[Devil’s Advocate]
(bolding mine)
Why is the red wig ok? Isn’t that “likening a person’s hair color to a costume”? Is it only okay if the hair color isn’t their natural color? Why? Lucille Ball’s red hair was brought up earlier: why was it okay to wear her hair as a costume?
[Devil’s Advocate]
You should definitely address this. People will not judge a racist child of that age, they will judge his parents.
Of course, as he gets older, if that continues, then people will judge hi as well as his parents.
Well said. Very well said, actually.
Right, that’s what I’ve gotten out of this.
Basically it’s not inherently bad, it’s just the history.
So when were looking at people saying playing s black video game character is blackface were probably at ridiculous.
Cosplay on the other hand is just too close.
Most people manage to look great in a wig. Wigs are easy to pass off as “real”. I would probably look cute in a red mullet wig.
In contrast, the average person looks terrible when they paint their skin to transform their racial appearance. I would not look cute in whiteface, unless I had a professional artist to help me.
I don’t think anyone would disagree with you. But since we aren’t and never will be in a cultural vacuum, I don’t see the point of this inquiry.
That doesn’t sound like blackface. I don’t think anyone but the most hypersensitive would take actual offense at what ya’ll did, provided that’s all ya’ll did.
Makes sense to me.
The hair styles of rock stars are pretty much always going to be off-the-hook crazy and therefore they are an essential element of their look. You can’t call yourself a glam rocker and not have a crazy hair style.
I can put a red mullet wig and red boots on my cat and he’ll look like a cat version of David Bowie. But I don’t need to dye my cat white to make him look like David Bowie. That’s insane.
In my best Mathew McConaughey voice;
It’d be a whole lot cooler if you did.
Lol
Not really just what I usually say to crazy suggestions like dying your cat white
So, cosplay is best left alone because of the history.
It’s mostly unnecessary anyhow.
While there are some borderline examples that could be done tastefully.
This digital blackface stuff is mostly wacko unless you’re purposely stereotyping.
Does that roughly sum up the situation?
It’s not “hard to get”. But I think your implication that there’s some obvious theoretical (ahistorical) reason for why it’s different from other aspects of appearance it’s weak. The compelling reason that there is great sensitivity about changing aspects of appearance that correlate to race (most notably skin color) is historical & social context - because of our terrible history of racism.
[my bold]
Yes, that’s extremely well put.
Thank you for the response. You’re dodging my actual question tho. In your opinion, if a white guy wants to dress up as Dr. J, can they wear an afro wig?
I guess the dichotomy I’m seeing is that one innate trait that a person has no control over (their skin color) is verboten but another equally innate trait is not.
Is it wrong to wear contacts to mimic someone else’s natural eye color?
He’s also highly offended by green or white beauty masks, Hair color changes, wigs, blue makeup, red make-up. Basically anything that makes a person look unusual to him.
So I’m hoping that’s the root of it, and it’s a phase but explaining to him specifically that it’s not ok to act like that if people can’t change it.
Which has resulted in him pleading with Mom to “take that off” if she dyes her hair.
Are you sure you have a child rather than a cat?
Hairstyles are not an innate trait. They are styles. Dr. J’s afro was a deliberate, intentional look the same way that David Bowie’s red mullet was. So yes, those things are essential elements to their costume. Skin color is not, since they didn’t choose their skin color and their skin color doesn’t distinguish them from anyone else.
Since I haven’t said there’s anything “wrong” with doing anything, your question is strange to me. But no, there’s nothing “wrong” with mimicking someone’s natural eye color, especially if we’re talking about an unusual eye color. But for 99.9% of the real historical or contemporary figures that people might want to cosplay, getting the eye color exactly right is completely unnecessary since eye color isn’t that noticeable a feature. If we’re talking about a costume contest with a sizeable grand prize, I might be tempted to put in some blue eye contacts if I’m going as Anderson Cooper–just to show the judges how committed I am. But otherwise, no. If I can’t convince people I’m “Anderson Cooper enough” with my mannerisms and a stylish white wig, then wearing contacts isn’t going to help.
Interestingly, I can actually do a damn good job if replicating colors.
What I’ve actually found is that its close to the opposite.
I was commissioned to do a portrat of the guy that started the national black theater foundation.
Thankfully this was basically a photo realistic painting.
Otherwise I would probably have turned it down simply because I’m aware of cross race identification bias.
My biggest concern was getting his coloring correct as I knew this would be a sensitive matter, the whole painting turned out on the warm side colorwise , which was fine and I thought it was appropriate since it was post mortem.
Later on I used some of the mixes for his skin tone to paint other people.
What I found was that I could easily lighten those mixes and make great realistic flesh tones for just about every color of person.
With some of the busts and statuettes I’ve done for major theme parks I’m confident if I wanted to I could easily airbrush anyone to accurately have the skin tone of anyone else.
Though I guess I shouldn’t.
I think that you are overestimating familiarity with Harriet Tubman. If I were at an American History themed costume party and Harriet Tubman herself time-traveled to the party, I would have no idea who she was unless she leaned a pickaxe over her shoulder and wore a hat like Floyd Smoot.
Unless you’re a white person.
Look up cross race identification bias.
People of any one race tend to identify individuals by the features which vary the most within their own race.
So basically when describing someone a black person is unlikely to use eye color.
A white person is very likely to use eye color.
Lol, do cats do that?
I have four , three boys and a step daughter.
Someone who dresses up like Harriet Tubman isn’t trying to appeal to people like you. They are trying to appeal to other fangirls and fanboys of Harriet Tubman–folks who would be able to recognize her costume from a million miles away.
I don’t know Abigal Adam’s eye color. But I do have an idea of how she styled her hair and dressed.
Without looking at her portrait, do you know her eye color?
Do you think that you’d have to get this little detail exactly right in order to have a convince Abigal Adams costume?