This photo dipicts Alicia Keys as Michelle Obama. To give a brief rundown on why Glamour published this photo, the publication has been around for 70 years and to celebrate they are printing photos of modern celebrities representing other celebrities from the past seven decades.
This photo jumped out to me because I love both Michelle Obama and Alicia Keys.
However, it made me think ... think about race, complexion and standards of beauty. Not within American society as a whole but the black community.
Here are my initial thoughts in a nut shell (keep in mind my thoughts can and will change as I take more time to think about the photo):
At first I was happy that they would depict a classy beautiful woman, with another classy beautiful woman. As I thought about it more I felt that it would have been even better if they had used a woman of a darker complexion. The beauty of the rise of the Obamas isn't just that they are black, it's that they look black. You cannot deny that Obama is of African decent. Alicia Keys as being biracial blurs that line a lot more and is relatively "safe" as far as apperances.
With that said, when I take the photo shot for what it is I'm delighted that Glamour would want to use Alicia Keys to represent Obama. Her inner and outer beauty and talent isn't anything that I can deny. Glamour wasn't trying to make any commentary about race, it's a commentary on bold edgy fashions over 70 years.
When all is said and done, I have one thing to say: That photo is fierce!
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