To think the Katy Perry shoes are NOT racist? Just fuck ugly?

[hotwing]

How on Earth are they 'racist'

Are you referring to these?

I don’t think they’re racist either. There’s white versions of them too. But then, I’m white so not really qualified to answer.

They are fucking ugly though.

How can a pair of shoes be racist? They are objects.

They just look stupid to me rather than racist. Or as though they have been produced in the hope that people will discuss whether or not they racist.

What about the gucci balaclava top. Cba to find a picture but that was in the news a week ago. Im black so these type of things always pique my interest, It may not be racist but it is a bit ignorant.

How can a pair of shoes be racist? They are objects

Objects can absolutely be racist. What about the Gollywogg?

Look like Minstrels to me

But then, I’m white so not really qualified to answer.

This

I think some people have deemed them racist because the black versions have blue eyes, which is unusual & not common, thus implying it is 'blackface'. They're hideous in any colour though!

They are ugly shoes, who is going to be willing to put such a shoe on?

Cinderella would of left that shoe behind on purpose

Calling them racist is taking it a bit far surely. V ugly though.

fugly shoes, that's what I would say

Famous people with no discernible talent becoming designers STOP

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should

They look like minstrels to me too.

I simply cannot believe someone on her team didn’t notice that before release.

Any publicity better than none?

Ooft, I think they are racist. Ok there’s white ones too, but the white ones don’t have that terrible history of blackface / minstrelry. The combination of the very dark skin and the big red lips is a very close reproduction of historical depictions of POC that were specifically intended to be dehumanising an derogatory. I don’t think the shoes can be divorced from that association.

Hahaha those were my exact thoughts when I first saw them yesterday, OP. Really really fucking ugly!!! Also they're available in pale skin tones too so I'm struggling to see how they're racist.

JFC, it's just a show.

Shoe.

Those shoes(all of them) look as though they'd murder you in your sleep.

They do resemble the way black people used to be caricatured, with the wide eyes and oversized bright red lips. (If you Google something like "Jim Crow imagery" you'll see plenty of examples of the trope.) So yeah, that shoe design is very inappropriate.

I doubt the designers or Katy Perry were consciously being racist when they designed them (I doubt Katy Perry even saw them). But seriously they are tone deaf. The blue eyes, paler nose and deep red lips evoke blackface with all its racist connotations. Surely someone must have noticed that before they were released? So I suspect they either didn't care or were courting controversy to raise their profile.

I reckon this was done on purpose as situations like this instantly go viral and big - it's publicity albeit bad publicity

Gucci for instance have done similar.

Taken together, they just look like nude and black versions of the same shoe.

The black ones by themselves, no, I wouldn't wear them because they do look offensive.

So, it looks like who designed them wasn't really thinking of the shoes individually. Or is a twat.

I don't think they are purposefully racist, but it looks an awful lot like minstrels, or gollywogs, or those old fashioned cartoons of black people. All of which are racist, I find it hard to believe no one noticed prior to release. Because I take one look at those shoes and thats what it reminds me of.