Gifs and ethnicity / "digital blackface", etc.

dUb

dUb

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I've been wondering about this recently so thought I would raise it here in the Current Affairs & Debate forum

How do we feel about using gifs specifically as white people that depict people of colour? As we all know, there's a whole host of great and popular gifs from reality TV and TV in general that feature Black people but using them has started to feel a bit... I dunno. I'm kind of uneasy about it, and tend to look for alternatives.

Is the right thing to do to vary it, so as not to be relying too heavily on one particular ethnic group? Should I as a white person be just using gifs depicting white people?

Or do you think it's just a case of PC GONE MAD!!!! and a gif is a gif - and use it if it conveys the feeling you're looking for?

(Or should we just ban all gifs forever)

I was going to put a poll but I suspect it might be a bit more nuanced a conversation than that

What do you think?
 
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I’ve noticed that when using personal emojis with people or hands, I just default to the yellow ones. Most of my black and brown friends do actually choose to change them to their closest skin tone, but I’d never bother to change the yellow to the pale/pink ones. I sometimes wonder why that is.

Don’t think I’d use anything other than yellow unless it was necessary to depict race… and I’m only thinking in terms of playing silly games like “guess the film/song/singer” by the emojis. Otherwise they’re personal things to use for fun online to express your own emotions.

But what’s wrong with the reaction gifs? Unless they’re a bad stereotype, who cares?
 
Lucille said:
I’m happy with the extent of my response.
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Tisch said:
Not using a gif specifically because it has a POC on it also feels a bit wrong... No?
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Sure. I’d feel embarrassed to ask my black friends what they thought as I’d come across as a bit mad. I’m 99% certain that they couldn’t give a shit.
 
I support dUb's proposal that we ban all gifs, with a qualified exception for those featuring cute animals or children hurting themselves.
 
This is an example I came across recently from the US election that feels pretty grim. 18 smilar gifs in the thread.

 
I have probably used them, but I have actually thought about this before. I suspect that I unconsciously used fewer since as a result.

Is it making fun of brown people or just simply using a relatable facial emotion, because we're all human?

Is a white person using only white people gifs, also a bit... racist?

I have no idea, I'm just thinking out loud.
 
I know it’s not the overall point but wouldn’t it be more offensive to not use a gif featuring a person of colour for that reason alone if it is done in an appreciative way or is conveying the reaction you’re feeling? I rarely use gifs but when I do it’s for content , I’ve never considered the gender, colour or sexuality of the person in it. I’ve just done an extensive survey of one person, my friend Pamala, who is doing some work from here and she says she couldn’t care less. I think on Moopy anyway I’ve only seen gifs used in an appreciative way, not in a black face dressing up to take the piss out of someone way but I’m open to learning something if it is considered offensive.
 
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The skin colour emojis one is a valid point, I agree with that and have called out friends who use them “because they’re tanned”

but I think the gif thing, based purely on my own usage, falls under the appreciation category rather than appropriation and I agree with the notion that using only gifs of your race is equally problematic.
 
A well timed gif is a thing of art (and the inevitable predictable response to the above with a sassy gif is not), but whatever happened to using WIT AND PANACHE?!
 
When this became a hot topic on Twitter when the article was released in 2017 I read so many points of view from people of colour that I’d never considered before about the issue . I think it’s more nuanced than ‘anyone who uses a black person gif is racist’ or ‘am I allowed to post this gif then?’ It’s really a discussion about intent and how it feels to see yourself represented in the media, and who is using those representations.

I don’t think it’s a problem on Moopy because Moopy is an intelligent site with well-intentioned comedians and attention-seekers who understand, for instance, the subtle genius of every Natalie Gordienko facial movement. I think dub’s opening post is more about the Internet generally, and the potential laziness and insensitivity of using the same gifs.
 
I am aware of it so I try to vary my use of gifs so I’m using white housewives just as much.
 
big ron said:
I honestly don’t understand what this is? It sounds like an issue for issues sake. If you use a gif that depicts a particular person doing a particular thing, there isn’t an alternative.
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I think there’s something to be said when a white person keeps using gifs of black people to provide humor.
 
dUb said:
A small article on the topic :david:

indie-mag.com

You're probably guilty of digital blackface. Yes, you.

You wouldn’t (and really shouldn’t. ever.) use Black emojis if you aren’t Black, so why are you comfortable using Black reaction GIFs?
indie-mag.com indie-mag.com
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I don’t agree with this as I think it creates distinction and difference between black people and non black people and I that’s not something I’m comfortable with. If someone is using a gif they shouldn’t be thinking about what race they are, that comes from a place of conscious racial separation. I don’t that’s an instinct we should be promoting.

a quick survey of 2 of my black friends (I have black friends so I’m not racist lol) suggests that they actually find it (suggesting it’s digital blackface) quite offensive.

So I guess it’s complicated. As it usually is these days.
 
Phoenix said:
I think there’s something to be said when a white person keeps using gifs of black people to provide humor.
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Actually that does sound like something else and should probably be called out. Not sure how that gets policed though beyond spotting an individual who’s doing it and calling them out on it.
 
Beryl said:
The skin colour emojis one is a valid point, I agree with that and have called out friends who use them “because they’re tanned”

but I think the gif thing, based purely on my own usage, falls under the appreciation category rather than appropriation and I agree with the notion that using only gifs of your race is equally problematic.
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I usually just choose a random skin tone when the options pop up. Do people really choose emojis that look closest to themselves?!
 
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