Last weekend, Tumblr user White cosplayer narulein sparked a huge debate over her makeup test for her portrayal of Michonne, a character from AMC’s hit series The Walking Dead. While she had many supporters who claimed that there was nothing inherently offensive about her costume because she “didn’t intend to offend anyone” and was “only trying to have the most accurate/faithful or portrayal of the character possible”, there were others who asserted their staunch beliefs that there is absolutely no excuse for painting your skin for the sole purpose of imitating another race. While it is not outside of the realm of possibility that this young lady didn’t set out to mock Black people with her costume, her intent doesn’t magically remove the disgusting history of Blackface in Western society. Her status as a German citizen doesn’t necessarily justify her ignorance, either. She has demonstrated enough fluency English language to engage with her fans when they’re sending her positive feedback, so realistically, what’s stopping her from educating herself about Blackface? And, unfortunately, while Blackface may have roots here in America, it’s been exported to foreign countries and used as the punchline to many insensitive jokes on variety shows. This article is a pretty comprehensive look at Blackface in a non-Western society.
Anyways, what’s arguably worse than her decision to do this in the first place was her reaction to the criticism. It’s since been deleted — but I, always being at the top of my game, made sure I saved her passive aggressive fauxpology:
“Soooo, many people said i made a “blackface” with my michonne make up test. First: i only wanted to cosplay my favourite Character of the walking dead and i wanted to do her COMPLETLY.
Second: i am definitly not a racist, what many people said i hate racists and i have to say that i am not complete german so…
Third: i deleted the pictures if some of u feeled disturbed by them. That don’t means that i give up cosplaying michonne. I will do it anyway it is my free decision.
So guys, hope now u all are satisfied and hate more.”
Right. Because anyone who has the AUDACITY to have a negative reaction to your poor decision to make the character’s race a part of the costume is merely a “hater”. Also, people who don’t like racist acts don’t exist outside of the Internet, so all you have to do is erase the pictures. You totally won’t be taken to task if you’re seen dressed like this in real life! Of course your feelings are paramount in a discussion about something that doesn’t affect you! P.S., your Party City post-Halloween clearance rack dreadlock wig and the refried beans you smeared on your face for the desired complexion are simply ethereal. ♥
I witnessed a guy say that this was no different from someone dressing up as The Hulk and painting themselves green. But, you know, I guess it’s my own fault for not being up to date with current events and acknowledging that “Green” is now officially a race category available on the US Census. Hell, maybe I’ve been Green this entire time and haven’t even known.
As a final thought, remember, folks, whenever you see somebody saying something flagrant on the web and there’s a good chance they’ll deny everything later, listen to this poorly rendered man.
Unruly Bodies 
I find this blog so interesting for different reasons. Initially reading it I thought of this YouTube channel where all the woman does is makeup transformations like this, into celebrities, characters, anime, etc. I guess the main difference is that she is white portraying a black character and the YouTube was Asian playing all kinds of people. It just makes me wonder if the same likeness to the character would have been achieved without the dark makeup. I’m not here to say whether it was right or wrong, just wondering otherwise. I think I would be more offended if she wore makeup like that and then used it in the same tone as it was originally constructed to mock black people. I don’t think the features were extremely exaggerated but I can see why people may be offended. Second, it reminded me of when Snoop Dogg did his character “Todd”. A white character he created and used white face in his portrayal. I feel as though more people dismissed his ignorance and just laughed it off. I wonder why that was different? It was pure ignorance and it was used to stereotype a particular race. He even created a fake dating website for white men to meet women. If it was reverse it would be more like the situation you described and if that person was a celebrity a public apology would have to be issued or donate to a cause to lighten the situation. I don’t think its fair that people will get offended at something like a makeup transformation but laugh at the disrespect of Snoop Dogg as Todd.
Thanks for the comment. The same likeness could absolutely be obtained without the makeup. I don’t even watch The Walking Dead, but it’s pretty much inescapable on the web (especially if you’re into other fandom-y things). I (and many others, I’m sure) could easily recognize a Michonne cosplayer regardless of skin color based on her clothing and her sword. And, even if you couldn’t, it never hurts to ask…? Considering the fact that she intends to wear her costume in a setting that celebrates television series, video games, comics, etc., it’s even more likely that her outfit and accessories alone would get the point across because there will presumably be a high concentration of The Walking Dead fans in attendance. A Black friend of mine attended this year’s Otakon as Lulu from Final Fantasy X. She didn’t change her skin color to “more accurately” portray the character because her dress and her Moogle plush made it clear as to who she was supposed to be.
I think it would behoove us to get away from the intent argument because, well, it’s actually impossible to ever truly gauge anybody’s intent. Besides, people don’t have to go out of their way to be offensive to invoke hurt feelings.
Snoop Dogg’s Todd situation is different because there is no significant history of POC dressing up as White people to lampoon them in the way minstrel shows and the like have existed to oppress us. You have the right to find it offensive, but removing the historical context and pretending that the outcome is the same for White people and POC alike changes the nature of the discourse entirely.
I definitely see your frustration because I don’t think that race should figure into who someone is. But, going off the last comment and for the sake of playing devil’s advocate, where do we draw the line about changing your race through makeup? Not even just White Todd, but Dave Chappelle, the Wayans brothers, and the comedic duo Key and Peele change their race to white for comedic purposes. Does their affiliation/identification as African-Americans/as black men and their comedic use of such makeup exempt them from critique of changing their race?
Thanks for commenting. They’re using “Whiteface” as a comedic device because it’s subversive (or, at least that’s what many people will argue). Even when Blackface/Yellowface/Redface isn’t used, POC are consistently mocked through poor imitations of their speech, gestures, etc. *That* is and has been the status quo for a very long time.
These men are not above critic for any reason (because nobody is, really), but as I said to the other commenter, these acts cannot be treated as equals because Black people (and other POC) are not treated as equals to White people in society at large.
I guess that I personally find that kind of approach to the situation problematic. I’m not trying to quantify prejudice because there is no way to rank prejudice besides by perspective, but if you say, as you did, in your post, that there is “absolutely no excuse for painting your skin for the sole purpose of imitating another race,” then whether or not society treats a person similarly makes no difference on how they’re represented. Either you enforce something equally or you don’t. Black comedians/entertainers do not have solely black audiences, and the flexibility of race may reflect not only through white culture but also through black culture in this way, just like white or Asian or Hispanic entertainers’ audiences do not appeal to only a niche group especially in today’s society.
I guess what I’m trying to get at is that if we’re going to be an equal society even just racially, we have to take a stance that either racial flexibility is okay or it’s not. I think it’s fundamentally unfair and unequal to think that you can have it both ways and that it’s okay because some people are doing it, because that does reflect on other cultures. Brushing it under the rug because you stereotype White people as treating POC unequally is in itself problematic and projective.
Makeup is a form of artistry and she is clearly talented. I definitely believe her when she didn’t mean to offend and wanted to stay true to the character, but her response to all her criticism is what irked me. Blackface has such a history that she should have taken into consideration how people were offended. A lot of African American cosplayers I have seen don’t paint their faces white, and there aren’t that many characters of different races. Jsheck1’s comment reminded me of White Chicks. Whiteface is offensive. Marlon Brando did yellowface in a film. Geisha costumes, and people wearing Native American headdresses are offensive as well. The lack of understanding cultural traditions, history, and stereotyping people are common things. I know I’m guilty. I think the only solution is to try to be more sensitive towards people.
Thanks for the comment. Yeah, her response to the criticism is what ultimately made me dislike her. Very dismissive and purposefully ignorant. Unsurprisingly, the critiques became even more intense after she posted that so-called “apology”, ha…
I think it’s fair to consider Whiteface to be offensive, but it cannot be equated with Blackface/Yellowface/Redface. Reducing anyone to racial stereotypes is harmful across the board, but the outcome when POC are targeted versus when White people are targeted is vastly different.
Why is blackface still a thing? There is so much history and racism associated with it that it clearly is racist. Blackface was used as a way to dehumanize black people and to give credence to the discrimination and oppression. Unfortunately, I have heard a lot about people being called out for using blackface and instead of listening they get very defensive and ignore what the “haters” are saying. Also, in relation to jsheck1’s comment, white face does not have the weight of history and racism behind it as blackface does. While blackface is used as a tool of oppression, white face is usually used to criticize the racism in society.
Here’s a really good youtube video on blackface and the implications of it:
Thanks for the reply. The way in which she dealt with this situation is pretty much on par with how Miley Virus deals with reactions to her incessant racial insensitivity. The sad part is that even *she* has enough sense to skip the Blackface on Halloween (last year she was Lil’ Kim and the year before she was Nicki Minaj). This is essentially the point that I’ve been trying to get across in my conversations with other posters.
Ugh, I know it’s supposed to be informative, but the screencap of that video alone is making my stomach churn. I appreciate the resource, though. I’ll check it out later when I’m in a better frame of mind, haha.