Open Letter: Dear Essence Magazine

Dear Essence:

I was so thrilled to see the preview of your latest issue with one of my favorite singers on the cover on so many different blogs, but imagined my shock and disgust when I saw the caption above the lovely Ms. Scott's head read Video Vixen Returns: A First Look At Her New Confessions. How could a magazine that purports to be a leader on women's issues, and one that constantly takes Hip-Hop to task make such a mistake by doing a feature story on Karrine Steffans a.k.a. Superhead? Does this not make you (Essence) a hypocrite? Is it acceptable for a woman to exploit herself for profit, but not acceptable when a man does it? What kind of message are we sending young girls? Forget about doing something productive and responsible with your life, just go out and sleep with a bunch of celebrity men and it can land you in the pages of Essence and on the Oprah Winfrey Show. We keep talking about a change needs to come, but that change starts with us. We as women have to demand better of ourselves and the people who claim to represent us, and holding someone like Karrine up as an example is not the way to go. Just as much as the rappers are a problem the women who voluntarily do these videos are just as much a problem, but I don't see anyone talking about them. We have to keep in mind that no one put a gun to these women's head to force them to sell their soul for some glitter and gold. Not all these women are the victims of sexual abuse or any other form of abuse. If we are going to discuss the problem and have a proper dialogue we have to discuss all segments of the problem, and man are not the only ones who are contributing to the problem. A lot of us, as women, need to take a look in the mirror and realize that we have a contributed a lot to the exploitation of women. It's only until we do better that we can truly demand better because in the end we all have to be held accountable for our actions.

UPDATE:

Now after receiving my copy in the mail (I have been a loyal subscriber for quite some time now) I must admit that I was thoroughly surprised. Someone must have thought that featuring Ms. Steffans in Esssence was not a good look for the magazine just like I did because the above caption had been replaced by Special Investigation: Help Find Missing Black Children. I am so happy that Essence saw the err of their ways and made a change before the issue hit newsstands.

Posted in: Open Letter, TheIcon's Commentary