Vogue Paris in Black Face

Jai says:

I am a dancer, and I enjoy art and artistic things, including high fashion, and I’m usually pretty open to artistc expression. However, I do find this Vogue spread offensive. Mainly because there are Black/Brown models that could have been hired for this job. Its disrespectful to Black models and Black people in general.
In my opinion, blackface is blackface,and its offensive. Period.
@ NoThanks, and several others, you should really do some research on blackface and minstrelsy; the images and the messages This was not strictly an American thing. It started here, but it was a worldwide phenomenon. These people in these European countries are aware, even if acutely, the implications and messages behind blackface.
If they really wanted to honor or Black women or African culture, they should have used a Black model. That’s like saying you’re honoring a zebra with a horse.

I also agree with those who made the point that WE should be more careful about the images we put out of our selves.

Ginger says:

Very True Marcela.. You told my words right of my mouth.

b says:

if they had used a black model, would it have gotten any attention? NO. It would just be an average photo shoot, and none of you who are up in arms about it would have been paying any attention. seriously. Instead, you would have been busy complaining about another magazine or advertisement, that didn’t use a black model or a black this or that. The point was to show that the WOMAN herself is beautiful in the clothes NO MATTER the color of her skin. She is beautiful white/black/indian/asian (since like someone mentioned above: we don’t OWN the color brown). that’s what makes it art; there is a conversation to be had about it. it’s meaning is deeper than what the eye alone can see. if that’s not art, then what is?

BamBooHoney says:

They have nothing to worry about black folks will buy their French fashion junk even if they cannot afford it.

Fascinating use of the middle finger by these people.

Janel Necole says:

That is NOT okay.

Whitney says:

OMG! If they desire black faces so bad, then hire black models! This is socially irresponsible and I am tired of these people using art as an excuse for ignorance.

Bella says:

I am a mixed race woman (‘White’ and Native American – heinz 57 really, with English Irish Dutch German Black Russian Native American). I look very much white, however when I am tanned in the summer I look like an olive skinned European (I’ve been told a ‘Mediterranean look). Due to this, I have never had to endure the pain of being racially attacked like my sister who is quite dark (although when I am my darker shade people comment on how much better I look – sorry but excuse me?? I am the same person…).

I have never seen a black person done up in ‘white’ makeup. Would there be the same outrage?

By releasing only a few of the photos, we are only seeing what they want us to see – a ‘lighter’ form of blackface (I say lighter because it is not the dark black blackface and overly protruded painted on lips etc – the clownish blackface that is meant to mock). IF it is true that the photos (in whole) depict a soft color change from black to white in order to showcase that a woman is beautiful no matter what color, then I see it as artistic license.

HOWEVER would it not have made the point in a more appealing manner if they had hired a model of EACH color? For example, a beautiful dark ebony woman, then a dark chocolate woman, then a milk chocolate woman, and so on until they reached the whitest white? From darkest dark to whitest white, we are ALL beautiful and I believe if that is the point they were trying to make, then that is what they should have done.

My 2 cents.

Carri says:

OMG, i’m so sick of everything being called racist. Who cares if some white girl is painted black. My goodness, its art, not related to racism in any way. How come everytime something to do with a white person that a black person or someone of another color could have done better be considered racist? The editor or whoever was incharge of the photoshoot had an artistic idea and i believe it worked. The first thing that caught my eye when looking at these photos was not the color of the skin, it was how pretty the face of this girl looks, how awesome her pose is, NOT COLOR. I firmly believe NO ONE could have done these pictures any better, not even an African American woman. Its time to get over it, racism does not exist in real life these days, it only exists when ignorant people claim racism when their choice of skin color was not picked for a role they believed should have been. These photos symbolize art.

Happiness says:

Art indeed!

Now, I used to work as Beauty Consultant for a well known French fashion house. The fact is that most of these companies ARE racist. When I worked for the company in question, they would sometimes say that they didn’t want some Black girls to work for them because of the way that they looked. If they deemed that the Make-up artist/Beauty Consultant didn’t have the looks they desired, they would tell the agency to send someone else the next week, preferably someone White.

I dislike it when people, epecially people that these things don’t affect jump in to say it is art. It may be art to you, but as a Black person, it is not art for me when these same companies will not employ Black models, but have to paint White models Black instead. This is the height of stupidity to me and I take it as an insult, big time.