Whiteface in Whitechicks is not racist

Racism Score: 0.0

White Chicks sparked a “racist” debate on Twitter a few months ago. The premise of the movie is that two Black detectives go undercover as, white chicks. The made-up concern people are curious about is whiteface. Should whiteface be considered inappropriate and racist? The simple subjective answer is, no.

People were trying to debate that White Chicks, a film directed by Shawn and Marlon Wayans is racist against white people. The Wayans brothers spend most of the movie interacting with one another as their normal selves. The intent is to fit it in in their environment to prevent rich white girls from being kidnapped. It is a not a film that spends any time dehumanizing or denigrating white people.

Whiteface does not even have a history of denigrating and dehumanizing behavior like blackface. Is there a double standard? A double standard only exists if someone believes white people should be able to use blackface. If you think blackface should still be used even with the atrocious history, then there is a double standard.

Our recommendation to white people is to not die on this hill. The unfounded perceived whiteface insensitivity can be argued at length but in the grand scheme of race relations, whiteface in White Chicks is not racist. We encourage people to truly understand the history of blackface before standing on a soapbox to share how unfair it is for Black people to use whiteface.