Adrants: French Vogue Paints White Model Black ... and Itself into a Corner
robinward
· 2 months ago
I'm a black woman in America and i think people have put too much emphasis on what is P.C. and what is not. It's sad that in this day and age we are more concerned about color of each others skin then the quality of one another lives. I'm appalled by this being an issue when art was clearly performed and with taste. Those of you who are offended are hanging on to what no longer has a place nor a hand in what we call civilized society and we all can grow from these recessive comments and thoughts.
Angela Natividad
· 2 months ago
I applaud your sentiment.
Ben Kunz
· 2 months ago
Well said, Robin. If we can learn to see past color, than why can't any of us change our color?
My eyes are blue. Does that matter, too?
Michael Guggino
· 2 months ago
they probably just did it to get attention. faux controversy. hunh hunh, oui oui.
Waca1
· 2 months ago
As a communication major, I understand the influence major magazines, television shows, and movies can have on their audience and was happy to stumble upon this post about French Vogue’s mistake. By analyzing Stone’s poses and expressions in most of the photos, I personally did not feel like the photos were demeaning in any way. In fact, I would claim that Stone’s appearance is almost empowering- for example, Stone is pictured as the main focus, staring directly at the camera (thereby addressing our objectifying stare), wearing regal headpieces and excessive clothing (rather than stereotypical pieces), and sitting upright (vs. lying down). If it weren’t for the fact that Stone is a white model, I’d say these images would be a rare find considering how most black models have been portrayed. However, the main issue goes back to the fact that Roitfeld chose to paint Stone in dark brown color rather than showing her natural beauty. Therefore, I agree with you that French Vogue did paint itself into a corner, as your title suggests.
If the respectable magazine had explained their artistic view and/or intentions of addressing the complexity of racism, there probably would not have had faced such heated backlash from the media. I find it interesting that French Vogue insisted on being unaware that their main spread would cause any controversy. Even if their intentions were purely for artistic reasons, a magazine of such history should understand the cultural indications of such a decision. Jezebel was right, even if France didn’t have the same history of minstrel shows and the civil rights movement as the US, they should have been expecting the negative uproar that ensued. Don’t forget France’s own history with Algeria. I feel that no matter what their intentions were, they should have understood the consequences. Especially because French Vogue is a major fashion magazine, with a large viewership and loyal readers, they should have considered what type of audience they were addressing. They should have known that their prestige in the media may wrongly influence their audience into believing that blackface or any racial portrayal is still politically correct.
jack
· 2 months ago
Wow, they really though a white model wear black face was a good idea? Wow.
Why didn't they just have a black model or something?
jack
· 2 months ago
going to ignore the pictures right now and focus on the abstract. Mainly because those pictures are so disturbing I don't think anyone can realistically defend them.
A major issue in the West as regards to racial homogenization is the concept of "othering", or basically, making White people normal and everyone else "different" by default. I suspect part of the issue with this shoot is the same problem with much of the fashion industry today- they use a highly pigeonholed version of "perfect" beauty and paint themselves into a corner because very few people even exist that are anywhere near that level. Even mega-hot actresses like Drew Barrymore regularly get their image shopped to make them look better because it's such an absurd standard.
The fact of the matter is, Black women are not White women with a different skin tone. They have a completely different genetic heritage, history, and sexual metaphor, and this is whitewashed when you pull stuff like this. You're implying that there is a single, universal standard of accepted "beauty" and that even Black women can attain it. Even though as a simple matter of phenotypes, very few Black women, and very few women in general, can actually do this. For a white woman to be painted Black and then put up in that ridiculous get-up is implying a value norm about African and diaspora culture that simply doesn't exist.
All Comments
My eyes are blue. Does that matter, too?
If the respectable magazine had explained their artistic view and/or intentions of addressing the complexity of racism, there probably would not have had faced such heated backlash from the media. I find it interesting that French Vogue insisted on being unaware that their main spread would cause any controversy. Even if their intentions were purely for artistic reasons, a magazine of such history should understand the cultural indications of such a decision. Jezebel was right, even if France didn’t have the same history of minstrel shows and the civil rights movement as the US, they should have been expecting the negative uproar that ensued. Don’t forget France’s own history with Algeria. I feel that no matter what their intentions were, they should have understood the consequences. Especially because French Vogue is a major fashion magazine, with a large viewership and loyal readers, they should have considered what type of audience they were addressing. They should have known that their prestige in the media may wrongly influence their audience into believing that blackface or any racial portrayal is still politically correct.
Why didn't they just have a black model or something?
A major issue in the West as regards to racial homogenization is the concept of "othering", or basically, making White people normal and everyone else "different" by default. I suspect part of the issue with this shoot is the same problem with much of the fashion industry today- they use a highly pigeonholed version of "perfect" beauty and paint themselves into a corner because very few people even exist that are anywhere near that level. Even mega-hot actresses like Drew Barrymore regularly get their image shopped to make them look better because it's such an absurd standard.
The fact of the matter is, Black women are not White women with a different skin tone. They have a completely different genetic heritage, history, and sexual metaphor, and this is whitewashed when you pull stuff like this. You're implying that there is a single, universal standard of accepted "beauty" and that even Black women can attain it. Even though as a simple matter of phenotypes, very few Black women, and very few women in general, can actually do this. For a white woman to be painted Black and then put up in that ridiculous get-up is implying a value norm about African and diaspora culture that simply doesn't exist.