I’ve been a big fan of the MissRepresentation movement since first viewing the MissRepresentation documentary. I highly recommend you watch this important movie and discuss it with your daughters, family and friends. Today I received a Weekly Action Alert in my inbox and I just had to share this week’s message as it really struck a chord with me. Read below and share your thoughts.
A recent study of mainstream magazines targeted at women, from Vanity Fair to Cosmopolitan, revealed a shocking lack of representation for women of color. Of the magazines surveyed since September 2012, over 82% of covers featured only white women. Marie Claire andGlamour, who combine to reach more than 4 million subscribers in the United States alone, each featured only one person of color in that time span.
On magazines targeting men, it’s no better. Maxim had exactly zero women of color on its cover during the same time period.
Furthermore, The New York Times reported last week that just 6% of models walking the runways during 2012’s “Fashion Week” were black.
The limiting ideal of beauty perpetuated by the media not only exalts particular body types and age groups, but dictates which colors of skin are considered beautiful and which are not. This impacts how all of us, including girls and boys, value ourselves and others.
On Monday, a globally trending conversation on Twitter further pointed out the need for more inclusion and intersectionality in the movement towards gender equity. We can contribute to this change this week by asking publications like Marie Claire and Glamour to pledge to include more women of color on their covers in 2014.
Tweet them today. Or contact the magazines here and here.
I started Chicago Natural Beauty Meetup because I am very passionate about creating a diverse landscape of beauty that includes women of all colors, shapes and sizes. What else do you think can be done to help?
