Bonnie Erbe

French Vogue's Blackface Shoot Isn't Hip or Edgy--It's Tasteless

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October 14, 2009 RSS Feed Print
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By Bonnie Erbe, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

This is not funny, nor is it edgy or hip or "outrageous" in the positive sense as its producers most likely intended it to be. French Vogue has a 14-page fashion shoot in its October issue sporting a white model in blackface.

To be excessively fair, French Vogue is known for going over the top in a mad grab for (I would assume) publicity and readership. Recent issues have included spreads modeled by cross-dressers and faux-pregnant women smoking cigarettes. Outrageousness for outrageousness's sake.

The print medium is on the decline, we all know that. And perhaps the editors figured desperate times call for desperate measures. But the editors may have generated a bit more self-protective armor if they had not missed the fact that the rest of the October issue is completely devoid of models of color (that, according to a jezebel.com commentator on CNN this afternoon).

I'm not one to go overboard on political correctness. But I'm especially troubled by French Vogue's publicity stunt in view of the fact there seems to be a lack of opportunity for black models in the fashion industry. That same Jezebel commentator told CNN European that models of African descent are routinely turned away from jobs and told such things as, "no black girls today."

I hope we're beyond that here in the United States. Our media overall have made great advances in gender and racial diversity during the past two decades. But we are a much more homogenous society than exists in France. And we are certainly far from having gotten it right as of yet.

Tags:
discrimination,
race

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I can understand why a lot of whites are responding harshly to the race issue. They are socially conditioned, to a large extent, to be at the top of the racial food chain and the center of attention. Today's focus on minority rights can definitely make the feel alienated in a world they're accustomed to owning. On top of that, our recent struggles to kill bigotry can cause a kind of reverse racism where today's whites are held accountable for their ancestors' mistakes. None of that is their fault.

All that being said. You absolutely cannot equate localized, racially motivated violence with cultural statements that could represent or have the power to shape society's perceptions. That situation in Miami sounds horrendous and I hope local civil rights groups are taking action, but it certainly doesn't have the potential for social damage like the story in Vogue has.

The question: Well why is there an uproar every time a white person kills a black person, but nothing when a black person kills a white person?

The answer: It is already widely accepted that killing a white person is bad, wrong and unacceptable behavior for civilized people, but there is still a large segment of the world that feels like killing a black person should be fine and the only thing holding them back is the law. The media has to cover those situations because it reinforces our larger society's commitment to humanizing minorities.

CWilliams of NY 1:23PM October 18, 2009

you are pathalogica idiots - Your article followed suite with many media reports all being the carbon copy of others. This is twice this past week - The Black Barbie and this Black Face article that the race card has been thrown in by media. Completelly irrisponsble reporting, you and all others owe an appology to Vogue and the people you report to by perpetuating this as a racist issue when it is not.

Race card - you want one - how about the report today that 5 black teens between the age of 13 and 15 just killed a 13 year old white kid in Miami by beating him to death on the school yard.

Go ahead - make some more moutains out of mole hills that are not there to begin with based on the race card - it's a media friendly card. Denie responsiblity for it's effects.

it's the media way.

Funny Yahoo and all other media didn't jump all over the killing story - why not - it's race card heaven for you guys. It's true racism... or are the blacks still your almighty heros carring a halo around their heads in your blind eye?

Yeah i'm a little angrey at media - your post and writing makes you no different than any other bigot on the planet - it shows How you think - not how the public thinks. But you stearedpublic thinking now and it's too late to take it back.

Ask the white 13 year old kid that was killed if you can take the race card reporting you did back... you can't.

you make me ill

getit right of FL 11:05AM October 18, 2009

First of all, I have to say that Vogue was wrong. The shoot was definitely in bad taste! I mean given the current struggle of ethnically diverse models, the people involved with this should be completely ashamed of themselves. It was a slap in the face to beautiful black women everywhere. It's SO sad because every time I start to feel like racial issues are beginning to dissipate something appears in the news and puts a sharp reality pin in my little bubble of hope.

Secondly... um, this person who posted beneath me (which is where they belong) has missed the point. JET magazine and publications like it were created because black and brown little girls had nowhere to go in order to see lipstick and other products advertised on models that looked like them. When a product is targeted toward a specific demographic then that is reflected in the advertising. In my opinion, publications like Vogue (i.e. Cosmo, Elle...etc.) aren't supposed to cater to any one specific demographic yet more often than not I find it more and more difficult to view any ethnic diversity within its pages. Does that mean that if ones skin is not of the Caucasian persuasion that they do not meet a desired standard of beauty?

Um... ABSOLUTELY not. ESPECIALLY in a society full of women who desire features that are more characteristically seen on women of color. Ironically, voluptuous lips and curvaceous bodies have always been sexy and most men will readily agree with that observation. Perhaps that's why so many women are surgically plumping, primping, and lifting themselves into oblivion.

I suspect the small minded ignoramus beneath me (who needs to REALLY try using spell check) would give her left arm to have more voluptuous lips on which to smear her precious lipstick. Also... her wish may come true. If the geniuses involved with Vogue have their way black models will soon become obsolete and there won't be anyone left to model products except for white models... in black face... SO sad... and So NOT going to happen.

Hope Forabettertomorrow of GA 2:11AM October 17, 2009

Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe

Bonnie Erbe is a contributing editor at U.S. News & World Report and hosts PBS's weekly news analysis program, To the Contrary with Bonnie Erbe. She also writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column for Scripps Howard News Service.

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