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?

This image is good to explain stereotypes. If it's readable.

The ops, and the subsequent laundry one tells me "I'm a woman, therefore staying home and doing rhe laundry is my job".

And that's why I dislike it.

The ops, and the subsequent laundry one tells me "I'm a woman, therefore staying home and doing rhe laundry is my job"

thats idiotic. Do you not do any laundry? Ever?

I've never had a problem with a dry vagina though

That’s not the issue - wearing a tampon when you’re not on your period leaves you at higher risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome. It’s bad advice.

Uyulala

No, it's not saying white people are blank canvases as people. Wow. hmm

You again you were following me on my last thread getting the wrong end of the stick.

You're the one who got the wrong end of the stick, she was pointing it out!

Migg we’ve been round this circle several times. RTT. In my experience, nobody reads on vibrating washing machine out of choice. You want to insist that only a racist could hold that view. I think that makes no sense. You seem to be posting provocatively for a row. What do you want us all to say?

And I asked about the small towel thing because we all sweat, we all shed skin cells constantly and we all leak other fluids/ secretions , I find it a bit yuk to sit on an item of furniture with a bare bum given all that.

ChardonnaysPrettySister

So you can stereotype me as blank canvas, as a white person?
And that’s good?

If it came across that I was implying that white people were blank canvases, that was not my intention. Apologies for that.

What I meant was that there are generally no negative stereotypes attached to your skin colour (obviously depending where you are living). So you can go about being you, where as sometimes I feel people make their mind up about me before I even open my mouth.

In my experience, nobody reads on vibrating washing machine out of choice. You want to insist that only a racist could hold that view. I think that makes no sense. You seem to be posting provocatively for a row. What do you want us all to say?

You truly can't imagine anything that you haven't personally experienced? I want you to stop being so narrowminded. I want the people to say that she must be a poor african maid to say they fucked up and made racist assumptions, and apologise for them, and you to stop excusing them.

So the woman in the picture is not like you, and you don't get it? So fucking just say that and stop trying to other her so much. She's just another woman, just like you. Stop stereotyping and explaining her with racist tropes.

Migg

Do you think the media and art world are part of what creates stereotypes of all sorts?

*Really. There is such a thing as too much information.

Ffs*

It makes sense to me as a response to someone warning you of getting dried out. All I said was being naked at home doesn't seem that abnormal and that I do it (as done my nan actually). Everyone else started with "do you put something on the seat?". Just responding.

I don't have a line for too much info online btw. Don't have much of one irl either come to think of it

Tampons, small towels, vaginal secretions, has any mentioned lochia yet? That seems to be another mumsnet preoccupation.

I apologise for the small towel comment.

MiggeldyHiggins

You're the one who got the wrong end of the stick, she was pointing it out!

On another thread, miggeldy

I'm talking about this one.

@namechangedname

You again hmm you were following me on my last thread getting the wrong end of the stick.

Erm, I didn't "follow" you on another thread. I responded and yes, got the wrong end of the stick. In what world have I "followed you".

And you do seem to have got the wrong end of the stick here. I haven't even responsed to you on this thread. My response that you quoted was to Charodnnay.

Nothing at all to do with skin colour. If you had just posted and said “is this picture ok for the laundry room?” I’d say “yes it’s very sweet. I think it depicts every mother around the world who has a young baby.” I love it because you can see she’s a great mum, who’s tired and found a way to have some time out. Skin colour is irrelevant to me. So no idea why that has come into it.

*Chardonnay

FFS I was agreeing with you @namechangedname

By the way, woman/females are the only ones who can have babies so a picture like this does not suggest she does not work, is not independent and not capable.
Females, women have babies. Seeing a mum with a baby attached to her is pretty normal. Dads do this too, but hey, she birthed the kid so she’s pretty likely to do some childcare and carry it around every now and then :)

You truly can't imagine anything that you haven't personally experienced? I want you to stop being so narrowminded. I want the people to say that she must be a poor african maid to say they fucked up and made racist assumptions, and apologise for them, and you to stop excusing them.

So the woman in the picture is not like you, and you don't get it? So fucking just say that and stop trying to other her so much. She's just another woman, just like you. Stop stereotyping and explaining her with racist tropes.

Woah. Wind back. I said I thought it was a potentially problematic image because of arguably dogwhostle images in there. (Maybe elitist, maybe racist, maybe just crass.) I also said that the place OP was planning to hang it, and hang it alone, seemed problematic to me, regardless of the artist’s intent.

And the most problematic thing for me was that I thought she seemed poor which didn’t seem appropriate for decorating a “laundry room corridor”. Not a racist trope.

I also don’t believe people often choose to read leaning on a vibrating machine, either. Because of physics. Again, not a racist trope, but seemed to support the poverty thesis. And that’s where I am possibly projecting a bit. Because I’ve been poor and I’ve been well off and maybe that influences my view of people’s choices.

What I don’t understand is how you think people will ever spot dogwhistle sexism, racism, xenophobia etc if they’re NOT tuned in to possible meanings of an image.

And why do you think yours is an anti-bigotry stance when you’re encouraging people only to take a surface view of what they see?

Sheesh, can we stop with the towels and secretions talk? Bare buttocks never hurt anyone.

smileeachday
I think there is also a dose of “sexy” or “exotic” in the second photo, in contrast to the “clean cut housewife” in the first.

You see, I don't see exotic or sexy in the second pic, just a woman 'happily' ironing. What is exotic about her? Genuine question.

I had an ex who called me exotic. I'd wear a summer dress or maybe put some make up on, and he'd always pipe up how exotic I looked. To me, I was just a woman, wearing a dress and some lippy. But to him, he saw something completely different

Sheesh, can we stop with the towels and secretions talk? Bare buttocks never hurt anyone.

I will apologise for causing that bizarre turn...

Namechange

Maybe the jewellery? Or the tatoos? I think they point to the stereotype “exotic” perhaps?