The Lack of Black Cover Stars Featured in Esquire from 2010-2020
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RARE IN MENSWEAR: THE LACK OF BLACK COVER STARS FEATURED IN ESQUIRE FROM 2010-2020 A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fashion Industry Studies By Julian Randall May 2021 ii Thesis written by Julian Randall B.A., Texas Tech University, 2018 M.F.I.S., Kent State University, 2021 Approved by Jihyun Kim-Vick, Ph.D., Chair, Master’s Thesis Supervisory Committee Tameka Ellington, Ph.D., member, Master’s Thesis Supervisory Committee Eugene Shelton, M.A., member, Master’s Thesis Supervisory Committee Jihyun Kim-Vick, Ph.D., Graduate Program Coordinator Louise Valentine, Ph.D., Director of School John R. Crawford-Spinelli, Ed.D., Dean of the College of the Arts iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF FIGURES......................................................................................................... xxxiv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. xxxix CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 6 Research Questions ............................................................................................ 7 Reasoning ............................................................................................................ 7 Definition of Terms ........................................................................................... 8 II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ......................................................... 9 A History of Men’s Fashion Magazines ............................................................ 9 Arise Magazine ................................................................................................ 10 Discrimination and Exclusion in Fashion ........................................................ 10 Black Fashion Editors ...................................................................................... 11 Iconic Black Fashion Magazine Cover Stars ................................................... 13 Black Fashion Photographers .......................................................................... 14 Colorism in Editorial Covers ........................................................................... 16 Racial, Political and Sociocultural Climate ..................................................... 18 III. METHOD ....................................................................................................... 20 Research Design............................................................................................... 20 Theory .............................................................................................................. 30 Procedure ......................................................................................................... 21 The Complete Esquire Archive ......................................................................... 23 IV. FINDINGS ........................................................................................................ 34 Findings............................................................................................................ 34 V. DISCUSSION ................................................................................................ 40 Race and Gender… ........................................................................................ 40 Body Posture .................................................................................................... 41 Skin Tone ......................................................................................................... 42 Dress ................................................................................................................ 43 Masthead… ...................................................................................................... 45 Age ................................................................................................................... 46 Occupation ....................................................................................................... 47 Context and Textual Relevance ....................................................................... 48 iv VI. CONCLUSION ................................................................................................. 51 Answers to Research Questions ....................................................................... 52 Contributions and Implications ..........................................................................53 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 55 5 ABSTRACT Lack of diversity, inclusion and representation in the fashion industry is an ongoing issue in the 21st century. More specifically, certain fashion magazines have become known for failing to incorporate Black people in their editorial content. The purpose of this study is to highlight the lack of Black people featured on the cover of Esquire Magazine from 2010 to 2020. This study also serves to investigate the variable of having Black leadership at the magazine correlates with an increased number of Black cover stars featured. The methodology used to collect the data is content analysis. This research seeks to uncover any emerging themes or correlations with regard to the inclusion of Black people in Esquire’s editorial content. Stakeholder implications of this study include greater representation of Black people on the cover of the magazine and the incorporation of more diverse and inclusive content within mainstream fashion media. Throughout the duration of this research study, there were a number of trends, common themes and gaps that were identified. It became evident that there is an underrepresentation of Black men featured on the cover of Esquire in recent years, as well as a lack of Black editorial leadership at the publication. 6 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Fashion media has long been one of the primary sources through which men and women follow fashion. Fashion media is responsible for distributing information regarding recent and upcoming trends, lifestyle content, various “dos” and “don’ts,” as well as disseminating information surrounding designer collections. More specifically, magazines play an integral role in this form of content distribution. Top magazines such as Vogue, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire and Esquire generate high readership and are well-regarded within the fashion media sector. Therefore, it is extremely important for fashion magazines to display diverse and inclusive content to ensure that the preferences, life experiences and needs of their readers are heard and affirmed. This is especially important for magazines at the top of the fashion media chain. Magazines have neglected to include diverse and inclusive fashion content in numerous ways. Dr. Tameka Ellington discusses in, “Underrepresented: The Lack of Black Fashion Designers in Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue,” that there is a lack of representation of Black fashion designers in both of these luxury magazines and outlines why it is hindering the fashion industry in its progression toward being more diverse (Ellington, 2017). Additionally, the mere existence of the book “Supreme Models: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion” (Reynolds, 2019), confirms that Black fashion professionals have been excluded from fashion’s most elite media channels. Considering Black people have greatly contributed to the viewership and revenue that these organizations benefit from, it is absolutely essential that they see people who look like their customers, in the pages of these magazines. In fact, according to communications instructor and former vice president of media relations for Warner Bros. Records, Professor Eugene Shelton, the cover of a magazine is perhaps one of the most important components of its 7 makeup. He states that a magazine’s cover plays an integral role in the visual appeal and economic success of a publication. Thus, considering the diversity of the economic and sociocultural landscape of the U.S., diverse and inclusive representation in this regard is absolutely crucial (Eugene Shelton, personal communication, Nov. 10, 2020). This is especially important since there’s been a resurgence of talented Black models, editors, designers, and stylists in the fashion industry. Research Questions The purpose of this study is to highlight the lack of Black people featured on the cover of Esquire from 2010 to 2020. More specifically, in efforts to comprehensively investigate the scope of this issue, the researcher included the following research questions: 1) How often and within what context have Black people been featured on the cover of Esquire from 2010-2020? 2) Have there been any limitations surrounding the types of Black cover stars that Esquire has featured from 2010-2020? 3) Has the presence of Black editorial leadership on the magazine’s masthead, correlated with the amount of Black cover stars featured at Esquire from 2010-2020? Reasoning Since Esquire’s inception as the first men’s publication in the United States in 1933, there have been countless other independent fashion publications that have consistently featured Black people and faces in their magazines. These include magazines such as Kolor, We The Urban, Pause Magazine, Bleu Magazine and more. A significant number of these magazines were also founded by Black men of various backgrounds.