"Mike, Liya Kebede (better??) has Ethiopian features. Not that it matters, she’s just beautiful, ok?"

Thank you so much for this comment. As a Nigerian American/African American/Black woman (God...all these terms), with dark skin and "kinky hair" I grew up believing I was ugly–today it's still difficult for me to take any compliments to my looks. Black women with "caucasian/white features" were always prized more so than women who looked like me. As I got older, especially more recently, I really had to re-examine what exactly "white" or "black" features are. Are they features that ONLY each respective group displays, give or take a few exceptions...I can name features like broad lips, big hips/butt, narrow/pointy nose, wide nose, thin lips, etc. and try to attribute them strictly to black or white, but it's impossible to do so as I have seen many people on both sides who display any of those features...and that's not including all of the other racial/ethnic groups. I myself had medium-full sized lips, narrow hips, not so big butt, am very lean, slanted eyes, dark skin, high cheekbones, medium/small nose...so where does that put me? How many of those features would you attribute to blacks, whites, asians, etc???

I saw a documentary attempting to trace the journey of man from Africa to the rest of the world and they found a tribe of people in a remote area of, I believe, central Africa purported to have the oldest, most stable DNA–our (all of us) predecessors. They scanned the faces of members of this tribe, and it was chilling to see the various facial features and skin colors of these people. You could literally see every feature in the world represented...So what now? We (every person...in particular the media and the entertainment industry) need to all come to a place where we can say we are all human, we are all beautiful...we are all intelligent...we each have our own unique gifts to bring to the worlds. Yes, be intrigued by people's culture and ethnic background, or even physical features...but don't use it against them to make yourself feel more important.

Also, I prefer real women with curves, instead of the stick models. I hate how Hollywood ebraces the skinny female look, because some think that being curvy or buxom, makes such women seem slutty or overly sexualized; which some "believe" either detracts from the actoress' acting ability or takes viewers' focus away from the actoress' onscreen work because of the distraction of "curves".

Annie Kate
Birmingham AL

That was a very racist comment.

Thanks for the report on what the Italian Vogue magazine have done! I am impressed that Vogue publishers conceptualized and acknowledged the beauty of black models with an entire issue. This is an impressive move from Vogue's in house publishing. I would be interested in getting some prints of these authentic black models with all american and all world features, these ladies are pioneers. Black models represent the fashion industry. And for those who know the fashion industry...you will also know that black beauty is all inclusive and will be beautiful forever. For those who don't care....we'll you are not Vogue, but for those who do, strike a pose! It's not that deep. Thanks, Vogue keep black models in your "Issues!!!!".

Until all women vote with their pocketbooks, designers and manufacturers of beauty products and magazine publishers will continue to churn out the same thin, pale sickly models they have been using for ages. Women have the power not to purchase beauty and fashion products by compnaies that don't promote diversity and positive images for women.

As as Black woman, I purchased and subscribed to many mainstream magazines that featured few minorities- Black, Latino, Asians nor Native Americans. I started wondering why I was supporting publications that rarely featured women who look like me and had little beauty advice for darker women. Thus, I stopped buying these magazines. Now the only magazines I read are Essence- a magazined geared toward Black women and Oprah- which seems to be very inclusive of all races. When Vogue, Harpers Bazar and the others decide they want to change, maybe I'll read them. So far no change seems imminent from these publications.

On a related note, I dont understand why some people are so against the average model. I myself am a very tall and slender female, and I do some modeling on the side. I understand how they may not represent the typical woman, but they are still women and deserve to be treated and addressed as such. I totally agree that the industry needs to highlight beauty in all of its sizes, shapes, and colors, but attacking a female for being "unusually" tall and thin is just as wrong for attacking one who is short and overweight.

I think I understand part of what's going on, though. Many male fashion designers or men high up in the industry are gay. If you notice (and I'm totally serious about this – I'm not gay bashing – look at the models clearly for yourselves) most of the models in high/couture fashion magazines look like really skinny men in drag. (lol) I'm being totally serious here. Go take a look. These models don't look like Christy Brinkley or Naomi Campbell with nice curves and full bosoms. They look like tall, thin , lanky men.

I agree with Cindy on this one too... real women get shafted in fashion on every turn. How many women do you personally know or come in contact with on a daily basis look like the models in Vogue. Answer it honestly, please!