Apology
jbennett | Jul 10, 2012 | Comments 36
We would like to apologize to anyone offended by the headline “Women of Color” in the most recent issue of Utah Valley Magazine. No offense was intended whatsoever. We have changed the headline in our online version to read “Colorful Women” to more accurately describe the article and overall content of this issue.
Filed Under: Blog
I think this type of ignorant slip up shows the lack of education of this magazine’s staff. Wordplay is fine but to understand that we live in a diverse world (not just race but cultural differences) where language is interpreted differently, Editors, Writers and Bloggers should be trained in Language Sensitivity Courses (just as it’s done in large cities). But of course if your only target demographic are white women then there should be a warning label attached; much like cigarettes.
Bravo Jack. I have family in Utah and while they are pale in skin pigmentation they are very much ethnic. I asked them how they felt and they were appalled.
Whoever came up with this “doozy” of a headline should be fired. PERIOD.
@Jack & @ C M
In case you missed the apology just issued – they were obviously sorry for the mistake. They recognized it and tried to resolve it as best they could. Next time you mess something up hopefully someone is there to publicly ridicule you and make sure you’re fired.
If it’s a MAGAZINE or BLOG, then they’d have right. It’s a business, a profession, get it??? It’s called TRAINING. Professionals get some before they take at a crack at being a service provider.
An apology does not excuse it.
Justin
Yes, we see they apologized (if you look closely, that’s why they wrote it).
That’s not the point in which Jack is getting at and what you have failed to realize.
A magazine should have known better. The simple reason why they even used the phrase to begin with tells me they are completely oblivious to diversity issues and causes. Which scares the hell of me.
From looking at that article, it tells me they probably have had very little to no experience with anything else in the world other the world of white.
@Justin I wonder if you would be so protective if it had been something insensitive or insulting to YOU apologies don’t dissipate anger actions do, And the fact that this is going somewhat viral shows a lck of action.
I am deeply saddened to see the insensitive headline, ‘Women of Color’ under the photo of a group of white women in the recent Utah Valley Mag. Are the editors and writers really this ignorant about racist pieces like this one? I am happy to see the title was changed and an apology was offered, and it should never have happened in the first place. It also begs a larger question: where are the people of color at this magazine? Surely some exist in the entire state of Utah. People of color face an onslaught of racist assaults on a daily basis. It is time for the Utah Valley Mag to be part of the solution. Maybe start with asking yourselves why you thought this was an okay byline to print in the first place. Here is a good starting place: http://inclusioncenter.org/
I think it is good that they apologized. It seems like a clear mistake, one that should never have been made. I don’t think anyone needs to be fired, these people just need to be educated about diversity. Someone should have caught this, but it wasn’t a malicious statement.
I don’t think this was malicious in intent at all, but it’s staggering how clueless and sheltered the staff must be to have approved that headline.
Discovery is supposed to be part of journalism. They ought to discover that there is a whole world out here that processes things beyond the Utah experience. Hop a plane and meet some people different from yourselves. You will better understand the idiocy in the concept if not the content of this piece. God only knows who your magazine influences with this type of nonsense. Hopefully no one.
I also noticed there isn’t one black person in their magazine…beside the basketball pics in the sports section
I’m having trouble wrapping my head around the possibility this could have been an uninformed oversight. How is it possible that professionals ANYWHERE IN AMERICA, who are in the business of publishing content for the world to see, could have been unaware of the broadly understood context for the phrase “women of color”? Possibly not intended as malicious, but definitely thought they were being clever… backfired on them big time.
Aloha from Hawaiʻi!
I, like many others, was offended by this headline. Having said that, and speaking as a person of color (Native Hawaiian), I appreciated the apology.
Should we have been offended? Yes. Should they have included an African American, Asian or Latina as part of the shot. Yes. Should the editor have known better? Yes. Should she be fired? HECK NO.
She made a mistake. She and the publication apologized. She is not perfect and heck, neither am I! Trust me, this is something she will never forget and I am sure she will be more sensitive moving forward.
What happened to forgiveness? If it was your neighbor, your friend or a family member who made such a mistake, would you not show at least a bit of compassion?
Move on, people. And live your life with Aloha. This world would be a much better place.
@Erik J. Hey Erik, thanks for the shout out! We do run dialogues and conversations about incidents like this one, and we appreciate your support.
BTW how did you hear about us?
Emm
I find the uproar amazing! This is another example of PC gone too far. The intent of the article was obvious and was never intended to offend. Why are people so quick to be be outraged? Did anyone read the article before getting offended? Come on America. We’re better than this.
I am from the deep racist South. I am a WASP, and the title was offensive.
The title demostrates the utter ignorance that is pervasive in Utah Valley. The mentality demonstrated with title shows a complete lack of cultural diversity on part of Utah Valley mag.
The editor has learned a good lesson. Tis a shame that she lives such a ubsurdly secluded life to not know what is offense and exceeds the bounds of common decency for ones neighbor.
The magazine does draw attention to the lack of “women of color” staffers. An apology is good I guess for those who are looking for it. The thought of what the article was attempting to convey was not as disturbing as the lack of diversity of staffers on the cover?
Maybe if you had some women of colour on your staff this sort of thing would not have happenned.
Apology was sorely understated and sometimes ignorance needs to be fixed not just apologized for to confort the frustrations of SO MANY bothered by this.
Apology was sorely understated and sometimes ignorance needs to be fixed not just apologized for to comfort the frustrations of SO MANY bothered by this.
This is absurd! How can the people of this so called “magazine” be so insensitive? I keep hearing that Southern Utah is very racist, especially Utah Valley. I believe these people have lived up to the hype. It’s real shame. Open your eyes Utah County people. We are living in 2012, It’s a different world now. Do you really think that a simple apology will erase the damage you have done? Wake up and get real.
@emm yaxte: I am a family nurse practitioner interested in ways white folks can address racism, unhinge white supremacist behaviors and institutionalized racism. I am particularly interested in how racism effects the health of communities. I came across the Inclusion Center while looking for resources in Utah. I have family and friends in the area and was interested in the event I move there.
Some respondents here said the story/photo was not malicious or that folks are being “PC” and therefore the actions of the magazine were somehow not racist. We do know it was hurtful, racist, and completely inappropriate. Accountability is not about shaming, but working with people to think about actions like these and change behaviors. We all live in a racist society and it takes work to undo the horrible things we have learned. I think it is the responsibility of white people to talk and work with other white people on racism. Slavery, colonization, and genocide are rampant in U.S. history & present day; it has gotten to us in in conscious and subconscious ways. It actually takes work to heal these wounds and we should question one another on behaviors that are that perpetuate oppression.
Oh my god, folks, it’s “Utah Valley Magazine” for christ’s sake. They’re not diverse, they’re not professional, and they’re certainly not educated. You all speak as though they’re some big-city magazine. It’s happy valley, guys. Chill.
Erik,
Thank you. Your words show great understanding and compassion. I am a woman of color who spends much time in Utah (and defending Utah to others.)
It is clear that if white people address white privilege, and institutionalized racism with other white people change for the better is much more likely. I have been hired to help organization increase diversity and to train people to understand issues of diversity. It is challenging work, but always rewarding to see the light bulb go off when someone finally understands issues of injustice.
As for the apology. It is interesting that it was published as a blog. If asked, I might have suggested a full sized headline saying “apology” and article explaining the issue at hand to readers. That would make me see that the magazine has learned. I can only hope that will come soon.
Thanks again for your words.
A wise man once said… “You are a fool if you take offense when no offense was meant. But you are an even bigger fool to take offense when offense is meant.”
I wonder how many of us who have commented have made mistakes and had to apologize to someone else? Jack, Are you making the world a better place by your negative bashing? Maybe you could kindly recommend a training company to help UV Magazine!? Make the world a better place Jack! Dont just moan and groan. And Jack, one last comment….I happen to know the target demographic for UV Magazine, it is not white women as you suggested, it is in fact, pasty white, red headed men!
Have a great day!
More than offensive (which it was) it is simply embarrassing. I mean, “Women IN Color” would have been 100% appropriate. It’s simply sad that nobody at this magazine was able to make that distinction.
And the argument that “people make mistakes all the time, lay off,” is a great argument for every day life. But, when one is running a business, and contributing to a business, or “professional” publication, there are consequences that come from mistakes. Journalists are fired all the time for publishing idiotic things.
However, I don’t know how you fire an entire staff.
I heard that the next article Ms. Bennett is going to write is about how flattering the little, black dress is. I think she’s going to title it “Once You Go Black, You Never Go Back!”
Apologies don’t matter anymore, thanks to this new thing the kids are all calling “the internet.” Your embarrassing and offensive headline is now a global joke. Nice job representing the citizens of our fair valley.
The unintentional irony was funny. Thank you.
I LOVE every issue of UV Mag and I didn’t at all take offense to the title. I looked at the picture and read the title and didn’t think twice about it! I loved the issue!
The staff is awesome at what they do and each magazine is so creatively put together! I can’t wait for the next COLORFUL issue to come out!
It is getting scary lately. The Thought Police come down on you for any perceived wrong.
If you look at the image and read the words and actually think for moment…you understand completely what was being meant. Turns it into a humorous image.
I live in SoCal. This particular idiocy would not have occurred here, certainly not with a claim of igorance nor would there be a raft of benighted defenders like in this thread supposing to OK the offense because it wasn’t intended. It reminds me of the heartlessly blinded people who dumped on Lars Cosby, an African-American HS student in Utah, for complaining when another student danced around him in a white hood because the offender lost a scholarship for doing it. /Say what???/
Offenses are not excusable because of ignorance. Part of the apology for offending may be a request for forgiveness for being so unaware/insensitive/STUPID but the offense remains offensive. I do not want to be precluded from protesting offenses against LDS like this week’s Bloomburg Business Week cover or Big Love’s portrayal of part of the endowment ceremony because the offenders didn’t mean to give offense.
It is particularly egregious for a group to press against the boundary of offense in an area in which they remain suspect — like we LDS regarding black people’s quest for respect and dignity. In cases of simmering suspicion like this, it is best to maintain a safe, reassuring distance from the boundary. This is not about losing rights of free speech or some similar, lesser restriction; it is about doing our part to realize that for which Christ pled while working out the at-one-ment: that we would be one. This title is symbolically flipping-off a group who already has real reason to question the hearts of the people pictured in that photo and now sends them a message not to try to be one with “us.”
I’m off Colored all the time. Does this make a RACIST?
UV doesn’t owe anyone anything.
Jim Hayes
REALLY? Who are the racists who are calling the woman “white”, or the ignoramuses trying to make something of nothing by pointing out the lack of a “colored person” in the magazine, or the responders who are ignoring Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in 1948, stating that:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.”
People of “color” have their rights protected… that includes WHITE WOMAN. I think the editor should have kept the magazine the way it was. It would give all those so childishly offended time to grow up. Nothing was incorrect and I refuse to let the minority decide the way anyone “should” talk … either in print or otherwise. The fact that the complainers want to tell people how to act shows that they have learned nothing about equality. Stop trying to ram biased beliefs down others throats … we have laws that protect all of us from that.
Utah Valley Magazine …. carry on any way you want to … it is your right.
Thank you for the article. Very informative, keep up with the good work!
I don’t really see why they even take the time to apologize. Racism is an everyday thing in Utah. For those of you who are saying didn’t intend to do it, please, stop being a bunch of hypocrites.