Carissa Chesanek

The covers of fashion magazines entice a reader with the glitz and the glamour, but are they missing something that may be crucial to many viewers? When we look at fashion magazine covers, what do we see? On many of the covers we see beautiful women with sexy hair, glowing skin and impeccable clothing. The covers of these magazines sure have a lot of sex appeal, but do they have a lot of diversity?

Many people argue that there is an absence of ethic models in the media. Most media outlets advertise that their content is designated for everyone, but many believe that they alienate models of color and size to represent their campaigns.

Owner and Creative Director of Aaron Potts NYC says, “I think it has become very politically correct to talk about multiculturalism, but that talk doesn’t always result in true diversity,” Aaron Potts says. “Many companies go for ‘aspirational’ marketing, but they sadly just don’t see people of color as something to aspire to unless they are ‘validated’ by pre-existing fame.”

Potts states that there has not been a burst of ethnicity in the media for a long time now. “The last ‘wave’ of truly diverse models was in the early 90’s when Naomi, Beverly Peele, Tyra, Brandi, Gurmit, Veronica Webb and many other diverse models of color were seen regularly,” he says. “It is a shame that diversity is a trend and not the norm. You never know which comes first, the chicken or the egg. Are advertisers shaping the aesthetic view of the consumer by using primarily non-ethnic models or are advertisers simply relaying what the consumer wants to see? I think it is a bit of both – and both means we are in a sad state of affairs.”

Perhaps the media is unaware of its actions and the way that they portray beauty. Maybe if they knew how others are affected by the way they advertise, they would want to change their strategy. “I wish brands and advertisers knew the real power they have with affecting change in aesthetic and social views of beauty, diversity and economics,” says Potts.

But is the media really lacking diversity or are they just trying to sell to a specific market? Let’s face it, some magazines are designated more for a particular type of woman, while others like to focus their attention to another demographic, so does that make advertising bias?

“That's a very good question. I think you just have to look at your target market and who you are trying to attract to your retail business,” says James Jones, CEO of Boss Lady Luxury Shoes and Handbags. “I will not say that the media alienates people of ethnic backgrounds though.”

Jones explains that the type of models used for advertising is really based on the market that is being sold; nothing more, nothing less. “I for one, sell urban brand named clothing,” he says. “So many of the models that I deal with for promo shoots are of ethnic background because they will market better with my target audience. But if you look at the history of advertising, the ideal model would be the blond, blue-eyed white female. Statistically speaking, people of the white race have the most buying-power of anyone else in America. So I think that many companies tend to market more with them because of buying power, opposed to people of ethnic backgrounds.”

Jewelry designer, Heather Eve says that she also believes the media may have a philosophy to their madness. “I understand why designers do it and I see it from a different light then most people,” she says. “I understand how people can be offended by it, but since a designer can't say ‘I design for a certain ethnicity or body type’ they do it through advertising.”

Eve feels that designers should not be criticized for their designs and whom they are designated for since there is really a designer and advertiser for everyone. “When Karl Lagerfeld openly admitted to designing for thinner woman be was trashed in the magazines. To me it’s not fair. There are plenty of designers that design for a fuller figure woman. Advertising defines who a company is and the type of model usually helps get the message across.”

So does the media seem to favor a certain type of female, or are they simply enforcing what they know? Perhaps advertising is taken out of context instead of being understood. People normally sell what they know, so if a media outlet knows about a certain ethnic background, then perhaps they will be able to sell their material better. Maybe there isn’t a lack in ethnicity in the media after all, but instead a lack of understanding the methods that advertisers use.