Guest post from Renee of Womanist Musings, who is all that and four bags of ketchup flavor potato chips.
There
is no doubt that actress Thandie Newton is not only incredibly
beautiful, but accomplished; however, like many other women of colour,
she finds herself unable to grace the cover of 'Vogue' magazine. In an
interview with
Pride Magazine, she had the following to say
according to Huffpo:
"Don't get me started on black people being on
the cover of big magazines. It's so preposterous. I mean, I've been on
the cover of Harper's Bazaar four times; I've been on the cover of
InStyle four times, but Vogue, not once."
"And people say to me, I mean literally, people have said to me, 'What
have you got against Vogue that you don't want to be on their cover?'
And I just laugh."
"They [Vogue] don't feel the need to represent because it doesn't make
any sense to them. It's just baffling to me, but as usual America will
dictate the ways things go and a magazine like Vogue will just follow
America," she said. "But it's like, don't you want to trail blaze?"
Vogue
does not feel any pressure to have equal representation for women of
colour because the media, just like every other social institution, aids
in the maintenance of White supremacy. We have seen time and time
again that women of colour are denied coverage that White women so
easily get, and when they do finally make the cover of a magazine, they
have to worry that the image will be so lightened that they will be
unrecognizable. Women of colour are also repeatedly denied the
opportunity for meaningful acting parts, but they sure are deemed
desirable when the part of a maid is available. Even Thandie once played
the role of a maid, in
Interview with the Vampire, starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
Race is a large determinant of who gets positive attention in the
media. When it comes to women, there can be no doubt that White women
still represent what it is to be 'woman'. They are held up as the most
talented, attractive, maternal, sexy etc., while Black women are still
relegated to the place of the world's unwoman. The fact that White
women continue to gain from the othering of women of colour, means that
though many supposedly fight for equality, they are not moved as a group
to recognize their racial privilege, or defend us.
Thandie is not the only woman of colour to talk about the erasure in
fashion magazines like Vogue. Despite the big splash that an all Black
version of Italian Vogue a few years ago, Black women are continually
relegated to the sidelines. A simple look at the catwalk, shows that
White women continue to be overrepresented in fashion shows.
Unfortunately too often, people cite the exception to the rule rather
than the rule. Putting women like Michelle Obama on the cover does not
negate the fact that women of colour are rarely featured, nor does it
stand as proof that the fashion industry, or Vogue magazine is not
racist. Erasure is a form of covert racism that is practiced on a daily
basis. The very same people who would never dream of using a racial
slur, have no problem excluding Black women, or actively denying us good
and fair representation.
The common response to this is that Blacks should start our own
magazines, if we want representation, but the truth of the matter is
that a magazine is not an easy undertaking to start. No matter how
talented a person is, the start up capitol is still necessary and since
we know that Blacks are economically disenfranchised, the very idea that
Blacks should just start our own separate magazines is ridiculous. We
don't exist on a level playing field, and this why proposals such as
this, as a way to deal with erasure and racism is quite simply
ridiculous.
I personally don't read Vogue, because I am not interested in fashion,
and I certainly would not support a magazine that cannot be arsed to
have someone who looks like me appear on even a semi-regular schedule;
however, I recognize what this lack of exposure is doing to young Black
women. There is a reason why even today despite all the gains of the
Black community, that Black children continue to prefer the White doll.
Everywhere they look, everything that is constructed as good, pure and
beautiful is White. From the television shows that they watch, to
billboard and magazine covers they are shown, to be White is to be
worthy of attention and adoration. No matter how hard a parent tries to
invest a child with racial pride, they are fighting the institution of
White supremacy, which is determined to enforce the exact opposite. We
need Black women on the covers of magazines like Vogue, if our children
are ever to see themselves as valuable. We need these covers to dispel
the idea that Black women are just born unattractive. There is
absolutely nothing neutral about erasure and until we address the fact
that it essentially amounts to a value judgment based in racist ideals,
we are going to continue to have a divided society in which some people
are privileged over others, simply based in the Whiteness of their
skin.
Well, you know what they say about good Black not cracking...
