The Beyonce Blackface Drama. Is It Really That Deep?

The images of Beyonce above of just one of  a number of shots from the March 90th Anniversary Issue of the French magazine L’Officiel Paris, and the internet has been abuzz about them all week. The spin and discussion has centered around the fact that some, or many, consider them to be Beyonce in Blackface. Are we serious? Is it really that deep?

Blackface is theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and propagated American racist stereotypes such as the “happy-go-lucky darky on the plantation” or the “dandified coon”. Needless to say, many consider it highly offensive, and black folks have every right to get upset whenever this demon of past oppression returns as a reminder of our struggle throughout history.

I just have a problem attaching this fashion shoot, featuring one of the most successful black performers, to the awful tradition of blackface. News sources and blogs have been allowing only the photos with Beyonce in dark makeup to circulate like crazy while failing to mention there were also many other setups featuring Beyonce with her normal lighter skin tone and all shades in between(see above). Should the ones in between be called brown or beige face??? Getthefuckouttahere…

Wasn’t it just two years ago that the community was taking Beyonce and L’Oreal to task for this photo which showed an obviously lightened Beyonce with straight blond hair:The child can’t win! You simply can’t have it both ways, and we certainly shouldn’t expect Beyonce to only rock one shade of skin tone when we’ve watched her rock every color and texture of weave and wig imaginable, right? I personally found the lightening of Beyonce much more irritating than the darkening. We have to remember that a lot of this has to do with FASHION and ART. The fact that she’s even using the cover and spread as an opportunity to pay homage to African ancestry should be enough to draw praise, not criticism.

Farrad - The Time Is Now Album Cover

My debut album cover is a shot of me in black grease paint; a shade much darker than what Beyonce is rocking, and trust, blackface never even crossed my mind…..

How about we pick a choose our battles a little bit better? There is very little if anything that Beyonce is doing to revert the progress of black people in the modern world. The are much worse offenders out there that deserve to be discussed more. Like any young man with his ass hanging out of his low-riding jeans… or video hoes… or Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em… or:

Gucci Mane & His Ignorant-Ass Ice Cream Cone Face Tattoo

Yes folks, that’s an Ice Cream Cone tattoo on rapper Gucci Mane’s face. I wonder what our long gone black performers that paved the way and had to walk in through the service entrance would have to say about this?

Keep it positive.

Farrad

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This entry was posted on Saturday, February 26th, 2011 at 4:13 pm. It is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.