Apparently so, according to
People magazine. Surely I cannot be the only one who has
noticed this. Save for one (Denzel Washington), there has never
been a man of color on the cover of the annual "Sexiest Man
Alive" issue. Seriously? You mean Nick Nolte actually once
"graced" the cover of
People as the
"Sexiest Man Alive" and the likes of Benjamin Bratt, Taye
Diggs, Blair Underwood, Boris Kodjoe, Will Smith, Jesse L. Martin
(Law & Order), Terrence Howard, Dwayne "The Rock"
Johnson, Edris Elba, Eddie Murphy, Welsley Snipes, Antonio
Banderas, Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes), Tyson Beckford, Rodrigo
Santoro (The 300), Esai Morales, Oscar De La Hoya, um,
President-elect Barack Obama, somehow don't measure up?
Seriously? Isn't the adage or standard of masculine beauty
"tall, dark and handsome?" So
can someone please explain to me why
People magazine
religiously voids that on their cover, every single year? I'm
not saying the Matthew McConaugheys, Hugh Jackmans or the Brad
Pitts of the world aren't cover worthy (personally, I very much
believe they are), but, I find it strange that we live in a country
this diverse, with a plethora of options, and all, but once has the
cover ever featured a man of color. There is a rich and deep pool
of diversity, perhaps
People magazine might want to look
into using it. If not, you should just be honest as to whom your
magazine is designed to address. That way I don't have to hear
another misinformed white person make an
Elisabeth
Hassleback like statement such as: " what do
you
people need with
Ebony magazine or BET? What if we
had WET or Ivory magazine?" Seriously, they should just rename
the magazine to address the People they are actually targeting,
because it is abundantly clear People is not addressing
all People. For goodness sakes, Mel Gibson and Tom Cruise
have been on multiple covers as the "Sexiest Man Alive,"
so obviously there aren't that many of you (more on that
later). Matt Damon, Harrison Ford and NICK NOLTE?!! For real?! I
have a hard time believing if most women had to choose between that
lot and the likes of any of the aforementioned men of color, that
it would even be close...and no there would be no Bradley effect:-)
