Beyonce's Blackface

[DrPhil]

So, I saw the pictures and footage of her photoshoot and immediately asked myself "self, is her darker skin an attempt to pay homage to the 'tribal' markings in Africa" and "self, is her darker skin an attempt to do her 'alterego' as she pays homage to Fela Kuti (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fela_Kuti)?"

Then I told myself "quit doing what Black folks often do, which is try to rationalize and explain stuff that are sometimes exactly what they look like."

Blackface.

Now...I've read some interesting articles on both sides of the issue. For starters, it doesn't matter that Beyonce is Black. After whites started wearing blackface, Black entertainers began wearing blackface in order to profit from the darkie image that whites were so comfortable with, and so entertained by. So, Beyonce and her crew don't automatically get a pass because she's Black.

For seconds, as a Black woman, does Beyonce need to darken her skin to be more African? There are Africans, including Nigerians, of various shades of Blackness. Moreover, darkening one's skin perpetuates the myth that being lighter means you 1) can't be African and/or 2) can barely be Black. Couldn't she have just been Beyonce paying homage to Africa and Fela Kuti? I swear we'd understand the context, especially since she's wearing African garb and always has on makeup, anyway. The rest of the photo shoot was wonderful...without the blackface components.

For thirds, it doesn't matter whether YOU (individuals) are personally offended by this. The history of blackface still is what it is. I'm not personally offended or alarmed. But, I still believe that "fat meat is greasy."

For last, http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?...morephotovideo the two people who made these comments are special to say the least. The white woman who isn't offended by the Wayan Brothers' "White Girls" needs to sit down. It is very cliche` for whites to compare what they would be offended by to what "others" should be offended by. Also, (if we must do a comparison) regardless of how dumb the Wayan Brothers were for being "White Girls," and even if some white women were offended by it, the history of white women's structural oppression is different than that of racial and ethnic minorities. That includes how racial superiority was and still is successful in buffering some of the effects of gender inequality. I'll save my rants on that for another venue.

Anywho, Beyonce's blackface. Extra, extra.