Sebastian Kim responds to racist Numéro editorial "African Queen"

[iluvjeisa]

An example of Marisa Berenson from the 60s. Every bit as "offensive", I would say.

The problem is indeed the title....no white woman is the Queen of Africa, not even in a fashion story...


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[Deleted member 1957]

there is o queen of Africa in reality, Africa has different countries each of which has 30 or more tribes each with its own monarchy

 

[StoneSkipper]

there is o queen of Africa in reality, Africa has different countries each of which has 30 or more tribes each with its own monarchy

I understand that, but isn't it "naïve", at the very best to think that African Queens are 16-year-olds with painted-on tans?

I guess I kind of understand the point of blackface - 'no model of color has the aesthetic I want for this editorial' or 'this is the only girl that can make this concept come to life' - but isn't it much easier to just hire a black girl, if that's the way it is?

I guess the whole thing boils down to Numèro's sheer ignorance of black culture. They don't seem to know anything about racial equality and they coudl'nt care less - so much that they put a black model on a cover right after the controversy came out, as a 'make-up' of sorts. Do they really think we're that stupid to think that this will make up for their racial offense? This sin't the first time they've done this, and it's not the last, either. Is it so hard to be educated about an issue as important as this?

 

[iluvjeisa]

there is o queen of Africa in reality, Africa has different countries each of which has 30 or more tribes each with its own monarchy

That's not news to anyone in this thread, I'd wager. Do you really think the Numero ppl used the term literally?!?

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

i'm not understanding where people find this apology insincere or BS, from having worked on editorial shoots, the title is never picked during or before the shoot and its obvious that she is dark due to the lighting and saturation. I'm black and if I looked at the editorial before I saw the title I might have not been as offended, and I might have referenced the bad tans used by Roberto Cavalli.

 

[masquerade]

there is o queen of Africa in reality, Africa has different countries each of which has 30 or more tribes each with its own monarchy

Which makes it worse, tbqh. The West has a history of erasing the diverse cultures and countries within the continent of Africa. They would never call an editorial "European Queen" because they recognize that these are continents and not cultures. Africa gets homogenized.

 

[Les_Sucettes]

Well i thought the model was a black woman. It does not look at all like some sort of tan. I find it baffling in this day and age that people still feel the need to use white persons in this context. The inspiration could have been the same and they still could have used a black model.

 

[iluvjeisa]

Which makes it worse, tbqh. The West has a history of erasing the diverse cultures and countries within the continent of Africa. They would never call an editorial "European Queen" because they recognize that these are continents and not cultures. Africa gets homogenized.

I think you are *seriously* underestimating people. Who today does not know that Africa consists of many different countries and that these countries are very heterogeneous?

 

[Morphe]

Who today does not know that Africa consists of many different countries and that these countries are very heterogeneous?

You'd be surprised. A ton of people think this way.

 

[masquerade]

I think you are *seriously* underestimating people. Who today does not know that Africa consists of many different countries and that these countries are very heterogeneous?

How about politicians?
http://www.thesite.org/community/reallife/rants/africaisnotacountry
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/22/rick-santorum-africa-country_n_1109093.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/18/michele-bachmann-libya-africa_n_1018814.html

Additionally, whenever you hear people talk about things that occur in specific African countries (poverty, AIDS, etc), it is always "in Africa". "Poverty in Africa", "AIDS in Africa". This is something that the media has been doing for a long time.

There are several websites dedicated to this.

http://www.africaisacontinent.com/

 

[Deleted member 1957]

I still think we are hyping something minor while neglecting things that actually need the same aggression we put in attacking the ed. Huffpost should instead post about the Africans dying in Somalia, Sudan and elsewhere in the world which is being overlooked by the international community. They should also write about children facing racism in schools all around America as well as adults facing it in their jobs, churches etc. A Numero ed is mainly going to be seen by people in the industry, they probably used the wrong wording and apologized for it(we all know its a fashion industry apology anyway)
Using a black model for the same ed might be nice, actually Henrieth Paul may do a better job but then it puts black models in a situation where they are always being called upon whenever there is an African special for a magazine, I would rather see Black, White, Asian and Hispanic models in diverse editorials in Vogue, Allure and the like which are not specials or targetted to the black population.

 

[Deleted member 1957]

That's not news to anyone in this thread, I'd wager. Do you really think the Numero ppl used the term literally?!?

Thats what am also saying, we are just causing too much hype over nothing. They just used the word to describe the mood, maybe a thought of what an African queen would wear. If they had her in some regal pose with African subjects then I would be mad.

 

[Bahiyya]

I don't get the so called controversy and wouldnt have wanted them to apologise or respond. The fashion depicted in the ed is more North African nomadic style fashion as opposed to East and South African fashion where the people are obviously darker. The tan gives her a more North African look and IMO a tan and blackface are 2 different entities. Those that are saying that they should have used a black model are also indirectly saying that the should only use blac models when they have a special feature like this one or the all black Italian Vogue which to me wont do anything towards bringing more models of colour to the runways. I have seen black models in Asian and European influenced eds and no one said anything, theres one I saw where the model's face was painted white yet no one found it offensive. As for painting her black, my skin looks nothing like that and am a black African(not event he darkest there is)

As a point of info there are, actually, darker skinned peoples who are indigenous to the North African region. This fact is eclipsed by the larger Arab presence.

I find Kim's apology sincere but he is problematically naive if he thinks darkening a white model's skin that much and placing her in African-inspired garb is not going to look ignorant. Referencing looks from a time period in which ideas about race & culture were even less progressive in many places, generally speaking, does not help .

Magazines do eds all the time in which white models are styled in "ethnic" prints and readers don't complain. I don't believe anyone is asking for African models to be hired for every ed that will feature a turban. Does the photographer want a model with brown skin (of whichever shade or hue), tho, to provide a a certain look? Then hire a brown-skinned model. It is too easy for editors to visualise Stella Tenant (for example) both in Buckingham palace and the Taj Mahal yet Lakshmi Menon (again, just another example) may not be used even for the Indian themed ed much less the more diverse eds we hope for her and others.