Apparently, the Young Women site for the Church was recently designed. I didn’t go there often, but the first thing I noticed when I went there today was that picture of young women that appears on each page has only white girls.
For an organisation as international as the church (or so I’m told), one would think the photo would be ethnically more diverse. That being said, there are only three girls. You can only be so diverse.
Well, give them time, I am sure they will come up with more cultural diversity.
“Well, give them time, I am sure they will come up with more cultural diversity.”
I’m pretty sure that’s what the rest of the world has been saying about the LDS since the church began…
:P
There is actually a lot of cultural diversity in the Church. But you would have to travel the world over to see it.
Let’s just remember—as I’m sure Kim does—that one picture on one web page is not the measure of the Church’s diversity, nor of its concern about diversity.
I like how the three girls looks casual and friendly to each other, and the girl in the middle is wearing a very modern and unoppressed sort of zebra-striped shirt.
I’m looking forward to the Sisterz in Zion dvd coming out. That will be an interesting peek on how diversity is working for young women.
It will also be interesting to see how separate cultures clash.
I am amazed how dark skin people accept a religion of white skin people as their own. It must be hard to do so.
My adult son mentiioned today how he was wearing a t-shirt from when the prophet was in Texas (last year) when a black lady asked him if Mormons still thought she was from a cursed race.
I saw 4 white females on the YW web site. Maybe the Church should consider having a web site for Girls in the Hood.
As for the issue of colour here…all women are women, regardless. If the church put up a picture of three girls, why should their skin colour matter at all? There are a great deal of people out there ready to pinpoint any possible racism and call it such, when really, by simply acknowledging these supposed racist acts, they’re just supporting the difference they believe is there. Because of outcries against a commercial, for instance, a person who is seen as culturally diverse may be added as protection against problems, when really they should have been there anyways. S
Kim wasn’t crying racism. :) He likes to spark discussion is all.
No one was calling racism. All that was mentioned is that such a photo is not reflective of the general Church population.
Why would it be racist to have a picture of 3 white girls? Even 15 or 20 white girls? Why does skin colour even matter?
Should all Church pictures have a % of members according to their skin colour? Do pictures need to be politically correct?
Maybe they couldn’t come up with $500 to buy a shot from Getty or Corbis.
Those are probably the web designers sisters.
Penny pinching could be considered reflective of the general curch population.
According to Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Jesus didn’t pray that His followers would be “diverse,” but that they would be “one.” Likewise modern revelation doesn’t say, “Be diverse; and if ye are not diverse, ye are not mine.”  It says, “Be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine.” (“Church Leaders Speak Out on Gospel Values,” Ensign, May 1999, p. 119.)
Of course, lest someone out there try to misconstrue Elder Oaks, he’s obviously not saying we should all seek to be one color.
Won’t all people of the LDS faith eventually end up one colour anyway?
I seem to recall a comment about lamanites, er, American Indians becoming whiter as they studied the scriptures and became more faithful…
You can go on seeming to recall just as long as it amuses you.
I believe Rick is referring to comments such as this one.
Yup that one as well as comments like:
“In General Conference, 1960 (and the ensuing published official Conference Reports), Spencer W. Kimball said: “I saw a striking contrast in the progress of the Indian people today…. The day of the Lamanites is nigh. For years they have been growing delightsome, and they are now becoming white and delightsome, as they were promised. In this picture of the twenty Lamanite missionaries, fifteen of the twenty were as light as Anglos, five were darker but equally delightsome The children in the home placement program in Utah are often lighter than their brothers and sisters in the hogans on the reservation. At one meeting a father and mother and their sixteen-year-old daughter were present, the little member girl–sixteen–sitting between the dark father and mother, and it was evident she was several shades lighter than her parents–on the same reservation, in the same hogan, subject to the same sun and wind and weather….These young members of the Church are changing to whiteness and to delightsomeness.”