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Is Vogue's LeBron Cover Offensive?
March 19, 2008 12:02 AM
LeBron James has stirred up almost as much commotion on the cover of Vogue as he does on the court.
The Cleveland Cavaliers’ superstar is on the magazine’s April 2008 “shape” issue, mouth gaping, face twisted in a grimace, muscles bulging and arm slung around supermodel Gisele Bundchen.
They’re two of the most beautiful people on earth. But some say the Vogue photograph, shot by Annie Leibovitz, isn’t attractive at all because of the racial stereotype it purportedly evokes -- black beast clutching a white damsel in distress, reflected in French sculptor Emmanuel Fremiet’s 1887 statue “Gorilla Carrying Off a Woman,” and later, in the many incarnations of “King Kong.”
“Here you have an image of a black male athlete in an exceptionally aggressive stance, wide footed, bending over, clutching her with his arm,” said Jason Rosenfeld, professor of art history at Marymount Manhattan College. “It’s one thing to have an athlete in that kind of pose and with that kind of expression on a court after he or she has done something miraculous. It’s another thing to couple it with someone who is of an entirely different ilk and gender. That turns it into a racially charged image.”
Why the scrutiny? LeBron is the first black man, and only the third man in Vogue’s 115-year history, to grace the high fashion mag’s cover.
“When you’re for the first time putting a black man on the cover, and this is the way you’re depicting him, it means that you’re going nowhere,” Rosenfeld said. “Pose LeBron in the pose of a Greek God and pose her as a Venus -- then you’re upping the conversation.”
Rosenfeld, in case you’re wondering, is white. Robin Givhan, the Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion editor of the Washington Post and a former associate editor at Vogue, is black. And she doesn’t see what all the fuss is about.
“It’s so exhausting that every time people see an image of a black person they work themselves into a tizzy that somehow it doesn’t adhere to the way in which they think a black person should be presented,” she said.
“I find it hard to say that Gisele looks like a damsel in distress. She’s 5’11 and quite sturdy,” she continued. “My initial reaction was, maybe the photograph is trying to capture his personality. Would Michael Jordan, James Blake or Tiger Woods have been photographed in the same way?”
True, it’s hard to picture cool and calm Tiger posing like anything reminiscent of his namesake. And Vogue, asked to react to the backlash, said it chose the louder LeBron photo (as opposed to calmer pictorials inside the mag) because it’s “expressive, fun and upbeat.”
“Needless to say, the intention from the beginning was only to depict LeBron and Gisele as superstars at the top of their game,” Vogue spokesperson Patrick O’Connell said. “The point about the entire issue is that it celebrates diversity. And I think that people need to look at the entire issue.”
But Givhan said the “entire issue” is the fact that Vogue depicts so little diversity on its covers. In November, Portfolio magazine pointed out that when Jennifer Hudson was on the magazine’s cover in March 2007, she was only the third black celebrity to appear there.
“The whole LeBron thing really comes down to … maybe Vogue should have more people of color on their cover, male and female,” she said. “Maybe then they won’t be so scrutinized when they do put a person of color on their cover.”
Sheila Marikar
March 19, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (358)
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No, it is not offensive. End of story.
Posted by: WestCoastMessenger | Mar 19, 2008 12:58:47 AM
I find it easier to compare hot water with a plastic baby than I what I see with these two magazine covers.
Posted by: L | Mar 19, 2008 1:11:51 AM
he does kinda look like the Gorilla look close he can scratch his knees without bending over hahaha
Posted by: J | Mar 19, 2008 1:34:28 AM
The sad thing is this young man most likely knows this is offensive to whites and blacks and does not care. The photog knew this would play poorly into the nation's racial climate, but they don't care. Its a game to them. As long as HE is rich, he could care less about the stereotypes and confrontations other black males have to face with white girlfriends because they look like him.
Posted by: ROB | Mar 19, 2008 1:41:09 AM
ridiculous
Posted by: nerd | Mar 19, 2008 4:21:56 AM
Yes it is offensive but he should have been wise enough to know that this was degrading to african americans. I thought more of LeBron before this now I just dont know.
Posted by: laporsha | Mar 19, 2008 9:24:48 AM
The only thing offensive is people thinking this cover is offensive.
Posted by: Ted | Mar 19, 2008 9:29:54 AM
and we wonder why Obama had to give the speech he gave?
Posted by: tiff | Mar 19, 2008 9:50:43 AM
don't like the cover and yes I think its offensive to men of color
Posted by: jessy | Mar 19, 2008 9:54:53 AM
White women are easy. Let's talk about that!
Posted by: Nelson | Mar 19, 2008 10:00:04 AM
I love Melissa K. Prezzy
Posted by: HYH | Mar 19, 2008 10:01:28 AM
i like the cover. i think it screams i am a manly man and this is my woman. i like the rugged manly man.
Posted by: jorenz | Mar 19, 2008 10:08:40 AM
LaBron is one of the most beautiful people on earth? What are they smoking at ABC?
Posted by: stop2think | Mar 19, 2008 10:10:43 AM
I love the cover.Black people need to quit being offended at every little thing, it is really quite old.When there is something truly racist going on,h3ll,I'll march with ya'll.Untill then,Giselle doesn't look ofendd to me;)
Posted by: lauras_webproject | Mar 19, 2008 10:15:42 AM
Wow! There is nothing offensive about this photo! The two entertainers are just having fun and now some professor has to throw in the racial card! That's crap! I'm so tired of everything being racial in our society today!
Posted by: Samantha | Mar 19, 2008 10:20:43 AM
I'm confused - is the article saying that King Kong was an african-american ape?? Are there caucasion apes, hispanic, asian etc.....This has to be the most ridiculous thing I have ever read.
Posted by: DBos | Mar 19, 2008 10:21:48 AM
I don't think it is racial . It seems society reads way to much into something that was meant to be artistic. How this became a racial issue is beyond me but I guess everyone is entitled to there opinion however rediculous it maybe .
Posted by: Marie | Mar 19, 2008 10:25:32 AM
Why do people continually look for ways to find something offensive? I am so tired of people ripping every thing apart trying to find offense in it. If she were a damsel in distress she would not be smiling in that photo.
Posted by: Lisa | Mar 19, 2008 10:31:45 AM
Sex sells. End of story.
Posted by: Publius | Mar 19, 2008 10:35:49 AM
Sex sells. End of story.
Posted by: Publius | Mar 19, 2008 10:35:58 AM
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