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AIBU?

Cultural appropriation/blackface

46 replies

Mrbluethecatt · 30/05/2017 13:50

My niece has a dress up evening this weekend at her dance club. She is 8. She has learned the Beyonce single ladies dance and has a black leotard, black dance shoes (with little heels) and a metal type glove. Her hair will be styled like the video. She will have some makeup mainly a smokey eye.

She is white and will not be wearing fake tan or anything that would change her skin colour.

She was at my house yesterday practicing and my friend asked her what she was doing. After my friend left she texted me to say she thought it was awful the I was teaching DN cultural appropriation and allowing her to do blackface. I responded she wasn't. My friend is white if that is relevant. Since then I have had another friend say something similar.

Could DN's act be seen as cultural appropriation and blackface? Are we being unreasonable to allow her to do it?

OP posts:

Report

Allthebestnamesareused · 30/05/2017 13:52

YANBU

Your friend is bonkers and overprecious!

PeanutButterJellyTimeforTea · 30/05/2017 13:52

Your friend is a dick. It's not blackface if you don't black your face.

Daft cow. Some people just love to be outraged about everything!

araiwa · 30/05/2017 13:53

how can she be "blackface" when she isnt blackfaced? your friends are strange

MeowWoof · 30/05/2017 13:53

She sounds like the sort of tosser that uses phrases like "safeguarding" when referring to her own family members. The perpetually offended type.

Ignore her

CheesyCrust · 30/05/2017 13:53

Cultural appropriation is simply an invention for perpetual hand wringers to get offended by evermore insignificant things. Like micro-aggressions.

FakePlasticTeaLeaves · 30/05/2017 13:55

...what?

Does she have the wrong end of the stick and think there is more involved than there is? What a weirdo. And yes, some people do just loved to be outraged!

badabing36 · 30/05/2017 13:57

That's odd. So according to your friend your child isn't allowed to sing a black singers song? Surely things like that would make segregation worse not better.

MakingMerry · 30/05/2017 13:57

Not from what you've said... But two people mentioning it independently makes me wonder if there's some missing context?

waitforitfdear · 30/05/2017 13:58

She's a twat. Text her that. Couldn't be spending energy on idiots like this op.

category12 · 30/05/2017 13:58

Isn't it a bit sexual for an 8yr old to dance?

Natsku · 30/05/2017 14:05

Its not blackface without actually blacking of the face, its just dressing up as a singer whose song she wants to dance to. Surely it would be more racist if whites only performed songs by white artists and so on?

Actually remember my brother doing blackface for our family Christmas play, very old Finnish tradition (playing the part of the King of the Moors), I'm sure my mum now is horrified that she blacked his face up!

Trifleorbust · 30/05/2017 14:39

What a ridiculous statement! A little girl dressing as her musical icon does NOT 'blackface' make. Tell your friend to butt out.

MissBax · 30/05/2017 14:43

Huh?! How does she think it's "blackface"? Very strange

Fidoandacupoftea · 30/05/2017 14:52

YDNBU unless there is more to it

LanaKanesLeftNippleTassle · 30/05/2017 14:55

Cultural appropriation is simply an invention for perpetual hand wringers to get offended by evermore insignificant things.

I'm sorry I have to take issue with this.
Yeah, some stuff is just silly, I'll admit (this situation clearly being one of them) but cultural appropiation is a huge issue to a lot of communities.
A classic example being First Nation (Native American) head dresses.

In a lot of First Nation cultures the big feathered headdress is a very religious thing, worn only by very specific members of a tribe.
They mean a lot, and they are earnt and are v v important.
We are talking people who were displaced, massacred and forced to give up/renounce their beliefs (by us).

For First Nation peoples to see some random priviledged white kids parading about a music festival, wearing something that is so culturally significant, without any understanding of the wider issues.
Yeah that's properly fucking offensive.
So is playing cowboys and indians.
It trivilaises a whole genocide.

OP in no way are you in the wrong here. It's a current music idol, not a religious symbol or an oppressive act, it's just a kid copying their music idol.
If she was blacking up then yeah, that's v v bad, but she isn't.

scottishdiem · 30/05/2017 14:57

Its not blackface and its not appropriation. It is, in this case, homage.

ThisisrealityGreg · 30/05/2017 15:00

Maybe she said she was having black make up (meaning the eyeshadow)

LotusBomb · 30/05/2017 15:01

What @Lana said.

The situation the OP has described is not cultural appropriation, it's a kid copying a celebrity.

However, Cultural Appropiation IS a real thing and shouldn't be dismissed as "an invention for perpetual hand wringers to get offended by".

Mrbluethecatt · 30/05/2017 15:01

It's because Beyonce is black and RnB is black music. My DN just likes the dance.

OP posts:

LanaKanesLeftNippleTassle · 30/05/2017 15:08

It's because Beyonce is black and RnB is black music

See this is the sort of shit that gives us "handwringers" a bad name.

Thereis nothing wrong in a kid copying their current music idol, so long as there is no culturally/socially important/significant shit being stolen.

Copying a pop idols dance moves= fine.
Wearing blackface/culturally sensitive items= vv bad
Copying a religious/cultural dance as a parody= vv bad

LotusBomb · 30/05/2017 15:08

People of all sorts of ages, races etc etc love Beyoncé OP, there are countless YouTube vids of people from all types of backgrounds emulating her. Nothing to worry about.

Moanyoldcow · 30/05/2017 15:13

www.thoughtco.com/dressing-as-different-race-for-halloween-2834514

This gives some good tips.

Nothing about the situation you describe is offensive in my opinion and I speak as a black person (for myself, not all of 'us') - she has as much right to enjoy, emulate and celebrate Beyoncé as I do Adele or any other white artist.

LanaKanesLeftNippleTassle · 30/05/2017 15:14

I think me and @LotusBomb are fully on the same page on this!

Moanyoldcow · 30/05/2017 15:16

Totally agree Lana.

And the PP who said cultural appropriation and micro aggressions don't exist needs to do a bit of homework.

deadringer · 30/05/2017 15:19

I think your friends are twits op but can I ask a question? I am from a traditionally very white country. I am not being goady honest though I might be being a bit thick. If your dd or indeed anyone was dressing up as Beyonce and they wore fake tan to look more like her would that count as blackface?

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