Two thoughts on Purple People
Aug. 28th, 2013 09:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
browngirlThis should be a polished essay, but I'm so tired my eyes keep unfocusing, so rather than never writing this down while waiting for the right moment, I've jotted this pair of linked thoughts.
One of the many things I noticed about this trio of splendid cosplayers is that the Princess Bubblegum has not tinted herself the same skin color as the character she's complying, but the others have: PB is pink, and while she's a pretty unnatural pink, still, many real people are various shades of pink. I found myself thinking about the recurring discussion of cosplay and skin color, and that it makes sense to only change one's skin color to one that's not seen among actual people. Painting oneself purple is an obvious costume but painting oneself brown skirts too close to the historical awfulnesses of brown face; presumably, in the Star Trek universe, one might not paint oneself purple anymore and probably won't paint oneself green, since purple and green people are real in that ficton.
There's probably a bunch of sensible essays out there about this -- I've only just begun exploring the world of cosplay. I was just thinking this and thought I'd make a note.
Speaking of sensible essays, I found this essay on "Invoking strangely colored people". Oh, if I had a nickel for every time I've seen someone say something that boils down to "It doesn't matter if you're White or Brown or Purple, if we all stop Talking ABout Race and Ignore It all racism will Go Away..." I could probably make bail if the next time I heard such a statement I went ahead and smacked the person making it. I don't know what I hate more, the idea that POC cause racism by refusing to forget who we are, or the blithe manner in whcih someone who doesn't have to deal with racism declares that because they don't none of us do or should.
[People do this about other forms of bigotry too, but that's another post.]
Ah, purple people. Where's the Purple People Eater?
One of the many things I noticed about this trio of splendid cosplayers is that the Princess Bubblegum has not tinted herself the same skin color as the character she's complying, but the others have: PB is pink, and while she's a pretty unnatural pink, still, many real people are various shades of pink. I found myself thinking about the recurring discussion of cosplay and skin color, and that it makes sense to only change one's skin color to one that's not seen among actual people. Painting oneself purple is an obvious costume but painting oneself brown skirts too close to the historical awfulnesses of brown face; presumably, in the Star Trek universe, one might not paint oneself purple anymore and probably won't paint oneself green, since purple and green people are real in that ficton.
There's probably a bunch of sensible essays out there about this -- I've only just begun exploring the world of cosplay. I was just thinking this and thought I'd make a note.
Speaking of sensible essays, I found this essay on "Invoking strangely colored people". Oh, if I had a nickel for every time I've seen someone say something that boils down to "It doesn't matter if you're White or Brown or Purple, if we all stop Talking ABout Race and Ignore It all racism will Go Away..." I could probably make bail if the next time I heard such a statement I went ahead and smacked the person making it. I don't know what I hate more, the idea that POC cause racism by refusing to forget who we are, or the blithe manner in whcih someone who doesn't have to deal with racism declares that because they don't none of us do or should.
[People do this about other forms of bigotry too, but that's another post.]
Ah, purple people. Where's the Purple People Eater?
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Date: 2013-08-29 01:54 pm (UTC)BUT. I wonder if in a world where racism had been erased - like, theoretically, Star Trek - you could paint your skin a "real" colour without it being problematic?
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Date: 2013-08-29 06:41 pm (UTC)Maybe I'm failing in imagination; it would be nice to have a society deviod of racism long enough for that to work.
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Date: 2013-08-29 09:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-29 07:58 pm (UTC)I’m both left-handed and Jewish. If some right-handed person announced that they were going to spend a day/week/month trying to use their left hand as the dominant hand, I’d be, yeah, whatevs. On the other, er, hand, Christian appropriation of [modern] Jewish religious symbology creeps me out.
I infer that if I lived in a world where left-handed people were the victims of systematic and pervasive discrimination, I would have a stronger reaction to right-handed people pretending to be left-handed.