Superstar athlete LeBron James meets supermodel Gisele Bündchen on the cover of a high-fashion magazine. Both are young, successful and beautiful. James is arguably the most popular and dominating forward in the NBA, and Bündchen is the highest-paid model in the fashion industry. Add to the mix world-famous photographer Annie Leibovitz, and this trio is unstoppable. The Vogue public relations machine rolled out a campaign highlighting the fact that this would be the first time in the history of the magazine that a black man would grace its cover. What should have been a slam-dunk as a cover for Vogue magazine has turned into a brick for the fashion bible because of a plethora of missteps by all involved.
Vogue magazine came under fire because of the cover image that they chose, which showed James with a basketball in one hand and Bünchden in the other, while making his signature scowl — the face that we usually see after he dunks on an opposing player. Many critics of all walks were up in arms about the image because of the negative stereotypes about black men to which it alluded. These stereotypes included the black buck, the black brute, and the black male’s alleged obsession with white women (although Bündchen is not white). Folks likened the image to that of the 1933 King Kong poster featuring film icon Faye Wray, with some media outlets like The Today Show transposing the poster image over the Vogue cover. Ironically to some, but not me, they matched quite well. While some were insulted by the image, others of all races did not find it objectionable. Some media critics and pundits suggested that a mountain was being made out of a molehill.
Upon first seeing the image, I was not moved by it because as a media scholar, this is an image I am used to seeing in art, photography, film, television and new media. The racist image of the scary black man is not new and cannot be blamed on Vogue magazine. Further, media and society tell us every day that a sure way to success for black men is through sports and having a white woman. In fact many of our black athletes reflect this stereotype, although LeBron James is not one of them — at least in the real world. The flap over this cover is a bit overblown considering the proliferation of negative images of black men that we constantly confront on a regular basis.
But Vogue is not without blame in the controversy. They injected the issue of race by rolling out this campaign highlighting the fact that this would be the first time in the 75 years of its existence that a black man would grace the cover of the magazine. Gee thanks. As a rule of thumb, if you have to make a production out of including someone of color on your magazine, at your dinner party or in your workplace, you probably have been engaged in racist practices.
For those who do not understand the drama, here it is: The first time that the magazine chooses to place an image of a black man on the cover, it is a stereotypical image in a fashion magazine — a space where creativity, difference and boundary bending is celebrated. Then to hide behind the fact that it is “art,” as if art cannot be racist, and to point the finger at society is plain wrong. Further, just because Annie Leibovitz took the photos does not mean that it is art. Those who are familiar with her work know that this is definitely not reflective of her full talent.
Aside from the questionable imagery, it is not even a very good photo. Vogue maintains that they chose LeBron for the cover because he is one of the best dressed athletes in the world, which is true; however, he is not well-dressed on the cover. And if anyone can pull off a Kiton, Jon Green, William Fioravanti, H. Huntsman or a Ralph Lauren Purple Label suit, it is LeBron James. The question becomes if you’re celebrating his fashion sensibilities and his superstardom, why put him in nondescript gym clothes?
Vogue knows its readers (although maybe not, since I am one of them), and understands the power of imagery. This is a safe image for its demographic and for the magazine, which is obviously progressive in terms of fashion, but regressive in terms of representation. Unlike some who question why Tiger Woods or Barack Obama were not chosen, which is a classist argument, I think that LeBron James was an excellent choice, but his inclusion was poorly executed.
James is a young man with the world at his feet, so he sees nothing wrong with it, which is his prerogative. What red-blooded, straight male (or gay male for that matter) would scoff at being photographed with one of the hottest women on the planet? Black athletes, however, need to recognize the precarious history of black male images in the media so that they can play a greater role in determining how they are portrayed.
It is interesting that a man who has so carefully constructed his image, unlike many others, would allow someone else to return him to a space that he has managed to avoid. When LeBron and other black athletes take possession of their images the way that they take control on the basketball court, then perhaps we’ll see something different.
This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2008.
