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Over at Clutch Magazine, they are asking their readers whether they are offended by a recent State Farm commercial featuring Selita Ebanks and Mehcad Brooks. Over at Racialicious, they are outraged over a Duncan Hines cupcake glaze commercial featuring "cupcake black face." Other general audience sites have joined in the online debate, many readers not seeing the pink-lipped beat-boxing treats or black female stereotypes in these commercials as racist at all.But moving beyond the question of whether these images are offensive, I would like to ask folks to look deeper and question why black people are so angry, when we as a community don't get so mad when these images come from within.
The case of the recent debacle of a Duncan Hines commercial featuring cupcakes singing in black face, was likely the result of Duncan Hines failing to hire a creative team with a diverse knowledge of historical context. A black person (or white for that matter) from the south would likely have quickly pointed out that these black faced, white eyed, pink-lipped cupcakes looked eerily similar to the controversial characters in early Disney movies or any number of offensive racist caricatures of black people from the past. But it seems that there was no single vision that guided the production of this controversial cooking mess:
"The thing is, an agency -- not in the traditional sense at any rate -- didn't create that one. Pinnacle Foods' AOR [,or agency of record,] is BBDO, but the Amazing Glazes efforts for Duncan Hines resulted from a partnership with digital studio Filmaka and four independent directors. According to the press release, "Each director offers their own interpretation of the passion, creativity and fun behind baking that the Amazing Glazes toppings inspire." (Ad Age)
Is that any excuse? The uproar over these sambo sweets was so huge, it would have paid to have some informed people guiding the project. It was pulled by Duncan Hines almost as fast as it was released. But, it's pretty clear that there were no black people involved. You will soon read why that might not even be relevant.
The recent controversy over a State Farm commercial featuring Selita Ebanks and Mehcad Brooks is another matter. The State Farm commercial features a "sassy," angry black woman who is henpecking her significant other about running into another car. It is complete with lip-smacking, ubiquitous "umm hmms" and I swear I saw a finger snap and a head roll up in there too. I could be wrong, but I would be shocked if State Farm didn't engage with some "multicultural" firm when coming up with this concept and executing it. In other words, black folks probably produced this ad.
Having had my own run in with State Farm's marketing staff, I am fairly certain that it was not their intention to offend black women. The presence of Mehcad Brooks would indicate that they had us in mind. If this State Farm ad was created by a black creative team, would that change the tone and tenor of the outrage? Experience tells us YES!
Black people love to get offended if they think white people are dabbling in racist stereotypes, but we turn a blind eye when we tap dance into these stereotypes ourselves. Anybody remember the "Black Marriage Negotiations" video? We did that all by ourselves! Do we have room to criticize a company for reproducing an image we ourselves create?
Almost four years ago, the nation exploded in outrage when white radio talk show host Don Imus referred to black college athletes as "nappy headed hos." In the aftermath, Oprah Winfrey hosted a show called "After Imus, Now What." I remember it clearly because after that show I was so ticked off that I started my blog, "What About Our Daughters."
During her show, Oprah invited an all-black lineup of guests -- Al Sharpton, Common, Diane Weathers, Kevin Lyles and a group of young women from Spelman -- to talk about the impact of black people systematically engaging in the same exact behavior that lead to rage at Don Imus. Nobody on stage wanted to take responsibility for the systematic dehumanization of black women in black pop culture, or the plethora of negative images some hip hop recreates.
On many "urban" radio stations and in music videos seen around the world, black artists say much worse than what Imus said. Not only that, but corporate America is incredibly comfortable with associating with black artists who degrade and dehumanize black women as a matter of course, giving them millions in endorsements. You can't get a hit record as a hip hop artist without throwing in ubiquitous references to bitches, hos and various other insulting euphemisms for black women. People like Flavor Flav engage in Sambo-like minstrelsy continually. We make and support these images all the time.
Yet we don't rage. We don't protest. We don't demand that this be stopped. We don't insist that corporations refuse to hand over our dollars to these "artists." But the first time someone outside of the black community appears to engage in the same behavior, we cry foul. Why? How were they to know this wasn't acceptable, when every single day we reward black people who engage in promoting the same imagery?
Am I saying that it's okay? No. But after four years of calling black people out on their own crap, their misogyny and their anti-black woman bigotry, it is hard for me to muster up outrage when corporate America takes our lead. In other words, we need to sweep around our own front door.
As long as we turn a blind eye to the minstrelsy and misogyny that the black community directs at black women and men on a daily and UNRELENTING basis, we have no moral authority to call out anybody for mimicking us in an unfavorable fashion.
Gina McCauley is the CEO of the Blogging While Brown Conferenceand the blogsMichelle Obama Watch and What About Our Daughters. She is currently completing her first book, 'Michelle Obama Watch.'
Comments: (76)
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By: tonya schofield on 12/15/2010 2:54PM
I agree with Gina McCauley in her argument that African-Americans degrade one another and turn around and get upset when another race does the same! There is a gross disrespect towards women in the hip-hop culture. Moreover, not to mention our African-American female artists who willfully subject themselves to purport the image of being loose; half clothed with seductive lyrics. We really need to address the fact that we need a revamping of our moral fiber in African-American communities throughout our nation.
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By: AL on 12/15/2010 3:43PM
I think I saw an image of a dog in my toast too.
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By: aintgreenwitcha on 12/15/2010 3:53PM
Sorry...Can't see it.
Just makes me want some white cake, chocolate frosted cupcakes.
Yawn, stretchhhhh, yawn. ZZZzzz.
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By: renae on 12/15/2010 9:47PM
yes they do, BUT that does not give white ppl, or any other race to get the notion to do it. it's all in the movies and books, and everywhere how whites call the blacks the n word, but what it's good cause it's only a movie NOOOOOO!!!!!!.
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By: David on 12/16/2010 8:03AM
I agree we as black men AND women need to address how we portray our own people. Unfortunately this writer turn this into a "attack on black women" victim story. It's not just black women who are the victims of this.
There is a cottage industry of books about abuse written by black feminist writers have become the easiest way to promote the dehumanization of black men more so than the worst gangster rap. There are magazines (Essence) plays, movies (for colored girls) TV shows (Oprah) that portray black men as the boogeyman for profit by BLACK WOMEN and some black men (Tyler Perry, Lee Daniels). MOST OF THE RACIST NEGATIVE IMAGINES WE SEE TODAY ARE DIRECTED AT BLACK MEN NOT BLACK WOMEN.
To use Oprah as a example of exposing this is laughable when many black men have accuse her of using her show to do nothing more than bash black men and conveniently use us as the poster boy for misogyny to her white middle class audience. Oprah who's basically a racial stereotype herself (mammy) racially profiled young black males and banned them from her show. If she had done the same thing to white Jewish men who run the misogynist racist Hollywood film studios she would have been taken off the air faster than you can say Rich Sanchez.
This writer should take a deeper look not just at black men and whites who dehumanize us but BLACK WOMEN as well.
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By: MzAnd on 12/16/2010 8:54PM
We can find racism in anything. It was chocolate glaze on the cupcake. The pink lips were undoubtedly chosen because that color stood out better to the dark color. I was not offended. As for the State Farm commercial, I was not offended. Why is it wrong when people play up certain characters when it is true. The female sounded intelligent to me. I listened to her enunciate. It isn't that ever black women is like that, but there is that type. There is the type that hates her race, there is the type that is truly educated and you can tell when she talks, there is the type that wants nothing but hand outs in life, there is the type that sleeps around, and there are many more. However, this sounds like every race to me. Had the women been hispanic, no one would have thought there was any negative connotation. As for hip hop music, I've said it once and I will say it again, "These men speak of women who do exactly what they say they do in those songs. Every women is not a queen and does not deserve to be treated as so. If you are nothing like the women they speak of, you should have no problem. I know plenty of hoes myself. She sleeps with any man whether for money or not. She is a walking STD pamphlet. She has no self-respect and neither do the women in those lyrics. If we want them to stop saying these things, we need to stop doing these things. Many rappers speak of a life they live. If extremely loss women did not exist, this would only be fantasy. I have to be truthful about the way some women can be. Look at Supahead, and she made millions off of being trifling." Yes we were mad at Imus because that was uncalled for as it related to some educated, talented women for whom he had no information about their sexual lives. Had he spoken of Trina, Lil Kim, or Nicki Minaj, I would have just laughed. Even if they are nothing like the way they portray themselves in their music, they themselves find it okay to put themselves out there like that, and I cannot be mad if they are treated like so. Let's pull the race card when it is truly needed, and I do not see commercials (and these in particular) as a reason to pull it. We should be able to laugh at ourselves at times; and if we look at something that makes us embarassed when someone else points it out, then we should work to change it.
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By: emalekev on 12/18/2010 9:00PM
I agree with you. But that still doesn't give the right for these products to put these stereotypical images of the black race out there, for everybody to look at and make fun of us with.
The first moment i saw that State Farm commercial I was like why they have to have the black woman acting like Sha ne ne from "Martin"...With her "Oh no!!!!!!!!! Oh Noooo!!!!!!". Racist & stereo typical ads geared toward ignorant black people to make them buy there product & ads. But yet no blacks on the Tv shows that use the advertisement income.......
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By: Ahnree on 12/19/2010 3:19PM
I totally agree with you about the revamping. We have seen it on a small scale with our Mary J. Blige, Salt N Peppa and people that have tried to revamp their image, even Janet Jackson. And it isn't so much because they are older, it's because I feel that they have matured. They still have the bodies to dress provocatively and older women are seen as more sensual these days anyway. But they have let loose of their BAD GURL images and become recognized as business women. Then we have always had some black female entertainters who have stuck to their guns. So I think there is still hope for our black communities with talent cleaning up their acts a little.
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By: petmke on 12/15/2010 3:53PM
I just don't get anymore Black people. we cannot be upset when are doing the same exact thing to each other. If we want to be treated differently, we have to stop denigrate each other from music or so-called Hip hip culture we adopt.
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By: Katnip on 12/16/2010 7:33AM
Let me ask you, what about the Black people who don't like being degraded and believe me I do not like the "N" word being used by blacks or any one else. U C I come from an era where that word meant nothing "Good". So please don't forget about us.
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