“Whiteface” does exist literally; someone who is not white can paint their face white in an attempt to mimic a white person for a costume. A recent example is Druski’s viral political comedy skit, and the most famous probably being the Wayans Bro’s “White Chicks.”
However, whiteface as a systematic entertainment, which plays a part in the historic stigmatization and disenfranchisement of a group of people, does not exist.
Whiteface may trigger white people, but it does not have the mass amount of power that blackface does. Blackface is an institutional foundation in American comedic history. It’s in its own sub-genre of comedy, solely meant to make fun and dehumanize black people while entertaining their oppressors.
Blackface is when a white or light-skinned person paints their face black or a darker color to mimic the appearance of a black person.
It began in 1828 during the Jim Crow Era by white performer Thomas Rice, who played the “Black” character Jim Crow, the source of the term that refers to discriminatory laws during that era.
During these shows, Rice would, in blackface, play into the stereotypes and stigmatizations of Black people in a highly dramatized way, performing for comedy. These performances did irreparable damage to a common person’s view and understanding of blackness in ways that are still prevalent today.
The way Black people were portrayed in the media in other countries was also affected. Blackface systematically established Black people as caricatures for entertainment and not as people.
Whiteface simply does not and cannot have this effect on society. There is no argument that it can. People who say otherwise have a flawed misunderstanding of Blackface.
It was not just a costume or dressing up; this was a performance used to reinforce stereotypes that continue to have long-term ramifications on the Black community to this day.
Whiteface is in the media right now because of the Druski and Erica Kirk drama. Druski, a Black comedian, dressed in whiteface and made a comedy sketch about a white political character. Kirk and her companies felt that the character was making fun of her.
Many ask, “What if it were the other way around?” to which I say it has been and continues to be. Or, people say that the joke is out of bounds – coming from the same people who insist that everyone else are snowflakes, and can’t take a joke.
The truth is, white people have always and will always make tasteless, race-based jokes, including the usage of blackface. I honestly don’t see why Black people on small scales, every now and then, can’t do the same.
Whiteface may hurt your feelings, you may find it unfunny, but it has zero historical ramifications as an entertainment art form, therefore, to me is a non-issue in comparison to its counterpart.
