Sao Paulo Fashion Week Great for White Girls

And rat hats, apparently. Allegations of racism are doggin' Fashion Week in Sao Paolo, where black models say they have trouble getting onstage. Along with the largest population of people of African descent outside of Africa itself, Brazil has a long history of prejudice and slavery. Though the South American nation is famous for exporting beautiful models around the world, black women in the country say they can't get jobs on the catwalk.

The BBC found a "young black model" standing outside the fashion week proceedings who said "just 2% of models" in Brazil are black. You do have to wonder who they were interviewing, though. Is Brazil like America where every girl with a Myspace thinks she's a "model"? Helder Dias, who owns a Brazilian modeling agency, told the BBC that "It is like abolition never existed. It is a facade and the history continues." Sounds like we need to send Tyra Banks down there to start a self-esteem camp so she could propel these young black girls to top model stardom with her Oprah-esque wisdom, plus a dash of nepotism. [BBC]

[Photo: Getty]