Did Vogue Get Imagery Wrong?
Image: Vogue (INEZ & VINOODH)
It’s been awhile since I blogged as a photographer. Humor me for just a bit.
Vogue photographers have one thing I don't have - Vogue credit in their portfolios. I still, however, have an opinion.
The composition of the Rihanna and A$AP Rocky March 2023 British Vogue cover is bothersome.
Perhaps back in 2009, I subconsciously began trying to protect Rihanna. She doesn’t need my protection, but I found myself wanting more good, than harmful experiences for her life.
I find the new Vogue cover harmful and an image that could potentially position Rihanna to be victimized again. Allow me to explain.
I love powerful women. I adore successful women who do NOT take backseat roles to the men in their lives. It's rare that I pass up an opportunity to “put men in their place" or to squash their ego. Perhaps the version of me that existed a decade ago would smirk at this cover and its “less than subtle” attempt to emasculate a Black Man.
I don’t know A$AP Rocky or his personality. I do know him to be a man in a world where it takes very little for men to become infuriated and act out their frustrations violently. I wish I could look at this cover and see “doting father” and “supportive lover.” Instead, I see emasculation and “mocked femininity.”
This particular cover didn't need to be so intentional.
On a beach (or makeshift beach) you have Rihanna - leading her child's father as he adoringly tends to the baby and doesn't look in the direction of the camera. A$AP Rocky fades into the background. He is an afterthought. Although Rakim Mayers is small in stature, the angle accentuates his small frame. Robyn Rihanna Fenty towers over him with her positioning in the photo.
Now, hold on. I'm still powerful, hear me roar Ari, but for my male readers - what I'm about to say will finally prove that “Feminist Ari” has never been anti-man.
Rihanna has more fame than her guy. Rihanna is wealthier than her guy. Rihanna is more notable in every corner of the world than her guy. And, sure her guy may be perfectly fine with all that, but did we need a photo to accentuate the obvious?
In my opinion - we did not. Whether the image was captured in an authentic moment or posed - there was a better image to be used. There was an image that could convey “family unit,” “love” and even “celebrity” much better than the chosen image.
The relationship may survive between the two entertainers. The couple may grow old together and rear several more offspring. If my Rihanna is genuinely happy - I pray that the love is both long and strong. It is rare, however, for the male ego to not rear its ugly head when the powerful woman and her position in the world trumps every single dynamic about his very existence.
Perhaps what I’m wishing is that more photographers are conscious of negative undertones that exist in imagery. And for the record - I would never have a man sit on a throne, while his pregnant wife stands nearby in a maternity shoot. We can talk about that later if you’d like.
Maybe Rihanna makes A$AP feel like they are equals. Maybe she makes him feel like King of the World. That will, nevertheless, NEVER be an image received or accepted by the world. The image Vogue chose to publish perpetuates what society believes and I can’t help but wonder if that will prove harmful for the Barbadian Princess.
So how would I have posed the couple?
On that same beach, I wouldn't have Rihanna hold the precious baby boy who obviously doesn’t exist without her bodily sacrifice. I'd instead position the couple side-by-side on the sand and together, both admiring their creation.
That's it. That’s the blog.
