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Blackface

Modern-day manifestations

Print Media

Women's Magazines

Magazines that feature blackface do so in ways that are either apparent, where white models have black/brown face paint; resembling blackface iconography, and in non-apparent ways such as the application of dark, bronzing makeup, over contouring, extreme tanning, and wearing traditionally African hairstyles such as cornrows, afros, and boxer braids . Therefore, in some instances, when models are featured in magazines, they are made to appear as though they are black but are actually white . In Susan’s Gubar’s book , Race Changes: White Skin, Black Face in American Culture, she refers to this imagery or this transformation as a ‘race change’. “The concept suggests the traversing of race boundaries, racial imitation or impersonation, cross-racial mimicry or mutability, white posing as black or black passing as white, pan-racial mutuality” . Illustrations that incorporate the juxtaposition of black and white faces and doubleness have been popular since the first half of the twentieth century . In addition, this type of aestheticization have been used in many portraits of Janus .

Leung , refers to the “exhibitionary order” framework to explain the depiction of blackface in magazines. It is, “a system in which the “other” is put on display, resulting in the exotic commodification of nature artifacts or traditions for the hegemonic gaze” . The photographs and editorials that are presented in some women’s magazines function as exhibitionaries that objectifies, “native artifacts such as clothing and atmosphere, but also by objectifying skin colour itself” . These images send the groups being portrayed; black people in this case, a degrading message: “The only person good enough to portray you is white”.

Aluko-Roberts , presents the case of an editorial called “African Queen” that was featured in Numero France magazine. Photographer Sebastian Kim featured a white American model, Ondria Hardin, who was made to look black through the application of deep bronzing makeup and dressing her in intricate headwraps . Photographer Sebastian Kim issued an apology that reads:

“We at no point attempted to portray an African woman by painting her skin black. We wanted a tanned and golden skin to be showcased as part of the beauty aesthetic of this shoot. It saddens me that people would interpret this as a mockery of race” .

Wissinger , suggests that gatekeepers such as model agents and agencies, designers, and photographers say that aesthetics, the vision of the editorial, and colour scheme influences their choice in models. “This use of aesthetics, however, unwittingly reproduces existing racialized structures of stratification… . Being that the aesthetic industry is one that contains a racialized power structure, it is within this structure that black models are left out of the selection process, and white models are chosen to represent an underrepresented racial group . As a result, these factors lead up to controversies within the editorial industry .

Other instances of blackface featured in magazines include an editorial in the October 2010 edition of Numero magazine. In it, Constance Jabolonski is wearing borderline blackface makeup and is sporting an afro hairstyle . The editorial also features a black baby who is not wearing any type of facial body paint .

Another instance is in a German style magazine, Stern Fotografie, cover that was shot by Karl Lagerfeld . The editorial featured model Claudia Schiffer, who is white, and is captured wearing dark and exaggerated bronzing makeup and an afro hairstyle . A representative of the model issued a statement that said:

“The images were designed to reflect different men’s fantasies. They were done very creatively, and they are some of Karl Lagerfeld’s favourite images of Claudia. People should not jump to conclusions”