The Whitewashing of YA book covers . . . it does matter
This is a well researched article with good visuals attesting to the whitewashing of Young Adult covers in the publishing world. Here’s an excerpt and link to the full engrossing blog post:
It Matters If You’re Black or White: The Racism of YA Book Covers by Ann Schutte
Most of the time, I love young adult literature and am proud to be a YA librarian. But there’s usually a moment once a month when I feel sick, tired, and embarrassed to be working with YA books for a living — and that’s when I flip through my stack of review journals and see a menagerie of gorgeous white girls staring back at me from the covers of upcoming releases.
If a YA book features a white, female protagonist (and this accounts for a not insignificant portion of YA released each year), it seems inevitable that the book cover will display an idealized and airbrushed masterpiece of her on the cover. And when a YA book actually does have a protagonist of color, too often one of three things seems to happen:
Please read the entire article here: