By Monique
So, Cosmopolitan Magazine really thought they’d be able to post a near-Eugenics-style post and get away with it. They also think that they’ll be able to get away without an apology, either. It’s now Day 2 and we have yet to hear anything from Cosmopolitan.
Earlier Sunday morning, Cosmopolitan posted “The 10 Most Beautiful Women in the World, According to Science.” Just so happens, all of the women save for three happen to be white.
Clearly, the article is racist. But, science, right? Here’s what the article states when it comes to what makes people genetically pleasing:
“It all comes down to an ancient Greek philosophy called the Phi ratio, which Julian De Silva, MD, of the Centre for Advanced Facial Cosmetic and Plastic Surgery used along with computer facial mapping to determine which famous women have the ideal face ratio and symmetry.”
Riiiiggghhhttt.
So, here’s the list of the most beautiful people in the world:
Amber Heard
Kim Kardashian
Kate Moss
Emily Ratajkowski
Kendall Jenner
Helen Mirren
Scarlett Johansson
Selena Gomez
Marilyn Monroe
Jennifer Lawrence
Notice what’s found to be aesthetically pleasing across the board with these women: white or light skin, straight hair, Eurocentric features, and slim bodies (of course, we can argue over Kim K’s body, which is both surgically enhanced beyond belief and looks to be around a size 14 or 16 despite her penchant for fitting into ill-fitting, smaller clothes).
Notice what’s not considered aesthetically pleasing: darker skin, curly or kinky hair, more ethnically diverse features (such as broader noses, bigger lips, bigger butts—not counting Kim K’s fake butt), diversity in body type/shape. Basically, 2/3 of the planet are considered not-pretty, while folks who fall in line with the actresses or models listed above are. Fascinating.
Of course, Twitter took Cosmopolitan to task for this:
And fuck what @Cosmopolitan is talking about. Black women are beautiful too.
— Matthew A. Cherry (@MatthewACherry) March 12, 2017
THEYRE ALL WHITE pic.twitter.com/HGVV2ZEvcY
— j. (@kookminery) March 11, 2017
do you not understand how #divisive and #racist this article is. The standard of beauty is white women? Really!! #tfoh pic.twitter.com/Ug7azCwBO4
— Lover of Life (@APMLover80) March 12, 2017
So now can we talk about how magazines like @Cosmopolitan normalize the wildly racist notion that only white women are beautiful?
— Imani Gandy (Orca’s Version) ⚓️ (@AngryBlackLady) March 12, 2017
First of all, any most beautiful list WITHOUT Angela Bassett is invalid. Cosmo should slap themselves for not making the adjustment. pic.twitter.com/vBhXVBZf7b
— L. Warren (@iamlaurenp) March 12, 2017
Check out more Twitter responses at Bossip.
Ultimately, Cosmopolitan deleted their post from Twitter and from their site, but never gave an apology.
https://twitter.com/aurabogado/status/840980622445240320
.@Cosmopolitan I know you don't think you're going to just delete that racist nonsense and expect folks to forget about it. Be better. pic.twitter.com/KIB7vAsdNn
— Imani Gandy (Orca’s Version) ⚓️ (@AngryBlackLady) March 12, 2017
Furthermore, they moved the article to their overseas properties; for instance, I was able to read the article from Cosmopolitan Middle East, which is just as cruel, since once again, the article is being marketed towards a readership that includes non-white readers (especially in a majority non-white population like the UAE). Hopefully, those in the UAE are as opposed to this article as we in the States are.
How much did you hate Cosmo’s article? Give your opinions in the comments section below!
Julian 