Accessorize with a dark-skinned man!

Handbags and jewelry are so passé.  This Spring, Black men are the accessories of choice. 

Okay, so we have all seen these sorts of photos before, with a lily-white woman and a highly sexualized Black man.  But what I find striking in these photos is how the men are being used in these photos in ways that women are typically used.  It's all about status, baby.  If there were White men in these photos, I guarantee the woman would have the leash around her neck.   There is not much subtlety in that theme of sexuality needing to be tamed.  

Here we have both men averting their gaze from the camera, and a huge discrepancy in amount of clothing.  Faux lesbianism is fairly common , but here we've got an analog with men.  That's not the kind of equality most of us are hoping for.  

Again, this is all about power and control.  The higher status person stares into the camera and the lower-status sex objects have gazes averted.  

This is from Numero Tokyo, January/February 2011.  I know, I know, now we all have to cancel our subscriptions.