White Lady Dons Blackface for African Tribes. Because: Awareness
The year is fresh but what’s really old is well-meaning white people who do things that make my blood pressure rise. I know, friend. You really wanted to honor us in some way but one way you could do it is by having a Black friend who has sense, so you can run things by them.
The latest in the WHY MUST YOU FAIL SO BAD? life series is from a Hungarian journalist named Boglarka Balogh. She says “she travels the world and writes about human rights issues.” Ok, cool.
Apparently, she has spent a lot of time in Africa (because of course), and she wants to let us all know about the struggling tribes there who are endangered. To do it, Boglarka photoshopped a picture of herself into some of the tribesmen because: awareness.
Her post was called “I Morphed Myself Into Tribal Women To Raise Awareness Of Their Secluded Cultures.”
All the NOPES that ever NOPED in NOPELAND. So much NOPE. Ma’am, if you don’t go occupy every seat in Kilimanjaro this moment!
She is raising awareness by making herself one of them in the most shallow way possible. It’s like me saying I’m a baby again by putting on a diaper and peeing in it. The hell is that doing for the price of formula in Beijing?
Why not raise awareness by simply telling the stories of these tribes? OR having them talk about their own experiences. She could record them and have them talk about what they’re going through. Take their pictures, record them on video, let them speak. She ain’t raising a lick of awareness by Photoshopping herself into a painted version of their images. Surely, we can’t understand their struggle without having a blond white woman juxtapose herself into their markers, like it’s Halloween.
Their pictures are RIGHT THERE. She had their pics. Why she thought it was necessary to then make them her own is beyond me. This is neither noble nor innovative. This is Blackface. Plain and simple.
In some of these pics, she literally copied and pasted her own eyes unto the eyes of the people, replacing them. Which, oddly enough, is exactly what white people have been doing to Black folks for a while. Erasing us from our lands, our contributions, our history, and forcefully putting themselves there. What she is doing here is way more oppressive than she thinks, as she is believing that she is somehow being a Good Samaritan documentarian. She is Columbussing the pictures of these tribespeople and patting her back like she just did something amazing.
Furthermore, I’m over this obsession with African “tribes.” When people use tribes, they usually refer only to the ones that are in rural areas, and untouched by Western technology. Because the only story they want to tell about Africa and Africans are of the struggles. They want to talk about the “exotic” which usually refers to “they do stuff that is so different from us that we must study them like fish in an aquarium.”
This is self-serving bullshit, and Boglarka is swimming in white privilege. She’s being a culture vulture. As she’s painting her face brown in a photo-editing software, she is doing nothing to honor the folks she is miming. And what does this photoshop project concretely do? It is the epitome of cultural appropriation and it needs to be in the dictionary next to a CAPS version of the word NO.
She is basically Quentin Tarantino’s cousin. ‘You guys. I’m only saying “NIGGER” 54 times in this scene to show how oppressive it is!’ Sure. The first 2 times, maybe. But ok.
And this article showed up on the website “Bored Panda.” How fitting. A bored white woman trying to get some Black on her. Very fitting.
I’m rooting for white folks who know better to tell their cousins to chill. Can folks do better in 2016 or is that too much to ask?
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181 Comments
I just, I don’t even know where to start with her.
So don’t start… Your silence is preferable….
3101 Port Royale Blvd #1121
LOL thats what i get for using an old computer… my address from 3 years ago auto populated. Moderater please delete.
What I was trying to say was… Ed that was pretty rude.
I laughed… but it was rude.
Why is her silence preferable? Honest question.
Because she’s white
This is a joke on so many levels haha. You are seeing way too much into this. She may have had a good reason to photoshop her face onto hell the others. Perhaps, to show the fact that this could be any of us? But no, you don’t bother going any further, you don’t care. You have a point to prove, which simply put is that white people are bad. Right away, it’s the stupid, racist white girl who disrespected black people. Because of people like you, white people will eventually stop giving a damn about black people’s problems, since every time we care, you find something to bash us with and accuse white people of cultural appropriation, stupidity, racism, and whatever comes off at the top of your head. Honestly, good luck in your fight, you’re gonna need it because I highly doubt you’ll get what you want this way. What you’re doing is dividing to conquer. Good job playing yourself. Everybody deserves fairness and respect, please keep that in mind. I’m now waiting on your “white fragility” comment, as it is sure to come since I disagree with what you’re saying. After posting it, you will feel like you are right, and will feel smart about giving me that answer when in fact, that’s the only card you can pull out anymore to shut white people up who don’t have the same opinion. Have a good day!
NOPE. I mean… do we still need to tell people that shit like this is a bad idea? In some weird way – please call my white ass out if I’m wrong – the fact that she Photoshopped these almost feels more offensive than if she had actually dressed up. Like, I’m just gonna sit here at my computer and click some things to save these poor exotic black folks so I don’t steal their souls with my camera.
Yeah we do. People still don’t know it’s a bad idea. It’s like we need to have “don’t do this at all ever 101” classes. That’s ok. My book will serve as that.
You mean like white washing ala Beyonce and Co. Were you all up in a fury when she put on white face and pretended to be french? The beauty about america is people can do what they want. Just because you don’t see the value in what this person has done doesn’t mean it’s not there. Stop being such a whiny hater and focus on the issues that you we are all actually facing.
Maybe, Mary, if there was even a little history of black folk oppressing the French, or even one of their white cousins. But, not so much. Racism requires a power differential.
Hungary never had any African colonies, either. There is no history of Hungarian oppression of African people. Not saying that it makes it right, but just that she wouldn’t have a culturally ingrained sense of “wrongness” of what she’s doing.
The Ottoman Empire – including Hungary – took many African slaves during the Barbary Slave Trade.
Oetpay, really? The Ottoman Empire – including Hungary??
“As a consequence of the 150 years of constant warfare between the Christian states and Ottomans, population growth was stunted, and the network of ethnic Hungarian medieval settlements, with their urbanized bourgeois inhabitants, perished. The ethnic composition of the territory that formerly was part of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary was fundamentally changed through deportations and massacres, so that the number of ethnic Hungarians in existence at the end of the Ottoman period was substantially diminished.”
Deportations and massacres.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Hungary
Beyonce, is a black woman who happens to have a french name. Any more than that, its her prerogative to identify in which ever way she wishes. Mary is a biblical name, adapted by many languages, cultures, countries… So, I’m not going to judge ( you) the origin of your name and your ethnicity, simply because you happen to be named or labelled as Mary. You don’t get it and sadly you don’t want to get it. If one (of any race and background) feels compelled to “help” any one of a different race than of their own, its important and respectful to consult some one of that race, that supposedly need help prior commencing any “support”. Basically, education is the answer! Its immoral, un ethical, irrational, disrespectful and ignorant to attempt in painting any race on ourselves. That applies for all intentions, of good deeds or fetishising purposes…. Why don’t we just talk about this?!!! Why is it so hard to fathom? Why is my offence and feelings about this outdated, racist issue so hard for you to comprehend? With out exaggeration, I cannot remember a day where I have not mentioned this issue of black face in a looong time.. Its exhausting and dispiriting, but i will not stop discussing it.
girl have a seat, beyonce doesnt have a french name
im french, so i know!
Daido, I guess you know every French name right? Every sub-culture of France and all the backgrounds of everyone in France right?
I don’t think so.
Luna, Beyonce is creole, so I agree whether her name is French or not she has French lineage so she can reflect whatever part of her she wishes, whenever she wishes. What defines her dressing up as French though? because she had blonde hair and looked European? There’s also blacks in France, so saying she dressed French is just like saying I dressed American. The term is too broad to be offended.
To everyone else, Blacks have never oppressed France or any other European place, so it’s not offensive. Whites have oppressed the world. Blame your ancestors, not us. Evolve, educate yourself, and stop offending black people and we won’t have to have these conversations.
Period.
Beyonce is french to and doesn’t need to put on a white face. Blacks are light skinned too. What rock have you been hiding under lol
Mary please stop right there donot bring up no beyonce b.s that is not the same white people always trying to justify their b.s this is disrespectful, this written by an darkskin black woman i thourally offended
Beyoncé is Creole, which is African, Native American, and French descent. Beyonce was her mother’s maiden name…a French surname. So, have several seats. Before you pop off, do some research. And furthermore, as someone so eloquently stated, you need POWER in order to be racist. Black people can be prejudice, but never racist. We simply haven’t been afforded a fraction of that power.
Beyince was her maiden name.
Actually, it was Beyince. But the country of origin of a name means nothing in terms of ethnicity, and for a lot of black folk in the good ol’ USofA it means you have the name of your slave masters.
You’re really going with “black people can never be racist”? Seriously?
It’s sad that you, privileged American, are daring to impose your narrative on a women from the post-colonial world as she shows solidarity with other women of post-colonial world. But that’s the essence of Amerocentrism. Imposing your history of racist apartheid, in this case manifested as black-face, onto a historically oppressed culture, the long-brutalized Hungarians, and police their actions as they show solidarity with other people who have long been brutalized by the economic system that you have so benefitted from.
This blog is what you call tripe. You’re such a victim!!!
Your comment is what we would call #bullshit! Go whitesplain elsewhere, fuckwit!
I am an American, but I partially agree with you. I live in Chile and find that people there (and other parts of South America) have a very different attitude towards what is cultural appropriation. In the states, blackface is considered inappropriate and mocking blacks, no matter what the circumstances, for the reasons you mentioned. If you disagree, the culture highly condemns you.
But it’s not like all over the world. For example, in Colombia there is an annual festival called the Blacks’ and White’s Festival. In 2009 it was declared a UNESCO “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”
Some info on Wikipedia: “5th January is devoted to Blacks’ Day. This day marks the date when African slaves were free to indulge their playful outbursts, the people play and dance in the streets to paint in black themselves, using cosmetic creams made for this purpose, but also use polishes and siliconed black paint. The motto of that day is: ¡Que vivan los Negros! (Hurray the Blacks!)
On 6 January this city no longer celebrates the Epiphany, but Whites’ Day or Great Parade. In contrast to the previous day, on this date, pastusos are painted white generally with talc fragrant, being used very little flour, cream or cosmetic paints.”
… Basically, the whites dress as blacks one day and the whites as blacks the next day. This is a fun celebration, and people aren’t offended by it in Colombia. That would never happen in the states, nor I don’t think it should given the history.
But I mentioned it to draw light to your argument that sometimes people (yes, especially Americans) do not see the whole picture and impose their culture on others. In the states we are taught blackface is horrible, and if you disagree you are racist. Many people are unaware of things like the festival I mentioned and don’t realize how other cultures view blackface.
I saw blackface in Chile and was shocked and appalled. I asked around, and not a single Chilean had ANY idea it was even offensive in the states. When I explained why (minstrel shows), many still didn’t understand. They never had that problem there, so to them it’s not a big deal.
But that still doesn’t mean blackface is accepted worldwide. In other countries it is used to still mock black people. If this lady has travelled around the world as she claims, you’d think she’d know that and be more sensitive to something online that all cultures can view. To me it comes off as culturally ignorant (since it’s online for all cultures to see) and egotistically highlighting herself. But ignorance in itself is not evil; it just means she should be taught why some people are offended by it. There is no need to crucify an ignoramus.
My opinion aside, I understand your point of view and how mostly likely her well-intentioned goal was to empathize with these people. After all, who spends a multitude of time and energy to visit tribes and raise awareness of them in hopes to offend the people you hope to make aware?
To me, the real question would be how the people from those African tribes view her pictures. Their opinion on it would be the most valuable one, and I wish we could find out.
So Sarah,
You were alarmed when you first saw the celebration and you asked someone to educate yourself on the culture of where you were. That’s the RIGHT thing to do. But did this lady ask anyone so that she could educate herself on the responses she would receive globally and the right way to go about it? Clearly not. So whether American’s impose their cultural norms on people or not, we all have the opportunity and the responsibility to ask someone from that culture and get feedback prior to publishing our creative works.
When will people understand that there’s tons of people around the world black, white, yellow, and red who naturally live indigenous. Just because they don’t have Mac books and hand sanitizer doesn’t mean that they’re “endangered”. Western civilization isn’t for everyone, and it’s nice to know we still have beautiful cultures around the world surviving naturally. Isn’t she educated enough to know that these people are living natively in their habitat the same way their tribe has lived for centuries and retaining that is important to them.
If I put a blonde wig on, painted my face a European skin tone, and put a pillow under a high school t-shirt, am I bringing awareness to white under age teen pregnancy?
I agree with the comment below from Wayne, she would’ve made more of a statement actually taking the time to simply adorn herself in the traditional, jewelry, clothing and paint, but keeping her natural skin tone. That would’ve made a global impact for us all to see a white woman dressed indigenous and drawing a clear parallel between her and the people she admires and wants to help.
I think that may acceptable to simply wear the jewelry, stop there. But now I the underlying motivation in this idiot’s life. To make someone her own. Maybe she’s feeling the need for a renaissance of sorts. Please don’t take offense, but she is the epitome of a “dumb white bitch”, make that stupid, dumbass? What a headline! Stupid white bitch gunned down in, pick a city, “I thought she was black, honest “, patrolman was heard to say
I like it. Fun project, outstanding work & a creative way to explore the topic. Not to mention the fact that it worked. It’s funny though that expressing outrage at at her (effective) attempt at awareness is more important than taking time to explore the plight of these people. After scowering this blog I didn’t find a single word about these indigenous tribes.
Yes!! At the risk of sounding like the “token”, I wholeheartedly agree with your statement. Black folk are so conditioned to defending against “whitey”, there are little to no attempts to find any truth in this woman’s work. We (as a race) do not support causes of blacks in other countries!! And get mad if a white person DOES. I’d truly be concerned if this was a spoof of some sort, but I think she just has no idea of how we might perceive her “art”. It seems the general consensus is “kill the white bitch”. I see a project aimed at creating awareness of the beauty of tribal culture. I DO NOT CONDONE THE USE OF BLACKFACE, but if she presented in whiteface, would it make any difference to you?
Well lets just say her aim was to raise awareness of the tribes but her way was wrong , it only put HER in the spotlight hence she failed. PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT HER AND THIS DUM SHIT SHE DID AND CALLED IT ART.
That’s a pretty excellent point.
you would because im sure your white so you would think this was a fun project you like dressing in black face as well im sure
So far the commentariat over there get it.
Bless her heart, her thoughts were in the right place, but her actions weren’t. She tried to be deep but only succeeded in drowning. Po little Tink-Tink.
Her heart musta been in the right place but the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
I dunno. More than the racist side, it came across as incredibly narcissistic . Look at MEEEEEEEEEEEE. Instead of presenting actual people from the tribes it’s all about her, her, her.
It’s hard to tell anymore. No matter how much we’d like to, we no longer have the luxury of trust. I fear that may an intentional attempt at ridicule. Nonetheless, people today are prone acting without the slightest bit of consideration. She should have kept that in her closet. A good disguise, well I’ll stop right here. Don’t want to misunderstood or mistaken for anything by anyone, anywhere.
this is ninth grade art class bullshit. “You guys! What I’m saying here in My Latest Work is that we are all like HUMANS and when you look at these people who barely seem like people because well duh they don’t even look like us at all…now imagine that you see my face–an ACTUAL FACE–looking back at you? I KNOW RIGHT?????”
I could HEAR YOU in my head, Ashley!!! So on point and I am crying laughing over here. YES! Seems like her exact thoughts. Oh My Dolezal!
DEAD AND GONE
This is exactly what is so disturbing about it. It harkens back to all the studies showing that white people do not empathize with people of color. It’s monstrous.
Right. Because some do not see our humanity. This is why they’re not able to see us as victims when we’re brutalized.
LOLLL I love Ashley.
#Truth
As a high school teacher, I assure you this idea would not have gotten past the first sentence that included the words “Photoshop my face on other people…” Not only lazy but so gross, and I am sad + appalled that more people cannot see why.
[…] the year’s barely started and I think we’ve got our first big blackface story of 2016. Please […]
i get you wouldnt understand the struggle your a feminist and they were not inclusive of black women so yeah its just another story to you
What’s absolutely fascinating about this to me is that the images of actual African women were so stunningly beautiful. Her counterfeit versions looked flat and borderline creepy. The real women had velvety bright skin and stunning eye colors – it would have been beautiful to view them on their own. What a shame.
Whoa. Let me photoshop myself into a traditional Hungarian look to help awareness about lost, aching, suffering Hungarian white women who need to get a brain transplant.
The truly unfortunate part is that the tribal women’s photos are stunning. What she’s done is quite the opposite of “celebrating stunning tribal beauties at the brink of extinction.” Shame.
White folks strutting into on the same old BS? i can’t with this thinly veiled excuse for blackface and self promotion!
Exactly!
Unh Unh…No..*doing a very very slow back and forth head shake* I didn’t even know my mouth could frown this long, deep, and hard. Her heart and head were in a selfish self-serving place. Miss white lady ma’am take your fake arse well meaning intentions and suck my non existent balls! In the words of Ed Lover “C’mon son!”
She succeeded in getting you folks to think and talk! She is a success! Stop hating when u fell victim to doing exactly what she was hoping…. Stopping, looking, commenting, talking, texting, forwarding, researching, REPEAT!
Nope. Nope. Nope.
She wanted people who didn’t know about African tribal culture to learn about it. That’s not what this does. This says “Look at me, I can erase people with a computer!”
She was *not* hoping for a discussion about why her approach is ignorant, selfish, and erasing of the very cultures she claims to want to preserve.
She thought she’d be applauded. She is not a success, unless you think attention equals success.
Come on. everyone, join in the officially approved hate!
There is no analysis in this thread….just one big echo chamber. Nothing original.
shut the hell up its at the expense of black once again you fucking Arse
[…] This post also dwells heavily on racism and Rachel Dolezal, incidentally I just read a post on Awesomeluvvie about a journalist who employed Blackface (a white person painting his skin a darker tone) to tell […]
“All the NOPES that ever NOPED in NOPELAND. So much NOPE.” lmao
White people: must you continue with your foolishment in the new year?
We already have Y’allQueda making their stand in an abandoned wildlife refuge. Now, this Becky is cos-playing African “tribal” women, which is just elaborate blackface with props. Gtfoh!
What an attention whore! It’s all gotta be all about her! Wow, what a user!
The hate she’s getting is so unnecessary. I wouldnt have read about any of these tribes on my own and did so because I was interested in her transformation. It’s a valid project. Yall need to stop.
And that is the problem! Why does it takes white people to do something for other black people to learn more about their people is so sad! It’s called, “research yourself”. Obviously you’re not interested because if you were you would have done the work to research for yourself. Things like these fuel the situations we are in today. Have more care for your own people & culture. This woman shouldn’t have to do it to make YOU interested in it. Shame on you for that!
Maybe it’s not her culture. Maybe she has a strong familial and cultural heritage in a non African nation such as France or the United States. Skin color does not define where you are from in the modern age
shut the hell up there isnt a thing valid why could she just not use their photos why did she have to photoshop her face in so we could see thr struggle thru her eyes go have several seats lil girl toomucheat shut the hell up you are the type of black that see nothing wrong with ish like this you should be ashamed
I have ZERO problem with this because she’s not doing it to make a joke or a mockery of our culture or heritage. Hell, she seems to know more about it than many of our own people do. And THAT, is real talk. Half of the black folks that fly off the deep end and get pissed about things like this haven’t even THOUGHT about picking up a African history book or take a class. So if YOU know less about African culture than a white lade, then YOU need to hush up.
tony go somewhere with this b.s no white wommen should have to go research your culture to educate you on it you should no about it yaself. self educate and research i did not need to have this white lady tell me about diminishing african cultures because i have read up on them on my own so please in house negro go support ya white women and her blackface why not just use the original pictures and show their true beauty instead of photoshop ya face in
If her point was to draw attention, you’re giving it to her, so you know…it worked. Right or not, it’s working.
Your writing this piece is for an audience that has a historical understanding of the use of tropes and the power of images that define a subject–whether to exalt or demean. Some of the comments that support her reflect their lack of knowledge of how black people have been used to sell products (aunt jemima or uncle bens) and worse turn us into savages (the black male as rapist–Mike Tyson) or fools (JJ on the show “Good Times).
I stopped at the part about being a baby, rocking a diaper, and peeing in it. That had me cackling!!!! Okay…I’ll go back and read the rest.
HA! Go read the rest!
I cackled…..I hate you soo much friend in my head.
I don’t understand why people have to be so hateful about this! Seriously, black people are so frustrating sometimes. You look for reasons to feel oppressed!
Girl you can go join her in having multiple seats.
Black women need to stop wearing asian and european hair and then you have something to talk about. This is the most shallow remedial argument I can even imagine. If this is the white enemy you have chosen to exemplify then you’re really just a coward.
You are certainly nitpicking at this whole situation. For starters, EVERYONE wears fake hair. They even have fake fros that I’ve seen Caucasians rock. But that’s neither here nor there. The point is that if she wanted to bring awareness to this African tribe she would have used the people of this tribe, NOT herself, to let people see. African people are beautiful. Why did she have to tear out their faces and replace them with her own? Once you answer that question with sincerity then maybe I’ll take you and your posts seriously.
I cackled. I hate you soo much friend in my head. I’m doing the silent cry.
Nooooooope.
This isn’t about “looking for oppression” or whatever make-believe fantasy game you think black people play in their free time. This is about a white woman trying to raise awareness about groups of black people BY SUPPLANTING THE GROUPS OF BLACK PEOPLE.
This woman’s first thought wasn’t “I want to be an ally to these people… how can I do that effectively?” Her first thought was “I want to play dress-up and show everyone what I look like in those styles… how can I pass that off as acceptable?”
YES!!!
To Morrigan and all the other clueless people who have read this post and criticised Luvvie’s train of thought.
This artist’s work was not about those cultures (because if it was, she would have stuck with the black women’s faces and made sure they were visible, not made invisible). This was about her. Showing her face in different costumes.
And for people who say blackface is only done by Americans, Jason, I think in these comments. What planet have you been living on that you think only Black Americans are offended by blackface? Blackface was practiced widely in Europe and in the UK (the golliwog dolls are English in origin), and even Australia.
What this woman has done does not uplift any of the cultures she’s depicted, which is what art should do.
Right…which is probably why you have never heard of this artist before. Truly great and original art is very hard to create. But at least she is trying to create.
First and foremost, she’s not an artist. She’s a journalist. Secondly, if she wanted to raise awareness for this particular African tribe then she would have used the pictures she took of them, not using herself. She wanted 15 minutes of fame. She didn’t want to uplift anyone.
Look for reasons to be oppressed. No, I just have to walk out my front door. Here’s where the problem lies, maybe, just maybe once white folks need to take a big step back, quiet themselves and actually take the time to listen. Listen to what black folks are saying. Instead of jumping us because YOU feel uncomfortable with discussions of race. Instead of reading how upsetting this is to us you hush us and proceed to tell us HOW we feel and then EXPECT us to jump on board, lower our heads in submission to your reprimand and then agree with you no matter what hurt this woman’s “work” causes because you instantly invalidate our feelings. This has been going on and on and on. Her project was tone def, plain and simple. You see our frustration as an inconvenience to what you were programmed to see as enlightenment to a disenfranchised and marginalized group and your expectation is that we should feel grateful, any other feelings we may have and or voice becomes your annoyance because we aren’t doing as you wish. This is called racism. This is called bigotry. It’s not only about hurling racial epithets or lynching people or gunning down black men, women and children but also about an expectation of response. That is you using your white currency to affect how I should “be” in this world which is decided by you. We are uneducated if we don’t sound like you, we are savages if we don’t dress like you, we are uncivilized if we don’t act like you. Polite society equals white society. And when black folk do not buy your currency we are against you. Why don’t you do some research, why don’t you try to understand, why don’t you look into your own heart and try to see where what we are upset about. Instead of leading with, “black folks are so frustrating…” Because they Ya know think and want to be independent and do stuff outside of what I think they should do. So please go spend your white currency and hurl it around at someone else because it is not going to be bought anymore. People are waking up and everyone needs to be held accountable for their actions. Please research colonialism and mission work on the “dark” continent from the late 19th century to the present. Also research all the contributions to the world from Africa, like architecture, irrigation, plumbing, roads and grids, libraries, textiles, archery, horsemanship, some math (the Chinese developed the number system however), civilization for petesakes and then read how those things were not only destroyed but also stolen and re-appropriated into white society. You do some research how about.
Also I apologize about the errors, typing on my phone.
YYYYAASSS Hannah YYYYAASSSS!!!! I love you!!
Girl YOU DID THAT!!!!! No more words need to be said from me. You said them all. You’ve won my heart.
Hannah, I’m standing up at my desk doing the slow clap and the Taraji yell for you. yessss! You dropped your mic ma’am.
I feel your passion and appreciate your eloquence, Hannah. Thank you!
traci shut up you are oppressed if you dont fingd it offensive then your mind is oppressed with ya uncle tom ass
So…she actually took photographs of beautiful African women…whos faces are clearly visible…then said, “Hmmm…I cant see the humanity in these chicks. Lemme just add my white visage! My white face will REALLY cure your lack of empathy for Black people!” Gag me with a spoon.
So you bring awareness by erasing the people you’re bringing awareness to ????? HOW SWAY??!!!
This woman is Hungarian. Why should she be care about American taboos regarding black face? Blackface has no history in Hungarian culture.
I read through the comment section of the linked article and….whew! They DRAGGED her. And my heart sang. So glad to see her foolery was declined by so many. And yet, so many are still so clueless about why we’re pissed. Ugh!! So. Sick. Of. This. Shit. I need people to un-learn their stupidity.
So– do you get offended by men who dress up as women?
Do you get offended by advertisements that Photoshop a real woman’s body with less curves? It would have been a better argument to bash her with your opinion of her poorly used Photoshop skills. Instead, you went with race. I think. Half of what you wrote doesn’t make sense.
What really got to me is–
“You really wanted to honor us in some way but one way you could do it is by having a Black friend who has sense, so you can run things by them.”
This is probably the most stupidest thing I’ve read so far, but then I read, “All the NOPES that ever NOPED in NOPELAND. So much NOPE.” You sound like a nine year old. Grow up. Do you think you have any sense by saying she needs a black friend to run things by?
An artist is an artist and anything anyone does will be highly criticized, yes. AND yes, you are titled to your own opinion. However, bashing someone’s artistic value for using African Tribes for models by saying she’s defiling them by putting her image into them because she’s Hungarian, isn’t really critic. Disliking someone’s art if a different meaning all in it’s own, but you’re article is hinting a race argument that seems like you can’t cope with it. It seems like through her Photoshop pictures, she’s showing empathy for other cultures. Calling her a, “culture vulture” because it rhymes sounds like a third grade name calling contest. Have you even looked into the tribes she depicts herself in with her Photoshop pictures?
Saying that you’re black, probably means you’re African American, so you’re probably more than twice removed than any of the lost tribes.
You are the one who seems more like a racists here.
She’s a Hungarian journalist who probably writes better than you do.
Okay Morrigan, slow down. First off she’s a journalist and while that’s a “creative” field I wouldn’t call her an artist, per se. Secondly, you simply telling black folk, as I stated before, how to think and feel and be is you using your white currency to leverage a submissive response, which you will not receive. It is not your place to tell anyone of any race or religion what to be angry about. My experience is not your experience, we walk through this world very differently based on our melanin and you should be smart enough to understand that in 2016. I know you are. And do not suggest that because a black person is from another country they would not understand the racism that plagues the world. That is ridiculous. Our ancestory maybe removed but our skin color is the same. I’ve come to understand that when race is brought up white folk get so very upset because it’s something they can’t control and it is something they’d rather be glossed over and forgotten about. Lets talk about the implication of having more melanin and how that’s affecting to people, shall we. Perception of black folks is always and instantly we are hostile. That perception comes without the slightest bit of thought as to why. Instead of listening to anyone here posting and commenting you decided that everything was stupid and we are wrong, period. We should submit to your views about us. We should feel the way you say we should feel because that, in essence, would make your white fragility more comfortable, it would lend to the idea of “forgetting” egregious acts committed against black folks every single second of every single day until the day we die from racial epithets being hurled, to unwarranted surveillance, to unfair and unjust accusations to loss of life. It all begins with how we should be according to white folks. You are hurling your white currency here today, with little success but much effort, in order to “tame the savages” into your line of thought, this also happens all day every day. And when we don’t fall in line suddenly it’s reverse racism, suddenly all lives matter, suddenly we are bad and wrong. You are as trained as the next person on how to think about people of color because your comment has that written all over it. So if you are tired of hearing about it, if you are tired of seeing it imagine for one moment how tired we are of living it. Why don’t you read the comments see how upsetting this woman’s “art” is and how incredibly tone def it is and instead of berating the ones criticizing it, you do some critical thinking and research why that might be. You meet us in the middle instead of expecting us to come to you like good little doggies. How about you treat us with respect in regards to how we feel about our culture and heritage. How about you look at what we’ve been through from the 16th century to present. How about compassion and empathy for our plight instead of forceful conforming to your mindset. How about something actually enlightened that doesn’t come in the form of replacing a face with a white face in our skin. As an artist myself it just doesn’t make sense to me. And all artists would welcome critical analyses of their work not run and hide from it, which I’m not saying this woman did, but…. You have to let go sometimes and hear not only what your saying but what others say. Sometimes listening means not just waiting for your turn to speak. Be a witness, observe and engage and then begin a conversation.
I’m soooo proud of you!
“You simply telling black folk, as I stated before, how to think and feel and be is you using your white currency to leverage a submissive response”
OMfreakingGod. I feel like you just put into words something I have been failing to articulate myself for my whole life. And everything else you said as well – so spot on! Thank you for this!!
morrigan what ever your name is shut up shut up shut up you sound stupid gosh if you dont see it you will never see if and if your white refuse to see it fuck her art and her vision its offensive point blank period so NOPE NOPE NOPITY NOPE NOPE I AGREE YOU AND THIS FUCKING ARTIST GO HAVE SEVERAL SEATS DUMBASS
Morri, Morri, Morri – Why not just use the faces of the people she seeks to “save?” As to the artistry issue, people are free to dislike any form of “art.” Grabbing a handful of cowdung and calling it art may make you feel “deep,” but deep in what? This blog is art; you have chosen to criticize it because you don’t agree with the artist’s vision. You are guilty of your own complaint; thus your argument is invalid.
I that this was Rachel Dolezal up to her usual foolishment but i see this is some other clown. What is with white folks and blackface? Lord save us from these so called white saviors.
It bears mentioning too that the photos she has appropriated are in at least several instances (upper right, middle two bottom above) FAKERY concocted by (presumably whitefolks) photographers, themselves fetishising the ‘exotic’ ‘tribals’. So, doubly fake, doubly offensive.
RuPaul dresses in drag as a white woman and he does a fantastic job with his artistic talents. Its a similar argument. Would you ever say its offensive to you for him to try to look/be female and tell him to stay black? He finds beauty in women and white women at that.
Morrigan – they are racists.
But not seeing that they are.
SAD
Barbara please with your they are racists. Move along please. You have nothing to add, you have nothing to say, you make no impact here and you are simply trying to find a way to insert yourself into the conversation you actually are refusing to have. Why do you feel the need to even comment. You just wanted a place to come and say black folks are racists? Really? Okay. Got it. Move along now. I swear half these people are just trolls.
actually… there’s a whole feminist school of thought on why drag queens in general are a mockery of women in a similar way blackface is a mockery of black people. I thought feminists were crazy till I spent a few years exclusively dating drag queens and cross dressers (two different things btw)… they are in general the most chauvinistic group of people I’ve ever spent time with and that’s saying a lot. And although individual men may have their own complex set of reasons for dressing like women, the culture behind it is oppressive and sexist as h*ll. I realized the feminist b*****s weren’t just being uptight party killers. They’re anger was coming from someplace real and I didn’t have enough information about the whole situation for it to make any sense to me.
The issue of blackface is the same. For every person making outraged rants against things like this there is a whole history and a whole complex life to it that you can’t understand without getting a WHOLE LOT closer.
oh and “Do you get offended by advertisements that Photoshop a real woman’s body with less curves?” duh. Yes. Yes I do. It hurts me. As a woman. I was 29 years old before I realized I wasn’t deformed just because I have TandA and I don’t have that weird tiny ‘hollywood’ manufactured nose thing going on and because my upper arm is actually bigger around than my wrist. Growing up with these images of women had real world impacts for me – I let people treat me like crap because I thought I couldn’t be lovable, I got a freaking eating disorder. I have yet to meet a female who hasn’t been impacted by this. What planet are you writing to us from??
Thanks for this. I was bored enough to write a sort of homage to this whole mess, and inadvertently stole your subtitle for the URL. (Great minds…)
https://becauseawareness.wordpress.com/2016/01/07/i-morphed-myself-into-american-tradespeople-to-raise-awareness-of-their-traditional-lifestyles/
Oh, my goodness…Orion, you are definitely a true Luvvbug!!! #truetodis
Perhaps you should investigate on how Africans in Africa feel about this…
Um, African in Lagos, Nigeria here. I find it stupid and unnecessary. Does that count?
Roger probably dismissed your opinion as not being “African enough.” Lagos is a city after all…
We are so weary of this low grade bullshit. So tired of imagining that there is an iota of intelligent thought lurking in such minds, so certain that this is a mental condition, a pathology that has not been studied before, a sickness that is best ignored, so that its carrier will go away–as they inevitably do. Yet like ticks on cattle they leave their marks. Like parasites that morph into their host, they leave scars and wounds in parts of our souls and spirits, and we have to re-energise, reconnect with Life. And then we pray that something deters the visit of the parade of these the thoroughly insane. These vampires.
Wow, wonderful commentary here. So well described and imagined. The imagery is right on point. Thank you for that. I fear there will never be conversation as many white folk just want to argue why they are right and we should feel inferior for even feigning to be offended. That our tears are that of ungratefulness for a life given to us, not tears of anger, frustration, or sadness. I’m tired of it all, I’m weakened by the ignorance of the demand to submit to their superiority. I’m tired of fear for my child and myself. I’m so tired of it all.
*Puts hand up*
Kenyan here.
I’m gonna have to pass on this bullshit.
An African in Africa, lived in America and the UK. Educated. Employed. Professional.
HER WORK IS NOT ABOUT AFRICANS. WE DON’T LIKE IT.
Morrigan,
Where to start with your condensing ass…
1. This blog has its own language.
It’s own glossary of words. It has managed to build itself around a community of like-minded folks who appreciate the hyperbole of Luvvie’s writing. Heck, that’s probably one of the main reasons it had done so well.
If that kind of simplistic bullshit is what you came for, girl, this isn’t the place.
Sit down.
She’s all KINDS of grown.
B) This idea that you are trying to purvey around artistry being immune from critic (particularly when they’ve appropriated cultures that aren’t there’s) is foolish. I’m African.
I haven’t called for Miss Hungary over here.
Nobody has.
iii) Luvvie is Nigerian. She is African. Miss Hungary’s two seconds of Wikipedia do not trump my or Luvvie’s understand of what being African is on the virtue that IT IS WHO WE ARE. And when we tell you we don’t necessarily NEED this bullshit, child of your mother,
WE
DON’T
NEED
THIS
BULLSHIT.
It is dehumanizing, It is condescending and it’s purported value is lost. If indeed the aim was to draw attention to the beauty of these tribes, why don’t we use the beauties FROM these tribes? Because they don’t exist? Are they not pretty enough? Why does the white girl feel the need to ‘Find herself’ in a space that isn’t hers? Jesus, you’re foolish.
3b) I’m tired as fuck of having to defend the black body in white spaces. Trying to convince ya’ll that we’re just as human. Just as beautiful. So really, Miss Hungary can suckle on a salted doorknob.
Part Five) There is a different between appropriation and assimilation. It stems back to colonial Africa. We welcomed those dumb asses when they came over here and they fucked our shit up. Told us to look like them, talk like them, pray like them… because our way wasn’t good enough. This is what Miss Hungary with her big ass eyes is re-affirming. That the black skin and the African culture, on its own, is not good enough.
But your ignant (yes bish. That’s a word here. Get with it Sis) ass just needed to stan for the white girl.
I am going to need you to have an entire plethora of sits bish.
ALL.
THE.
SEATS.
Wewe na ujinga wako.
SILAS MIAMI!!! I knew that had to be you!!!!! PREACH IT!!!!
Silas! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Tears in my eyes! Thank you! Your post gave me just a little more strength. I am exasporated trying to reply to these white folk trying force their views of black folks down my throught like a holiday goose. I’m so frickin tired I can’t even, I just can not anymore. I’m tired of micro aggressions in perceived white spaces, I’m tired of white aggression in perceived black spaces. I’m tired. I’m tired of fearing for the life of my teenage son, I’m tired of going back and forth with telling him to trust people or don’t trust people, or don’t trust white people, because they will come for a strong young intelligent black male and snuff out his life for no other reason than fear. I’m tired of the strength I have to have to fight to get somewhere in life every day, hard fight to be seen as merely human. I’m tired of it all. I’m tired of the racist social media comments in the thousands. I’m tired. Thank you for giving me just a little more strength this morning.
You and Hannah ’bout to make me shout up in herre!
Seriously…thank you.
if you don’t write ANYTHING else this year but this line:
“All the NOPES that ever NOPED in NOPELAND. So much NOPE. Ma’am, if you don’t go occupy every seat in Kilimanjaro this moment!”
…you have done more than your share.
I wonder how many of the people who are commenting and reading this actually know about any of this tribes before this article?
Granted, she didnt need to transform her self, but hey people make mistakes.
you all are taking it so damn hard, she’s from a another country than ours, so the things we see clear as day, like why would you transform yourself that way, she clearly didnt see it as an issue.
Its crazy how the first thing people think is racism, free your mind of that ! It will be the down fall of you, not anyone else.
If you believe someone is being racist, good for them. Dont let it steal your joy, but you all are doing exactly what racist people want, they want you to react.
But this woman was far from being racist, she went about it the wrong way but she did bring awareness about these tribes which i am sure more than 85% of yall didnt know about.
So how bout you all have a seat and learn some damn grace !
Yes we should just all sit down and shut up because you said so. I’ll take that into consideration, no I wont. Please move along. I will no longer give apologist, who seek to tell people of color what they should think and feel and how they should act, my time.
SHUT ALL THE KINDS OF FUCK UP YOU ARE A MESS ME AS A BLACK AMERICAN WOMEN IS HIGHLY OFFENDED AND DONT FEEL YOU SHOULD TELL ME IM SHOULDNT BE BISH GO HAVE SEVERAL SEATS
Why?
Why?
Why do this, lady?
Why?
What is wrong with you people?
GET A LIFE
YOU GUYS ARE RACISTS !!
She is a journalist and she is reaching people. She is doing sth good.
You guys do nothing – nothing but sit on your backside to blame somebody to moving their ass.
What is the problem – is her arse not fat enough ?? Does she have to have black skin to face awareness?
Are you mad that people do something?
I am so tired of this stupid “I AM BLACK ONLY I AM ABLE TO STAND FOR BLAAAH !!!” bull.
YOU GUYS ARE RACIST
amanda,
your response is funny because first you say we “do nothing but sit on our backside to blame somebody to moving their ass”; then you say we’re racist and you don’t see how that is an oxymoron. I really really really want to be a racist, but I don’t have an army, police force, or the attendant weapons to enforce my way upon people to make that a reality. I don’t have control over the media or any vehicle to impose my racist views on people I want to feel like they are less than myself. Hell, I don’t even have a group of guerrilla fighters to shock and awe the people I feel superior to into compliance to my desires. I don’t even have an entire school system to train folks to respect my authority or a pulpit to damn them if they don’t. See, amanda, I don’t have the necessary tools to be the racist you say I am. But baby, if I did! You wouldn’t hear me telling you to have several seats. I would take ALL of the seats and bitch about you not having the means or ability to have even one. I would BLAME you girl and be racist all day in every day the Lordt who looks just like me sent. The real racists have only one problem: that people like you are too dumb to make that fantasy of white superiority in any way believable. You’re fucking it up for everybody! You need to spend some time cultivating the superiority you take for granted instead of trying to assert it by acting and speaking in an inferior way. Work on it, chile. Then get back to me.
AMANDA SHUT THE FUCK UP GO HAVE SEVERAL SEATS FUCK YOU AS A BLACK WOMEN I AM OFFENDED AND AMANDA WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO TELL ME HOW I SHOULD FEEL GO GARGLE WITH A SHOT GUN BISH PEOPLE THAT SAY STOP WITH RACISM, TELL THE THE WHITE PEOPLE TO STOP FIRST AND STOP TRYING TO MAKE ME THINK AS A BLACK WOMEN I SHOULD NOT THINK IT IS HAPPENING WHEN WHITY STOPS KILLING MY PEOPLE BECAUSE OF THEIR SKIN I WILL NOT BE OFFENDED BY SUBTLE RACISM SUCH AS THIS
Self-serving bullshit. NKT!
Next gig: endangered animals of Africa.
LOL – I wonder if she will photo shop her own eyes onto endangered animals next?? “Hey guys!! This is me as a lion. Me as a zebra. Me as some weird thing I don’t know what it’s called cause I’m just doing this for fun… I look cute, no?” I wonder if she moves on to articles about rigged elections if she will photo shop herself as every involved candidate and also each angry voter she interviews. That would be SO smart and sexy lol.
This isn’t blackface. This lady is a moron, but it’s not blackface. Blackface is a very specific thing. It’s way more than “light skinned person suddenly puts on a little skin darkener and becomes darker”. Again. In no way is this lady in the right. She is very much in the wrong. But people need to stop screaming “BLACKFACE!!!!” about things that aren’t blackface. It’s just not.
LIZZY THIS IS BLACK FACE SHE AINT BLACK HAD TO CHANGE HER SKIN COLOR ITS BLACKFACE WEATHER MOCKERY OR ART ITS BLACKFACE SHUT UP PLEASE AND STOP DEFENDING THIS B.S
This post shows the authors (very) limited perspective…. A woman in hungary (which is ruled by a rightist xenophobic government) tries to emphasize the fact that african people are people like you and I …. sure it’s bad that this has to happen but come on who are you to judge? Do u even have a clue where Hungary is? FYI it is in Eastern Europe … people there have less to no experience with people of different skin color so they tend to be more xenophobic but it is more a fear of the unknown than a hatred-fueled xenophobia as it is in racism…. so actually kudos on blaming a journalist who tries to promote racial equality for racism
JAKUB PLEASE SHUT UP SO SHE COULD HAVE DONE IT DIFFERENTLY SO SHE ISNT EVEN EXPOSED TO BLACK PEOPLE THEN YOU SHOULD KNOW THE HISTORY AND WHY THIS WOULD AND COULD BE OFFENSIVE FUCK HER AND HER ART THIS IS SAD AND SO SAD HOW PEOPLE ARE DEFENDING THIS B.S
http://isblackfaceappropriate.com
Funny how this “white lady” didn’t intend to offend anyone, but it was turned into something racist. I think that is racism, making something out of nothing to cause a racial war. I don’t agree with the way she did it, but you all don’t see that she accomplished her goal, she raised awareness because this has brought attention to her cause with all your reactions to her poor taste. Mission accomplished!
” I think that is racism, making something out of nothing to cause a racial war.”
Well, since you think it, it must be so, Deb dear…
I Disagree with her tarentino rant. And honestly… I am sick of social justice warrior culture nazis on the black side. “OH CULTURAL APPROPRIATION OMG WAHH WAHH WAHH WORST THING SINCE SLAVERY NOOOOOO” Like…. do you drink coffee? Do you eat ramen noodles or ANY noodles? have you ever jumped off a diving board and said geronimo? done yoga? Meditated? Worn a halloween costume that wasnt fantasy/fiction based? And before you attack the examples, they are not the point and If you want to hit the google you can find your own examples of every day things that are infact cultural appropriation. But like, who gives a DAMN?
We should all absorb the best of and/or what we like from all cultures as long as we are well meaning and respectful.
As dumb as this Boglarka bitch was to do this black face thing.. I genuinely believe she was well meaning and those people dont need to be attacked they just need to be re-directed POLITELY. Instead of giving a rant from your high horse, you should reach out to this chick and say “you know what, myself and most black folks think this was in real poor taste… can you maybe just post the original pictures? It would be more respectful to the people you superimposed yourself over and your message would carry further.
What I will say and am validly pissed off about in all this, is that:
I am SICK AND TIRED of western culture… (specifically white american but lets call it western culture) painting africans as backwards monkey bush savages, and africa as one giant homogenous place that only produces war, pestalance and greed… with millions upon millions of people just standing around naked waiting for their great white saviors to save the day. Fuck outta here with that bullshit already. We done seen the tribes. Show us Nairobi… show us lagos… show us cairo… show us Jo-berg… Show us the ballers and winners out there. Show us the good people. SHOW US THAT BLACKS CAN AND DO WELL. Show us that africa is not one country but rather a very diverse and amazing place.
(And for the record I’m a half jamaican(black) half portugese male.)
Preface:
Blackface is a touchy subject and rightly so. As an American, It’s obvious and reasonable why you are upset but you need to take a look at the subject matter and the effect that article could have had on the subject matter itself. Since the original article has been deleted, I can’t actually read the original – so keep in mind my opinion is based on only your article. I’ve spent some time on this comment, so i’d like to hear your response.
———————————-
@ Author: Please answer this *honestly* :
Do you know what is wrong with this article? You just help get the author to remove her article, thus preventing any sort of contribution to the tribes she was documenting. I’m guessing that you didn’t know that you could go to site like this and donate to some of those tribes : https://www.survivalinternational.org/donate ? I’m not hypocrite, so I just donated $100.
What did you do – where is your contribution?
What if your article had focused on the tribes and not the blackface-rage?
What if your article had helped drive $100,000 instead of my $100?
If someone posted online about the plight of these rural tribes (Himba, Karo, Turkana, Mursi, Arbore, Daasanach, Wodaabe), would it have reached such a wide audience of 130k+ views from people who could undoubtedly helped in some form? No, it would have been largely ignored on social media.
Your article could have helped drive donations, but instead you focus on an easy, clickbait topic that will drive your views but do nothing in return for the tribes. You’re taking advantage of someone’s effort to help.What do you think these struggling tribes would care about more – the cultural significance of blackface in the US or actual help?
And let’s be real with regards to you Quentin Tarantino remark. Who is really keeping the N-bomb in the modern vocabulary? It’s not him, it’s not a word that whites are promoting with frequency. It’s the fault of poor parenting and largely the music industry that have determined it’s ok for African American’s to drop. If that changes, it will fall out of usage – with the exception of the classy rednecks out there. Example song with 3,000,000 + Spotify plays: http://www.complex.com/music/2013/03/a-numerical-breakdown-of-lil-waynes-i-am-not-a-human-being-ii/number-of-references-to-shooting-people-38
———————————-
@Commenters?
———————————-
Back to the main subject -How many of you here actually looked up these tribes? How many of you donated?
I rest my case.
-AP
WOW AP THE STEREOTYPICAL ANSWER THANKS FOR SAVING THOSE TRIBES WITH YOUR $100 CONTRIBUTION IF IT WERENT FOR YOU OH WHITE MAN CUS I KNOW U ARE WE WOULD BE LOST YOU GO HAVE SEVERAL SEATS BECAYSE IT DOENT MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU BLACK FACE AND HOW WE FEEL WE ARE WRONG TO BE OFFENDED THERE YOU GO WHITE MAN TELLING THE BLACK MAN HOW TO FEEL AND RESPOND ETC GO FUCK OFF AP YOU AND THOSE THAT AGREE WITH YA
Nice to know there are still people out there who lack the ability to have a reasonable discussion without going apeshit. If you take from my comment the idea that I’m telling you how to feel, then you’re wrong and your reading comprehension is just as bad as your typing skills.
Looking at your other posts, I can’t help but wonder if you’re a troll or just incapable of explaining thoughts reasonably. It’s difficult for me to take your post seriously – but I’ll try.
You have a right to be upset at the blackface, I’m not denying that. I’m also not telling you how to feel, because that’s not my call to make.
This article doesn’t even represent the quality found in her other content, if you were to actually look at that. Her resume boasts contributions made to communities, which suggest that she is more than capable of creating a quality article that will encourage people to do something other than post your type of drivel.
Your suggestion that I have no place in this argument is unfounded. I donated to a cause for people who are completely unfamiliar with US history and culture. I did not donate to you. I doubt they would care about the offense that you feel. They are struggling for the right to catch fish from a river and feed their people. http://www.survivalinternational.org/films/kwegu
Feel how you want, enraged and offended but you have done a fantastic job of deflecting the goal of the article. Instead, you’ve only been able to talk about yourself.
Selfish.
For fucks sake, stop with the all caps. Are you 80 or just so self important that all caps shouting is okay for you, even though it’s universally known that all caps = SHOUTING.
I am not the author, but i will honestly answer the questions posed:
1. The article prefers to focus on the issue of blackface. If you want an article on the tribes, feel free to pen your own.
2. In no way has the author prevented anyone from donating. it remains the prerogative of individuals to decide whether they do wish to donate. Boasting of giving away $100 to the less privileged is hypocritical.
By the way I am a black african, living in Africa. While your $100 will possibly help these tribes for a few seconds, i doubt that it will restore their dignity as human beings who deserve to live life on their own terms.
I think you’re overly focused on my donation amount. That was not a boast, but maybe it is to you. Personally, I think this article is just focused on turning her photo into a crisis.
To correct myself, I meant people had a right to be offended by anything, but this really isn’t blackface.
Take a breather and think objectively here. Google some images of blackface. Then look up the definition. It’s a VERY specific, racist, and negative act.
– Blackface evolved in a time when people of color were considered literally less than human. It originated when white people were still allowed to own black people.
– Blackface was used by white people to entertain other white people, the dominant and privileged group.
Racism was ingrained in our legal system at the time when blackface was most popular.
– Blackface was done as a caricature of black people. It influenced how audiences saw people of color at the time; whiteface hasn’t had an extremely detrimental effect on how the world sees white people. White blonde women didn’t suffer an image crisis after White Chicks.
Source : http://www.thegloss.com/2014/03/25/beauty/nick-cannon-racist-whiteface-photos/
I’m actually more fascinated by the assumption of some of the commentators here assuming that LuvvNation folks don’t have any knowledge of geography or have never been outside the Continental United States of America. I mean how dare we uneducated unaware black folks in the US condemn this Hungarian woman for her poorly executed attempt at raising awareness for African tribes because heaven forbid us poor uneducated black folks are too uninformed and lazy to actually know anything about any place other than our own backyards. Oh well let me check the stamps on my passport because I must have dreamed about my world travels because I know nothing about other countries unless some white woman tells me through her Photoshopped images that I need to be more aware of African tribes. And before some people comment complaining about my post read most of what I wrote in a sarcastic voice or scroll past and don’t read my comment.
C’mon now. You know us Black folks’ scope of travel is strictly limited to the Motel 6 on Highway 92 next door to the Waffle House. What do we know about that high-falutin stuff like Africa culture and tribes?
#snark
Hopefully that wasn’t a response to my comment. That wasn’t my intent, but my point still stands in that the focus of the topic could have significantly helped someone else where as it unfortunately did nothing but add commentary to a topic that already has a widely agreed-upon consensus.
As a journalist she should of known better but I’ve traveled places where clearly they honestly have no clue what’s offensive and what’s not. I’m not saying what she did was right it is NOT right by any means and considering she’s a journalist out of all things she should of known better what black face is or rather the negative conitation behind black-face.
I get she meant well but she went about this completely the wrong way-is what the issue is, she should of used tribal photos etc to draw awareness rather then her own self. This is a case of “Good intentions paved a road to hell” I’ve discussed this article with other people being I live in New York I have a multi cultural friend group and my friends who are non-white agree her intentions where good but executed the wrong way.
Hmmm… Looks like Lil Miss Appropriation couldn’t take the internet heat and the article has been taken down. And true victim fashion she couldn’t just say sorry. Here’s what the link reads now:
“Update: Since I had no intentions to offend anyone and yet I’m not able to answer to all of you, I’ve decided to delete my post.
My intention was 100% pure with this tribal art, being a human right lawyer and journalist who knows pretty much about racism and similar issues, I have never imagined that my work will annoy so many people and that I will have to explain myself. And sure, I will not do that. Keep calm and love every human.”
She won’t explain herself. Oh. Ok.
But that wasn’t before before some internet savvy users also discovered that she didn’t even take the pictures herself!! They were stolen from other photographers. So we can apparently also add plagiarist to the ever growing list of adjectives to describe her.
Are you positive she did not get permission from the other photographers?
Having read her original article on boredpanda before she pulled it, I’d have to say that the lack of credits, copyrights, citations, links, or “by permission of”s may possibly be a clue of some sort. If she’s an even minimally competent lawyer, journalist or photographer, she should know perfectly well what’s legally required and what’s ethical, professional and minimally competent. If anything, the length of her resume is another mark against her — with the professional experience she’s racked up, there is no possible way she could not know this; if she’s not a thief, she’s just spectacularly inept.
So, no, I’m not positive that she did not get permission from the other photographers, but if she did then the only reasonable conclusion from the manner in which she posted their work is that she’s completely unprofessional and inept.
Has cousin Rachel taught her nothing…
Why not just post the actual pictures of the people she ‘shopped herself into to bring awareness about…too much like right, I suppose.
From my perspective, this is simply a case of a woman trying to do something good, but approaching it in a horrible way. At the same time, the heightened awareness of racism in the US amplified her error.
She could have brought awareness by using the original pictures. She didn’t have to insert herself. What was the purpose of inserting herself? To make others understand? Why couldn’t they understand simply due to humanity? What does that say about all of us that she assumed that no one would understand if she hadn’t put herself in it. Further, I am inclined to believe that the post and article wouldn’t have received so much attention if she didn’t put herself in it. It is the wrong kind of attention, but it is attention nonetheless.
The reality is that empathy has become rare. No one really cares about the plights of others unless it directly impacts them. Until that happens, they will spend their time telling you how to feel about oppression, and how you are supposed to respond…and all that does is make things worse.
If this page had a like button, I’d click it for this response.
What about black women straightening their hair and buying other races hair and chasing western ideals of beauty
I’m old enough to remember seeing “Which Twin Has the Toni?” permanent ads all over the TV and magazines, which promised ultra-curly hair for women with naturally straight hair.
But I’m sleep though.
Michele, the voice of reason isn’t ready.
first time i read all the comments till the end… whew,
sharapps (shout out) to all the people who responded to the ignorant comments…
As an African, i am not a fan of the project because I’m sure there are other genius ways to raise awareness about tribes.
As for the person bragging about donating 100 dols without full knowledge of how the donation is really spent… shior…smh
Opinions are very interesting and show us all how people still think in 2016. May the ignant find the light this year.
Feel free to educate me on how the money is spent.
I’m not saying that the amount is large or small. What I am saying is that I made a contribution – complaining about the article is fair – but how does that help? Is that the only thing people can do?
I think she’s raising awareness…because I wasn’t thinking about them until…
– She went blackface for awareness
– You became aware of it
– You wrote this article
– My Friend read your article
– My Friend shared on FB with approval
– I saw the article
– I learned about the cool white journalist who travels and advocates for indigenous tribes
– I posted this comment.
* I’ll look her up now because I like people who are passionate and find creative ways to do what they love and help people.
http://www.survivalinternational.org/films/kwegu
Good place to start and donate.
To paraphrase someone upstream: HAY GUISE she lives in Hungary and gee it’s in Eastern Europe and they just don’t have the same experience with black people like we do and all so Y U SO MEEEN?
Uh, the Iron Curtain came down a few years ago and I bet they have the tee vee there and EVERYTHING now and the land of my fathers has been pretty shitty about the refugee situation lately, so I think it’s safe to say that even they might just understand how touchy the race thing is, yanno? They haven’t been living under rocks and pushing donkey carts exclusively. (::whispers:: black people may even travel there!!!) So let’s give up the “she couldn’t have known!” defense.
She did something provocative and then was SURPRISED!!! that people found it to be racist and offensive. I don’t buy it. She got her 15 minutes on the backs of anonymous people and can waltz away now. Even if we as the global community never hear from her again, she won’t be forgotten in Hungary, and that’s good enough for her, I’m sure. The hell with her subjects.
P.S. If she’s all about promoting love for all humanity, why didn’t she ‘shop her face onto a few Syrians? Not exotic enough, not enough pretty headgear and beads and stuff. That would be boring. But AFRICANS???!!! AWWW YEEAAHH! (Oh, and the Syrians want to stay. Can’t have that. Don’t want to be sympathetic there. Those charming Africans are elsewhere, so that’s safe.)
P.P.S. I’ll be over in the corner throwing up now.
Maybe she didn’t cover this project in Syria because it’s an incredibly well-publicized issue, where as this is not. No one needs to raise awareness for Syria so long as they read the news.
It’s so easy to criticize isn’t it? Did you ever try googling her?
http://stories.unhcr.org/boglarka-balogh-journalist-p3845.html
IT’S ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE how INSANELY RACIST THIS entry is.
Lets just start with this…..
“I’m rooting for white folks who know better to tell their cousins to chill. Can folks do better in 2016 or is that too much to ask?”
Lets swap colors and see if it was a racist comment….
“I’m rooting for black folks who know better to tell their cousins to chill and stop shooting/ robbing/ raping everyone in the neighborhood. Can you black folks do better in 2016 or is that too much to ask? ”
“tell your cousins” ……. “can you do better in 2016 or is that too much to ask?” ……. can you evolve from an ignorant worthless excuse of a human being?
YOU DON’T FIGHT RACISM WITH RACISM.
YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM IN THIS WORLD.
[…] pop cultural blogger, Awesomely Luvvie marvelously articulated the issue with the piece in saying, “Why not raise awareness by […]
I honestly don’t see the problem with this. You could argue that she did this to promote herself, yes. But the fact is that there’s so many projects trying to raise awareness about so many different kind of people, that they often end up in one big blurry mix. What she did here was creating something totaly new to reach out to more people. People who already see straight past regular awareness-campaigns. Did you think all the people who normaly responds to awareness-campaings was her primary target? What would be the point of that? And in using the same face on all the women, she highlights the fact that we are more alike than different from each other. Of course she could have used another model, but again, I really don’t see the problem.
[…] pop cultural blogger, Awesomely Luvvie marvelously articulated the issue with the piece in saying, “Why not raise awareness by […]
I don’t see why there is so much hate for this lady yet what she did was merely use photo shop to pass across her message. For me, it would have been better if she actually dressed in the various regalia of the said African communities without having to change her skin colour. Tragedy is our African women world over trying so hard to refuse and subdue their rich African reality and origin by bleaching their skin to a lighter shade and fixing hair from other races and animals just so as to look white, I’ll say it as it is.
As an African American member of the human family- I am definitely missing something OR someone else is. Blackface to me was when whites painted there skin black with red lipstick to exaggerate our features and mock us. I do not see this happening here! Is as though this woman , via photoshop, altered her genetics to feel one with here Sisters. I actually think it is awesome. Never seen anything like it, and I dig it .Her reasoning may just sound a little strange.
Arguments??
You are 100% correct. You’ve just defined blackface perfectly.
Yet again, the internet is in uproar over what should be absolutely nothing.
Both sides of this debate are incorrect. You are paralyzed by your limits and by your stupidity. Race ad gender will be worn as fashion after a wounded generation passes.
please excuse my typos. Typing with my mind is challenging. Trust that I am all knowing and informed beyond current human conditionings. We are all One Race! honkbeep honk
[…] pop cultural blogger, Awesomely Luvvie marvelously articulated the issue with the piece in saying, “Why not raise awareness by […]
“In some of these pics, she literally copied and pasted her own eyes unto the eyes of the people, replacing them”.
I’m guessing that at least some of those who see little-to-nothing wrong with Ms Balogh’s project, perhaps, missed the above.
Why I wonder, did Ms Balogh deem it acceptable to copy and paste her own eyes on to those of other women, erasing their own?! I find this sinister, creepy, downright disrespectful, and dehumanising.
Oh, and Race Is A Social Construct…. please could you tell me about just who it was that invented the social construct that is race, why it was invented at all in the first place, and the various nefarious uses to which this has put. Thank you.
Did anybody see her not-apology/statement-of-avoidance. She told us how innocent she is, how what she did was acceptable, how she has the right credentials to do what she did, and how if we’re offended it’s our fault. Check it out.
Update: Since I had no intentions to offend anyone and yet I’m not able to answer to all of you, I’ve decided to delete my post.
My intention was 100% pure with this tribal art, being a human right lawyer and journalist who knows pretty much about racism and similar issues, I have never imagined that my work will annoy so many people and that I will have to explain myself. And sure, I will not do that. Keep calm and love every human.
OK Here I go, first let me start by saying that I did not intend to post a comment because I felt my two cents would not make a difference or impact anyone, but this whole situations is bugging the heck out of me.
In the interest of full disclosure I am a 32 year old black female, born in Barbados, but has been living in Toronto for the last six years, the reason I mention these facts is because I feel my background gives me a certain perspective, having not only being brought up in an Island once known as the Little Briton/ England of the West Indies, but also because I now live in a metropolitan city where I live and work with people from all areas of the globe.
And I can say with all honesty and no sarcasm that what that journalist did was not only ignorant but self serving, how in 2015/2016 could she think that it would be ok that EVERY person who saw those pictures would think “Bravo to you ma’am you are doing a great thing”? How could someone who says she is a world traveler and has spent time with people of varying cultures think this was ok? How you ask, because she clearly has no true understanding what it means to not only be black, but to belong to a culture that people, excuse me white people think they need saving from.
If she had dressed up in a full Geisha outfit, would it still be wrong?, Yes, why you ask because she would be dressing in an outfit that has deep significance for the culture of the Japanese people, it is sacred, even the different hair styles they wear have significance. So a random white woman posing as black indigenous people is WRONG.
If she truly wanted to bring attention to a situation that she believes needs addressing, there are multiple ways she could have gone about doing this, how about approaching National Geographic and maybe finding a way to work together. The thing is that a lot of people especially white people think that just because you live in a place where everyone does not look like them, dress like them or more importantly want to be them, there must be something wrong, they need to be rescued and brought to the western light. Its the same thing they have done with miscasting Jesus as a blond blue eyed man, instead of the dark skinned, dark haired Middle Eastern Jew that he was, they felt that to make him more appealing and acceptable he must look like them. And lets not forget what happened with the Native Americans, Carib Indians (Caribbean), Indigenous Indians of Canada, India and most of the world during English Colonisation.
So to all those people who are defending this woman, go and read a book on world history and cultures, possibly find someone from another culture not just Africa and truly get to know them, and don’t just assume that because someone wears beaded collars, elaborate head dresses and brightly patterned cloth that they are unhappy, because you can sure bet those same people she is trying to save are probably happier than those of us who live surrounded by smog, cell phones and rush hour traffic.
While I disagree with some points, I do think that this post illustrates the issue infinitely better than the article did, and far more concisely.
This is definitely not an issue of blackface though. See my response to Simba above about that.
Lord. This is wrong on only one level. Ms. Balogh did not allow any of the women she represents to speak for themselves. In an age where we are saturated with images, a VOICE carries more weight. And even the images themselves deny the women any authenticity, because they are of her. My question is who was the awareness for? Hungary is a small country, so I doubt her education involved any history of Africans or people of African descent, hence her intention to foolishly assume we needed awareness.
If the women she represented didn’t want their pictures taken (a possibility), then this “work around” is more offensive than one can imagine. Oh well. Journalists can be quite myopic, despite traveling the world, writing about human rights. Because it’s still through their lens.
Sorry, but you’re assuming that the size of someone’s country means that she lacks a history of African culture?seriously?
I could learn the entire history of Africa on an island as long as I had the Internet and a computer. History is for the majority, publicly available and well documented well beyond Wikipedia. You don’t need a degree for most things taught in a university.
Simple research returns solid info. Hungary’s top University is rated 356 in the world (http://www.webometrics.info/en/europe/hungary%20)
An assumption like that really discredits your entire post…
“An assumption like that really discredits your entire post…”
No, just no. There’s plenty of valid, meaty, substantive points raised in the post, including one that I’ve often pondered, myself.
Why is it that these concerned-about-Africans types, never focus on the one “tribe” that really needs to be brought to wider attention? Namely, that of the flourishing, African professional.
Why do we so rarely hear of White Westerners who are interested in bringing to greater awareness – say – that of the many Black, African women in Africa who are doing and achieving the extraordinary in the many modern cities?
What really lies behind this fascination with African “tribes”?
From the post: “Furthermore, I’m over this obsession with African “tribes.” When people use tribes, they usually refer only to the ones that are in rural areas, and untouched by Western technology”.
I wish I had my issue 34 of the magazine New African Woman with me to quote from, which just happens to have a focus on business women in Nigeria.
Oh, the sheer number of women with law degrees, finance MBAs, etc, – often attained in the U.S. and U.K. as well as in Nigeria – running their own businesses in Nigeria at the highest levels, many having gained much of their prior business experience in the West.
I keep wondering why exactly is it that White, Western media, in general, and those with an “interest” in African “tribes” in particular, just don’t seem interested in training their focus on Africans of the past and present who have done/are doing stellar things.
I once sat in a business meeting with accomplished, highly educated colleagues from Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Ethiopia, each of whom delivered a presentation.
It was wonderful to just sit, listen and learn from these men and women; one thing that became startlingly clear, very quickly was that each and every one of them had a better – and more fluent – command of the English language than each and every one of their White, English counterparts in the room….!
Oh, I’ve not read properly. AP, you were referring to the post of Sahara.
Rest of my last post, stands!
This really is one of the strangest… oh never mind…
Yeah… this is pretty offensive. I wouldn’t actually have a problem with it if she had really literally painted her face and dressed up and if she had prefaced it all by saying ‘I just really wanted to paint my face and emulate looks that I find beautiful’. Cool. I think it’s natural for women to want to play with fashion and, yes I know, cultural appropriation but sometimes it’s not about that. Sometimes a woman is jealous of another woman’s beauty. Plain and shallow. Coveting another woman’s looks transcends cultural lines everywhere in the world. I wasn’t gonna make a judgement based on a series of images.
I’m eccentric myself and spent 2 years wearing full victorian garb, full time. I started because I saw old photos of the fashions and thought it was pretty…it was a completely shallow endeavor. then I had to hand make the clothes because you can’t buy them any where which meant I had to learn to sew. Then after all that trouble I thought, heck, may as well just wear this to the grocery store. And the library. And work. And everywhere. What started out as a fun fashion thing accidentally ended up educating me about women’s lives in the 1890’s. Holy crap. You try driving a car (I know they didn’t do that back then but they did have to get into coaches), scrubbing floors, cooking meals and (once) fending off an attacker all while being winded cause you’re corseting the living crap out of yourself and your clothes weigh like 50 lbs and you have someone else’s hair stuffed into your own and your hat is killing you and you can’t move your arms in that stupid dress. It made sense out of a lot of feminist history for me. Oops. I learned something. I also learned a lot during the years I spent living and dressing as a man. I’m no stranger to using fashion to step into another person’s shoes and I also don’t see anything inherently wrong with emulating another persons appearance for no other reason than that you like it. But even I find this offensive and think everything you said about Hungarian Chick was dead on.
The fact that this chick didn’t even do the courtesy of actually really putting on the clothes even ONCE for the photo is totally weak. And pretending like it’s to ‘raise awareness’ instead of just to get her boyfriend turned on is totally transparent and condescending. Even if you take racism and cultural appropriation out of the equation its still a pretty big fail – I have a serious pet peeve for people who are any kind of ‘activist’ just as a social hobby – something to discuss with other privileged people over coffee so they can all feel so superior and interesting meanwhile the whole world’s rotting away because no one wants to take any concrete actions. People do this with every ’cause’ on the planet. Eating pink tic tacs isn’t going to do a thing for my mom’s breast cancer. Stop it. Dressing in drag and walking around town in a group isn’t going to stop cruelty to lab animals (real case of ‘activism’ in my town). It’s just narcissistic pretentious people having a costume party while they pat themselves on the back. Oh, then there’s the group here that brings cupcakes to the sex workers so they know people care. Thanks guys, my life is fixed now. They give a person, like, one cupcake and then spend the next year trying to create a bunch of media hype about it. Well done. Great. Also – stellar job, Hungarian Chick. I can feel the lives of African tribal women getting better already now that I’ve been filled with a vague sense of raised awareness that they exist through your little art project.
I say let her wear a lip plate around for a few years and then get back to us.