Bought a print I love, DH is worried it's racist

[NC4T]

Saw it on IG and loved it. Purchased it for the laundry room corridor, but it's arrived and DH is a little worried it might be racist. I can't see how. To me, it's a mum finding a few minutes of calm in the chaos and I love her babies little sleeping face.

We are white Jewish, for cultural context.

What do you think?

It's like no form of yoga that I know. That posture looks positively harmful. Also yoga is about being mindful. (Not something you do while a) holding the baby, b) reading and c) waiting for the noisy spin cycle to be completed...)

Good to see the virtue signallers out in force.

A friend visited earlier this morning and I had been reading this thread before she arrived. I was interested to know what she thought about the painting. Her response was 'meh - really boring'. Not sure if her being black adds any weight to her insightful comment

Where’s the “virtue signaling” Surfer?

Good to see the "people with black friends" out in force......

Jennie, who's said the picture is supposed to be of someone doing yoga?

Bertrand, there are black people 'out in force' on the thread too, no?

My initial visceral impression was black housemaid trying to better herself by grabbing the opportunity to educate/better herself by reading and washing her only set of clothes.

Women exist in the world that do housework naked and raise children etc... Should artwork never depict them but instead only produce progressive/liberating stuff?

DarlingJennie

Here.

www.yogaprints.dk/collections/seen-on-instagram

www.yogaprints.dk/

Is that link for me, Lass? Apologies but I'm not sure why?

DarlingNikita

Jennie, who's said the picture is supposed to be of someone doing yoga

You asked this ^^;. The links clearly show the pictures are part of a series of people (apparently) doing yoga.

Lass, I can see there are yoga pictures, yes, and I know the overall title of the site and the works is 'yogaprints', but this picture is clearly called 'Baby Wearing Doing Laundry', not named after a yoga pose. It (and others, like the teeth-brushing one) are just with the yoga ones under the same loose grouping.

Although “Baby wearing doing laundry” could be a yoga pose...

Where can I get one? I think it's wonderfull.

Although “Baby wearing doing laundry” could be a yoga pose...

It's clearly not a yoga pose and very different to the artists images of white women doing yoga. Let's not pretend otherwise.

That in itself possibly says something. Why does the artist only depict a black woman doing baby rearing and household chores? The rest appear to be doing actual yoga. And do not appear to be black.

It's like no form of yoga that I know

The website says the pictures are of yoga AND body positivity.

I would guess this one falls into the category of 'body positivity', don't you think?

Bluntness100 How am I reaching? I’m providing a very valid way of avoiding sick on one piece of material. I couldn’t give a fuck what people think of the image. I don’t see it as racist and people of colour on here have said the same. If you view it as racist then surely that’s to do with your thinking and not that of the artists?

Why does the artist only depict a black woman doing baby rearing and household chores? The rest appear to be doing actual yoga. And do not appear to be black.

The artists shows a range of skin colours.

She also has an Instagram account.

On her website it was she's included illustrations from her Instagram account where people have requested them. This is obviously one that's been requested.

wonders if anyone did this for Leda and the swan

Just googled this ^^

What the fuck lol

Sleeping dragons the fact she has a range of skin colours doing yoga does not answer the question I posed on why she only has a black woman doing domestic chores.

Quack, actually my issue, if you bother to read the thread, is not about racism, although now looking at her other images, I'm exploring that. My issue is how this portrays women when displayed in isolation.

Some women do the childcare and washing, so what? Some men do too. Surely it’s about choice. Why is it wrong to portray a woman doing the laundry and looking after a young baby? When a baby is really young and the woman isn’t on maternity leave and the man is working then surely the woman will be doing laundry and childcare, why is that such a problem? It was drawn by a woman who uses wraps or slings herself and presumably puts a load of washing on. She is also Dutch so wanders around her home naked. What is so fucking wrong with that?

Is on maternity that should say.

Her response was 'meh - really boring'. Not sure if her being black adds any weight to her insightful comment smile

And, this is the thing. I can't find any meaning to it, apart from the fact that she's multitasking. But I like it, in a positive way. I just see it as (from my perspective) life.

isnt it it chillly in Holland a lot of the time? is it Denmark or Holland where this nude thing is common?

One problem with 'some women do the childcare and the washing' in this particular print is the historical context of black women doing the childcare and washing for white people. Another is the stereotype of African women carrying babies on their backs all day every day.

You can't dismiss the salient components of this image as meaningless or ordinary/nothing to talk about here/the Danes walk around naked all the time. All of the elements have a message.