Vanity Fair‘s 2016 Hollywood Issue Features All-Female Cover

Vanity Fair just released this year’s “Hollywood Issue,” and it is garnering a lot of attention. The cover, which is shot by Annie Leibovitz each year, features 13 women, all in black and ranging in age and ethnicity.

Last year’s cover was a lot smaller and a lot whiter, but the gender focus this year seems to be the biggest change. All of the Oscar nominees for Best Actress —Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Saoirse Ronan, Brie Larson, and Charlotte Rampling — are included, as are some old and new favorites. They are  Jane Fonda, Helen Mirren, Viola Davis, Diane Keaton, Alicia Vikander, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Rachel Weisz, and Lupita Nyong’o.

The cover folds out and over the years, speculation has grown that those featured on the panel that is still visible when the rest of the cover is folded inward are more prominent, important, and prized by VF and Hollywood. This year, Lawrence, Fonda, Davis, and Blanchett appear on the front pane. Is this a sign that the magazine is actively trying to fight the ageism inherent to the industry, especially for women? Including Lawrence, who has spoken out against other unfair double standards between male and female actors in the past, indicates that it might be.

Lest you think the magazine is being terribly misandrist, take heart: James Walcott was tapped to write the tributes to each actress and her career that are featured inside the mag.

[image via screengrab]

For more from Lindsey, follow her on Twitter.

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