Blacks Not on the Covers of Magazines
Blacks Not On Covers of Magazines! Think about being at the grocery store at the check out line where the magazines are located. How often are African Americans or minority cover models showcased on the cover of magazines? Not often. This issue is what David Carr presents in his essay, gOn Covers of many Magazines a Full Racial Palette Is Still Rare.h Carr feels that blacks and other minorities are not represented enough on magazine covers. Carr supports this dynamic argument through the use of pathos, ethos and logos and because of this; I also feel minorities are underrepresented in the magazine industry. If blacks are on covers, they are main stream like Tiger Woods or Serena Williams, or they are African Americans who have taken on a euro-centric look to be accepted by mainstream society. Two articles that extensively discuss blacks under representation on magazines covers are, gOn covershc. By David Carr and gThe Perpetuation of Racial Stereotypesh, by J. David Colfax and Susan Frankel. Both articles deal with how blacks are mistreated in the magazine industry. Carrfs article states that Halle Berry was the fifth Black to appear on Cosmo magazine since 1965. Also, Carr quotes Roy S. Johnson, editor of Savoy magazine, as saying that the magazine industry has been slow to embrace African Americans.
In the second article, J. David Colfax states that blacks are not fairly represented in magazine ads. I agree with J. David Colfax when he states that, gApparently, the depiction of adult black males in such authoritative roles was beyond the limits most advertisers set for themselves (11)h. Here he is describing a picture that depicts a racially mixed group of kids playing ball at school, with a white coach watching them. This is one of many examples of racism in the black magazine industry. In many advertisements like this, many black males are not allowed to be in a position of power. Instead white models are used in
Cited: David, Carr. "On covers of Many Magazines, a Full Racial Palette Is Still Rare." Everything fs an Argument. Comp. Andrea Lunsford, John Ruszkiewicz, and Keith Walters. New York: New York Times, 2003. 509-512.
Colfax, J David. gThe Perpetuation of Racial Stereotypes: Blacks in Mass Circulation Magazines Advertisements h. Public Opinion Quarterly Fall 1965-1970`: 9-18.