Donna Druchunas's Blog

I don't know about African-American knitters/crocheters but there are lots of folks of Asian decent who are quite well known. I can think of Lily Chin, Wenlan Chia (Twinkle), Doris Chan, Linda Cyr, Cookie A., Eunny Jang, Laura Chau right off the top. I don't think the crafting world is deliberately prejudiced or racist - at least I'd like to think not. Perhaps it's an economic issue? Less money available for leisure pursuits? I'm white but I live on Canada's west coast where we are a very mixed-race society so my perspective may be skewed some. For the better, I hope!

Posted by Louisa at Thursday, January 24, 2008 14:13:07

Hi Luisa, I know of many Asian designers as well. Just makes you wonder what's up with that, that's all. :-)

Posted by donna at Thursday, January 24, 2008 14:17:59

Hey, maybe people of color are doing something fun that we pale versions of people don't know about and are missing out on.

Posted by Leeza at Friday, January 25, 2008 14:22:48

I know that the "book of non-white designers" idea is well-intentioned; however, I'd much rather have my work judged without my skin color as part of the consideration. Lack of visibility may be a big part of the issue - there are "non-white" designers out there, but how often do we actually see designers? How many designers announce their ethnicity? Personally, I'm happier having my work out in front, not my face. I would not welcome having design work become one more part of my life where people are going to look at my genetic background.

Posted by mk at Friday, January 25, 2008 21:43:00

You're right, MK, for the most part when I see knitting books or magazines, I have no idea what the designers look like. And in reality, the color of our skin is only about what we look like. I only noticed this recently because I'd been reading KnitKnit and the designers are all photographed, as they were in Knitting in America.

Posted by donna at Friday, January 25, 2008 23:38:42

For me, the reality is that while biologically there is no race, it exists as a social construct and I do not have the social privilege of being able to ignore it in most situations. There's also the matters of the sample used (KnitKnit and Knitting in America), and how one defines a designer and so on. I see KnitKnit as being slanted towards conceptual artists and the "new" craft, which shrinks down the contributor pool considerably. Melanie Falick reportedly interviewed dozens of people all over the US; it could be interesting to ask her how she found people to interview/people willing to be interviewed and how she made her selections.

Asking if the craft world is prejudiced is pretty general. It's similar to asking if stitchers are prejudiced against acrylic, and what is up with the grandma-hating?

Ravelry might change perceptions a bit. Knitblogging opened up "who knits?" considerably, and with the Ravelry database of designers we may be seeing more diversity, depending on how many designers choose to be in Ravelry. It would be interesting to see if the self-selected presence in Ravelry differs dramatically from the edited and selected choices made by magazine/book editors and publishers.

Posted by mk at Sunday, January 27, 2008 15:47:04

I counted 3 knitters (of the 27 featured) in KnitKnit who are Asian- Wenlan Chia, Beryl Tsang, and Eugene Ong.
Also, the models photographed in that book wearing the knitters' designs are all either friends or relatives of the knitters featured, and there are several African-Americans modeling...

Posted by Sara at Tuesday, January 29, 2008 10:51:27

Wow! I came here while searching for something else! Thanks Donna, for the mention, and the references!

I need to clarify a few things. MK, stitchers ARE prejudiced. The art does not elevate us above it. This is why men have produced their own books; it’s about perception.

African-Americans, while part of American society, are indeed an ethnic group, with African influences. It is the negative association with such, that make ourselves and others want to be "color blind." Why? We should see and embrace differences, not blot them out. The few Asian designers in America are not representative of their numbers either, as there are more Asians on this planet, than any other group; and they have scores of knitting mags and books. Why not us?

I, and other black women are tired of the exclamation "I didn't know black women knit?" There are about 16 million of us in America; how could NOT ONE of us knit? The perception is that we quilt, which ironically, does not have an African origin either. How can I be perceived to do one and not the other? Whether you want to see it or not, perception influences our actions toward one another. Hence, if you are not perceived as performing a certain craft, invisibility is assured, unless you change it.

The media has a lot to do with the formation of these ideas. YOU may not see the designers in knit mags and books, but the editors do. And editors do have say so; I work for a very powerful fashion mag, and have to fight all the time to change their narrow perceptions of the designers they see; sometimes their work is met with disbelief. This is why it is necessary (still) to have media that reflects who you are. Welan Chia’s first book didn’t go above a size 38. What is her perception of large women? Should we be “size blind?”

Prejudice isn’t going away ANYTIME SOON, despite wishful thinking. So should we just give up and try desperately to change our gender, lose weight, lighten our skin, or embrace facial features closer to our European counterparts, just to get included in a magazine or book, where it’s been decided that we’re not “their market?”

A knitting book featuring African and Afro-diaspora designers in the U.S. (like any other book featuring ethnic designers, i.e. Norwegian, or Peruvian) would simply open up more possibilities (giving us more to knit), and encourage more people of color to see the opportunity in elevating and promoting the craft and exploring their ethnic design elements without negative judgment. This would benefit EVERYONE, by changing the perception of us as mere descendants of slaves, who’ve contributed very little to the cross-cultural reference book of global creativity, except in antiquity. Donna, I also have no problem if a white person compiles the book if he or she has a knowledge of, or curiosity about black design, and is willing to search out black designers. And it wouldn’t be hard, because we do knit, you know. ;-)

Posted by sahara at Wednesday, February 20, 2008 13:11:08

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