Thursday, April 23, 2009

Sometimes a picture isn't worth a thousand words.

*
I swear I must be getting soft in my old age. Or maybe racism is getting too fast for me to try and chase.

A friend of mine sent me the pic you are looking *at and he wanted to know if I saw the racism in it. "Field, this is some bullshit! Somebody has to put these designers in check, they think it's cool and chic to play on people's racial anxieties." Now, I love my people, I really do, and I know that the person who sent me the pic is reading this. But I have to be honest, my first impression of the pic was I see a pretty sister (although she could use some food) holding a little white baby. Period. I didn't see the racial stereotype of the domestic helper mammy/Aunt Jamima type being played out, and I didn't see the black woman embracing the white child and abandoning her own. (These are some of the messages that my frantic friend was getting from the pic.)

Nope, I didn't see any of that. Maybe living in the age of O has caused my racial radar to lose some of its power. Or maybe I am giving Michael Kors a pass because I like his shirts. Whatever it is, it's causing me to say no on this one.

Sorry, get back to me when you see a cover like this and then we can talk.


121 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yup. What Field said. And Michael Kors is the only "big" designer who isn't talking to The First Lady's hand. He's most certainly HYPED about Black women (now)! LOL!

Gua said...

No, I dion't see it either Field. I think that they were trying to be inclusive not racist. There isn't always a C-o-n-spiracy behind everything.

Rudy said...

Yeah, I don't see any racism or subliminal racial messages. This isn't tantamount to the Lebron James/Gisele Bündchen photo.

Unknown said...

I think this is the only time in my life I wish I was a white baby...

Anonymous said...

I think it's symbolic for Mother Gaia nursing and nurturing the capitalistic rogues back to a more pure state. Of maybe I need to back off on the medical mj.

szpork

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

szpork:

LOL!

Anonymous said...

runescape money We never rest so that we can offer you the best. We're here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Get the most out of your game time and level with the best!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I don't see it either. The Lebron James cover was pretty obvious, but if there are any racist tones in this one they must be really subtle because I don't see it.

field negro said...

"I think this is the only time in my life I wish I was a white baby..."

Now see....

Actually Rudy, I wasn't sure about Vogue and the LeBron cover.

Kellybelle said...

I see it a little. I mean anytime you have a Black woman holding a white baby, you know she didn't give birth to it and she didn't adopt it, since there is a shortage of white babies for adoption. So it smacks of nanny/mammy/caretaker/Secret Life of Bees/ Member of the Wedding/Corinna, Corinna. A little.

rikyrah said...

If the woman was heavier, it would feed into the Mammy stereotype. This is on the edge, FN, but I'd tip away from racist.

Dr. Nuwang said...

The biggest problem I have is that most people don't seem to understand that thanks to genetic admixture, it's not outside of the realm of possibility for a Black women to have a baby that only appears to be white.

Come on ya'll, not everyone with white skin and blue eyes is white!

friends of ron mexico said...

Oh lawd help me.This picture is racist!!!After i post this i'm on the phone with Rev. Al.


This picture is clearly meant to be a message to black women.
That message is--

"Its ok to have whitey's baby"

Dat sh*t ain't right.The only thing a white man gone do for a sista is put her stage poll dancing and make her do interracial pornography films.

Leave dat white devil alone !!

Anonymous said...

Um, I don't see a watch. What's the problem? (j/k)

Anonymous said...

In all seriousness, I don't see anything wrong but what do I know? I'm not up on what Kellybelle is saying, so I'm here to listen to both sides of this.

Hathor said...

My first thought was a play on Madonna and Angelina Jolie's adoptions. Thank Christopher Chambers for that!

Anonymous said...

I think they might have been going after the coolness aspect of casual race mixing, like Benetton. Ads are never innocent; there is a reason, but I think a hint at racism would just lose you sales wouldn't it? Anyway, when I looked at the pic, I hadn't really read the post through, and I didn't get anything but two beautiful things, like a flower in a vase. I did feel a little niggle when it was said that the model needed food. I'm pretty lean, and have dealt with people feeling it's perfectly ok to call me names and say I should eat more, even through adult life, which now just makes me feel embarrassed for the speaker. If the model was on the other side of the weight scale, would the reference still be thrown in casually like that?

PS- Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

grinder said...

Skinny black model holding white baby. People are upset? Must be a slow news day.

Anonymous said...

Must be a kidnapping....

Renee said...

Anytime you have a black woman and a white child there is always the suggestion of racism. The mammy/wetnurse stereotype is just to long lasting for that not to appear in the thought pattern.

James C. Collier said...

Not sure what it means, but my first thought was that baby's daddy is really, really, white!!

Susan Gray said...

I am not sure if the intent is to be edgy or just upset the resident racists in the world, but I am sure the ad was not accidental. My only comment to Kellybelle is that there are lots of white babies taken away from their crack-smoking, neglectful/abusive moms where I live. I know...we see them in the public school as soon as they turn 3 yrs old. They have usually been "in the system" for a few years. However, these are not usually the kinds of white babies most people are looking for.

Bob said...

That juxtiposition is there for one reason only: to grab attention for a product. It is coldly calculated. Any sentiment is entirely in the mind of the beholder. It aims at a young, middle class professional, like a school teacher, someone with a Toyota or Hyundai with the full package, trying to look claasy on a budget, willing to splurge a little bit at a mall store like Macy's or Nordstrom's.

Anonymous said...

That baby has a good looking watch!

B#

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Okay, could this be it?

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE TIME IN OUR LIFE...
IT'S ABOUT THE LIFE IN OUR TIME.

Anonymous said...

"Skinny black model holding white baby. People are upset? Must be a slow news day."

LOL!

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

I don't get it.

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

I'm going to bed. Night everyone!

Javier said...

My only gripe and I don't think anyone brought it up yet (but I did get lazy reading), but why'd they cut off the model's head?

Baby's not wearing Michael Kors unless they're starting a new diaper line. Model's body clearly isn't the focus of this picture. Is the picture too artistic for this neanderthal? What gives?

Javier said...

All that for a silly watch?

I could think of a dozen better ideas than this that aren't vague in their attempts at inclusiveness.

Where's the Boriqua standing behind mami with his arms around her waist?

Maybe they should have really stirred the pot and put a khimar on her. Muslim woman wearing nothing but a head dress, Michael Kors watch and a lily white baby.

Anonymous said...

greetings from a yardie
just wanted to drop a line about condi rice and the reports being published that in 2002 she gave verbal agreement to torture.....well since i remember you wrote a satirical flattering article about
condi i hope you mention this....writing golf stories and trying to drive down the celebrity highway..passsing yourself off as one of the more"likeable" figures of the bush administration asking that $150 00o0 speaking fee all the time knowing youu let agreed to people being tortured in despicable ways and trying also to slip that ast hearing committees...she needs to be called out onthat

Mr. Noface said...

Yeah, at face value it's just a hot chick holding a happy baby.

Anonymous said...

People want to be pissed about something in this world. So, I guess the sender of this picture is angry they used a Black model to hold a white baby.

Would there be no complaint had she been holding a Black baby?

Complaints about stupid ads like this is why some people do not like to use Black models. Because some one in our race will start bitching about how the model is being used. For me to have a problem with this photo is on the same level as saying "God is racist for making the Clouds White?" Why could Jesus make Black Clouds?" blah, blah, blah....Racist never ends.

nyc/caribbean ragazza said...

Nope don't see it.

I hold my white friends' babies all the time. And if someone passing by wants to think I'm the nanny, that's on them.

Anonymous said...

Didn't see it either, at first glance I thought it was some kind of planned parent ad. I'm with you on this one.

Jody said...

I see it more as a gender than race... The baby is fully present, the woman is not. Only her body, nude, matters.... not her head. It would have been a different message if the woman's face was shown.... but then it would evoke more "mother" than sexualized body.... But even at that, obviously they were going for a stylelized arty pic.... Certainly not even close to some of the more offensive sexist ads I have seen.

Anonymous said...

My VERY Black brother and his wife are presently raising a VERY white baby boy who is in the foster care system. My VERY Black colleague gave birth to a VERY white-looking son. Don't say what's impossible when it comes to race.

Anonymous said...

what a dumbass iam...lol i had to go back and look a second time...didn't see the baby!!!!

lincolnperry said...

Naw, you are overreaching on this one field, its just provocative ad similiar to what Benneton and Kenneth Cole were doing in the 80s and 90s!

Antonio said...

I don't see it. Not every black woman with a white child is a mammy. What would the reaction be if the child was black and the woman was white?

Once I saw an ad at Sears featuring an overweight, middle-aged black man holding a white baby. Anyone care to dissect that?

field negro said...

Lincoln Perry you are preaching to the choir, I agree with you.

Yawdie I hear ya about Condi.I might have to start rethinking my position on my girl.

Antonio,I am not sure what the reaction would be if we flipped th script,I am guessing that it might not have made difference.

My question to you about the Sears ad is what were they selling? Cause if it was clothes they would have lost me right there. :)

Georgia's Angels said...

When i think that 50 years ago, my mother would not buy me a doll (Tiny Thumblina), because she said the only colored woman walking around with a white baby in her arms is a nanny.Then she asked me if a wanted to be a nanny. I didn't know what a nanny was, but i didn't get the doll never played with a white doll. I guess that what forceed the industry to make black dolls she wasn't the only woman that felt that way. maybe i'm too old i don't the message, when i think of a nanny buying that watch i think of the old jordache Jean commercial"When i get paid i buy my Jordache Jeans and then i pay the rent.In the world of social services where i worked for the past 30 years i've seen many homeless people in designer clothing.

ch555x said...

Contrasts in skin tone's all I'm seeing. I don't bother with faux-racist suggestions like the LeBron/Gisele cover. Speaking of which, if you were to look inside that particular issue, you'd find other suggestive images...

Rudy said...

Speaking of white baby dolls and black girls, why do some people purchase white baby dolls for black girls.

My mother-in-law purchased a white baby doll, for my daughter. After she went home, I threw the doll in the trash. Further, my daughter has one doll and its ethnic looking. She has over 10 times more books and puzzles at 2.5 years of age.

Why train a little black girl's brain with such a thing? Give her something mentally stimulating like a puzzle.

Birdy said...

meh, I don't see any racist under/overtones either... just a beautiful woman and baby... you think he may be showing this to illustrate how we're in a supposed "post racial" society in which a black woman with a white baby in an ad is supposed to be sooo blase?

false1 said...

I might not call the ad racist but it probably fits more within the label of cultural imperialism. Whereas white folk, once again, define the meaning of black and white and how we should relate.

I've noticed that a lot of advertising uses mixed race couples now. Usually a white man with a black woman, or a white man with an asian woman. In fact if I was an asian guy I'd be a little upset because asian women are the soup de jure right now while asian men are damn near invisible in the media. And if not invisible, they're certainly not bedding any hot white chicks James Bond style in the movies.

So we've gone from a situation where whites would lynch a brother for looking at a white woman in the wrong way to a situation where black men take flak if they state a preference for their own, or if they admit that they hope their sons and daughters marry black.

The complexion of the models were well thought out in this ad, as is the fact that the black model is essentially faceless. these ad guys are highly skilled in working the subliminals. There is certainly a mammy overtone, a new post-racial 21st century America version. How can anyone who knows our history not see that?

Not that we should call Rev. Sharpton over this but we should keep in mind who currently controls the racial conversation.

Meyer_Lansky said...

Well Jewish men do love black women so...

alicia banks said...

i see it

imagine the reverse:
an emaciated white female holding a black baby

new mammy redux v. new obama mamas

see?

peace
ab

Rudy said...

If there were a mammy overtone, wouldn't the model be corpulent instead of svelte?

Anonymous said...

I think the ad is making a very clear statement...

It just isn't racist.

The baby probably isn't biologically hers.

But at the rate of interracial intermarriage in this country coupled with the divorce rate...

This situation isn't that uncommon.

Besides - if you can't love a baby - you can't love anyone.

Julia said...

I don't see racist, but I do see a bit of "here we are in post-racial America" (It's about the life in our time...)and a bit of "now that we're in post-racial America, race is simply an accessory": as in, black woman accessorizes her look with Michael Kors watch and white baby. I dunno, maybe I'm reaching...

I can't blame your friend, though. Something about it rubs me wrong.

Dr. Nuwang said...

Rudy said...
My mother-in-law purchased a white baby doll, for my daughter. After she went home, I threw the doll in the trash. Further, my daughter has one doll and its ethnic looking. She has over 10 times more books and puzzles at 2.5 years of age.
___________________________________

My dauther has dolls of all races (though mainly brown ones) because at the chid of genetically multiracial parents, I feel that's appropriate.

I will admit though, when she was younger and wanted to take her dolls out in public, ONLY the brown ones cold go, LOL!!

As for puzzles, I think those are great for young kids and I'd encourage you to get the ones with lots of pieces even for small children. I'm convined that the puzzle foundation we laid for our daughter contributed greatly to our now gifted and talented middle school honor roll student, who's on HER way to Engineering camp this summer!

B# said...

Granny said,
"Okay, could this be it?

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE TIME IN OUR LIFE...
IT'S ABOUT THE LIFE IN OUR TIME."

Yes, Granny...that is it. "Be Unique"- is the theme of the message. The subliminal message is, "Your life can be 'unique' and 'different' with a Michael Kors watch."

Anonymous said...

I see it more as a gender than race... The baby is fully present, the woman is not. Only her body, nude, matters.... not her head. It would have been a different message if the woman's face was shown.... but then it would evoke more "mother" than sexualized bodyAgree. I do not think that this is march-in-the-streets objectionable. But I think this juxtaposition was purposeful--everything from the way that she is holding tha baby t the fact that she is nude and faceless is meant to provoke a response. What response? That's the question.

Interesting that many od us can break down an image that plays on Black male sexual objectification (e.g., the James "King Kong"-ish cover) but are less able to read subtle clues with Black female objectification...

EzMun said...

Field,
I'm with you. I think the picture is a bit odd, but I don't see the overt racist overtones that your friend saw.

Rudy said...

FlyInMy40s,

I have gotten her puzzles from "Melissa and Doug" and "The Learning Journey International."

What puzzles did you purchase for your child at her various stages of adolescence?

alicia banks said...

redux = new mammy

and

all of massa's concubine were not obese...

fyi
ab

allheavens said...

postpostracial said...
I do not think that this is march-in-the-streets objectionable. But I think this juxtaposition was purposeful--everything from the way that she is holding tha baby t the fact that she is nude and faceless is meant to provoke a response. What response? That's the question.

I think it's, "Buy my overpriced watch."

LISA VAZQUEZ said...

Hey there Field!

Good dialogue on this photo!

By not showing the face of the woman, this woman has her personhood taken in this image... only her FUNCTION is noted...

The baby's face and body is shown.

Let me ask you... when do you see an ad with a white baby and a white woman with the woman's face not shown??

Hmmmmm.....

Sharon from WI said...

see it a little. I mean anytime you have a Black woman holding a white baby, you know she didn't give birth to it and she didn't adopt it, since there is a shortage of white babies for adoption. So it smacks of nanny/mammy/caretaker/Secret Life of Bees/ Member of the Wedding/Corinna, Corinna. A little.
I beg to differ. BF has two daughters from a previous marriage, if either one of them has a child, you would certainly see me holding it.

And I am nobody's Corrina or nanny. :-)

Sharon from WI said...

I hold my white friends' babies all the time. And if someone passing by wants to think I'm the nanny, that's on them.<<

Exactly!!

Added to say to a previous poster--it is the model who is wearing the watch, not the baby.

Anonymous said...

benneton was doing ads like this 25 years ago.......so the cry babies screaming 'race' are a bit dated HAHAHAHAHAHA

Dr. Nuwang said...

Apparently not many people on this blog have white friends? How pathetically sad to claim to be so open minded and liberal yet be close minded when it comes to interpersonal relationships. Well, maybe none of you want to be that "token" Black friend, LOL??

Rudy, send me an email and I'll give you more info!

Anonymous said...

"God is racist for making the Clouds White?" Why could Jesus make Black Clouds?"


He does make black clouds. It usually means some very bad weather.

Sharon from WI said...

Anonymous:benneton was doing ads like this 25 years ago.......so the cry babies screaming 'race' are a bit dated HAHAHAHAHAHABefore I noticed the Michael Kors reference, I thought it was a Benneton ad.

alicia banks said...

i adored those benneton ads...

i am 45 and i remember them well

but

i also recall that they usually featured humans as art...equivalently placed/staged/posed politically etc...

this ad posted herein is incomparable and inferior...
as
those ads were more rainbows than redux servants/nurses/mammies etc

peace
ab

Rudy said...

Okay FlyNMy40s,

You got mail.

Antonio said...

http://www.newsweek.com/id/194886

I saw this on MSN and thought it was relevant to the discussion.

La♥audiobooks said...

I fully agree with Kellybelle and Alicia...


But you know what annoyed me... the black males who only see this as "having whitey's baby"...

Typical for their kind, it always has to be about "the po victimized black-manhood".

(Giving the "friend of ron mexico" the finger.)

La♥audiobooks said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
La♥audiobooks said...

I'm looking at the photo and reading the caption again and I'm really seeing the racist undertone in it. BTW Field, I'm not shock you didn't see the racism in this. You didn't even see it with the LeBron photo... Black Ape "conquering" precious lily white woman to the nearest sky scraper.. or dark alley (she even looks like she's trying to get away from him).

I do think your chasing racism skills are going bad. Maybe you need to hurry do that naked run to whip you back in shape.. body and mind. :)

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

I still don't see it, and I think the baby is a cute little fellow. Granny loves kids, especially, babies. I dunno on this one, I really don't get it. Therefore, I think I'll continue to sit this one out.

Anonymous said...

Y'all Borin as Hell...Tell me about Yo Sixers Dog!!!!!
Why the hell aren't they playin Iverson????

Frank

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Frank:

Granny would talk to you about sports, but I'm not really into sports. I like to watch basketball but I don't get into all the little details sport's fans are into. Therefore, I wouldn't be able to add to any sports convo. I guess one of the males on here will catch on and talk to you about sports soon. Keep trying and don't give up.

Hathor said...

Someone here had mentioned a little while ago and I saw it the first time yesterday. An ad to be upset about; The Burger King Square Booty TV Ad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gMZ62PsvRM
Pretty salacious for children, since it begins with Sponge Bob Square Pants. I think we should be upset about that ad.

Jody said...

Frank,.... Iverson hasn't played for the sixers for several years now... He plays for Denver. I guess those max prison televisions don't keep you up to date.....

Anonymous said...

My first reaction was the position of the woman's arm. It looks like she is starting to strangle the baby.

She is a surrogate, not a mammy. That is why the head is missing.
There has been a trend in recent years for SWPL females to go overseas and get poor women to surrogate their fertilized eggs.

More and more couples finding surrogates in India
The Switzers, awaiting twins, found India to be a cheap, secure alternative
By Mike Celizic
TODAYShow.com contributor
updated 10:58 a.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 20, 2008

It symbolizes the start of designer babies, birthed by "mother's" with no genetic connection.

I find it troubling.

Amanda said...

Jody - AI has also left Denver. To where I am unsure...oh wait the great oracle (google) says Detroit.

The photo, hmmm. I do wish it was showing the sister's face and not just her naked mid-section.

B# said...

Frank and Jody,

I believe Iverson recently was traded to Detroit.

field negro said...

Why are you all even entertaining Frank? I am sure he knows that AI is in Detroit. (Or was until he got benched) Frank is just being...well Frank.

Antonio, I am aware of that Newsweek story, and I almost blogged about it tonight. It's interesting to say the least.

metricpenny said...

Don't think it's racist. But I also think it misses the mark.

My eye was first drawn to the watch and the baby. Then I glanced left to see what the message stated.

"It's about the life in our time." To depict this for 2009, the model should be white and the baby black.

With that combination it covers the "our time" = "time of Obama" (white mother/black child) vs the image of the past (black woman takes care of white child).

Don't matter to me anyway. $180 for a watch in this economy?

Hank Nasty said...

I gotta say that along with some of the other commenters, I'm a little disappointed with the "(although she could use some food)" aside that described the model. I'm married to a lean, athletic sister who has heard that her whole life (and continues to), and its borderline offensive. I guess what's most troubling is that the comment subtly links "thickness" or being full-figured with being a beautiful black woman. Black women generally have a hard enough time being recognized for their beauty; we need to do all we can as black men to affirm them.

Field, I know you didn't intend any harm, but I'm just throwing my $0.02 in.

BTW, there's absolutely nothing racially disturbing about that photo, unless you're a "White Power" acolyte who's afraid of the "browning" of America, of maybe that one day dark-skinned people will start kidnapping white babies to enculturate them, a reversal of what white Australians did to aboriginees in the mid 20th century.

jafrique said...

Hathor said: Someone here had mentioned a little while ago and I saw it the first time yesterday. An ad to be upset about; The Burger King Square Booty TV Ad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gMZ62PsvRM
Pretty salacious for children, since it begins with Sponge Bob Square Pants. I think we should be upset about that ad.
I have seen that ad, and I'm surprised it's still on air! It's just SO WRONG

Dr. Nuwang said...

Hank Nasty said...
I'm married to a lean, athletic sister who has heard that her whole life (and continues to), and its borderline offensive..... we need to do all we can as black men to affirm them.
___________________________________

I'm a size 8 (with "back") and get asked if I'm hungry every time I visist my soutern relatives in the deep South.

In high school I was a size 4 (with very little "back"), attended an all Black urban high school and was on the majorette squad. Besides having to special order my uniform (the available sizes were medium, large, and extra large), I've heard every kind of chicken leg hungry joke on the planet, LOL.

Yeah, I'd say Black folks need to check thier standard of beauty. OTOH, slim black women are blessed in some very distinct areas, and I'm sure you're quite familiar with what I'm talking about, LOL!!

Anonymous said...

Field, you and all these people who "don't see it" are blind. It's blatant and disgusting.

So what are you people trying to say, that only fat black women are mammies? If the model had 100 extra pounds, then of course it would be racist?

Yall are demonstrating not only racism but weightism.

Anonymous said...

A little off topic, but does anyone remember a commercial in the 80's for, I believe, a sugarless gum (Dentyne? Trident? Carefree?) The commercial showed several young people whispering in each others ears, like playing telephone--leaning in very close. There was one Black person in the commercial, and when he leaned in to whisper in a White girl's ear, he stayed about about a foot away. He was the only one who did this in the commercial; everyone else (all the White folks) whispered directly into another person's ear. I remember at the time being so offended by the commercial, but no one seems to remember it but me.

Anybody?

AF

GrannyStandingforTruth said...

Szpork:

Okay, will do and thanks.

field negro said...

Saw that Burger King ad. and I don't have kids, but if I did, I would find it soooo offensive. That whole baby got back thing is....well, I will leave that alone for now.

Hank Nasty, I didn't mean to offend. (My apologies to your wife, who I am sure is a beautiful woman)but size, as you know, is just a matter of personal taste. All sisters are beautiful.

AF, I think I remember that commercial, but I don't even remember a black person being in it. Still, what you say doesn't surprise me.

Sharon from WI said...

I took Field's remarks (she could use some food)as a criticism of models in general, not thin or petite black women. But that's just me. :-)

field negro said...

Sharon, you are right, I did mean to snap on the anorexic culture of models. But hey, some people love the size 2's, so again; I stand corrected.

Anonymous said...

OK, I see Iverson DID get traded to Denver...
Y'all do look the same y'know...
Nothing racial, I know y'all have the same problems with us..

Anonymous said...

I remember the gum commercial. I was offended and i'm white. I've always been annoyed at advertising that sets up racial barriers. If you live in the US of A...you're a consumer no matter what your race, religion or gender. Or age.
I'm not sure what the Kors ad people were trying to state here, other than getting ATTENTION. But, the picture didn't make me blink in any way. After all, my black sister-in-law held and played with my son and my daughter all the time. Duh, the reality is that in 2009 we have a lot more interracial marriages, friendships, neighborhoods, dormitories, sororities, etc. We have a long way to go to erase the suspicion, stereotyping and just plain dumb ass attitudes, but I'm hopeful when I see a group of kids playing together and they're not dividing themselves on the playground along racial lines.

Anonymous said...

Anon@11:04 - At last--someone who remembers what I'm talking about, here. There are numerous places online to look up old commercials, but I can't find this one anywhere. If you remember the brand of gum, let me know---

Thanks again!

AF

Seda said...

Shoot, when I saw it, I thought, "Cool. We're finally getting images of black people adopting white babies. And why not? Makes as much sense as all the white folks I see who adopt black babies."

Guess that shows my own stuff. 'Cause you're right, Field, it's just a pretty black woman holding a cute white baby. An indication of closeness and trust, sure, but so what? There are so many negative images out there, but I don't find anything negative in this one. But then, we all read into the images we see the assumptions of our own lives.

Anonymous said...

how about beautiful black skin on beautiful white skin

La♥audiobooks said...

Seda, I would prefer black couples to adopt black babies... only because there are more unwanted black children that have a higher risk of not ever being adopted compared to white orphaned children.

I don't have a problem with white people adopting black children, I just sometimes question the motives for some. I also get concerned about the "white perspective life lessons" they will likely pass on to that black child. Another reason for that same black child to act the ass around other black people who grow up differently and rightfully see things differently.

La♥audiobooks said...

Field, why the apology... being too thin is much more accepted in this society anyhow (what's up with the offended feelings all of a sudden). I doubt Hank was going to get offended if you had to call her out for being overweight if she was.

Right now I'm trying to keep my daughter from looking like an anorexic bean pole, that's not healthy either.

Seda said...

La--, I hear ya, and you make a good point.

What I find interesting is the connections I made in my own mind, my own assumptions - that I read into that image that the woman was supposed to have adopted the child. Other people, with other baggage, read into the same image that the woman is a nanny or hired caregiver. Some people saw racism, others didn't. Everyone read that image through the lens of their own life experience, personal philosophy, and cultural acclimation, and the message comes out differently according to the different backgrounds.

I don't know whether one is more valid than the other; I think there is validity in everyone's viewpoint here. I could see validity in just about every one of them (certain, uh, viewpoints excepted). I understand that I have blindnesses about racism, having grown up white in some of the whitest states in the nation. Hopefully, someone will shine a spotlight on them, and help me to grow.

Anonymous said...

Hell yeah it's racist. I spent 5 years working in the advertising industry, and I live near a suburban northern NJ village near NYC and a lot of the 6-figure income "yuppies" have taken to hiring young black west indian nannies for their babies while they are at work. This advertisement IS depicting the image of the modern day black "mammie." She may not be wearing the Aunt Jemima head rag, and she may not be 400 pounds and she may not have a wide toothy grin, and big dumb looking poppy eyes BUT...it's still a "Mammy" image none the less. Let's not fall asleep on this one black folks... Remember, racism didn't end just because white folks voted Obama into office. They had no other choice. The other candidates were gonna give them more of the same Bush bullshit. Don't fool yourselves..it's just a "Modern Day Mammy" image. zzzzzzzzzzzz Wake up black folks.

Anonymous said...

It's racist. Why couldn't she have been holding a black baby? Because it would not have attracted the same attention. After all, blacks aren't supposed to love their own babies as much as they do white ones. The first thing you notice is that big fat white pink baby. From an advertising standpoint it attracts the reader's attention and keeps the eyes focused on the page then the type, then your eyes go to the watch. Because America has been brainwashed into worshipping the "great white father" this same effect could never be achieved by a black woman caressing her own beautiful black child. There's a subtle subliminal message here.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone bother to read the caption that goes along with the ad? Read the words, comprehend the words, and then look at the picture. For those of you that still don't get it. It's not about HER time it's all about "LITTLE PIGGIES" time. Things that make you go Hmmmmmmmmm! Look again my friends. Look Again! Don't be so BAMBOOZLED!

Chica said...

It's a beautiful pic to me that's all. One never knows what the reason behind it is though and there are different interpretations.

alicia banks said...

seda:

as an educator who sees droves of abused black children cursed by toxic young parents/perpetually in foster care...

it is impossible for me to see blacks adopting whites as anything more than contributing to black abandonment and genocide...

the stats/chances for white children to become adoptees eclipse
those for black children...

fyi
ab

alicia banks said...

la:

ditto!

i see anorexic children daily as an educator...

eating disorders begin at very young ages

but
just as we see few fat white women on tv/film while...and we see only obese black mammies/women on film
...

we are slaves to racist sexist media that censor and control ALL imagery...

most white men exclusively adore anorexic women...even wf celebs lament this sexist abuse...

so emaciated women are depicted as ideal females in all imagery...new jack mammy or no


peace
ab

alicia banks said...

anon:

ditto

racism is no relic

but

obama is a bush clone also...

see more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaQNACwaLw

fyi,
ab

alicia banks said...

jafrique:

the ad is kiddie porn

this is why most kids have 0 innocence these days
and they are appallingly and vulgarly sexual/lewd at age 5...

many new cartoons/"kid" shows make this ad look innocent...

not to mention that the ad has usurped one of the very few tributes to black women within a genre of rap that usually degrades and omits black women most legendarily...

see more:
http://www.geocities.com/ambwww/saartjie.htm

shame
ab

Sharon from WI said...

Kiddie porn? A smiling baby in a diaper is kiddie porn? Now, that's a stretch.

alicia banks said...

sharon:

i was posting about the burger king ad

that is kiddie porn

fyi
ab

Sharon from WI said...

Ah, I see. My bad, as the kids would say.

alicia banks said...

no problem sharon

peace
ab

agentX said...

Y'all trippin.

It's just a nude woman holding a kid. What's more to it than that?

It could be seen as a mammy, it could be seen as a friend of the family, it could be seen as a babysitter- there's more than 10 ways to look at this.

The Bratz dolls and the Burger King ads; now you might have better grounds for a call-out there.

Anonymous said...

i can't believe people can't see the quiet message this sends...maybe its because i'm female that i see it...idk...but its very...VERY, quietly racist

alicia banks said...

ditto!

i sent this ad to a bm and a bf friend who are both married to white spouses and both het...and they agreed with me

they too saw the racism in this ad!

and that made me securely ponder a more accurate caption for this ad:

IT'S NOT ABOUT THE WATCH ON OUR RACISM...IT'S ABOUT WATCHING THE RACISM IN OUR TIME...

fyi
peace
ab

Anonymous said...

You black folks just don't get it.
You just keep doubting the hatin.
YOu had a person in advertising tell you that it's racism. YOu had a person living around the new young West Indian "black mammies" tellin you it's subltle subliminal racism, and ya'll are still looking for excuses to convince yourselves that it isn't. You black folks are still in that river in Egypt called "De Nile" (aka denial).

Anonymous said...

To alicia what the HELL does this have to do with rap music?!! And if you are going to go there on yet another hypocritical whinefest then pick on EVERYBODY who purports negative images of black females and not just rappers.

alicia banks said...

anon:

???

you are an arrogantly ignorant fool

this song is a remake of a classic rap song that praised black women by

sir mixx a lot
"baby got back"

i do not engahe in whinefests

clearly you are the one whining cluelessly herein...

hopefully you will at least glean some info as i am a stellar musicologist and veteran radio dj...


fyi
ab

Kmoney said...

it's racist. a simple google search for old photos of black woman and child (http://beinecke.library.yale.edu/digitallibrary/images/simpson.jpg)will turn up plenty of photos of black slave women sitting in photos with the white child or children they were taking care of. when i saw the ad, at first i didn't get it. then i saw the photos and it clicked.

and i agree: if you have someone in advertising telling you it's racist and another person reminding you that families are still hiring young women of color to take care of their children...anyone remember the controversy over the website devoted to ratting out lazy nannies that only had pictures of young women of color as the nannies? anyone?....then we may want to listen.

just saying...

alicia banks said...

bf:

thank you!

great link
ab

Gemini's Lair said...

What I see with this shit is that white people are trying to get black people to appeal to them. Its nothing more than them elevating their status over the black man and woman because as it stands right now and with the current election they think they are being placed on a lower status. There is always that underline fear that blacks will rise above whites in this country so they must continue to put forth subliminal messages and use psychological warfare on blacks to keep them thinking that they cannot rise above the sun lizards in this country.

Black people have no integrity when it comes to money. They tell themselves that it is ok to place themselves in these kinds of positions because its only a photo, movie, etc and they are getting paid for it. Its the love of the dollar bill that has them degrading themselves and continuously have that free man slave mentality. If they refused to be put into these kinds of positions then perhaps they would gain some kind of respect in the industry and abroad.

The black men holding up the white woman in the picture is offensive. It could of just as well been white men holding her sun lizard ass up. I call them sun lizards because they are forever on the beach all oiled up soaking up the sun.

It also could be that in their eyes "black" sells. Regardless of what the case may be they are some very sick minded people.

Gemini's Lair said...

You can also check out

http://www.foxhound-network.com

The black perspective. Not a politically correct zone.

nezua said...

Hey, there, I was linked here tonight from a friend while we were talking about imagery/race-related uses and such...don't think I've commented here yet, though I've read numerous posts.

I used to live in Irvington for a bit, suburbs of Westchester, I moved there from Brooklyn. The racial makeup creeped me out. I really had to think about where I was and if I wanted to be there. The town was all white, and the brown and black people would come in on the morning trains, and cook, clean, nanny or otherwise all day. And at dusk, they'd get on the train and go back to the Bronx or New York. So maybe I'm a bit sensitized to this nanny thing in that way, I saw it a lot there...or maybe they are tapping into the collective image pool...But either way, to me it evokes the Nanny image.

I don't think whether or not anyone calls it "racist" means much. It doesnt offend me like many images I see, but that's subjective and I don't think my feeling there is more important than your friends' feeling that it *is* offensive.

It's one thing to talk about a Gisele shot that clearly references poses that can be pointed at, and reifies racist roles...and this can't be talked about quite the same way. But from my time working in film/TV, I'd feel safe saying that often people want , in the end, to evoke a reaction—as long as its strong. In marketing. And where do you go for strong reactions? You got taboo places, you go sensitive places, you mess with people's sacred icons. That said, I'm sure they meant to mess a bit, and knew people like your friend would jump up for just that deason, but reasoned it wasn't enough that would negate the spike in notice/sales....

Those are my thoughts on it at least.