Why one woman was cropped out of Time's Person of the Year cover

By Isabel Jones

From the editors of InStyle US

Time’s prestigious 2017 Person of the Year title was awarded to “The Silence Breakers,” those who spoke out in the face of sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace, triggering a massive movement across every industry.

Pictured on the cover are five women dressed in black: actress Ashley Judd, singer Taylor Swift, former Uber engineer Susan Fowler, lobbyist Adama Iwu, and Isabel Pascual (an immigrant whose name has been changed to protect her identity)—but if you look closely, you’ll notice an elbow with no face or name attached.

This anonymous body part belongs to a hospital worker and fellow “silence breaker” who wishes to keep her identity unknown. More than an act of honouring this single woman’s contributions, the inclusion of the elbow represents the many change-makers who are unable to reveal their identities at this time.

The cover has evoked strong reactions across social media, and rightfully so—scroll down below to see some of the responses:

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