According to the United States Census Bureau, Black people make up 13.2% of the population. Do magazines for women incorporate this same percentage of images of Black women? My hypothesis is that Black women are underrepresented within the pages of mainstream women’s magazines. This study examined the presence of Black women in photographs and advertisements in the most recent issues of popular women’s magazines. In addition to noting the frequency of Black women in comparison with White women, I also assessed how Black women were portrayed, for example, in terms of appearance or body type. I will compare the frequency of White and Black women by magazine as well as across all magazines total. I will also examine the representation of Black women and whether Black models appear to be held to White standards of beauty. My findings have implications for societal views of minority women as well as the relative invisibility of Black women in popular culture.
