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, ЃgOn Covers of many Magazines a Full Racial Palette Is Still Rare.Ѓh 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, ЃgOn coversЃhЃc. By David Carr and ЃgThe Perpetuation of Racial StereotypesЃh, by J. David Colfax and Susan Frankel. Both articles deal with how blacks are mistreated in the magazine industry. CarrЃfs 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, ЃgApparently, the depiction of adult black males in such authoritative roles was beyond the limits most advertisers set for themselves (11)Ѓh. 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 positions of power. There could be several reasons for this. One reason may be that some white society may be threatened by an African American being the head of their children. Therefore advertisers don't use blacks to market their product or service. Perhaps whites feel that it's ok to depict blacks in a position of servitude, but feel uncomfortable showing them in leadership positions. This is a clear example of racism in the magazine industry.

In his article, Carr makes a lot of valid points using pathos. Carr talks about how black and Hispanic women are now being shown on magazines, while black men still find themselves confined to music and sports magazines. Carr states that ЃgYet, even as black and Hispanic women slowly make their way onto the covers of magazines of various genres, black makes still find themselves mainly confined to a ghetto of music and sports magazines (510)Ѓh. The fact that blacks are not being depicted on a variety of magazine covers seems to suggest that black men are not valued in society unless they can play sports or have musical talent.

An example of logos is when Carr explains that one of the reasons that blacks aren't featured on magazine covers is that ЃgMagazines are in trouble and they are fearful of offending their audience of Middle Americans (510)Ѓh, thus causing their magazine sales to plummet at the newsstands. This argument seems logical if one considers that society does not usually take blacks feeling into consideration, nor do they consider black men as "Middle America." This is very unfair. How do magazine editors know if black men on the cover of white magazines, will or will not sell the magazine? I feel that magazines should consider putting black models on the covers to spice things up. Also a valid point Carr makes is when he asks Daniel Perez, editor of Details magazine, his opinion on the lack of black faces on magazines. Mr. Perez states that, ЃgIt is a well known legend that blacks, especially black males do not help generate newsstand sales (510)Ѓh. Carr has already done an exceptional job talking about how blacks are misrepresented, and by asking an editor of a big magazine, this argument makes Carr seem more credible when talking about racism in the magazine industry, when both Perez and Johnson give great responses to strengthen CarrЃfs claim. Mr. Perez is one person who represents a large pool of people in the magazine industry. With the narrow mind set of individual such as Perez, this has made it harder for Blacks to be fairly displayed on magazine covers. This is an explanation for the lack of blacks on magazine covers.

I agree with CarrЃfs overall claim that Blacks and minorities do not get to be on magazine covers. I was convinced when he quoted two magazine editors. He brought in Roy S. Johnson, editor of ЃgSavoyЃh, a black magazine, and