What is beauty and what makes someone beautiful? Is it the perception of ourselves in the mirror, or the perception of ourselves in someone else’s eye? Beauty is a hard concept to put in a box and define. There are as many definitions of beauty as there are human beings on this Earth. In recent months we’ve seen the various definitions of beauty play out on the covers of mainstream magazines such as In Style, Elle and Vogue. They’ve come under fire for lightening African-American celebrities on their covers but are celebrities just as much to blame for the misrepresentations that are put out there to the masses?
The Business of Beauty: The Ugly Truth
Now we live in an era where sales, money and numbers are the main goals of any business – as they should be but at what cost? Magazines and corporations are worried about one thing: profits. The only way for these companies to be profitable is to portray a standard of beauty. An “ideal”. A representation to which each women will try to aspire to.
I have asked myself many times “Why is it so difficult to put a beautiful black women on a cover of a magazine without altering her features?” Perhaps, instead of asking ourselves why are they doing it – we should ask why are WE letting them do so? We need to take an active role in the fashion and entertainment industries, because, we’re the ones who understand our culture’s history the best. Celebrities should speak if covers are not representative of them and consumers should stop purchasing.
Victim Of Their Own images Or Passive Instruments?
Every day people like us, can only make small changes, but celebrities have the platform to make a difference. But celebrities are not doing their part. In recent weeks, the scandal (pun intended) of the In Style magazine cover shoot of Kerry Washington was everywhere, especially on social media where the hashtag #BLACKISBEAUTIFUL took flight. The main person in the story remained, in my opinion, silent. While the magazine denied intentionally altering the color of Kerry’s skin. My problem is this: aren’t celebrities supposed to stand up and fight for this? They seem to be spectators rather than leaders.
I love me some Scandal, but in the words of Olivia, this was not “handled” right. This incident was the perfect opportunity to speak up, and let the world know that it’s not OK to do alter anyone’s appearance. This enterainment and fashion industry cannot understand the gravity of the problem if we do not educate them.
We choose our battles, and I feel as Kerry Washington and other celebrities chose theirs. Being a celebrity, and even role model, should also be about firmly taking a stand. Before the official release of the pictures Kerry Washington stated on Twitter: “I’m THRILLED to share with you all that I’m on the cover of this year’s March @instylemagazine! Can’t wait for you guys to see it and read it! So honored. And crazy excited”. It begs the question… had she seen anything wrong with the cover? It’s interesting how one minute we celebrate Lupita Nyong’o on the Cover of Vogue and the next, we’re back where we started denouncing the alteration of a Black celebrity on another cover.
We Have The Power To Stop The Machine
Beyoncé said it best: “Pretty Hurts” and she couldn’t be more right. The products we are putting on our skin, the diets we are putting our bodies through, the endless battle against ourselves to conform to a certain standard, all of this, is suffocating us. Black IS beautiful. Brown IS beautiful. White IS beautiful. We have the purchasing power to reinforce the equality and true representation of all standards of beauty. Let’s not one standard of beauty define us, let’s define our own beauty.
CONTROVERSIAL COVERS
