'America's Next Top Model' Puts Models In Blackface

It's never a surprise when Tyra Banks pulls a tacky, over-the-top stunt on America's Next Top Model. But in last night's episode, Tyra crossed the fine line from tasteless over to offensive when she put the remaining six contestants in ethnic garb and gave them biracial identities. Call it what you want, but that's basically a euphemism for putting them in blackface.

The models arrive at a sugarcane field in Hawaii, where Tyra gives a half-brained explanation of how people immigrated from all over to work in those fields:

"What happens when men and women from different places come together? Babies! Lots of babies that are from different cultures. A mix. Hapa. Hapa means half in Hawaiian."

When the little history lesson is over, each model is assigned two different races, like Botswanan and Polynesian, and they're somehow supposed to actually understand what that means. But that's where the clothes and makeup come in, turning those cultures into mere caricatures.

In a moment that reads like a disclaimer, Tyra acknowledges that the clothes and makeup aren't necessarily culturally accurate:

"Every outfit is not necessarily of what that culture is wearing now. It might not even be a necessary exact of what they've worn in the past. It's a fashion interpretation of it."

So basically, Tyra, blatant stereotypes are OK in the fashion world?

Oddly enough, this isn't the first time blackface has stirred controversy recently. Two weeks ago, the French edition of Vogue published a spread featuring Dutch model Lara Stone in full-body blackface. Earlier this month, Harry Connick Jr. slammed an Australian TV show he was guest-judging for a skit that had singers in blackface parodying the Jackson Five. And two months ago, Mad Men's Roger Sterling performed a song in blackface.

WATCH part of the ANTM episode here:

Comments

[kylennblack]

I watch this show (guilty pleasure) and while most of it is tacky I didn't find this particular photo shoot to be disrespectful.

Even though Tyra was inarticulate about it, the show seemed to be trying to celebrate the cultures represented, not make fun of them.

I didn't have a problem with it.

[PollyTics]

For goodness sakes, FASHION IS NOT ABOUT REALITY, it is about the fantasy of beauty in different forms and draws inspiration from the different venues. The author of this article likes to call this "Black Face" to which I take offense actually and is insulting to anyone with a sense of an adventurous aesthetic.

Fashion is about makeup, clothing, fantasy and your imagination; thus this piece merely took it all to a new level. I would have loved to have seen myself turned into many beautiful and varied nationalities and do not see how that could be construed as anything hateful or bigoted.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and it's kind of fun to see ourselves transformed into someone else of a different nation, time or age. VIVE LA DIFFERENCE!

[nilejustice]

Thank you Publius7 for explaining "blackface" to the author of this article. I am an African-American woman and I was not at all offended by Tyra's fashion interpretations.

[FdeBear]

I'd like to know what was the point of this photo shoot? What was Tyra trying to sell? Jewelry, headresses, garments, what? And why are all the makeup artists white?

[FdeBear]

Let's get some black and asian models and "do" them up to represent the various Caucasian ethnic groups of Europe? We got a taste of that gender, racial appropriation in the film "White Chicks"--so why not a whole fashion spread complete with skin coloring, hair and ethnic-look (but not authentic) costumes. Let's see what some pioneering conceptual, fashion artist can do with it! Seriously, I'd really love to see it.

[GoDogGo]

This wasn't blackface at all! And offensive? Not so much.

Still, when someone gets a clue and takes Tyra Banks off the air, I'll be happy.

[jesselee26]

i didn't see this because i haven't watched the show in several seasons.... but this isn't the first time this kind of thing has been done on the show. and nobody paid attention when it happened before. i think the only reason it hit the radar was because of the french vogue and harry connick jr. thing having happened recently.

[Publius7]

"...that's basically a euphemism for putting them in blackface."

Except that it's not. The term "blackface" refers to a very specific type of entertainment aimed at negatively stereotyping black people. The concept dates back to American minstrel acts of the 19th century in which white comedians would darken their faces, exaggerate the size of their lips, and perform as clowns; the clownishness, the humor, of their acts derived from the caricatured features and the portrayal of negative character stereotypes. So, too, did the racism. The issue, in hindsight, was that the blackface comedians were saying, essentially, "all black people are laughable because they look, talk, think, and act in this ridiculous way." The central problem of blackface, in other words, is in the representation of negative stereotypes for mockery and comedic purposes.

Banks' photo shoot had nothing to do with this. Did it portray stereotypes? Sure. (How else can one person try to represent a member of a group?) Did the models portray negative character traits in order to mock the cultures they were representing? Not at all. There is no real reason why this photo shoot should at all be associated with the negative connotations surrounding the term "blackface" -- not unless those writing about it are looking for something to label as racism.

Read more at http://witdw.blogspot.com

[OkieIntellectual]

You beat me to it, I was going to make the exact same point. This was NOT blackface. I guess the author, Gazelle Emami, was really stretching for an article to write, just latched on to the first thing that jumped out at her, and in true modern-journalism style, blew the whole thing far out of proportion to make it seem far more sensational and important than it actually is.

[seasun]

Thank you for this post. I was just about to type something similar to what you said.

I am a black woman and I totally agree with you. The ANTM photo shoot had nothing to do with the offensive, burlesque black face stereotype that was common during a certain period of American entertainment culture.

This was just young aspiring models portraying people of other cultures and ethnicities through makeup and costume.

[bluejoni2525]

I watched this and really come on this was not offensive at all !!

[shaleen]

There was nothing offensive about this. Yeah, ANTM is kind of dumb, so don't watch it if you're looking to be enlightened on other races, but there was no insult. I'm 100% Indian and I found the Indian "hapa" and skin-painting to be quite elegant.

[DannyGee]

i love it when a black person performs an overtly racist thing and then sit back and listen to the apologists.

[OGoodGrief]

Gazelle Emami is off base on this one. I watched the episode and frankly while I'm not a fan of Tyra's, thought it was an interesting method for a photoshoot. The images were nowhere near blackface and some turned out incredibly beautiful. It shows the power of styling, make-up, photography and modeling all in one.

Journalists try to make a name for themselves by drumming up controversy especially where this is none. Emami -- this one is dead in the water.

[goddessNdiva]

What country is Gazelle Emami from? She obviously does not know how to title her own articles or even have a clue to the meaning of her title.

What a shame.

[XRaraavis]

The Mad Men portrayal of the character Roger Sterling performing a song in traditional Black face was brilliant. It was used to show the cultural and generational differences between the various characters as some a few were offended, some uncomfortable, and most unaffected. It was used to highlight the changing political, racial, and cultural landscape of 1963. The same characters weeks later are discussing Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech without even noticing the conflict between the two events.

[LotusDoll]

Excellent! People should see how it feels walk in different cultures somehow, and in spirit always.

[Fudgefase]

Not so much walk, as just 'pose'.