Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/12/15/racist-prada-called-out-for-b.html
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While that one goes over the line I can see where they were going for a stylized sock monkey kind of thing not that it excuses it.
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That was my original thought, but the more I think about it, the more I think it unforgivable. I am not implying intent to offend, but rather epic thoughtfulness. Quite right to pull these things.
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I’ve seen a few nature programs, and been to a few zoos, Prada. I have never seen a monkey with big red lips. I have seen enough blackface, though, and this is blackface.
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The correct name for these is:
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True. Still racist as fuck, tho.
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This is what happens when everyone on the design team, in the marketing department, and in the executive suite is white.
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In the US we tend to call this imagery “sambo” or “sambo doll” after a different slur also associated with a children’s book and a broader trend of toys and tchotchkes using this imagery.
This isn’t really black face. As its not really referencing or drawing from that tradition. But instead drawn from a longer, broader tradition of stereotyped images. Also tends to get called “Pickaninny” and “Darkie” imagery. Or less named after a slur “mammy” imagery, after that particular trope.
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I never meant to imply otherwise.
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Sadly, one of Debussy’s most charming pieces is titled The Golliwogs’ Cake Walk.
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What’s going on? Have the apologists decided to sleep in this morning?
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Golliwogs are still totally Blackface in the US, and they are still racist as all fuck.
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That t-shirt is pretty nice, though. And it’s only $640
Sorry, I mean 640 $
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So it’s racism; just not US centric racism.
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I wouldn’t be at all surprised if there were one or two black people along that way who saw the design and maybe had some input. But they either didn’t make the association or didn’t realize it would be a problem, and even if they had a bit of an idea they might be a problem they couldn’t really develop that idea since “our little thingy might look a bit racist” is probably an awkward conversation to start with a white co-worker.
To prevent this kind of stuff you don’t need a couple black people on the design team, you need a group of three of four who work together somewhere along the process. You need a group large enough to form relationships and chat about things like “oh, did you think that new design looked a bit weird?” and then they can have a conversation where they might realize it’s a major problem.
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Thank you. That was new to me.
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Prada fucked up big time. Their organization is big enough, layered enough in sufficient levels of editing and checking that this should have been caught before this went into production or market. From design to retail, there were numerous opportunities to stop this product. I understand a low rank notice might have gone unheeded but that only puts more egg on Prada’s stupid face.
Of course this is Sambo. The color scheme, the basic shapes. It’s highly stylized but it comes back to a recognizable Sambo imagery. Shame on them. But I guess racism is back in. Last week it was Balenciaga making racist depictions of Chinese. Today it’s Prada.
What is truly unforgivable is that these are elite fashion houses - they are supposed to stand at the forefront of cultural awareness - be super aware of their standing and what people think of them. And then they do this - a maladroit gaffe that was just asking to blow up in their faces. This should result in firings and for top management and leadership to be removed. This is like running a major ship aground on a clear calm day.
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They really combine aspects of a Unicorn and a Griffin, via an extremely unhappy coincidence they combine only those aspects that make the object look like an action figure of an African from a 1940s Looney Toon https://youtu.be/67dQ4Whk-7s?t=52
