Freelance writer, novelist, and screenwriter Erica Kennedy‘s Facebook group, Feminista’s Advertising Hall of Fame (or Lame?), documents the “best and worst examples of commercial advertising.” In fact, this winner, above, isn’t an ad, as American Apparel rushed to make clear, shortly after the page ran in i-D Magazine back in 2007, but part of that publication’s own outré fashion pages. (You’ve gotta be offensive if a scummy advertiser of half-naked immigrant women like AA doesn’t want anything to do with your editorial.)
Readers who recall my quasi-crusade against VOGUE’s foul LeBron James / Gisele Bundchen cover almost a year ago aren’t surprised at the way racist imagery continues to be subsumed into white High Style, and neither am I. However, upon sight of this photo, I have to admit to a flash of weariness. Like, the need to create this stuff never dies, does it?
2 comments ↓
Oh. Dear. The horrible and obvious Aunt Jemima imagery comes to mind. How can this sort of crap get printed?
Who is it that owns these magazines? Guess who doesn’t want Black people to have real power in the media?
Same old Slave traders of old. turned European bankers. and now run USA. And U.K
Still spouting ‘Poor Me, the victim” if you dare point out the truth.
Peace from London! XX
I actually LOVE this photo. The colors are beautiful and the contrast of her skin tone is nice.
I think we as people need to start re-defining what we accept as beautiful. If a black magazine printed this, it would be called art.
Aunt J. is part of our past and I feel no need to run and hide in society’s standards of beauty.
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