Twitch temp-bans white streamer after she used blackface in Apex Legends cosplay
88 replies, posted
Maybe I'm ignorant on these issues but I don't get how this is offensive?
It looks it was respectfully done, and not to mock a minority through becoming a stereotype (which is why the original blackface is still so offensive I assume).
You have a thread full of people saying this is retarded bullshit, and you're going to use "people" as if everyone everywhere has the same opinion.
That's not how public opinion works.
People jump to blackface the moment a hint of it surfaces, I think most of us know that she didn't do this with harmful intentions. I think what gets people is upset is that some of them treat blackface as a binary issue, if there's even a hint of blackface it's 100% blackface, and 100% punishment.
But it's obvious that this:
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s---67jSbRe--/c_fit,f_auto,fl_progressive,q_80,w_636/ivcnpqeldlmodzjewz5l.png
doesn't equal this in both intent and in practice.
https://www.timetunnel.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/mins0123_461x705.jpg
There's real cases of classic blackface out there, I went to Tombstone AZ a few months ago and saw some classic blackface porcelain decorations for sale, but some of us want to treat this twitch streamer like what she's doing is equivalent to the actual intended to be harmful portrayals of blackface.
I dont understand why this keeps happening. Why do people think that context and intent dont matter? This is just darkening her skin so the cosplay looks accurate, whats the problem. Why is this a problem. Why do people keep finding reasons to get upset where there are none.
Like theres a significant difference between doing this vs going full Mr. Popo.
Today, these people are searching for things to get upset about, because they don't have to face any real problems like war, or hunger.
People in the U.S. have to face plenty of real problems, like living in poverty, and fear that one medical incident will destroy your financial future.
I find it pretty funny that all the people that insist that the cultural significance of blackface is global and not specific to the Western world happen to be American.
Black face is only black face if it's done to mock black people, that was the point of black face and that's why it was racist. Simply changing your skin tone isn't inherently racist, otherwise all the dark skinned people of India and other countries that seek to lighten their skin for whatever reason would also be viewed as racist, but they're not, because they're not doing it to mock an entire race.
Just fuck off already, outrage culture. There's plenty of legitimate real shit to get upset about. You don't have to actively look for something that you can perform mental gymnastics over to stretch it so that you can be outraged. What a shitty hobby. Find a new one
So you are white washing if you don't, black facing if you do. Basically what this means is that you are not allowed to show that you like a character that is not your own skin color, the video games industry is pushing for more poc to be represented in video games and yet gamers who actually love this are walking in a minefield. It doesn't make any sense.
>Lithuanian
Eastern Europeans (maybe the rest of Europe aswell, I'm not sure) don't really see blackface as a terrible thing like US or whatnot does.
My mum watches Russian/Ukrainian shows, and one show had people doing a reenactment of famous performances/songs/singers/etc. And they were blackfacing to reenact people like Ray Charles. No one saw it as a negative thing, no one on the show did, my mum didn't, my dad didn't.
It's fucken stupid to ban someone just for reenacting a character that's black. If they did the overexaggerated huge lips and bone in the hair type shit then that's a different story.
I think the biggest hangup for people here is that it's in the context of cosplay, so it seems to imply that she views race as a costume, which it isn't. that by itself can come off very insensitive to people.
But the context is never that simple, not being american she does have a good reason to not understand the hurtful beginnings of blackface, and while I'm not saying this counts as blackface, it's very hard if not impossible to not draw comparisons between the two here. While blackface as it began was a costume used to mock black people, skin darkening/lightening in cosplay isn't purely innocent in itself either, because it can come with the idea that people believe skin color and race is just a costume, or even just part of a costume when it's not and it shouldn't be.
People might like to bring up RDJ playing a white dude disguised as a black guy in Tropic Thunder, but there's a key difference here, RDJ was not just existing as in the outfit, he was playing a character in the outfit, he was acting as a person in the outfit, with inworld reasoning for it and writing for it. Not just wearing it for the sake of wearing it.
Personally I don't have a huge issue with her doing this, for one thing she isn't American and doesn't have the context of years of race issues to go on, and for another she didn't do it maliciously. But I do think this is a good teaching moment for a lot of people; to learn about racial issues and the history of harshness people of color have had to face in the states, why some people of color would have problems with their race seemingly used as an accessory in a cosplay, and most importantly that your race shouldn't matter for a cosplay and that there's nothing wrong with a black guy cosplaying Steve Rogers just like there's nothing wrong with a white guy cosplaying Black Panther. They're just characters that were made for everyone and anyone to enjoy.
i bet if it would be the other way around nothing would happen
I've seen Dave Chappelle do this many times
https://i.redd.it/h8qaseil0gu11.jpg
Where the moral outrage? Oh right, there isn't any because he didn't do anything offensive.
Yo mamma
No because seriously, how the fuck do you even expect people to argue with or even listen to you with that train of thoughts?
Reminds me of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3IaKVmkXuk
Where did I cry racism? I said it was blackface - she darkened her skin to look black, which literally is blackface by definition. Do I think she had racist intentions or that she is racist? No, obviously not. Is it still blackface? Yeah, of course. Yet alas, you could patronise the eveloving fuck out of me instead and misrepresent what I said, that works too.
Blackface or not is pretty much irrelevant here imo. What i think should be agreed upon though is that it's pretty shitty to treat race as an accessory to or part of a costume in cosplay, Just like it's shitty to expect people in different countries to have an American understanding of racism in American culture, just like it's shitty to call people out for not being the same race as the character their cosplaying.
As a black person, yes, I get it, this isn't malicious on the level of blackface, and she most likely had absolutely zero ill will in what she was doing and I don't think she's a shit person for doing it, that doesn't stop it from being a shitty thing to do while also being a good moment to teach people and broaden their understanding of the world and the people who live in it.
No, it's not blackface by definition, there's several other things, including both the lips and, most importantly, intent, that's missing. Black Face =/= Blackface
Cosplay circles are full of toxicity when it comes to races sadly.
Sure you may have caught wind of a reddit post the other week, in which a black woman cosplayed Resident Evil 3's Jill Valentine, whom is white.
There was a lot of very toxic / racism backlash.
In this case I would no doubt believe people would cause a toxic shitfit uproar with this Streamer's cosplay, regardless if she did the spraytan to appear darker, or no spraytan at all and stayed light.
Yo real Blackface has real racist connotations... Your definition is wrong and cries racism to anyone coloring their skin a different color, especially if their intentions is -> to cosplay as a character.
Your flawed definition is ironically crying racism where none is.
Don't waste our time.
You have an obsession with accusing people of crying racism when they're not. It's like you honestly didn't read my post.
And the people reporting this and the people employed by twitch generally don't give a fuck about those things.
No, why? Why would it be a shitty thing to respect another persons race by not wearing it like a costume?
The idea of "whitewashing" in cosplay is seriously dumb, just as dumb as "blackwashing" and the racist hate surrounding that. Just wear the outfit and be happy.
Imagine getting angry over a cosplay that portrays a black video game character, pretty pathetic
And despite all that, they still can't get everyone in the world to use their crappy measurement or temperature system.
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