This morning I decided to go to the gym before class & attempt to work off the lemon cake I ate the previous night at work. Being as it was 8 am, I was not entirely thrilled to be there. I decided to grab one of the gym's magazines to browse through while on the elliptical just to keep my mind off of how badly I wanted to be back in my comfy (perhaps too much so) bed. Unfortunately, I grabbed Elle. I perused through the pages of fancy rich people in their glamorous outfits, until I landed on an article that disgusted me beyond words.
The March 2010 issue of Elle features an article on the inclusion of sportswear in the latest fashion lines (such a thrilling, important topic to humanity in these current times of earthquakes, poverty, and tragedy!), titled "Separate but Equal"... now, perhaps the presumably white, presumably rich editors and writers of Elle didn't realize the importance of their language. But I see no excuse for using racially oppressive phrases as a title for a flippant, vain article for the privileged. Using "Separate but Equal" to title a piece for rich white folks just demonstrates the sheer lack of solidarity and compassion in our society. I'm sure no one meant harm by this statement, but that is the problem- no one even thinks about these things. As a society, we refuse to acknowledge that racism and classism exist, harshly and unjustly.
Well, I'll never be opening the pages of Elle magazine again.
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