Esquire sparks social media debate with profile of white teen from Middle America

Esquire sparked a heated debate on social media Tuesday when it unveiled an upcoming cover story about a white American boy and what’s it’s like to grow up “in the era of social media, school shooting, toxic masculinity, #MeToo, and a divided country.”

The March issue has angered critics who feel that documenting the experiences of a 17-year-old boy is unnecessary, while others are outraged over the outrage. The story quickly became a trending topic on Twitter as detractors rushed to mock the magazine for, as Out Magazine’s deputy editor put it, “radicalizing white mediocrity for the clicks."

Former ESPN host Jemele Hill sarcastically tweeted an image of the cover captioned, “Because you know what we don’t discuss nearly enough? The white male experience.”

Esquire’s Editor in Chief Jay Fielden explained his rationale in a companion piece headlined, “Why your ideological echo chamber isn’t just bad for you, it’s also bad for your kids.” Fielden explained that his own son grapples with the complicated world that nowadays includes everything from accusations of privilege to gender fluidity.

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