Comments on: French Vogue and “Contemporary Blackface”

By: Challenge: Tigana Read-Along Part #5—The Memory of a Flame « The Literary Omnivore

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:01:49 +0000

[...] much Kay harped on how Sandre’s eyes fit the disguise, all I saw was a old male version of this sort of blackface. I have a very cinematic imagination, especially when it comes to speculative fiction, and [...]

By: I Can Haz Blackface like Beyonce? « The Oreo Experience

I Can Haz Blackface like Beyonce? « The Oreo Experience — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 18:22:31 +0000

[...] (Thanks to my friends at Sociological Images for the story. Click here to check out their coverage and analysis) [...]

By: Korean Sociological Image #10: “Blackface” « The Grand Narrative

Sun, 25 Apr 2010 03:41:11 +0000

[...] October 17: See here for another controversial example of “contemporary blackface,” this time from the [...]

By: The Minstrel » Sociological Images

The Minstrel » Sociological Images — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 16:02:05 +0000

[...] examples and discussion of contemporary “blackface,” see one, two, three, four, five, and six. Also, bugs bunny. var addthis_language = 'en'; Leave a Comment Tags: history, [...]

By: Jess

Jess — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:07:31 +0000

An interesting interview about the photo shoot

http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/qpodcast_20091023_22001.mp3

(about 2/3 in)

By: Jake K

Jake K — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:09:13 +0000

Racism is always related to power. White people have the power so it matters.

By: Jake K

Jake K — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:07:26 +0000

Yeah, having interned at a fashion mag, I’d have to agree!

By: Jake K

Jake K — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:06:17 +0000

Black models still find it hard to get work as do models of other non-white ethnic groups. So, your comment is missing the point.

By: Manny

Manny — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:55:06 +0000

of course that might be given them too much credit.

By: Manny

Manny — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:52:20 +0000

How does blond wig and straighten hair makes one “look white”? You also forget the stigma involved.

By: Joka

Joka — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 19:00:50 +0000

Can ya’ll just stop and think. It is ok when a black/asian woman:
wears a blond wig
streighten hair
bleaches her face
and so on in order to appear more white…but when a white woman,for fashion-extravaganza purpose is painted black…that is controversial?!
come on people, don’t we have other urgent issues do deal with?

By: Wade

Wade — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:58:13 +0000

So, is a drag performer misogynistic, because women were once not allowed on stage?

And, sure, they could be edgy in other ways, and Pollock could have painted in different ways. He didn’t. An essential and important part of artistic expression is choosing the method.

By: Filmi Girl

Filmi Girl — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:36:16 +0000

This is really interesting! I just discovered this blog by way of Jezebel – I just did a post on the use of black face in Bollywood. Removed from the western cultural context, black face is just another in the wide variety of racially stereotyped costumes that Bollywood comedians use – from the “sexualized gypsy girl” to “drunk Punjabi” to “greedy Arab.”

The French Vogue shoot is just baffling taken on its own. I wonder if we would have responded better if the shoot had included a dark skinned model painted white…

By: Joy-Mari Cloete

Joy-Mari Cloete — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:17:38 +0000

@Alice and others who feel this is ‘edgy’, ‘art’, or making a statement about the lack of black models on the covers of Vogue: This would only be ‘OK’ if it is accompanied by an article that discusses the history of Blackface or the lack of black models in Vogue and other fashion magazines.

On its own, it’s pretty disgusting.

Amber made a good point about the ‘aspiring to be white’; it is one that I hadn’t even considered.

@citizenparables and Sue: Art can be racist; beautiful things can still offend; and something can still be offensive, even if you as a member of the targeted minority does not find it personally offensive.

By: urbanartiste

urbanartiste — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 01:08:12 +0000

The pages of a magazine are too tainted with corporate money to be considered art. It is commercial, particularly the fact that these so-called artistic photos are used for the promotion of consumption, not enlightenment. I will accept they have a right to attempt art, but this is not on the same level as Warhol or even the Sensation exhibit that pushed boundaries. Once again the fashion industry has one focus and tends to be pushing an agenda rather than exploring, whether it is a standard of beauty or commodities.