representation matters
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Pointe in Platform Heels: Harper Watters Is Breaking the Boundaries of Ballet
If you Google dancer Harper Watters, you’ll come up with a variety of results: His work as a soloist with the Houston Ballet, his hilariously candid YouTube channel and Instagram page, his growing profile as an influencer, and many, many mentions of stilettos. It’s a fitting amalgamation of the multifaceted approach Watters is taking to…
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We Did It! 2018 Was a Record-Breaking Year for Diversity on Magazine Covers
It’s official: After months of watching magazine covers steadily get more colorful, with December’s round of issues, 2018 has ended up as a record-breaking year for diversity, particularly in the fashion industry. Industry site Fashionista has been keeping track of diversity and inclusion for the past five years now, and on Monday reported that of…
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Art and Activism Create Darker Gods for Art Basel Miami
Activism and art are frequently complimentary forces, but a new exhibit at Miami’s Art Basel brings the two together in a visionary new way. Artist Damon Davis is using sound, photography, film, illustration and written word to reframe and deify blackness—specifically, the ways in which the media represents and fetishizes blackness and black pain—in his…
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Mahershala Ali Reveals His True Detective Character Was Originally Written as White
Looks like the (rare) tradition of colorblind casting wins again. Mahershala Ali’s casting news reinvigorated interest in HBO’s anthology series, True Detective—and his recent reveal makes the news that much sweeter. Variety dropped their Actors on Actors series Tuesday and I’ve had my eyes on Mahershala Ali interviewing John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman), and vice versa.…
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Who’s That Lady? Oprah Leads Our Bimonthly Black Magazine Cover Roundup!
How’s this for recognizability: Elle India was so confident in Oprah’s famous image that acclaimed photographer Mark Seliger shot one of their two 22nd anniversary covers with the “queen of all media” facing away from camera, showing off a heavily embellished jacket by Anamika Khanna. On an alternate cover and inside the issue, we see…
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Black Hair Matters: The Affirmative Power of Politicians Like Ayanna Pressley and Stacey Abrams
When Ayanna Pressley got her Senegalese twists done for the first time about three years ago, it was a moment of affirmation and recognition. “I just really loved it,” she told The Glow Up. “I felt my most authentic and powerful self.” Speaking over the phone this past September, Pressley explained that when she was…
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Racism May Be Dolce & Gabbana's Demise. What Took So Long?
How many instances of bias or cultural insensitivity does it take for a fashion label to be called to account for its racism? Dolce & Gabbana is finally finding out after a series of campaign ads peddling in cultural stereotypes, followed by racist comments, have rightfully drawn the ire of the Chinese and the fashion…
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Ilhan Omar Compels Democrats to Amend Ban on Head Coverings in the House of Representatives
For 181 years, the U.S. House of Representatives has imposed a ban on its members wearing head coverings. With Ilhan Omar, one of the first Muslim women to be elected to Congress, set to take her oath of office in January, that rule—which would have prohibited her wearing her customary headscarves or the hijab—is slated…
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Zoe Kravitz Literally Embodies Black Girl Magic In Bewitching New Fantastic Beasts Sequel
“I hope young brown people see the movie and see a reflection of themselves and feel included and represented.” text The magical world of Harry Potter just got a little blacker. Zoe Kravitz plays Leta Lestrange in the new Fantastic Beasts sequel, much to the delight of #BlackHogwarts. And considering the previous backlash and erasure…
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She Doesn't Have the Range: How Victoria's Secret Became Its Own Worst Enemy
We’re not sure there’s a more delicate way to put this, but the world’s best known lingerie brand has really been showing its ass lately, all in an attempt to continue restricting the talent in its annual lingerie show—the largest in the world—to exclusively straight-sized, able-bodied, cis models. While we’ve applauded the label in the…