hook- Eating the Other

My final project will explore bell hooks' "otherness" and its relation to African American women's self efficacy. In my Comm 301 class I did a content analysis of "Wired" magazine to address my research question," How are women and men represented in feature articles in "Wired Magazine" in magazine issues between 2008 and 2013?" So I decided to go a step beyond that question and explore African American women's representation in the magazine. Upon my analysis I came across this picture:

I automatically thought about hooks' "com modification of 'Otherness' ". hooks describes this as the pleasure found in the acknowledgement of racial difference. "Wired" magazine is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics industry magazine. It is heralded as one of the technology media leaders because of its contemporary, hip, and fresh reporting and layout style. Wired magazine prides itself on being a non-discriminatory magazine that is a comprehensive "industry insider.' "We’re a community for Insiders like you—people who love tech and all the ways it impacts and influences our lives. WIRED Insiders are startup executives, digital ladies and gents, gadget gurus, culture vultures, foodies, adventurers, and DIY [Do it yourself] fans."


Although I love the movie "The Matrix" and actress Jada Pinkett this picture of her on the front cover is not the best representation of professional STEM women. It certainly makes sense for "Wired" magazine to carry a story about the movie, being its overall them is about future technology, and it is refreshing to see an African American woman featured in "Wired" and the front cover on top of that. Yet, the actual article is not about Jada, but the movie in general. The ultimate point is Jada is NOT a STEM professional.


I am a frequent reader of "Wired" and I can say that this magazine is male gendered biased and rarely features women in general, and I cannot even remember the last time I read about an Afrocan American woman in this magazine. There are many African American influential women in STEM fields: Aprille J. Ericsson, Ph.D., Ashanti Johnson, Ph. D., and Tanya Moore, Ph. D. just to name a few. So why is it that one of the only representations of an African American women in "Wired" is not an actual STEM professional, but an actress?


Jada does look hip, exotic, sexy and probably have made many people's minds wonder, which in turn an example of the commodification of otherness.


Do you think this picture is an example of hook's "Otherness?" How can "Wired" magazine change its representation of women it features in its magazine?
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