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Digital Black Face?


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Hey Exhalers,

I was chatting with my sister last night over text and of course I was sending gifs along with my messages. She then responded with:

"Fun fact I just found out recently - using GIFs with a person that's not of your own background is called digital black face 🤯"

I was dumbfounded because that sounded so absurd and ridiculous. Exhales, do you agree?? I just use gifs to portray emotion and sass, fun, humor, etc. Never once has it ever crossed my mind that I can't be using gifs with people of a different color than me.

I find this another extreme snowflake 2021 view and complete b.s but thought I'd check in to see what your thoughts are?

If I use an Asian is it Asian face? Why do we focus so much on black face and not al other races too? I feel like racism through the eyes of snowflakes are so one toned. Only focus on one race when countless of races get discrimated against.

Same with representation and portrayal on TV. Like, the Simpsons for example. Everyone got so upset the voice actors weren't the same color as the people they were voicing, but the only people that had a problem with that were white people. Not once did I hear of an Asian being offended, or a black person etc. And why is it okay then to make fun of Scottish, French, British etc people? Do we just not care about the stereotype portrait of them because they are white? British people hate how much TV makes fun of their teeth for example. And speaking with a British accent is okay, but if I were to speak with a Jamaican accent it's racist? 

Lastly, it annoys me how strongly opiniated these white Karen snowflakes are on Twitter about TV and movie portrayal buy do you ever hear them complain about justice elsewhere? I think they just choose the celebrity world because it makes THEM sound like they are good people and all they want are the likes, attention and to go viral. Look at me and how woke I am etc. It serves a purpose for themselves not for others.

There is also reverse racism where it's suddenly okay to say things like "dumb white people" or "those white bishes" or "we are better than white people","don't marry that white person" which wouldn't be okay if it were said about anyone else hut why is it okay to accept reverse racism?

I agree with Sharon Osborne. If I say I don't like you and you happen to be black I am not racist. I just don't like you. I could give a rats *** what color you are, if I don't like you I just don't like you whether u are white, black, yellow, brown, purple, green. 

I could go on all day, but I just think this conversation is so one toned when there are many layers and there needs to be equal respect accross the board, not to whatever is trending at the time so that you get more likes. Be genuine.

Thus ends my rant. But please respond respectfully and with thoughtful comments because I just want to start a conversation.

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3 hours ago, UncannyX-Man2099 said:

I was chatting with my sister last night over text and of course I was sending gifs along with my messages. She then responded with:

"Fun fact I just found out recently - using GIFs with a person that's not of your own background is called digital ****** 🤯"

 

While it's not my place to determine digital ******, digital ****** really depends on the situation and your sister's statement alone is going to confuse people, at least those who are not Black. It involves stereotypes, etc. but I don't feel like there's enough people on Exhale for this topic to be properly discussed.

 

Also as a POC I'm so tired of White people at least in the U.S. using the word "reverse racism". I think the word you're looking for is prejudice or discrimination :slayde_meme_red_glam_neyde_neydeney_britney:

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3 hours ago, IAmJustAKnee said:

While it's not my place to determine digital ******, digital ****** really depends on the situation and your sister's statement alone is going to confuse people, at least those who are not Black. It involves stereotypes, etc. but I don't feel like there's enough people on Exhale for this topic to be properly discussed.

 

Also as a POC I'm so tired of White people at least in the U.S. using the word "reverse racism". I think the word you're looking for is prejudice or discrimination :slayde_meme_red_glam_neyde_neydeney_britney:

I can understand how it might perpetuate stereotypes, but if the intent isn't there or isn't to harm I don't understand  what the issue is. At the same time, is is stereotyping if It is a common social way if reacting or interacting? I think also there is the question of, as a gay person, we tend to cross boundaries a lot so perhaps it is more acceptable or used in our culture than it is the straight one? Ex gifs like "chiiild" or "hell nah" etc or :endit_sunglasses_fab_yas_queen:. Like, I'm not using it cause she's black, I'm using it cause it portrays the attitude I'm looking for. i just look at the action not the person

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5 hours ago, OnlyBeyonce said:

so what is next? we can't stream or share music from black singers? we can't see  movies with black actors?  :watrusayin_britney_xfactor_confused_shocked_surprised_um_what:

Right? But Adam Levign who probably listens to rock or country can use rappers in his music all the time to reach a higher audience or capitalize on the success of those rappers and its deemed appropriate and not appropriation

 

We are gonna live in a gender neutral, color neutral, one tone, everyone is the same clone society. Ugh

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10 minutes ago, UncannyX-Man2099 said:

Right? But Adam Levign who probably listens to rock or country can use rappers in his music all the time to reach a higher audience or capitalize on the success of those rappers and its deemed appropriate and not appropriation

 

We are gonna live in a gender neutral, color neutral, one tone, everyone is the same clone society. Ugh

i'm curious to know how this can affect popularity on social media, if you want to have viral content you need support from every race and black people are only the 13% of the population in America . These sensitive people are going to damage a lot of black artists

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Black face and using black celebrity gifs are just not comparable. One of them is used by white people to portray an exaggerated caricature of black people to mock them, the other is just using a gif that matches your mood lol.

By the way this was an old issue that I thought died in like 2016, but it seems to have made a resurgence after the Oprah interview.

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Excuse me , No , just stop this , I'm a person of color and I think this thing is going a little bit too far , racists are gonna be racists either if they're using Black people's gifs or not ....... It seriously shouldn't matter .... They're not making fun of those individuals specifically most people just post it because they feel like it represents their reaction or they find it funny , come on why everything has to be about race ???

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On 3/17/2021 at 3:11 PM, UncannyX-Man2099 said:

digital-blackface.jpg.c882226ea8e7aaa5cdddefcc9c98aa70.jpg


Hey Exhalers,

I was chatting with my sister last night over text and of course I was sending gifs along with my messages. She then responded with:

"Fun fact I just found out recently - using GIFs with a person that's not of your own background is called digital black face 🤯"

I was dumbfounded because that sounded so absurd and ridiculous. Exhales, do you agree?? I just use gifs to portray emotion and sass, fun, humor, etc. Never once has it ever crossed my mind that I can't be using gifs with people of a different color than me.

I find this another extreme snowflake 2021 view and complete b.s but thought I'd check in to see what your thoughts are?

If I use an Asian is it Asian face? Why do we focus so much on black face and not al other races too? I feel like racism through the eyes of snowflakes are so one toned. Only focus on one race when countless of races get discrimated against.

Same with representation and portrayal on TV. Like, the Simpsons for example. Everyone got so upset the voice actors weren't the same color as the people they were voicing, but the only people that had a problem with that were white people. Not once did I hear of an Asian being offended, or a black person etc. And why is it okay then to make fun of Scottish, French, British etc people? Do we just not care about the stereotype portrait of them because they are white? British people hate how much TV makes fun of their teeth for example. And speaking with a British accent is okay, but if I were to speak with a Jamaican accent it's racist? 

Lastly, it annoys me how strongly opiniated these white Karen snowflakes are on Twitter about TV and movie portrayal buy do you ever hear them complain about justice elsewhere? I think they just choose the celebrity world because it makes THEM sound like they are good people and all they want are the likes, attention and to go viral. Look at me and how woke I am etc. It serves a purpose for themselves not for others.

There is also reverse racism where it's suddenly okay to say things like "dumb white people" or "those white bishes" or "we are better than white people","don't marry that white person" which wouldn't be okay if it were said about anyone else hut why is it okay to accept reverse racism?

I agree with Sharon Osborne. If I say I don't like you and you happen to be black I am not racist. I just don't like you. I could give a rats *** what color you are, if I don't like you I just don't like you whether u are white, black, yellow, brown, purple, green. 

I could go on all day, but I just think this conversation is so one toned when there are many layers and there needs to be equal respect accross the board, not to whatever is trending at the time so that you get more likes. Be genuine.

Thus ends my rant. But please respond respectfully and with thoughtful comments because I just want to start a conversation.

I think we actually find the bad side to everything and it’s just tiring. To ask questions and talk about things is good, but people can’t live always looking for a bad side of everything. 
 

I think there are more important things to care about like “you have to use the right gift for your genre, race or age...” Sorry, this is crazy. Some people take things to the extreme...

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I have seen a BBC article about this before.

To begin with, I've never agreed with things like culture appropriation and such stuff. In the particular case of gifs/memes, they have existed since a long time ago, and they're usually used to represent a funny situation / funny expression. Sometimes it's not even funny, just an accurate representation of a particular emotion, or a phrase if it has subtitles. I don't think anyone is making fun of the person on the gif nor pretending to be them, and I don't think facial expressions / expressions in general are exclusive to a race or group, they're human expressions. They're used everywhere, on every country by people from all colors, genders, ages. 

There are gifs of animals, fictional characters, famous people, non famous people, you don't have to look like any of them to use them. I don't know what is this idea even proposing, that only black people can use gifs of black people, or that no gifs of black people should be used at all, but any other race is ok? Because I don't know how it makes sense that a person of a particular race or nationality can use gifs of other people of their same race, as if everyone in one race made the same faces or expressions, and expressions differed from race to race. At this point only Oprah should be able to use Oprah gifs, and so everyone should make their own gifs of their own faces, which completely removes the point of using a gif as a universal sign of a certain expression/feeling. 

 

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I won’t speak to this problem in other Countries, because I can’t pretend to understand how their systems work. 
 

HOWEVER... in the US, social media is a *** **** disease. It’s beyond out of control on BOTH sides of the spectrum. We argue terms like “racist” or “reverse racist”, but “reverse racist” isn’t a thing. Racism is simple to define: 

1: a belief that race is a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

2: the systemic oppression of a racial group to the social, economic, and political advantage of another


Systemic racism doesn’t just show up or exist spontaneously. It’s created by the specific institution, by those in power. It can be a School, a corporation, the GOVERNMENT...

Likewise, racism doesn’t just exist, it’s ******* created. Using a picture of an African American person in a text message, when you’re not African American, is NOT racist. However, using said picture in a derogatory fashion, or using it to perpetuate stereotypes against an entire race of people, IS a racist thing to do. Being prejudiced against and consistently mocking an entire race of people like they’re less than you, makes you a racist. Running your corporation, School or Government in a way that supports the opinions and desires of a single race above all others, then taking it a step further by allowing the opinions of other minority races to be silenced, makes YOU guilty of instigating institutional and systemic racism. 
 

IF you’re the person who just flat out thinks racism doesn’t exist, while you may not specifically be a racist, or say racist things, you’re guilty by association for supporting people who do. It's not "free speech" to perpetuate hate. That's HATE SPEECH, and RACISM.
 

It’s that simple.  

These days, social media has made it so easy for soapbox warriors to just tackle the little issues, that really aren’t a problem, because it makes them feel empowered or an ally. The problem is there are real issues at stake in the US, and Countries all over the globe. I would suggest this to those that are so worried about GIFs and cancel culture. Instead of trying to destroy someone for something they said a decade ago, from behind your keyboard, or calling out friends for something stupid like "digital black face".... Try to find a way to get involved, and actually make a difference. Go vote, go volunteer, study political silence, get involved in your community, run for community office, or even local government. DO SOMETHING to ACTUALLY bring about real change. 


as for the question at hand... in a more specific answer (🤪), I will NEVER stop appreciating the GIF of Viola Davis. I don’t Send that gif to mock her, or anyone like her. I use it because I respect the hell out of her as a person, as an actress, as a storyteller. She’s a legend. 😎

 

great conversation from our topic host. Thanks for posting. 
 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, Jordan Miller said:

I will admit this is an interesting point, but it feels like we create more segregation by saying, 'ok white people you can only use Gifs of white people,' 'black people can only use...etc' 

But who’s starting this trend of culture appropriation? White people or black Asian people?

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The problem is Hollywood trying to be the moral leaders of our societies. They want to dictate because people watch their movies and copy them. So in that logic they think they have an obligation to be the morality standard of our society. That’s what they get wrong. They’re telling us every time of we need to change. 

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