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Another "racist" spin-off
Did anyone read about the Vanity Fair spread that was targeted for not being diverse? It was a picture of several white girls sitting on the ground. I don't recall what the picture correlated to, but either way, because it was only white girls, minority organizations had a problem with it.
Is that being overly sensitive? Or is it discriminatory?
I guess I'm just tired of hearing about all the hoopla over not being diverse enough. It's like how the NAACP picketed jobsites on MLK Jr Day because they felt like those people shouldn't be working and should be paying respects to the holiday. Seriously??? Those people lost pay for that day...food on the table! Over someone's soapbox??
I'm the first to defend equality, but lately it's gotten out of hand.
(NOTE: I know that all the ladies on this board will be able to discuss this topic without it becoming heated. That is why I love the Cincinnati board so much!)
Re: Another "racist" spin-off
I agree that the picketing may have been a bit much, and I do think there are some people, of all ethnicities and backgrounds, that jump to the claim of "discrimination" a little too quickly.
However, growing up white in an area (Northern Kentucky) that in general has little diversity, its impossible for me to know how it feels to be a minority, anywhere, at any time, in any way. I don't know what it feels like to open magazines and see that 90% of the people portrayed don't look like me. I don't know what it feels like to walk into a room or a store or a meeting at work and not see that the majority of the faces there are the same color as mine. So maybe after a while, it would start to get to me. Maybe....maybe not? I have no idea. I know that I am a very empathetic person, but there are some situations that I just know I can't fully understand if I'll never live them.
And maybe all of this is ignorant. Maybe I'm simplifying things, or making too much of things, or completely missing the mark. Again, it's hard for me to know.
I don't think it's a 'lately it's gotten out of hand' thing. I think there are always going to be watchdog groups that are a little hypervigilant - making sure we, as humans, don't backslide on equality. And they need to pick platforms to stay in the news so that they can find a way to remain relevant in a world that is moving both forward and backward so quickly.
I think the Vanity Fair cover was a bad choice in platform. They're picking out that the girls aren't diverse enough, but there aren't any men in the picture either. Does that mean that magazine discriminates against men? Or that it knows it's marketing demographic? Is this one cover that they object too - or do they have a pattern of only showing white girls on the cover? If there's a pattern, then the platform selection improves, but a singular cover - not so much.
I also think the MLK day picket was a bad platform choice. You don't see anyone picketing businesses if they remain open on Columbus Day, or President's Day. In this market, I don't see any workers walking out on their jobs over not getting a holiday - and I'm guessing most of them didn't have a choice about showing up. Not to mention that I heard a few years ago that Coretta Scott King had requested that businesses and schools NOT be closed on MLK Day b/c her husband was all about education and hard work. (I should probably snopes that.) If you want to honor what the man really believed, then get the children into the classroom and work like crazy.
OH! I am so heated about this right now. Most specifically, the "this" I am referring to is the NAACP and their rant over CPS. They ARE being racist. Time and time again, they say they need "more African- American contractors." There are way more minorities than just African- Americans. My company is in this industry and we are woman owned. Woman in this field are more of a minority than African Americans. Should be a huge advantage for us, but too often owners/contractors are just looking for AA companies and not other minorities.
Additionally, having been exposed to a lot of these companies at all the city minority meetings I can truthfully say I am amazed at some of the companies that are hired. A lot of times, they do not have the resources, financial soundness, or track records to show that they are capable of completing the work. It is a HUGE risk for owners and general contractors to hire these companies...yet they don't really have a choice. More often than not, at these meetings, we are the only company (in the very least one out of 3) that can bond a project, have completed projects of similar calibar, etc. I know this becuase they ask for a show of hands of who can bond, you can insure their work, who has completed projects in this dollar range, etc.
I also find it humorous how the head of the NAACP just so happens to have a brother who owns a concrete company...that he just happened to plug in yesterday's article and how he hopes the NAACP's efforts with CPS result in minority companies getting more work outside of CPS, such as the Banks project that is currently bidding. Perhaps the largest project up for bid at this time. First, I guarantee that all of his brother's company did not have MLK day off. Secondly, I doubt the NAACP would care if companies are working on President's Day or Good Friday or any other darn bank holiday. Third, think about how much it would cost the employees and CPS to have that day off work. THe employees would have to take no pay, which no one wants now...and the NAACP would throw a fit about the no pay...or it would be holday pay. As a conservative guess, those guys are making 18$/ hr (more like $40 if they are union which most are). At a minimum, they're working 8 hours a day. I will say a minimum of 30 employees on the jobsite that day. So, 18x8x30...that's $4,320 (not including health insurance, etc etc that the company would have to pay and ultimately charge CPS). THat's one school, one day. I would guess that there are at least 15 CPS schools at one stage of construction or another...so 64,800$ that CPS, aka taxpayers, would be paying to give off MLK. If we give off MLK, I feel that President's day would also be given, raising it to 129,600. YIKES!
Sorry for the rant, but I just feel it is plain rediculous. Jobs should be awarded on capability, not because of ones race, gender, etc etc. If you are looking for minorities include ALL minorities, not just race. Otherwise, you are truly being biased. I am really interested to hear other's opinions on this.
I'm short, round and brunette. Trust me - there aren't that many magazines showing off people that look like me either. LOL.
That's too funny! I was thinking the same thing.
I am having a very hard time expressing my feelings on this one. So if you don't understand me, just ask. I feel if you give someone a job because of their ethnicity or gender you cheapen both the job and the ethnicity's reputation.
I understand the sentiment behind what you're saying and I don't necessarily disagree, but I still think that we need a safeguard against discrimination. Contrary to what people might like to believe, our society isn't colorblind. (or ethicity-blind, or gender-blind, etc.) We still have a long way to go.
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Being a "minority" myself (woman AND Asian) and in the science field I can't agree more whole-heartedly. I am angered when someone is unqualified for the position/scholarship/whatever regardless of their background. It makes those of us that just happen to be minorities but really could get the job or whatever on our own look weaker and less able. I don't want to be given an opportunity just to fill someone's "quota" and would never ever want to be given anything that I didn't deserve.
That being said, I feel that every "minority" opportunity I have personally been given has been earned but it's not always the case that I see.
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I understand what you're saying.
There is a high innitiative with many companies to be aware and try to promote minority- and woman-owned businesses. I can't speak for all, but I do work heavily in the minority inclusion side of things for my own company (in construction).
The thought process behind it is that we do a lot of work in the communities in which we build buildings. There is a lot of money to be awarded throughout the project. It's is our DUTY to our communities within which we work to help the struggling businesses...businesses that struggle because they are minority- or woman-owned..because they can tend to be looked at as incapable. Or maybe they just aren't being given the opportunity to prove they can do it because the larger, more well-known companies are easy to award to because there's a history there with the Construction Manager.
That being said, my company will not award to MBEs or WBEs just because they are called such. They have to be qualified. There are many other aspects that go into it. ALSO my company holds FREE classes for small construction companies to help them gain the knowledge they need to have to be competitive in today's market.
So, quality of work is not willing to be compromised just to say there is a minority- or woman-owned contractor doing the work. But it is an important initiative to help these folks get the opportunities that they deserve, but sometime struggle getting because of their size and/or background.
Did that make sense?
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Erin- I hear what you're saying. However, I also find the some companies/ owners won't consider our WBE company as our revenues are too high. As a PP poster said, I do not want to be awarded a job simply because we are a minority. I believe we create a solid product and think we have a strong reputation as doing so. However, I don't want to be excluded from a job that has minority requirements because we are "too big". Where is the motivation for a company to grow if, as a "small" business, they are given many more opportunities??
I also see situations were it is a straight requirement from the owner of the project and the companies have no choice but to oblige. I would not enjoy being in that position! To me, that is far different than being aware of attempting to fill the project with the same race/ gender companies that your company serves (Ie- United Way requiring minority participation). I also don't understand how being MBE or WBE's "struggle because they are minority owned." In what ways do they struggle more? I feel there are far more opportunities for them than for the average joe.
I feel the same way about college sports. I think that Title 9 has done a lot of harm to sports. It's had a counter affect on men's sports. The men's football/ basketball teams aren't going to get any less money becuase they are money makers. Plaid and simple. To balance the mens and womens budget, every other men's sport has been sacrificed. Very few schools continue to offer men's soccer, a lot of men's swimming and diving is being cut, etc. How is that fair?
I was angered by the vanity fair cover controversy as well... I think some people carry the banner of diversity too far to where they expect every photo and every movie and every TV show to present a snapshot of the county's racial composition. I also think some people are too quick to read into things; its like they look for ways to be offended or assume that if there isn't diversity in something that it's intentional and malicious.
I fully admit I'm not an ethnic minority, so I don't have personal experience with feeling slighted or left out due to my heritage. And having read The Help for last month's book club really made me think about how recently people held some pretty outrageous beliefs in regard to race. But, I think that relying on race as a fallback to explain everything that doesn't go your way is a cop out; people truly need to take responsibility for their own lives and futures.
And to bring it back to vanity fair... I think they only made it more obvious that all the women are white because of the clothes they wore and the way the photos were shot. Everyone looks extra pale and washed out, and in the end they all kind of look the same to me (maybe they're all just over-airbrushed).
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This is an interesting point... If Ebony or Essence magazine did a piece on the "top new actresses" and all of the women featured were black, no one would be surprised. But that's only evidence of the double standard...Ebony and Essence can call themselves "magazines for African Americans" but if Vanity Fair were ever to call itself a "magazine for white women" they'd have people picketing their building in an instant. That's the type of thing that really bothers me.
(and it's not just because I'm white... I take the same stance on many women's groups. I refused to join groups such as Women in Communications in college because I felt that in professional settings everyone should be on the same level; in fact, I'm vaguely insulted by groups that suggest women need extra help just because they're women).
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DITTO this exactly!
Since I was a journalism major and have interned at various magazines I want to hit the topic on the magazines. Its not the "face" of the magazines but the fact that the Ebony/Essence/Black Enterprise magazines discuss topics that deal with the Black community.
If you can tell me other magazines that discuss the dwindling % of Black Men in college exclusively or that gives HBCUs a leg to stand on or that even acknowledges what goes on in the Black community to an equal percentage of the number or Blacks in the US I think those magazines would cease to exist.
I've interned all over and I can tell you its hard to read "Better Homes and Gardens" when your culture cannot relate to that. Its just filling a gap that hasn't been met in our society as of yet. On the flip side I believe VF is free to have whoever the want on their cover because that is their freedom of choice. I could care less.
I remember being crowned homecoming queen at my university (and remember I was a journalism major so I know ALL about the yearbook). My senior year (when i was crowned) was the first time in over 20 years that the person that was crowned homecoming queen was actually NOT pictured in the year book. They had the entire court pictured...except me...I don't want to go down this slippery slope.
What?! That's bull junky!!!
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this exactly
OMG!!!! What year did you graduate??? That's is INSANE!!!!!! Did you raise 10 kinds of hell??? That's absurd!
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Ebony and Essence were created b/c women of color were almost NEVER represented in magazines like Vanity Fair. It's not the same...and I'm "bothered" when people act as if they are the same.
as much as you'd hope that by 2010 people would have evolved enough to be naturally inclusive, we haven't.
i think the point might be that you would never see a copy of vanity fair with all black girls on the front, unless their was a mission behind the cover. it would be a casual thing, there would be some underlying issue that cover would be addressing.
being white, we typically don't notice it, because nothing is different to us. but make yourself conscious of it for a week and take a look at tv shows, media outlets etc, and you'll notice how there is not much diversity despite being millions of other ethnicities and races.
i had this stupid football coach social studies teacher in high school, but i'll never forget this one thing he said. some kid was complaining about black history month, and how there was no white history month and why was that necessary. he told the kid that every day was white history month. he told the kid to go through the book, chapter by chapter and tally it up.
sometimes it does take considerate focus to make us see things that aren't in our normal every day lives or that wouldn't affect us otherwise.
food for thought.