Comments on: Vogue Italy July 2008 Black Issue

By: MY INTERVIEW WITH JODY WATLEY « The Spizzy

MY INTERVIEW WITH JODY WATLEY « The Spizzy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 09:09:44 +0000

[...] has made beautiful noise online and on-air. Recently, Watley was also featured in the historic “Black Issue” of Vogue Italia magazine. Unlike many veteran artists who can’t adapt, Jody Watley has remained [...]

By: Natasha

Natasha — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 03:35:54 +0000

I also just found out about this new Vogue the other day from watching the Tyra show. I think it’s a great leap for fashion, but we still have a long way to go. The women that I’ve seen so far put in the magazine are obviously gorgeous. They are known far and wide for their beauty. However, I was getting my hair braided while watching the Tyra show by a woman from Cameroon (in Western Africa). She was not impressed by this all-black Vogue issue at all. She stared at the women on the four covers on t.v., and said “None of them look like real black women, Tyra’s long hair isn’t even real!” I could see where she was coming from. To me, they all have the features of a white woman: slender nose, thin lips, long silky hair. The only difference they had from a white woman was their skin color, and none of them possessed the dark chocolate skin of a typical black woman. These black Vogue models are a result of what our society accepts black women to look like today.
Like I said before, this issue is a huge deal for the fashion world. But, regardless, if I ever see a black woman on the cover of Vogue or any other major fashion magazine with big, full lips, a wide nose, and most importantly, the soft, NATURAL hair which make up the very essence of a black woman, I will be highly impressed.

By: eleanor

eleanor — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:53:17 +0000

kudos, Badiane, I was thinking the same thing.

I really want to get my hands on this issue… unfortunately, I didn’t realize it existed until Tyra Banks put it on her show yesterday.

If anyone knows of a good online source, could you leave a follow-up comment?

I’m sorta disappointed that the cover ladies have lighter skin and slender noses… I guess I haven’t seen the inside yet, but from the shots I’ve seen so far, it does kinda look like they focused on the skinny eurocentric black models…
I’ve been thinking about this alot since Tyra did the show the day before on women who bleach their skin.
It made me so sad… it’s not right that women feel like they need to do that to themselves…

By: Lulama

Lulama — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 12:12:38 +0000

What a great issue it is, Gone are the days where black was seen as being unpleasant and demonic. Thanx to Vogue for clearing the unacceptable steriotype. Im so dissapointed that Chanel Iman was not included i think she is the future of modelling. Naomi Campbell is still one of the most beautiful black models of our times. Like the fact that she isn’t a zero size……..Work it girl!!!!

By: Ellington

Ellington — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 23:42:57 +0000

Hello Badiane,
Your comments and arguments are better placed here, I think.
What you discuss is truly a loaded issue for many Black women and men. One thing that I have found learned and I am extremely grateful for is this: We as Black people come in a plethora of shades, with different facial features and hair types. I think it is beyond beautiful and I celebrate it!
I see this Italian Vogue issue as a step towards better exposure and more open mindedness among Black people and to maybe show people of other melanin counts and cultures that Black is truly beautiful! I can only hope that this truth is recognized.

By: Badiane

Badiane — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:04:15 +0000

I have already placed this comment on another page on this site.

Up until now the women of African ascendence around whom I’ve been reared are definitely not represented in major media and what I see is only a small percentage of women who for all intents and purposes have characteristics which are non afro.

It’s all absurd. In order to work one must accept the absurd bases in which it depends and then to be valuable, the absurdity must be denied.

A massive denial of the self for a genetically impossible ideal is bound to create some massively detrimental psychosis in an individual.

I’ve had a hard time with women I’ve dated who believe that if the characteristics of their hair which references their “negritude” are not removed they can’t be “beautiful.” The day that we’ll have a kit which allows a woman of African ascendence to remove her melanin in an unstigmatized way (the way weaves are simply accepted when a few years before they were frowned upon), they will rush to have it done. Some may find that offensive but I’m not into PC. When I walk into a Haitian beauty store and I see the plethora of skin lightening product or to have to hunt down the bottles, tubes and jars of skin lightener of some of my friends or to hear Hatian males talk of a “bel fanm (beautiful woman)” to come to see that she’s light skinned and has “good hair (since natural hair is stigmatized as being bad), I can’t help fell that I can no longer be PC, lest the self hatred spread more. To hear my sons grand-father tell his daughter that he was worried that the baby was going to remain “dark” and he’s relieved that he’s “lighter” now is disheartening. To hear kids think they are automatically better than others because they have non afro features is really sad.
So in the end, having a black issue is pointless if the main problem is not addressed. Self hatred.

By: kpriss

kpriss — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:50:10 +0000

I imagine it’s a minefield, but I wanted to express what the pictures meant to me. I do it with every single image passing before my eyes, so I didn’t wanted to let go now.

Speaking of dark skinned Black models – I saw Alek Wek in Paris. I mean in person. I mean a shoulder away from me. And I was amazed of how beautiful she really is. And graceful.

JG – it seems they had such an overwhelming success with this Black Issue that they decided to reedit it. So I think you’ll have the chance to find an issue with your name on! Good luck!

Diva, that’s what we’re all hoping for and hopefully initiatives like this one won’t go unfollowed! The least they could do is acknowledge the reality – that black equals success.

By: Jourdan Dunn at Virgin Mobile Cape Town Fashion Week «

Jourdan Dunn at Virgin Mobile Cape Town Fashion Week « — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:26:48 +0000

[...] Vogue Italy July Black Issue [...]

By: Diva

Diva — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:28:07 +0000

I think that it is great that Vogue is celebrating black women. I hope that other magazines began using more black models as well as women of minority groups.To often when you turn of the TV or open a magazine you only see one image of beauty. Beauty knows no color and it is time that women of all color get a far representation in the media.

By: JG

JG — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 20:57:56 +0000

Naomi is grogeous and remains beautiful unlike her unacceptable behavior. As a fan I still love to see her pictured. I am trying to purchase Vogue Italia in SE Florida and will order it on line if necessary. However, the few photos I viewed online are artistically terrific though the lack of darker hued black women was notable and missed! Congratulations to Vogue Italia for taking a stand. I hope to see far better representation of black models and other minorities on the cover of every fashion magazines and throughout their pages since we purchase these magazines too!! Otherwise they can look forward to cancellation of my subscriptions to Vogue USA and Elle Magazine. JG, Florida USA