The “I” in Magazine is a young black woman, the antithesis of the intended audience. Unless of course you are speaking of Essence, Black Hair, Vibe, Ebony or any of the few magazines geared towards an audience of a darker hue. This “I” takes on a unique journey in her quest to find herself in print magazines, designed to exclude her. This post captures a portion of her battle.

In a sea of 100+photos you may see five people who look like you, including the racially ambiguous model that you only noticed because she was one of the few not dramatically spray tanned

The recommendations for summer and spring fashions look lovely, but none work with your body or skin color. Even if their is a black model or featured celebrity she represents one aspect of blackness. 

The only black celebrity news covered is Beyoncé, because after all isn’t she the spokeswoman and idol of ALL black women?

Seeing articles on tanning and squats work as subjects of exclusion.For us, reading on these topics are like reading the recipe for a cake I already have! #pun intended

While nearly every red blooded female can see the attraction that many have for Ryan Gosling, it would sure be nice to see men of color aside from drake, Kanye and Chris ( who are very mainstream and avid characters of popular culture) featured in magazines.

Hair advice. Black hair needs, questions and goals are unique, so the recommendation of a lightweight conditioner perfect for fine strands are excluding to us coarse and curly haired girls.

Also.., the increase in black presence in “mainstream magazines” is laughable. By increase I mean that instead of none there are three in a 100 page magazine  and somehow this is supposed to replace the presence of a person of color on the cover. Seeing a black woman on the cover of a magazine is such an understated rarity in contemporary society. While some may argue that an abundance of  black presence should be reserved for black publication, I would argue that this division of black and “American” or “mainstream” perpetuates the indifference in which blacks are continually regarded. 

Thus, despite there being no “u” in magazine, that is all that is seen when the “I” in magazine is a black reader or subscriber.