Blackface outside the U.S.
CVK
(Thanks to Gdoganimator for the tip!) It’s no secret that some Japanese are fascinated with black people and black culture. Many magazines have documented the various subcultures that exist among Japanese youth (ganguro girls, etc.)
I’m not sure how these guys fit into this picture, but apparently there’s a group of musicians in Japan that call themselves the Gosperats. They are a part of Sony Music and they dress up in blackface while they entertain the local Japanese. Check out TheThink’s take on them, and here’s their official Web site.
Apparently there’s an R&B group in Korea called The Bubble Sisters, that has a similar shtick. See this page for info on them.
Not that I’m defending the use of blackface, but it is important to keep in mind that the historical context of blackness that exists in the U.S. doesn’t exist in other countries. So what seems blatantly racist to us doesn’t necessarily seem so outside the U.S.
Growing up in Hong Kong, we’d have products like Darkie toothpaste at home, and it never occurred to me that there was anything wrong with it. (By the way, in the mid-80s the company finally changed the name to the slightly less offensive “Darlie,” but continued to use a grinning dark-skinned man in a tophat as its logo. My grandma in Hong Kong still buys it regularly.)
I also remember we’d always buy the British brand of Robertson’s jams and marmalades. And kids like me were encouraged to cut out and save the “golly” (short for “golliwog“) coupons on the label, so that we could trade them in for various golly pins and badges and stickers and dolls. I actually never knew that character was supposed to represent a black/African person. I just figured it was a made-up cartoon character, just like the various Sanrio characters I grew up with: Hello Kitty, Bad Badtz Maru, etc.
When I was in first and second grade, I lived in Belgium (where my dad’s from). One of the most exciting times of the year for Belgian kids is Sinterklaas, the Feast of St. Nicholas. It’s sort of a precursor to Christmas, where we all get presents. According to the myths/legends, St. Nicholas had a “helper” called Zwarte Piet (Black Peter) who would help him distribute the presents to the kids. It was common at parties and such for people to dress up as St. Nicholas and as Zwarte Piet - in full-on blackface. Check out the Wikipedia entry for more info on this phenomenon.
Anyway, check out episode 19 of Addicted to Race for our interview with Eric Lott, author of Love and Theft : Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class (Race and American Culture)
mr. guy wrote:
Hey, I’m the guy that sent you the email about this.Just to let you know, the Bubble Sisters dumped the black face act after a couple of people caught wind of it back in 2003.They have resenlty started a comeback this year, and have replaced two of the four members.I find both the bubble sisters (when they were still doing blackface) the now the Gosperats more odd then offensive.Both group say they love “black” rather then just saying R&B music and somehow think doing it in blackface makes sense?Weird.Plus neither of them actually sound good compared to others I have heard.
Posted 13 Apr 2006 at 3:05 pm ¶
InstantYang wrote:
Hey guys,
Incredibly interesting post (as usual)! I was talking to my editor about doing a story around the issues of Asian attitudes towards blacks, and vice versa; will surely be calling you for your thoughts.
The Japanese blackface thing isn’t just performers, btw; at least as recently as the mid-90s, there was a segment of Japanese youth that so prided itself on its afrophilia that they’d use complexion agents (with brand names like Neo-Blackers) to look as dark as possible, to go along with their Asian dreads and tight afro-style perms. (I did a Village Voice column on this nigh a decade ago…)
I’m not talking about those Shibuya raccoon-looking girls here–these kids really wanted to look black, talk black, and act black…think Afro-cosplay. They saw it as a worshipful homage, not an extension of a long and offensive legacy of minstrelsy–much like the Gosperats’ quote about “loving ‘black” in Mr. Guy’s comment above.
Jeff
Posted 13 Apr 2006 at 3:35 pm ¶
site admin wrote:
Jeff, that would be a fascinating column! Also, do you know if that Village Voice column is available online anywhere? We’d love to link to it, if it is. Thanks!
CVK
Posted 13 Apr 2006 at 3:56 pm ¶
hmmm... wrote:
Just goes to show how unoriginal some people are.
Posted 13 Apr 2006 at 4:30 pm ¶
Ben F. wrote:
Not to go off topic…but I’ve been to the One Drop Rule forum as well. A.D. Powell is a nut. Her writings remind me of Hitler. She definitely has some deep seated hatred for African-Amercians. Every article she posts on that site are negative towards African-Americans. She even looks mean in her picture!
Practically every moderator on the One Drop Rule Forum is white, though they claim admixture or claim having a mixed-raced grandchild thereby making them an “expert” on genetics and multiracialism. I actually lurk the site every now and then just to read what insane nonsense they’re up too. Its obvious that most don’t have jobs outside of posting lengthy rants on genetics and how, in there words, “black one droppers’” are pathetic souls that need to get with the multiracial program. I’m all for multiracialism/multiculturalism but not at the expense of denigrating other ethnic groups. That’s why I like reading the posts on this site. In general there is balanced commentary aimed at tearing down racial stereotypes not building them up again. Keep up the good work MMW!!
Oh yeah, I finally visited Dave’s mulatto site. The posters on that site are pretty pathetic racialists as well. BE AFRAID, BE VERY AFRAID.
Posted 13 Apr 2006 at 6:21 pm ¶
mr guy wrote:
brad Ben F:
I checked out those sites you named.There was a lot of talk about colorblindness,(mostly) black nationalist, soul patrol(lol) etc,etc.Many seemed to talk a lot about what monoraical blacks and whites do, but never themselves.I can imagine people who have a similar background like them, who don’t have the same views seen as what they are fighting againt.Never been to mullato yet however.Never knew people wanted to identify as “mullato”.I mean what do you call a half black half asian person?
Posted 13 Apr 2006 at 8:47 pm ¶
tmj wrote:
I don’t know how we got to crazy “mulattos” but I too have had that experience! A woman named Joan Carradine was a member of a Yahoo group NuSoul, supposedly a Black group about life etc. but Joan does not like Black folks, and it became obvious she was only in the “Black” group to express her dislike of everything “Black”. Joan eventually formed her own group, which consisted of glorifying the term “mulatto” and denigrating black folks, biracials that liked Black folks, and Black folks that consider themselves multi-generational mixed. I can’t tell you how many arguments we had! I was new to the mulatto movement and was genuinely trying to learn…but Joan was hateful and I ended up really disliking her and everything she stood for, including her minions. I’ve since found other biracial folks with the same bent towards hating African ancestry and can see that it is a growing trend. Very sad. However, I know that these folks are THANKFULLY the minority, as most mixed folks I’ve encountered do not use their race(s) to hate others. Never heard of AD Powell, but it sounds like Joan’s mentor.
And at the risk of being redundant, I too LOVE Mixed Race Watch! I love how the authors focus on every race, not just their own–which would be normal–and how they approach topics with intelligence rather than hurtful commentary. Keep up the great work!
I would also like to say thanks; as a Black female growing up in the Bay Area, I felt pretty knowledgeable about other races and cultures but I have learned soooooo much on this site about Asian culture….things I may never have learned. Just goes to show that we don’t know everything, and can still learn something new everyday! Thanks so much!
Posted 14 Apr 2006 at 10:41 am ¶
Everett wrote:
Those people do not have the right to do what they do. They should investigate Blackface and understand what it means. Because they are in their country does not make it right. If I were to form a Asian group painted pink I would be censured here and ran out of town. We have to be sensitive to individual needs and respect them.
Posted 14 Apr 2006 at 11:27 am ¶
the joy princess wrote:
Yikes! The awesome mockumentary C.S.A.: Confederate States of America mentions Darlie (nee Darkie) toothpaste!
Right up there with the Coon Chicken Inn resturants, Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben’s!
Posted 14 Apr 2006 at 11:57 am ¶
Pam wrote:
concerning Ben F. and Brad.
It seems that they came to MixedMediaWatch in order to put people and sites they disagree with down. How low.
Calling people racists, because their opinions don’t suit their agendas. How childish.
A.D. Powell is extremely intelligent and a pioneer. She speaks the thruth and as we all know truth hurts and is perceived as dangerous. A. D. Powell must be perceived as dangerous to black male power if those agents come here trying to put her down.
The One-Drop-rule is a great forum although it has been envaded by the soulpatrol lately. The owner and many of the moderators however are multiracial, some are white and some are black.
As for mulatto.org it’s a good initiative but unfortunately there is a pro-black bias there which can be offputting at times.
Posted 14 Apr 2006 at 4:37 pm ¶
mr guy wrote:
I disagree.A.D. Powell or anyone pro or con whatever “agenda” does not speak truth.It’s only truth for people who follow the same belief.For everone else it’s just opinion.
Anyway, lets get back to the original topic
Posted 14 Apr 2006 at 5:58 pm ¶
Brad wrote:
Pam,
I think A.D. Powell is racist because she writes racist things about “black” people. In particular, she hates black men with a passion. As for the “black male power structure,” what power structure is that and how does it wield its mighty influence more so than the dominant white, heterosexual male power structure? Think about the phrase you used, “black male power structure,” and the blatant falacy of that implies. The last time I checked, there were very few “black” men who have much power in our society. Moreover, how do you define “black”? Is Colin Powell “black”? Was Alex Haley “black”? Is Will Smith “black”? Is Jesse Jackson “black”? The fact is that you will have a hard time trying to prove who is mixed vs who is monoracial. There are enough DNA studies out there that show that 30 to 40% of all African-American men have a Y-chromosome that originated in Europe.
Moreover, I never said that Powell was not intelligent. However, being an intelligent person does not make a person a non-racist, ethical, upright citizen. If you like, I would be happy to point to you several of Powell’s incredibly racist and/or cruel comments that litter the Internet. Powell is enamored with “whiteness” and revolted by “blackness.” In all of her writings, she makes clear that anyone who is mixed-race and chooses an African-American identity is either a fool or a traitor to her vision of mixed-race nirvana. It’s as if, anyone who is mixed-race and has African-Ancestry cares to acknowledge that ancestry with any pride.
Furthermore, if you read Powell’s revisionist take on history, you would think that the world’s evils all originated with Africans and that Caucasians are God’s gift to humanity. All human beings are equally capable of both good and evil.
Posted 05 May 2006 at 1:11 am ¶
Gandalph Mantooth wrote:
Let’s clarify something. Ganguro gals had nothing to do with imitating black people or wanting to be black or being next to black. That look was based on Hawaiian surfer culture. Buropan was an entirely different Japanese subculture. This is one of the most often repeated misinterpretations about Japanese-Afrifan American relationships. With all the complexity that implies, Ganguro had nothing to do with it. People assume because they tanned their skin, they were somehow imitating black folks. Hey, we aren’t the only dark skinned people on the planet, y’all.
Patrick Macias has been following the Gospeller’s black face thing for awhile, he’s obsessed with it. This isn’t the first time the band has donned black face for performances. They aren’t obvlivious to the possible reprocussions of such a thing, notice that one of the cats refuses to go out like that. Still, their fans, most of whom are of a different generation, don’t see a real problem with it.
There is a strain of dress-up play in Japanese culture. Most of you are aware of the “cosplay” thing; I see this as an unfortunate side effect of that.
There are plenty of problems with Japan’s issues with other races, I don’t think this is one.
Posted 30 May 2006 at 7:56 pm ¶
Pam wrote:
Brad,
Most people who call A.D. Powell racist simply do so because her sound and well documented opinions don’t suit their agendas.
A.D. Powell is not enamoured with whiteness. She does not hate blacks, but she does dislike certain attitudes among both blacks and whites. Anybody who really reads her progressive take on history and writings attentively knows why she talks about the notion of multiracial whiteness and exposes the erronous and racist belief that whites are pure. Remember, according to genetic studies 30% of white Americans have DNA which originated in Africa and the average white Brazilian has 28% African ancestry.
A.D. is dangerous to black male power as well as to black male power aspirations. And no, the fact, that one’s ancestors were historical vicitims does not make a person a non-racist, ethical, upright person.
When I used the expression ‘black male power’ I was of course talking about relative power, not absolute power. Human power is always relative. Only god has absolute power. Black men do have a lot relative power. As all men they have power over women in general, over black women, over white women and over women of other races. It only takes one individual to have power over another one and often black male individuals have power over individuals of other races (male and female, white and brown) They have this power, they benefit from it and take advantage of it. No, when it comes to power you simply cannot lump everybody of the same race together.
Posted 15 Jun 2006 at 6:09 pm ¶
Salsassin wrote:
I am highly amused by many of the posts and claims on this thread.
One, to claim all mentalities on mulatto.org are the same is false. Many challenge others opinions on a daily basis. Much more so on One Drop Rule. To claim every mixed or mulato identified is a nut because of Joan Carradine’s rants is highly amusing. Do I think A.D. Powell is a racist. I do think she has racialized perceptions, and i have told her so. Yet she is no where as bad as Joan has ever been.
As for the claim that all moderators on ODR look white and claim distant mixed ancestry, that is hilarious.
http://backintyme.com/forum/store/faceme.jpg
Posted 09 Jul 2006 at 9:48 am ¶