I have had a hard time forming an opinion on this change. I think the that NPR has a really good post on the issue though.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128933365

This whole debate seems very fruitless. Do you want to have people seen as individuals, as actual human beings, not being defined by their ethnicity (or gender or orientation etc)? Then why are you focusing on this woman's color?

She wasn't appointed to a position that requires a certain skin color, she was appointed to a position that requires a certain talent and skill. If she has the abilities to run this job, why focus on her looks?

Does it really matter, as long as she does her job well?

Also, couldn't they get sued if they were to fire/not hire her because she is white?

I think the way this story has been reported throughout the media in itself shows why black women need to be in control of our own representation and image.

I've seen enough comments at Sociological Images every time race comes up to know how this comment thread is going to go - and the very fact that many white people make zero effort to understand where black women are coming from, why black women feel the way we do, and to actually consider that black women's feelings and opinions might be more valid than their own on issues related to black women, and that these opinions are rational and considered and reasonable is exactly why black women advocate for their own voices to be heard and represented in the ONE magazine allegedly devoted to us.

I am fortunate to happen to be facebook friends with many of the women speaking out about this issue. While I don't know them personally, I have seen their posts, statuses and notes on this issue, and their arguments are extremely cogent. For white people to simply dismiss why black women take this seriously speaks to the ways black women are always marginalized.

Would we be this upset if a black woman were hired to be the fashion director of a generic (non-ethnicity-based) women's magazine largely read by white women (as whites make up the majority of the U.S. population)? What about if a man were hired? Of course not- it happens all the time, despite the fact that that these two types of people don't necessarily represent the audience they're serving. Do black women and white women wear clothing that is SO different that the new director cannot competently serve the magazine's readers because she's not black? If not, why does it matter what ethnicity she is?

@ Kayla. The fact of the matter is that WOC, especially BW do not have access to the privileges given to those of us who are white. A white, gay man still equals privilege, both white and male.
The fact of the matter is that this is a magazine meant to represent a HIGHLY marginalized population, and to have a white woman, who can NEVER understand what it is like to be a black woman in the U.S. is not that cool. She may be very qualified, but the fact of the matter is that there are probably extremely qualified Black women out there who would be more appropriate for the position.
It would probably help to check out some stuff about white privilege and whiteness. (Not individuals, but the system.)

el.j, I have a few questions for you.

What do you think Essence should do in this situation?

What can Essence do to positively speak to readers through the fashion column?

What do you fear a white woman will do to negatively impact Essence magazine?

Mike - I remember in the past you have asked me to explain my perspective about black women and when I have patiently taken the time to do so at your request you have accused me of "ranting," so I'm wary of engaging your questions.

But, as I said above, I personally feel that this hire only represents a greater issue about Essence, which is the fact that for many years we have seen Essence magazine mainstream its content in order to appeal to a wider audience, at the expense of the audience of black women it is supposed to speak to and for.

While I, in many ways, personally feel that this hire actually rather accurately demonstrates Essence's lack of commitment to black women and was inevitable given Essence's move away from its political identity, I understand why other black women are upset and feel this hire is a betrayal of a commitment on Essence's part not only to provide images of black women, but to work within the fashion industry to give black women more visibility and power. (Any quick look through this site can give many articles about the lack of black fashion models, the use of "nude" to mean white, the lack of darker skin tones in products supposed to be for "all" skin tones, etc. all issues which are propagated in part because of the lack of black women in a position to make a difference on these issues.)

I personally feel that I would rather ask the question "what have white-run corporations done to negatively impact Essence magazine" but I understand why other people focus on this hire as well.

I think many people are not understanding the role of the Fashion DIRECTOR at Essence ("column" implies that she writes one little article about make-up or something rather than her actual responsibilities) - or really, perhaps at any magazine. Vogue is "just fashion" yet exerts a great amount of cultural influence beyond the fashion world. I think people are taking the tack that "well, so what, it's just someone picking out clothes" which doesn't engage with the ways fashion has always been political abd social, particularly for women.

For a start, fashion editors play an immense role in which designers are featured, which photographers and models are involved in the shoot, which art directors control the photos, and so on. So there is a definite influence upon who is employed and who gets access to the fashion world and the way these images are designed. Beyond that, I shouldn't have to explain on a site like Sociological Images that fashion plays a huge social role for women, and that it has ramifications far beyond lipstick shades, influencing everything from a large portion of the market to the ways women are socialized and gendered, to class issues, etc.

Particularly for black women, the fashion column also creates images of black women's beauty that can work to change the way black women feel about themselves at the deepest level. I'm always telling stories about the girls in my youth group, but they are pre-teens and I have so much work to do to get them not to hate themselves. I once asked them to write down 20 words about their hair and they wrote so many negative words like "nappy" "knotty" "disgusting" that showed how much they have been conditioned to devalue themselves. I hear them wish they weren't so dark and call themselves ugly. A fashion director committed to providing images of black women beyond the light-skinned, mainstream ones is crucial in helping these girls see themselves reflected positively. Beyond photo shoots, the fashion director can run stories or articles that help black women understand things like how their images have historically been constructed and that can empower them as black women to think about their bodies in political ways.

Michaela Angela Davis, for example, is a deeply political and informed woman, and there is no doubt this perspective on the world affected Essence magazine as a whole. We know that perspectives imprint themselves upon media products - if Essence is staffed at high levels by women who understand political struggle that viewpoint is felt throughout the magazine and the workplace.

I would like to see Essence committed to hiring and promoting black women who are committed themselves to uplifting and educating black women. If there truly are no qualified black women, that in itself should be a shame on Essence, which has been around for decades. If in those decades they could not manage to train one woman who could work as fashion director, this in itself shows that there is much more work to be done and that Essence should take responsibility in providing this access. If there truly is not one black woman qualified, Essence has failed black woman in this alone.

@el.j

Nowhere, in any of my postings, have I suggested that black women accept lesser status, and I defy you to point it out to me if you disagree. I merely stated that because blacks comprise only 13.5% of the U.S. population (making the ratio of black women to the rest of the population in this country around 1 in 20) that it seems unreasonable for black women to demand they see images of themselves with a greater frequency than around 1 in 20- just as it would be (and was, at one point) unfair for the U.S. media to distribute images of white males with a frequency of 9 out of 10, because we all know that this is not a realistic portrayal. Would you recommend that every media image feature males and females of every ethnicity present in the U.S. population so that no one feels left out?

I highly doubt you would.

We cannot demand 50/50, 60/40, 70/30, or even 80/20 representation of whites and blacks in media when our population- the media's target audience- does not reflect that: this is unrealistic, this is false. We can only strive for proportionate representation, and I believe that, if you looked, you would see that we're not far off from it.

I have already stated why this argument is not based in Reality. But I will add if you actually read more carefully about what people are saying about the white fashion world. Read what has been said about Vogue having issues with NO BLACK MODELS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then maybe you would see how 13% statements have nothing to do with this piece. Blacks are not being represented because we are not important and not pretty enough. Not because of numbers.

And see you insist on making everything about gender ( white gender), I give you an example representation for women. Women buy more tickets to movies and still males are overrepresented in hollywood movies. So no one is following numbers when it comes to marginalized people

Did anyone else notice that Essence "makeover magic" gives the woman straight, bleached, relatively long hair?

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with an individual black woman choosing that hairstyle of course. But if that's representative of a typical "Essence Makeover," I'm a little disturbed.

As an(other) Australian expat creative type now living & working in America, it sends a red flag up for me because I know that I personally have learned (of my own volition and through sites such as this one) a lot of stereotypes and issues relating to black women and fashion that I didn't know about before moving here, and that even many American-born white women are even less informed in this area than I am now.

I hope for the readers' sake she at least knows about the issues even if she doesn't experience them, otherwise this could cause harm.

I am so incredibly sick of seeing my fellow white people fail to understand the following simple concept:
If you think racism doesn't exist, that might be because you're white and therefore don't generally find yourself on the receiving end of it.

Why not take the word of people who might actually know better than you do? Because you secretly believe it's a plot of some kind? A personal attack on you? Seriously, where is all this defensiveness coming from?

What got my attention here, like Soda and Candy, this woman is not only White, but a White Australian. I'm also a white Australian woman and I would never accept a job like that because I would consider myself unqualified because, like the majority of white Australians, I've only ever learned about the issues faced by POC through the internet. I don't think it's too much to ask to have magazine staff represent the community they're selling themselves to.

For me, I'm imagining this would be like when I see (what I feel to be) skinny people talking about fat fashion. They may have an idea about what fat women have issues with, but when you haven't experienced it yourself, you really can't give much helpful advice even though you think you know what you're talking about.

I'm so sick of this "best person for the job" white-washing bullshit.

What people are saying, in this thread, is that there isn't a single WoC on the entire planet who is more than/as/nearly as qualified for this position as this white Australian woman.

And they honestly and sincerely believe that notion isn't racist.

To all the black women on this site who have commented please read this post.
http://www.ankhesen-mie.net/2010/07/contemplating-honey.html

To me, it's more about the fact that Placas is Australian. How can she be culturally and historically sensitive when she's coming from another culture entirely? It would be like me, an American, going off to publish content for Aboriginal women. No amount of research will do the trick if you didn't grow up with that culture.