The cover of Vogue's upcoming April issue is a little... interesting. It features LeBron James, basketball superstar and Giselle Bundchen, model extraordinaire. While James isn't the first man to appear on the cover, (Bono, Elton John, among others, have graced the cover) he's the first black man to appear as such.
Some pundits are crying out racism. A black TV show host even pointed out how James was used as a reference to "King Kong." In the picture, James is baring his teeth and holding Bundchen by the waist, calling to mind King Kong and Fay Wray. I understand how some people can see the resemblance there and I'm a little inclined to agree about the racial stereotyping. I do agree there's some sort of exotification happening there. People of a different ethnic background are always "exotificated," which is tantamount to some form of racism. Still, and I might just be going out on a limb here, in this case, the kind of racism being portrayed might just be a litmus test to see how far we've come in terms of racial acceptance. Are we already that comfortable with our differences that we can poke fun at ourselves? Maybe it's a throwback to America's hypersensitivty to race. I don't know. I suppose if I were a black man I might be offended at any suggestion of any of my "brothers" being portrayed as aggressive or dangerous. Anne Leibovitz, celebrated photographer, photographed the cover.
The thing is, anything that celebrates achievements by African-Americans will always generate such reactions, such as the brouhaha over the Oscar wins of Halle Berry and Denzel Washington. Also, this IS a fashion magazine. Perhaps THE fashion magazine of all fashion magazines. Would people have the same reaction if this were the cover of say, Vanity Fair? I'm guessing the answer is no. Or maybe the type of magazine won't have made a difference. I don't know. I agree it's meant to provoke. You don't put that photo on the cover and not expect to get any reaction. Still, exactly what kind of reaction the editors were hoping to raise is a little unclear.
What do you think? Is it racist or not?
Some pundits are crying out racism. A black TV show host even pointed out how James was used as a reference to "King Kong." In the picture, James is baring his teeth and holding Bundchen by the waist, calling to mind King Kong and Fay Wray. I understand how some people can see the resemblance there and I'm a little inclined to agree about the racial stereotyping. I do agree there's some sort of exotification happening there. People of a different ethnic background are always "exotificated," which is tantamount to some form of racism. Still, and I might just be going out on a limb here, in this case, the kind of racism being portrayed might just be a litmus test to see how far we've come in terms of racial acceptance. Are we already that comfortable with our differences that we can poke fun at ourselves? Maybe it's a throwback to America's hypersensitivty to race. I don't know. I suppose if I were a black man I might be offended at any suggestion of any of my "brothers" being portrayed as aggressive or dangerous. Anne Leibovitz, celebrated photographer, photographed the cover.
The thing is, anything that celebrates achievements by African-Americans will always generate such reactions, such as the brouhaha over the Oscar wins of Halle Berry and Denzel Washington. Also, this IS a fashion magazine. Perhaps THE fashion magazine of all fashion magazines. Would people have the same reaction if this were the cover of say, Vanity Fair? I'm guessing the answer is no. Or maybe the type of magazine won't have made a difference. I don't know. I agree it's meant to provoke. You don't put that photo on the cover and not expect to get any reaction. Still, exactly what kind of reaction the editors were hoping to raise is a little unclear.
What do you think? Is it racist or not?
2 Responses to "Vogue cover controversy"
i don't think it's racist. OA lang na reaction yan. afro-americans are just too darn touchy about matters like this. i won't take it as blatant racism unless it's explicitly expressed that lebron's king kong and bundchen's the fair lady. i actually think that lebron's game face is on, and giselle is... the trophy girl on his arm.
Haha King Kong never crossed my mind when I first saw it. Na notice ko lang nung pinoint out nila haha. Although King James pala ang tawag kay James le Bron kaya siguro ginawang King Kong like.
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