What is beautiful?

Well, here's an interesting article that I happened to stumble upon the other day. No doubt, it is over three years old but it's still relevant. The article addresses why we don't see many ethnic models in the world of American fashion. This is something I've noticed over the years and something that has turned me off of the major rags like Elle, Vogue, and Bazaar (as a teen I read them voraciously). Interestingly enough, I find that the European versions of Elle and Vogue contain many more ethnic models than their American counterparts. Why? I'm not sure given the ethnic makeup of America as compared to European countries. It's sad that as a country we don't value all different types of beauty. What message does this send to girls and women? To boys and men? That white women are the ideal of beauty. This is incorrect and it is damaging. I don't know whether there is an end in sight to this inequality. I haven't seen much progress over the last 20 years.

In any case, here's the link to the article:

http://www.time.com/time/style/article/0,9171,1113030909-483065,00.html

And if you're interested, here's a link to stunning Liya Kebede's website. Liya is mentioned in the Time article. In my opinion, her image could sell anything. The evidence is in the pictures. Have a look for yourself. Just one example of many...an example of what is considered to be "unconventional" beauty.

http://www.liyakebede.com/