As a pinup of Mauritian-Australian descent, it was also important for me to discover and embody myself in pinup culture through ways that highlighted and embraced my own cultural heritage. This is what makes me different and I celebrate that. This has allowed me to be a role model for other pinups who are struggling to find representation in the community and encourage them to take the leap and share this passion that we have. When I became runner up at the Miss cars for Kids pageant in 2019, this was a huge step for local pinups in the multicultural pinup community. I remember waiting for our crowning ceremony and thinking deep down that I probably wouldn’t even place due to looking so different from the other contenders. Following the pageant, I received commendations from various other aspiring pinups saying that they were surprised that they hadn’t seen many multicultural pinups in Australia placed at pageants before and that I had inspired them to join the pinup world, to be brave and give all facets of pinup a try
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- Velvet Valentine
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FaceBook link: The Real Velvet Valentine
Instagram link: @therealvelvetvalentine
“I feel lucky to be a part of and witness such a huge revolution of diversity within pinup culture! Social media has provided us with a large platform to connect and share our creativity. There have always been pinups of color — now, we have a way to celebrate our own beauty without any gatekeeping. It’s very empowering.”
-Bebe Bardot
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Instagram link: @bebe.bardeaux,
FaceBook link: Doe Bardot,
twitter link: @bebe_bardot
“I have been in this industry for about 10+ years. I have been called everything from the n-word to monkey pinup. On my birthday at SoCal hoedown a racist car owner swung a black baby doll on a rope at me. On my birthday I got called the n-word several times.”
-Sativafieldz
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Instagram link @sativafieldzart
TikTok: sativafieldz
Instagram link: @phoenix_the_freckled_pinup,
“When I decided to stop worrying about what others thought and to be my full authentic self I was worried still as there weren’t very many in the Pinup community that looked like me that I knew of. I remember typing Black / Latina (because I’m Puerto Rican & Black) Pinup in the google search bar and Angelic Noir popped up and although my search yielded very little I saw it as an opportunity to not only do more research to find more beautiful Pinups who looked like me but to also become more of the community so that when another girl does her research I show up in the search bar as well . Pinup to me is more than clothes it’s a lifestyle and community of diverse like minded people In love with a time that has long since passed And that has been made new again.”
-Phonenix Searight
"I think that here in France the pin-up community is pretty reduced and very different than the American one. I don't know if it can be called "pin-up culture"... It would be better to talk about a retro vintage community actually because French people love to wear post war outfits more than 50s pin-up style clothes. It's beautiful and very elegant but I do not recognize my own style in it as a pin-up neither as a black woman. When the national Miss Pin-up France committee crowned me for the regional title of Miss Pin-up IDF (Paris) in 2017, I was the very first pinup of color officially elected by them. I can remember that I've received lots of criticism about the fact that a black woman can not be a pin-up. Fortunately, the biggest part of the community really wants to include more women of color but there is always a group of people considering that a pin-up is a white, blond girl. Sad but true...
And I know a few black women who message me very often to tell me how much they're afraid about showing who they really are and assume the pin-up they are. Sad but true that in 2020, black woman are not seen as beautiful women. Sad but true that some media, photographers, vintage inspired clothing brands are not conscious that they can change the game and worst they decide to make us feel invisible and not considered. I think that the more we will show us the more they will see how determined and beautiful we are.”
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-Audrey Sweetblack
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Instagram link: @misssweetblack,
FaceBook link Miss Audrey Sweetblack,
This year I decided to network more with pinups since I wanted to do more competitions. Thus, I started to add pinups and other artists to my facebook page and Instagram. I’ve been able to meet a lot of people in the pinup/rockabilly scene.It has been frustrating to have people add me with confederate flags in their background pictures. Most black people in the USA find the confederate flag racist and it creates a hostile environment for black pinups in the twenty-first century. Therefore, I try not to attend events that display the confederate flag or are known for not having any diversity in their competitions.
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- Ella Mint
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Instagram link: @Miss_ella_mint,
Facebook: Miss Ella Mint
tik tok: missellamint
My journey hasn’t been an easy one . I’m a plus size pinup as well as a pinup of color.
We come from all different walks of life . We are all different shapes , sizes , colors and sexual preferences. This is what makes our community beautiful . It’s time for those of us who feel like we might be too big to be a model to stop hiding and show our beautiful selves . It’s time for our trans sisters to step out and be noticed as well as our beautiful pinups of color . I’m Colombian with a beautiful mix of Irish and others . I’m proud of who I am and you should be as well . Don’t let your size , color or sexual preference stop you from being a pinup model .
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- Cheesecake Kate -