Whiteface (performance) explained

Whiteface is a type of performance in which a dark person uses makeup in order to appear white-skinned.^[1] The term is a reversal of the form of performance known as blackface, in which makeup was used by a performer to make themselves look like a black person, usually to portray a stereotype. Whiteface performances originated in the 19th century, and today still occasionally appear in films. Modern usages of whiteface can be contrasted with blackface in contemporary art.

History

The earliest use of the term, noted by the Oxford English Dictionary, is from the New York Clipper in 1870, informing readers that William "Joe" Murphy has given up minstrelsy to "appear on the legitimate boards in white face."^{[2] [3]}

By 1908, actor Dooley Wilson had earned his nickname for his whiteface impersonation of an Irishman singing a song called "Mr. Dooley".^[4]

The OED also lists a 1947 reference to the black actor Canada Lee performing the role of Bosola in The Duchess of Malfi in whiteface.

Examples

• The 1970 film Watermelon Man begins with Godfrey Cambridge playing a whiteface character, who then wakes up one morning to find himself to be black.^[5]
• Eddie Murphy performed in whiteface on Saturday Night Live in the 1980s, and appeared in whiteface for minor characters in the films Coming to America, Vampire in Brooklyn and The Nutty Professor.^[6]
• The 2006 FX reality television show Black. White. had two families realistically portrayed via makeup as another race: One in blackface, the other in whiteface.^[7]
• To promote his new album "White People Party Music", Nick Cannon portrayed a character of European descent named Connor Smallnut.^[8]
• In the 2004 film White Chicks, Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans play two FBI agents who go undercover as young white women by using whiteface.^[9]

Comparison to blackface

Blackface is widely considered racist due to its traceable racial links to slavery and racial segregation.^[10] For this reason, blackface is heavily condemned in modern art forms, while whiteface is occasionally employed in modern times, usually in a comedic context. Those who defend it as art differentiate it from blackface, often arguing that whiteface does not draw on a legacy of racism in the way that blackface does, hence arguing that the intended satire of white lifestyles is not racist.^[11]

References

1. News: Nick Cannon Wears Whiteface, Sparks Internet Debate. Hilary Miller. HuffPost. 2020-06-21. 24 March 2014.
2. Encyclopedia: 2015 . white-face . 3 . sense 4 . The Oxford English Dictionary.
3. News: 16 April 1870 . Negro Minstrelsy . New York Clipper .
4. Book: Harmetz, Aljean . Round Up the Usual Suspects: The Making of Casablanca—Bogart, Bergman, and World War II . November 26, 1992 . . 978-1562829414 . New York . 143 . Aljean Harmetz . registration.
5. Web site: Race Representations in Watermelon Man . 20 July 2020 . Washington University.
6. Book: Comedy and the Politics of Representation: Mocking the Weak . 27 July 2018 . Springer . 9783319905068 . Davies . Helen . 87 . 20 July 2020 . Ilott . Sarah.
7. News: McFarland . Melanie . 6 March 2006 . On TV: 'Black. White.' is uncomfortable, revealing reality TV . Seattle Post-Intelligencer . 6 July 2015.
8. News: Lewis . Hilary . 31 March 2014 . Nick Cannon on 'Whiteface' Controversy: 'I Was Doing a Character Impression; Blackface Is About Oppression' (Video) . . 16 July 2021.
9. Web site: Weston . Christopher . 2020-06-10 . Does White Chicks Have A Future On Netflix? Little Britain Removal Sparks Wider Debate On Race! . HITC.com.
10. Web site: Don't get what's wrong with blackface? Here's why it's so offensive.. Desmond-Harris. Jenée. October 29, 2014. Vox. https://web.archive.org/web/20190523182549/https://www.vox.com/2014/10/29/7089591/why-is-blackface-offensive-halloween-costume. May 23, 2019. live. January 10, 2019.
11. Web site: Hannaham. James. Beyond the Pale. New York Magazine. 28 June 2004.

Further reading

• Marvin McAllister, Whiting Up: Whiteface Minstrels and Stage Europeans in African American Performance, Univ of North Carolina Press, 2011,