Claudia Schiffer’s Blackface

So German super-model Claudia Schiffer and photographer Karl Lagerfeld think that blackface is acceptable if it involves high-fashion. And judging from the comments I have seen, multitudes of Whites believe that it is only fair turn-around for Whites to pretend to be Black. After all, Blacks, with their hair-straightening and skin lighteners, have been paying handsomely to look White for decades.

First off, I really don’t think that Schiffer stole work from a Black model. Whoever buys the shots knows that they are of Claudia in blackface, and this juxtaposition has specific value worth the trouble. I consider these photographs in the same category as these of Gisele and Black guys with big muscles (here). Someone is trying to get a ‘rise’ out of the public, and the question is, does it work and does it go too far?

For me, blackface that distorts the physical or behavioral character of Blacks is not acceptable. This goes for emulations of any ethnic group, from Asians, to Indians, to the Bantus. Emulations that reflect positive portrayals are acceptable, but understandably tread a thin line. I asked a Black woman in my office her thoughts, and she was not offended and thought it was art. She said a bucket of KFC under Schiffer’s arm would not work.

So in the end, I say no harm no foul. Keep on playing.

James C. Collier

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