Why are magazines still using blackface? Countless editorials have come under fire for reenacting the racist and archaic practice yet magazines continue to implement it. The latest offender is Vogue Netherlands Magazine for its “Heritage Heroes,” editorial in the May 2013 issue. The shoot pays homage to Marc Jacob’s designs for Louis Vuitton with each…
While I was poking around my favorite film blog, Shadow & Act, I ran across a story about a Brazilian TV show that ran a special end of the world episode involving a white woman “becoming” a black woman to live out her dream of bedding a black man. My first thought? What the hell?…
Criticism is rising internationally towards a traditional Christmas character in Dutch society that several people are calling an oppressive reincarnation. St. Nicholas Day, celebrated in the Netherlands on December 6, represents the arrival of Santa Claus and his stogie, “Zwarte Piet” or Black Pete. Zwarte Piet works as an elf, assisting Santa with the delivery…
Fashion has an interesting relationship with blackface. America’s Next Top Model once painted models in blackface, Beyonce was photographed in blackface for L’Officiel Magazine and Claudia Schiffer posed in blackface for Karl Lagerfeld. Each time, people were outraged and yet here we are again with a blackface holiday ad by Illamasqua. The UK-based beauty brand introduced its holiday ad…
Sacha Dratwa, the lieutenant behind Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) social media campaign, is under fire for a Facebook photo of his face covered in mud posted with the caption ‘Obama style.’ The photo was discovered by Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, a Lebanese blogger, on Friday. By Sunday, Lieutenant Dratwa restricted access to his Facebook account and defended…
Upstart South African rap group, Die Antwoord (Afrikaans for “The Answer”), has a lot of nerve. Not only is the duo engaged in a war of words with Lady Gaga, but their latest video, “Fatty Boom Boom” has caused quite a stir due it’s depictions of the male-female duo in black paint. As a black…
Korean Designer, Lie Sang Bond is stirring up controversy as he becomes the latest designer to use white models with brown painted faces in his runway show. During Paris Fashion Week, Bond presented his Fall 2012 Ready to Wear collection with 39 different looks wherein each model had the same brown painted circle covering a…
Ever since images from Beyone’s photo shoot for L’Officiel Paris’s March 2011 spread leaked, many have debated whether the fashion industry has gone too far. The choice to darken the singer’s face for a Fela Kuti inspired shoot — titled African Queen — left a sour taste on the palate of even the most discerning fashion aficionados. Others…
