Brownface racist?

antiskeptic · 22-09-2019 12:34am #1

I'm white. I'm invited to a fancy dress. I decide to go as Martin Luther King (who I admire), Mohammed Ali (who my folks admired) or Aladdin (recalling the magic of Arabian Nights during childhood)

I brown my face.

I'm a racist?

One More Toy · 22-09-2019 12:36am

antiskeptic wrote: »

I'm white. I'm invited to a fancy dress. I decide to go as Martin Luther King (who I admire), Mohammed Ali (who my folks admired) or Aladdin (recalling the magic of Arabian Nights during childhood)

I brown my face.

I'm a racist?

Just go as elvis

Danzy · 22-09-2019 12:36am

antiskeptic wrote: »

I'm white. I'm invited to a fancy dress. I decide to go as Martin Luther King (who I admire), Mohammed Ali (who my folks admired) or Aladdin (recalling the magic of Arabian Nights during childhood)

I brown my face.

I'm a racist?

If there are rich kid activists there, then yes you are.

banie01 · 22-09-2019 12:36am

One More Toy wrote: »

Just go as elvis

Or better yet...
Black Elvis!

antiskeptic · 22-09-2019 12:37am

One More Toy wrote: »

Just go as elvis

Mightn't that be fattist if late stage?

Atlantic Dawn · 22-09-2019 12:37am

I'd see nothing racist if a black lad/ladette dressed up as a white, I'd actually find it funny.

banie01 · 22-09-2019 12:39am

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

I'd see nothing racist if a black lad/ladette dressed up as a white, I'd actually find it funny.

Sure isn't it the whole joke behind white chicks.
Imagine Soulman being remade these days!

Wayne Jarvis · 22-09-2019 12:39am

antiskeptic wrote: »

I'm white. I'm invited to a fancy dress. I decide to go as Martin Luther King (who I admire), Mohammed Ali (who my folks admired) or Aladdin (recalling the magic of Arabian Nights during childhood)

I brown my face.

I'm a racist?

Just go as the Will Smith version of Aladdin. He's light skinned black so the most you will be is light skinned racist

antiskeptic · 22-09-2019 12:39am

banie01 wrote: »

Or better yet...
Black Elvis!

Or a white Martin Luther King.

Wayne Jarvis · 22-09-2019 12:39am

banie01 wrote: »

Or better yet...
Black Elvis!

Blelvis

Immortal Starlight · 22-09-2019 12:40am

No it doesn't make you racist.

Panthro · 22-09-2019 12:40am

If you're a leftie it's sound.
If you're a rightie it's racist.
Go as Michael Jackson

antiskeptic · 22-09-2019 12:40am

Danzy wrote: »

If there are rich kid activists there, then yes you are.

Whats a rich kid activist?

Varik · 22-09-2019 12:43am

Paint yourself grey, you can be b&w TV Martin Luther King

Montage of Feck · 22-09-2019 12:43am

Go as white Michael Jackson.

Atlantic Dawn · 22-09-2019 12:46am

Panthro wrote: »

If you're a leftie it's sound.
If you're a rightie it's racist.
Go as Michael Jackson

Or Jimmy Saville.

sabat · 22-09-2019 12:46am

antiskeptic wrote: »

I'm white. I'm invited to a fancy dress. I decide to go as Martin Luther King (who I admire), Mohammed Ali (who my folks admired) or Aladdin (recalling the magic of Arabian Nights during childhood)

I brown my face.

I'm a racist?

The first one is just blackface and a suit; the second one is just blackface and boxing gear; the third is anything you want because he's imaginary. If I was going to take the risk of blacking up I'd at least pick someone recognisable like Haile Selassie, George Clinton, Flavor Flav or Desmond Tutu.

20Wheel · 22-09-2019 12:47am

if you go as a gollyw.....golly-toy then its racist.

if you go as a normal person who happens to be brown/black then its not racist.

its context, for example i watched an anti-racism documentary where a white german lad blacked up to see first hand what it was like for african immigrants.
if anything this was an anti-racist context yet the guy was blacked up fully.

then of course you have the 'taking the piss' style blackface which is basically just saying that black people are something to laugh at and ridicule.

its the motivation.

Danzy · 22-09-2019 12:49am

20Wheel wrote: »

if you go as a gollyw.....golly-toy then its racist.

if you go as a normal person who happens to be brown/black then its not racist.

its context, for example i watched an anti-racism documentary where a white german lad blacked up to see first hand what it was like for african immigrants.
if anything this was an anti-racist context yet the guy was blacked up fully.

then of course you have the 'taking the piss' style blackface which is basically just saying that black people are something to laugh at and ridicule.

its the motivation.

Context should be relevant but it is not.

antiskeptic · 22-09-2019 12:49am

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Or Jimmy Saville.

I went around as Adolf Hitler as a kid during Halloween. Don't think it would go down well these days with my young fella.

normanoffside · 22-09-2019 12:50am

No because if it’s racist to dress up as some one else it’s only because you think they are socially below you.

If you are not making fun or feeling superior then there is no problem.

punisher5112 · 22-09-2019 12:50am

BLM

Rodin · 22-09-2019 12:50am

Persecution of the white male is de rigeur these days

StupidLikeAFox · 22-09-2019 12:52am

I too struggled to get around the idea of how putting on makeup to look like a character would be a racist act. Surely you are just being true to the character? And you would probably be doing it with the best intentions.

However, people with black and brown skin have seen white people dress up like this with the intention of poking fun at them for years. On TV, in the famous minstrel shows etc. To the extent that an entire race is boiled down to a stereotype. So when you encounter people they are not seeing you as an individual, you are now seen as one of those guys with the funny accents and weird clothes.

As an example, if people were constantly dressing up as "stupid drunken leprechauns", to the extent where the stereotype is brushing off on you as an Irish person and creeping into your daily life, after a while you are going to get pretty pissed off when you see someone dressing as a leprechaun, no matter how harmless or well intentioned they were in throwing on a costume

Uncle Charlie · 22-09-2019 12:52am

Everything is racist these days. Just wanting to vet refugees is seen as racist by some people.

punisher5112 · 22-09-2019 12:54am

Iron Man done it...

antiskeptic · 22-09-2019 12:56am

normanoffside wrote: »

No because if it’s racist to dress up as some one else it’s only because you think they are socially below you.

If you are not making fun or feeling superior then there is no problem.

Its just I saw Trudeau grovelling in 'save my reelection chances' mode and my initial reaction was 'there's a spineless git'

SlowBlowin · 22-09-2019 12:56am

Go as a black Hitler, not sure what this form of racism is called ?

Danzy · 22-09-2019 12:59am

Uncle Charlie wrote: »

Everything is racist these days. Just wanting to vet refugees is seen as racist by some people.

I've had to listen to some one go on about how pass port control was racist.

20Wheel · 22-09-2019 12:59am

Danzy wrote: »

Context should be relevant but it is not.

then the party/event is probably full of dry shytes.

in which case dont go, or make a minimal effort and only stay briefly.

bit of green face paint, oh look im the hulk, madness, a small orange juice please, right see yous on monday.

Irish Guitarist · 22-09-2019 1:01am

Blackface was a form of American vaudeville. There has never been such a thing as 'brownface'. Even as I'm typing this Google Chrome spell checker is recognising blackface as a word but not brownface.

No one gave a shit about Snoop Dogg wearing 'whiteface'.

I doubt anyone really gives a shite about that Trudeau moron either. It's more that he comes out with this kind of tripe and it's funny to see him taken down a peg or two.

Brownface racist?

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