Fighting Colorism while Reading Magazines

fighting colorism inside essence magazine

Magazines are one of humanity’s greatest creative/business projects.

My mom used to work at a bank inside of a grocery store. As a girl, I’d grab all the house and home magazines off the shelves to pass the time until she got off work.

Then, in high school I discovered black hair magazines and Essence. I can honestly say that these magazines helped shape my ideas of the world and of myself. It began with the typical impulse to collect pictures and stories of my favorite celebrities at the time, but it soon grew into something more. I came to view magazines differently, and they served a deeper purpose than mere entertainment.

Somewhere along the way I began selecting magazines with images and messages that affirmed the woman I was becoming. I sought hair magazines that featured natural hair styles and actually started reading magazines like Essence cover to cover. I’d cut out meaningful passages and hang them on my walls, create collages of women and men with locs, and even made a photo book with magazine cutouts and the lyrics to “Black Butterfly.”

I guess what I grew to understand is that we don’t have to accept whatever’s given to us. We can reject, protest, question, or repurpose it to suit our needs.

Fighting colorism demands that we are intentional and proactive with our words and actions every day. It means doing everyday things in a new way–everyday things like tweeting, watching television, listening to music, posting selfies, and reading magazines.

One of the biggest shifts we can make is in media literacy, especially among youth. With this change, we’ll start to see a difference in how the media affects our beliefs about skin color, hair, and facial features.

The benefit to using media literacy to fight colorism is that we can make a difference even if the media doesn’t change. Of course we want to continue pushing for change in the media, but we don’t have to wait for others to act. We can make progress by teaching young people not to be passive viewers, listeners, and readers.

What is Media Literacy?

According to the Media Literacy Project, “Media literacy is the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and create media. Media literate youth and adults are better able to understand the complex messages we receive” through various forms of media.

Media literacy gives us increased knowledge and skills to make more informed interpretations and judgments about what’s in the media. This will help us stop accepting and internalizing messages in the media that reinforce colorism.

Media literacy also gives people the knowledge and skills to find and create alternative media, which can be used to spread a different message.

Fighting Colorism while Reading Magazines

Magazines are notorious for their lack of diversity. This isn’t surprising since many magazines are part of the fashion industry, and the fashion industry is tragically monochromatic. (See here, here, and here.)

As a girl, I quickly noticed the biased pattern in magazines that favored light skin and straight hair. No one had to point it out to me. It was obvious.

But whether we like them or not, magazines are part of everyday life for many people. We see them in lobbies, waiting rooms, grocery store checkout lines, and even the backs of airline seats.

Since getting completely away from magazines is tough to do, we should start to look at them differently. We can engage with them on another level. We can be active rather than passive consumers.

So, I have compiled a few basic ideas that can help us start to look at magazines differently. Although these work for people of any age, I especially want you to share this with the children and young adults in your life.

1) Most popular magazines depict fantasy, not reality.

Why would we open a magazine if it only showed us what we already have and see every day? It’s the fact that magazines allow us to escape into the kind of life we often dream about that continues to make them so appealing.

The typical magazine is in the business of depicting fantasy, not reality; that includes everything from the immaculate kitchens in Better Homes and Gardens, to the splendid dishes in Food & Wine, or the ripped abs in Fitness Magazine.

Every image is staged before, during, and after it’s created. (Watch this.)

But what if we revealed the man behind the curtain, exposed the smoke and mirrors, and told people (especially children and teens) that images in magazines usually don’t show a person as they naturally are? What if we explained the highly involved process of what it takes to get a model or celebrity out of bed in the morning and onto the cover of a magazine? I think that’s a strategy that could reduce the influence of magazine images.

Going back to “that man behind the curtain” (Wizard of Oz reference) we see that people were ruled by the wizard. They worshiped and feared the wizard until they realized that there was no wizard. The would-be wizard was a regular person just like everybody else. And once the people learned this, they were no longer ruled by him; they no longer worshiped or feared him.

When people learn that the images in magazines are mainly illusions, those images lose some of their power. Now, this doesn’t let magazines off the hook. And it certainly won’t fix the problem of unrealistic beauty standards in the media. It just makes us less vulnerable to potentially harmful messages.

2) When we read the text, the images often fade into the background.

I often hear the expression: “looking at a magazine.” Too many people “look at” magazines rather than read them.

If we really want to make a difference in how we’re influenced or not by magazines, we must commit to actually reading every magazine that we open, and only opening those that we intend to read.

Here are the benefits to paying more attention to reading magazines rather than just flipping through them to look at pictures:

improving basic reading skills (especially in children and young adults)
shifting focus (literally) away from the images
gaining useful knowledge or inspiration
valuing substance over shallow imagery
learning that what we see never reveals the whole story

Obviously, reading the entire magazine every time isn’t practical. But maybe there’s at least one article or story that sparks enough interest to read. If it’s the image of a celebrity that sparks interest, then go ahead and enjoy looking at the photo spread, but also read the interview or feature on that person.

3) Have a conversation about the magazine.

Especially if you’re reading a magazine with a young person, it’s important to encourage them to express what they think about the magazine. You can probably come up with good questions that are most appropriate for your specific child, magazine, and situation, but here are a few to get you started.

Why did you choose to read this magazine?
Do you know anyone else who might enjoy the magazine? Why do you think they would enjoy it?
What was your favorite story/article? Why did you like it? What did you learn from it?
Do you think the editors did a good job choosing pictures for the magazine? Why or why not?
What kind of people are shown and not shown in this magazine? Why do you think the magazine editors decided to show these people rather than others?
If you could create a magazine, how would it be similar to, or different from this one?

To make it a real conversation and not a one-sided interview, be sure to share your own thoughts and allow others to ask their own questions.

4) Diversify your magazine selection and go beyond what you can buy at supermarkets.

If you’re into the idea of fighting colorism while reading magazines, you’ll have to invest in a diverse range of magazines and go beyond what’s easily accessible in local stores. I urge you to try these titles that are probably missing from the racks and shelves at your local retailers. Also, continue to discover new and different magazines on your own.

Now you tell us: Do you think magazines are useful in fighting colorism?

March 3, 2014March 18, 2024

5 Lessons on Colorism from Lupita Nyong’o’s Essence Speech

Lupita_NyongoTIFF2013_(cropped) gdcgraphics The talk continues about Lupita Nyong’o. Over the past few days, however, it’s gotten deeper than just her Hollywood stardom and high fashion domination.

Ever since Lupita’s powerful speech about the effects of colorism at Essence’s Black Women in Hollywood event, more people are weighing in on the issue.

Some, like me, are openly excited about this moment. Some might be a little more skeptical. Others are probably unaware that anything is happening.

Regardless of what we ultimately believe about Lupita’s role in fighting colorism, it’s clear that she’s helping to spark discussion about colorism in ways that very few other celebrities have.

After watching and reading Lupita’s speech, I went back and parsed out six big takeaways to share with you.

1) Images matter a lot.

“And then Alek Wek came on the international scene. A celebrated model, she was dark as night, she was on all of the runways and in every magazine and everyone was talking about how beautiful she was. . . . a flower couldn’t help but bloom inside of me. When I saw Alek I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny. Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far away gatekeepers of beauty. . . . I could never have guessed that my first job out of school would be so powerful in and of itself and that it would propel me to be such an image of hope in the same way that the women of The Color Purple were to me.”

I’m not going to say too much here, because I think you get it.

2) It helps to admit that colorism affects us in deeply personal ways.

“I remember a time when I too felt unbeautiful. . . . I got teased and taunted about my night-shaded skin. And my one prayer to God, the miracle worker, was that I would wake up lighter-skinned. . . . And when I was a teenager my self-hate grew worse, as you can imagine happens with adolescence.”

It’s refreshing to hear a celebrity open up about their personal struggles, past or present, especially when so many claim they’ve never struggled with self-love. It helps people who are currently struggling to see that there’s hope and that they can live a brilliant life despite the difficulties.

For us as individuals, we can’t really heal if we pretend we’ve never been hurt. We have to start by admitting it to ourselves. But when we reach a point where we can admit it openly and publically, to those we know and love, and to others, we release an even greater burden.

It takes courage, but the first step to healing is acknowledging the pain.

3) A loving parent’s affirmations aren’t always enough.

“My mother reminded me often that she thought that I was beautiful, but that was no consolation: She’s my mother, of course she’s supposed to think I am beautiful.”

I’ve written before about the mistake that many parents make in thinking that merely telling their daughter she’s beautiful means she should have no self-image issues.

The truth is, even if parents tell their children several times every day how gorgeous they are, the rest of the world may be saying something very different. Parents must acknowledge this outside influence and realize that they have to be more proactive in building a positive self-image in their children.

4) Colorism isn’t just about the media.

“but around me the preference for light skin prevailed. To the beholders that I thought mattered, I was still unbeautiful.”

256px-Gabourey_Sidibe_2010 greg hernandez Although we often focus on the media as a force that perpetuates colorism, many of us, including me, first experience colorism from the everyday people around us. The media is an easy target because if we focus on the media, we don’t have to face our daily reality, relationships, and interactions with people in real life.

If we focus on the media’s role in keeping colorism alive, we don’t have to confront our parent, aunt, best friend, or coworker whose words and actions continue the cycle of colorism.

Even when people in the media, like Lupita Nyong’o or Gabourey Sidibe, present a change from the norm, many people don’t accept them. They reject the alternative image because it goes against what they’ve really believed all their lives.

It’s not enough just to demand change in the media. We must also demand it from ourselves and the people around us.

5) Colorism can use celebrity spokespeople just like any other cause.

“And so I hope that my presence on your screens and in the magazines may lead you, young girl, on a similar journey.”

Many celebrities use their influence to campaign for special causes and to bring attention to issues that would get very little attention otherwise. Over the past several decades those causes have included HIV/AIDS, poverty, cancer, racism, gay rights, women’s rights, war, child abuse, domestic violence, human trafficking, immigration reform, visual and performing arts, literacy, employment, prison reform, climate change and the list goes on.

It’s time for colorism to be added to that list.

But one person, celebrity or not, can’t make change on their own. We must continue to be the everyday spokespeople every day.

Will you join us in speaking out about colorism?

July 13, 2013March 18, 2024

Media Coverage of Colorism

Here, I’m not going to focus on the commonly analyzed role media has on colorism. Usually we report on the dearth of dark skinned women in movies and television. We might report on how dark skinned actresses are more often cast in the antagonistic/comedic/sidekick roles. People have even commented on the airbrushing of women’s skin to make them lighter in magazines.

The focus of this post is more meta, in the sense that I’m talking about the act of talking about colorism. Therefore, what I’ll give you in this post are thoughts on the media coverage of colorism as a topic or storyline in media.

The issue of colorism literally gets little air time relative to other issues. I think the focus on colorism gets less air time because “mainstream” individuals and entities still control much of the media, and they primarily target so called “mainstream” audiences. Because we’re talking about color, “mainstream” means white in this context. Whites don’t deal with colorism amongst their own race the way people of color do, so the topic doesn’t show up in the media they produce. That, of course, doesn’t mean colorism can’t be addressed in such media.

Maybe I just don’t watch enough television, but I’ve yet to see a show that overtly includes the issue of colorism in the storyline. A few movie makers have done a better job of including the issue in their storylines, or at least in a short line of dialogue. Spike Lee’s School Daze probably reigns as the most infamous of such films, with its sorority scene, but what have we produced recently?

A more contemporary film, Dark Girls, epitomizes talking about colorism, not just showcasing it in action. The documentary genre lends itself to talking about issues. Dark Girls doesn’t premier until October, but we already see it affecting people in profound ways. More and more people mention it on blogs and social networking sites, and many women have come out and shared their personal stories in writing and video.

Joy Daily has also made colorism the topic of discussion in a YouTube series she titled Complexion Obsession. Her slant is toward hip hop videos, and the comments of the rappers and video models are revealing.

I advocate for making colorism the topic of discussion rather than an incidental consideration in discussions on other topics. It’s not enough just to know that colorism exists or to point out instances of colorism, though we can stand to do more of that too. We need to realize the adverse effects of colorism and harness power against it. That requires a direct analysis of the issue, not an incidental observation after which we merely shrug our shoulders.

The media is not solely responsible for such discussions, but since the media plays such a huge role in perpetuating, propagating, and even cultivating colorism, we will have to use media as part of the solution. Yes, we need more dark skinned actresses and actors cast in desirable roles, but we also need more storylines that express the emotional aspect of colorism. It’s not enough to show dark skinned girls and light skinned girls battling. We need to show these same girls making strides in dealing with the heart of the matter, growing to understand and love each other and love themselves, and ultimately empowering themselves against the racist influences that led them to battle in the first place. Developing such a story arc requires that colorism take center stage every once in a while.

As I hope to do with this site, we also need to talk about colorism. However, we need to do more than just ask if Beyonce’s skin was lightened in an ad. We need to ask and answer: What books, movies, songs, museums, affirmations, websites, games, or honest discussions can I share with my child starting before the age of five and continuing on to help her or him have a healthy perspective on skin color? All of these are forms of media that we can wield against colorism. Which of them do you already hold in your hand?