Fashion Magazine Vogue Caught in Controversy Over Cover Photo of US Vice President-Elect Harris

Various Controversies Including Whitewashing and Substandard Quality

Cover photo of Kamala Harris, the Vice President-elect of the United States next month, released by fashion magazine Vogue. (Photo by Vogue Twitter)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The cover photo of the fashion magazine Vogue featuring Kamala Harris, the U.S. Vice President-elect, for next month has sparked various controversies. There are allegations that Harris, the first Black Vice President-elect in the U.S., had her skin tone whitened to look like that of a white person, along with criticisms that her photo wearing sneakers appears somewhat lacking in gravitas.

According to AP News and others on the 10th (local time), Vogue released the cover photo for its February issue featuring Vice President-elect Harris on Twitter that day. In the photo, Harris stands against a green-toned wallpaper backdrop draped with pink curtains, wearing a black suit and Converse sneakers.

Vogue explained that the pink and green colors in the background symbolize 'Alpha Kappa Alpha,' the oldest Black female student club in the U.S., founded in 1908. Harris joined this club in 1986 and has stated in her autobiography that the club had a significant influence on her college life.

However, the photo has sparked an online controversy over 'whitewashing.' Whitewashing refers to the practice of casting white actors in non-white roles in films, and here it refers to suspicions that Harris's skin tone was lightened. One Twitter user bluntly criticized, "Harris already has one of the lightest skin tones among Black women, yet Vogue messed up the lighting," according to The Guardian.

Some have also criticized the photo itself as subpar. They say Harris's outfit and the photo background are generally awkward. Charlotte Klymer, an LGBTQ rights activist, tweeted, "The photo is far below Vogue’s standards," adding, "It seems like it was done without sufficient thought, as if the homework was finished on the morning of the deadline."

The political media outlet Politico reported, "Many online fans argue that the first woman and African-Asian American elected to the vice presidency deserves to be portrayed more grandly." They expressed dissatisfaction that her appearance wearing Converse sneakers seems relatively lacking in dignity.

Vogue denied that they had brightened Harris’s skin tone. They also explained that the use of Converse shoes was from those Harris wore during her campaign, and that capturing a more relaxed image is one of the characteristics of the Joe Biden-Harris administration.

However, Harris’s team told AP News that Vogue changed the cover photo without consulting them, despite an initial agreement on the photo to be used. On the same day, Vogue also released a photo of Harris wearing a sky-blue suit in front of a gold curtain, which was originally supposed to be the cover photo, according to Harris’s team. They said they only realized the cover photo had been changed after seeing Vogue’s Twitter post that day.

When Harris is inaugurated on the 20th, she will become the first female, Black, and South Asian Vice President in U.S. history.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.