I would like to commend us all for getting through Halloween. However, with Halloween past us and Thanksgiving on the way. You know that holiday in November before Christmas and after Halloween. The holiday when you spend time with your family and wear stretchy pants for that buffet. But before we start bringing out the jingles and skipping over the Turkeys. I want to bring to our attention some costumes that made me ponder about this notion of white face and brought certain things
With Suicide Squad's release this year and the Margot Robbie centered posters and advertisement, Harley Quinn costumes were highly anticipated. Teyana Taylor and her spouse Iman Shumpert, who are both black, joined the wagon and dressed as the Joker and Harley Quinn. They wore outfits similar to those the Suicide characters wore and painted their faces white.
She posted the picture on Instagram and a few people commented about white face. Some of the comments talked about the double standard with the use of white face and black face. The Joker is known for using white make-up, this is seen in the movie as Jared Lego was painted white in the movie. So I personally do not think that the argument holds true. I think that we also have to remember that there is a context to black face that is embedded in history. Black people were not allowed to act in theaters and white actors would paint themselves using charcoals and have exaggerated features drawn on. While white face to me is a concept that has recently surfaced.
There was another costume that seemed to pop up on my explore which was actually surfacing from last year's Halloween. The costume of "white tears." The term is used when describing white people who do not believe in "white privilege" and state that racial injustices do not exist.
The costume idea did not seem to be as publicized as the others but the one that I saw the most was of an older white woman who got a mostly positive coverage on social media. The woman who wore this costume was not a star like Teyana and Iman but she was also white. I think that her race should be taken into consideration. She wore a black outfit with white paper cutout of tears with messages such as "I do not see race" and so on. I thought this costume was thought provoking. I felt that it was attacking those who do not believe in "white privilege," but I could also see how she was satirically trying to bring awareness by opening the door to a conversation that we tend to avoid. But for me personally, it was a touchy subject. Some people felt that it was an attack on their character and were offended. While others argued that they had no rights to these grievances as White people have not be oppressed throughout history. However, I think that we should recognize the offense they feel to a certain extent. We should be able to give the same transparency we demand.
The last costume I want to bring to light was of a black guy that wore a crown, was in all white, and painted his face white and wore a wig. On his white shirt, the word Privilege was written.
Many people said that their concern was towards the use of white face. So then if the guy did not paint his face, then would the costume been something to pass over? Or what if it was a white person with white paint wearing the same outfit would that change anything? The comments continued on to say that there was a double standard with the response of the use of white face and black face. That if a white person were to do the opposite of the costume then it would be a problem. The response to that comment was that black privilege does not exist which I agree with. So my question to that person would have been, if a white person were to do black face and wear all black but write pride on their shirt or outfits, will that be okay? Or can a person go as a color without being a crayon, marker, or part of a rainbow? By that I mean, if a person was to be a color for Halloween without being part of the rainbow and color their face as well, is that okay? Before I leave I want to ask should anything race related and controversial be avoided for Halloween costumes?
We seem to always avoid issues involving race. Yet, it remains very much so involved in our society. I think that we should have more on these discussions addressing certain double standards in our society. We are starting now to talk more and more about race in America but we still have a while to go. Feel free to let me know what you think.
