French Vogue Has Gone a Little Bit Funny In The Head
The pagan/satanist/wiccan references seem unresearched and over-the-top in a hokey to me, but I certainly wouldn’t consider it offensive. I can’t help but wonder if this shoot will make it to the good old USA. I have serious suspicions that as tame as this spread is, it may cause a row among any fundamentalist Christian readership in the US.
Anyone with the September issue of Vogue US care to confirm whether or not the same story is present? I realize each of the Vogue editions is technically its own thing, but I’m so curious.
They may do this - or something like it - for the US October magazine. That would be more timely, given the long time association of “witches” with Halloween, the history of all 3 practices in this country (sporadic fads producing popularity that dies out, but almost always a few constant practitioners) and the legit holiday(s) which falls around Halloween.
If this is the way fashion’s going to run, then bust out the black, the ouija board, the absinthe and the chickens: It’s gonna get freaky up in here.
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Gloria B. said,
November 8, 2007 @ 10:01 pm
Just to let you know, the terms wiccan and pagan do not describe people who consider themselves satanists. The types of people who identify as Pagan or Wiccan, and their practices vary, but in general, wiccans/pagans and satanists are two separate categories with separate belief systems. Also, I seriously doubt that witchcraft will all of a sudden become a popular new trend due to Vouge magazine. While there may be some people that identify as Wiccan or Pagan around Halloween, there are, in the same vein, some people who only identify as Christian on Christmas. I certainly don’t see Vogue running a piece on rosary beads being the new fashion trend because its Easter. In response to the last part about oujia boards and chickens, I know
of no person that I’ve ever met that identifies as wiccan or pagan (including myself) who uses a Oujia board or chickens as a part of their spiritual practice. And Absinthe is a drink that is illegal in the U.S. and the only real people with any interest in that are usually Goths who think its cool because Marilyn Manson drinks it.
BTW, though I haven’t seen the Vouge issue in question, most magazines with U.S.
and international publications do not intermingle stories. Rather, alot of interational issues such as
French vogue can be bought in U.S. bookstores such as Borders.
Giania said,
November 9, 2007 @ 12:02 pm
I appreciate your feedback and insightful additions to the discussion. I can see that I have a few clarifications to make.
1 - I in no way intended to imply that these traditions were interchangable. The article at Jezebel doesn’t seem to do a very good job of clarifying the references to the three, and seeing as I can’t read french or make out the words on the images at the article, I can’t tell if the magazine itself made any efforts to clarify between the three.
2 - I also didn’t necessarily intend to point to this particular Vogue issue would be the catalyst to a surge in popularity on these subjects. However, the fact that Vogue did decide to cover these subjects could indicate that their popularity is on the rise, since trend watching is sort of their bread and butter.
3 - The mixed-tradition list of items in my closing statement was meant as tongue-in-cheek. I have, however, known quite a few “goth” folks who would throw together things like that in an attempt to be avant garde or cool, with no regard or respect toward the thoughts and meanings behind their actions & accessories.