LeBron James Vogue cover criticized
Here we Go Again.........................
NEW YORK - When Vogue announced its April cover starring LeBron James and Gisele Bundchen, the magazine noted with some fanfare that James was the first black man to grace its cover.
But the image is stirring up controversy, with some commentators
decrying the photo as perpetuating racial stereotypes. James strikes
what some see as a gorilla-like pose, baring his teeth, with one hand
dribbling a ball and the other around Bundchen?s tiny waist.
It?s an image some have likened to ?King Kong? and Fay Wray.
?It conjures up this idea of a dangerous black man,? said Tamara Walker, 29, of Philadelphia.
Photographer Annie Leibovitz shot the 6-foot-9 NBA star and the
5-foot-11 Brazilian model for the cover and an inside spread. Vogue
spokesman Patrick O?Connell said the magazine ?sought to celebrate two
superstars at the top of their game? for the magazine?s annual issue
devoted to size and shape.
?We think Lebron James and Gisele Bundchen look beautiful together and we are honored to have them on the cover,? he said.
James told The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer he was pleased with the cover, saying he was ?just showing a little emotion.?
?Everything my name is on is going to be criticized in a good way or
bad way,? James told the paper. ?Who cares what anyone says??
But magazine analyst Samir Husni believes the photo was deliberately
provocative, adding that it ?screams King Kong.? Considering Vogue?s
influential history, he said, covers are not something that the
magazine does in a rush.
?So when you have a cover that reminds people of King Kong and
brings those stereotypes to the front, black man wanting white woman,
it?s not innocent,? he said.
O?Connell, the Vogue spokesman, declined further comment.
In a column at ESPN.com, Jemele Hill called the cover ?memorable for
all the wrong reasons.? But she said in an interview that the image is
not unusual ? white athletes are generally portrayed smiling or
laughing, while black sports figures are given a ?beastly sort of vibe.?
For example, former NBA star Charles Barkley was depicted breaking
free of neck and wrist shackles on the cover of Sports Illustrated.
Dennis Rodman graced the cover of Rolling Stone with horns poking out
of his forehead and his red tongue hanging out.
Images of black male athletes as aggressive and threatening
?reinforce the criminalization of black men,? said Damion Thomas,
assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology at University of
Maryland.
But others say the image show James? game face ? nothing more. And they note that Bundchen hardly looks frightened.
?James is a huge, black beautiful masculine statue and Gisele is a
feminine, sexy gorgeous doll,? said Christa Thomas, 36, a black account
supervisor in Los Angeles.
?I didn?t see any kind of racist overtone to it,? she said. ?I still
don?t. I think there is such a hypersensitivity to race still in this
country.?
Husni said it is too soon to know how the magazine is selling,
though the controversy could increase sales as people rush out to get a
?collector?s edition.?
If nothing else, Walker said the cover underscores the need for a more diverse workplace.
?If more people of color worked for Vogue in positions of editorial
authority, perhaps someone in the room might have been able to read the
image the way so many of us are reading it now, and had the power to do
something about it,? she said.
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