Reflections: Essence Magazine and You

Last night I went vintage clothes shopping with one of my girlfriends who wanted to take me to “HER” vintage store where she always finds things.  Earlier in the week, she had visited “MY” vintage store, where I always find things, and had come up empty handed.  We poured through the racks, picking out some amazing finds.  At the end of the trip my friend, who is tallish and athletically built had a pile to purchase. I, petite and curvy, had nothing.  ”It’s a crap shoot with vintage,” I said.  ”My friend said “Yeah, actually, I think that the owner here just buys stuff that would look good on her.  I’ve met her and we’re built almost exactly the same.”  And it occurred to me that at “MY” vintage store the owner and I could be body doubles for one another.  And, as a matter of fact, her partner (and sister) practically had Mayra’s exact body, so both of us always seemed to get lucky.

I tell this anecdote because to me this story exactly relates to the controversy that has been brewing over the hiring at Essence Magazine of a Fashion Editor who is white.  Many readers and people of color in the media world were very upset over this hire and the Editor in Chief of Essence issued a very thoughtful response explaining how this came about (the new hire had been freelancing there for months) AND challenging her angry readers to get angry about issues that really matter to the black community and NOT something as trivial as this.  And while I thought this was a good point, I didn’t think she actually addressed the one of the key issues.

It isn’t really a trivial hire.  Ask a board of directors at any museum, or the customer of any vintage shop CURATORS matter, and WHO the curator is (their background, their education, their “take” on what they do and the purpose of their museum/store/magazine/blog) matters A LOT.   And editors are curators.  And editors of magazines are curators with huge influence. Much as my vintage shop owner picks pieces to sell that she would wear, a fashion editor brings into their job their own personal take on clothes, body image, style.  If you don’t believe me, watch “The September Issue” and tell me if you think Grace Coddington’s work could be “authored” by anyone but Grace Coddington.

I think some of the anxiety over the hire at Essence from the readership is less about “reverse racism” than it is about  a worry over who is curating beauty and style at the most  iconic “safe space” in the media spectrum for black woman.  I believe that every woman, not just black women, want a place to turn and see themselves reflected back at them in a way that rings true to their experience.  ESPECIALLY when it comes to beauty and fashion. That is why so efforts have been made to create niche publications over the years (Latina, BUST and More come to mind).  I imagine that the concern of  Essence readers can be succinctly put in “But will this woman get it? Will she get it enough for this to still appeal to me and if not, well then what?”  It isn’t a trivial issue because beauty isn’t a trivial matter to most women.

Mayra and I used to lament that bridal magazines didn’t better utilize the Real Weddings feature as a way to incorporate more diverse weddings in their pages, not because we are these crazy liberal Brown alumni obsessed with diversity (we are) but because we know that for brides, at this time when you want to feel your most gorgeous and showcase who you are as a couple, it’s comforting/ inspiring to see other couples that mirror  you in some way.  We realized though that the mission of a bridal magazine isn’t necessarily to do that, their mission is to showcase trends, offer advice and sell magazines and  you do that by appealing to the broadest base possible.  If you can also tackle diversity, BONUS.  So, that said, we made it part of our mission to try and do that with our blog whenever possible.  And that makes sense because we are the “Curators” of our experience and this is naturally a reflection of who we are as people.  We live diverse lives filled with people from all walks of life, that is who our client is and why wouldn’t that be what we blog about?

Things like this issue make me so happy for the existence blogs (and to have our own) because it provides a platform for many women to “Curate” editorial that is a reflection of themselves and to provide content that is outside what “mainstream” media might cover.  A bridal magazine might not publish a wedding with a 40 year old bride, but a blog would.  It’s nearly impossible to see brides who aren’t sample size in print media, but not online.  Bernadette from Gay Weddings wrote a beautiful post a couple of weeks ago asking the Bridal Media to do a better job of being inclusive to Same Sex couples. And while I completely am in agreement with her, until mainstream media catches up (if they do), I am so glad there are blogs and sites where gay couples can see experience that reflect them.

Only time will tell if Essence’s new fashion director will “get it”.  But if she doesn’t, ultimately it isn’t the Essence reader who will suffer, it’s Essence.  Five years ago, Essence may have been the ultimate “voice” for black women, but today there are many blogging taste makers eager to scoop up their readership and curate content that rings true to that audience.

*historically,I would like to say, the knot has always done an amazing job of showcasing very diverse weddings