Coincidence or Racism?

http://www.stylebyme.net/2009/03/18/beyonces-vogue-us-cover-upsets-and-is-racist/

Is it coincidence or racism? It seems that every issue of high fashion magazines, like Vogue, feature the “ideal” looking models plastered on their covers month after month. It’s a nice change when you can pick up a copy of a magazine to find a woman of colour gracing the cover page. However, how coincidental is it that the issue with a black woman on the cover, such as Beyoncé Knowles, happens to be the “shape” issue? Is it just that Beyoncé happens to be a woman with curves, or is it the stereotypical explanation that women of colour are curvier than white women? When I take a look at Beyoncé on the cover of this magazine, I would hesitate to classify her as even remotely over-weight. The website that features this issue relates to my topic in two ways. Not only is the fashion industry exaggerating the celebrity’s weight, but it is doing this in a racist manner at the same time. Though it seems as if this magazine is promoting being curvy and loving your body, there is a hidden message. Really, the point being made is that women of colour are stereotypically heavier than white women, and that people who have a similar body type to the very, in my opinion, slim looking Beyoncé, are considered “curvy”.