My husband and I are not particularly religious people but we doobserve the Lent...sorta. I mean, we don't do it in the tradition sense, with the fasting and prayer, but we do try to give up one or more of our vices for a month and focus on more "enriching" activities. In the past the we've given up (or tried really hard to give up) drinking wine, eating red meat and eating out. Not exactly worthy of a twelve step program but you get the drift.
Anyway, I was thinking about this when I came across a phenomenal post by Afrobella this morning called Black Woman, Know That You Are Beautiful. This quote in particular really got me thinking:
I say, don’t waste your time buying Vogue or any of the so-called fashion bibles that hardly ever use models of color in their spreads. Support the publications that do...
Now, I've mentioned in the past that I am a magazine junkie. In addition to my subscriptions, I buy at least three more magazines each week. I can't even add up the ones that I thumb through at the checkout stand. It's become a serious habit. After running after my toddler all day there is nothing I enjoy more than brewing a cup of tea and sitting back with the colorful mental bubblegum of a fashion magazine. This of course, is not complication free. Finding a magazine that at least throws a token to the non-White consumers is a rare feat, especially now that Black History Month is over.
I've thought about giving up the glossy crack before and have even let a few subscriptions lapse but I often wonder if I'm disciplined enough to go cold turkey. What would I do with my hands? Would my wrist and flipping finger get flabby? Would by skin wrinkle without articles about the new "it" cream? Would I start wearing sweat pants to the market? Most importantly, what would I complain about?
As we move into Spring, I find myself thinking more about the choices I make with money and the things I support inadvertently by saying one thing and buying another. Does all this mean that I'll give up buying fashion magazines? Probably not but I know that looking at them with an even more critical eye and saving my dollars for issues that speak to my own interests and looking to new media sources to fill the void let by these old guard publications.
This all brings me to the March issue of US Vogue. There's nothing spectacular about the image of Drew Barrymore on the cover but there is something to be said for the contents. In addition to a spread of Liya Kebede shot by Norman Jean Roy (images to be posted soon,) there is also a brief article on the marriage of Studio Museum of Harlem curator Thelma Golden and designer Duro Olowu, a piece by Andre Leon Talley comparing Michelle Obama to Camelot era Jackie O., a profile on my new favorite Keisha Whitaker and Zoe Kravitz, and a lengthy article on CNN newswoman Gwen Ifills. For whatever reason, none of these features was deemed worthy enough to be mentioned on the cover but the issue itself is worth look at for those near a newsstand with idle hands.