To report friend to FB for photo of her blacked up?

[Greyhound]

I'm really shocked - cousin of mine has pic of herself on Facebook blacked up. She is white. The picture is of her at a fancy dress party - she has covered her face in dark brown stage make up and is wearing an "Afro" wig and Rastafarian style striped hat.

Her husband is also blacked up.

Sorry 5 of the 8 new partners are women. And for the avoidance of doubt the firm is a traditional, blue-chip non-legal aid firm.

It certainly is a scab. I can only speak for my own profession and as far as I'm concerned any woman bleating that she hasn't got on because she is a woman is deluding herself.

Or they have less experience than their male peers because they decided to take a career break when they were having children...

A lot of people would be offended by someone blacking up their face because it evokes images of the 'blackface' acts which were openly racist. However this doesn't mean that your cousin was being racist, but she was being insensitive. You need to think about your cousin's attitude to the whole thing - was she dressing up as a particular person who happens to have dark skin (so darkened her skin to achieve a better resemblance) or was she dressing up as a stereotypical 'black person'? I'd be ok with the former, pretty uncomfortable with the latter.
Incidentally I was in a show with a black guy who wore white make-up and a skirt to play a white girl - nobody thought anything about it because it was a technical thing, and he wasn't taking the mick out of either females or white people. He was playing a character, not a race or gender.

Buffy, I started as a legal trainee in 1982. Quote all the academic studies you like. I cannot think of a single case in any of the 5 firms I've worked for where a woman has not been promoted simply because she is a woman.

I appreciate that doesn't accord with your world view but what business sense does it make not to select and promote the best people?

Hi Life - she's a lovely girl and I am sure she wouldn't want to offend anyone. She does come a rather cosseted, "sloany" background and hasn't mixed much with people outside that sphere.

I'm pretty sure she was dressed up as a stereotyped Rastafarian rather than anyone in particular.

Also, like you, I would be less offended she was dressed as, say, Bob Marley.

...if you're so desperate to eliminate racism in the UK why not pop along to the Rotheram threads and give a nice big shout out to the white victims of Pakistani grooming gangs.

Brilliant.

What does frustrate and amuse me in equal measures is the militant outcry of 'racist' I see over and over on these boards. Often from people who have not travelled very widely and are blissfully unaware of how incredibly tolerant and inclusive the UK is compared to many places I have lived.

Ditto

Also, like you, I would be less offended she was dressed as, say, Bob Marley.

Whoops didn't mean to double post.

Result.

It's all right folks, nothing to see here.

There is no sexual discrimination anymore. No pay gap. Apparently. Let's bring back the Black & White Minstrel Show while we're at it, because blackface is fine It's all fine.

Buffy, I applaud your patience on this thread.

I second your applause for Buffy. The attempted silencing tactics on this thread have been really nasty.

I'm a bit that I started this thread, but at least reading through it made me think a bit more about bigotry etc.

It occurs to me that a lot of fancy dress is offensive to some of us -

Sexy nurse - objectifies nurses
Saucy schoolgirl - sexualising children
Witches, devils etc - offends religious folk
Bunny girls etc - porn

'Horse shit' referred to your insistence, dear Buffy, that the Rotheram abuse cases were exclusively about classism and misogyny. Some of us do not accept the Left's denial of serious race issues in the vile repetitions of cases like the Rotheram gangs and whilst we are not attempting to derail legitimate threads, this one was clearly an attempt to flush out 'racists' whilst being fodder for the usual hand-wringers. I don't care how middle-class, educated and caring you are. I have not a scintilla of concern about your white hot debating skills. As far as I am concerned cases like the Rotheram horrors will continue whilst some folk perpetuate the horse shit dogma that only penises and class are to blame.

Oh, and your experiences in the workplace, Phaedra, were also mine (sort of) and I agree with every word of your posts. I really do think it's time feminists buggered off and did something useful in the world, like dedicating themselves to fighting the Class war.