

I’m having a hard time putting into words why I liked these examples but am wary of the Cole effort and wasn’t crazy about Vikram or the other model. I think it largely has to do with the extent of exotification, and my suspicion that exotification might be unavoidable for people trying professional modelling, but can be reduced if you use the sardar on the street AND if you aren’t trying to Benetton him.

There are plenty of Sikh men out there, dressed up like peacocks, swaggering around if you just want some pretty sardars in nice clothes in a photo . But for some reason, more “fashion” type shots and spreads always rub me the wrong way.

Update: ALL PHOTOS IN THIS POST ARE EXAMPLES OF WORK I LIKE. The photos below are from Andrew Kelly, the photo above is of Waris, but I don’t know where it is from.

[Before you ask, I haven’t thrown my metaphorical hat in the ring for this. I am vain enough , but work is too busy to let me easily get to NYC for a shoot. ]