“How ELSE are you supposed to dress up like a Black Guy??”: negotiating accusations of Blackface in online newspaper comments

Abstract

This study examines how individuals talk about race and racism, and the resonance of their discourses with existing narratives. For this purpose, this article investigates users' comments (N = 887) on four newspaper articles from the US and France about Antoine Griezmann's Blackface in December 2017. A thematic analysis revealed (i) the vast majority of users shared similar views of racism by emphasizing individual agency over structural and historical systems of oppression. Although (ii) users actively referred to colourblindness, their comments appeared to be based on different understandings of "race" shaped by national discourses. Finally, (iii) users vastly criticized political correctness, which revealed expressions of Whiteness as well as the intersection of class and racism. The findings underline the gap between users' views and scholarly discourses. This study also highlights the limitations of methodological nationalism in the study of racism, and importance of examining discourses emanating from various imagined communities instead.

Racialized immigrants becoming part of the city: connecting migration, space and race – commentary to van Liempt

“…For instance, in the Netherlands, where van Liempt's (2023) work was conducted, discourses of race align with the colorblind and universalist framework that circulates in many European countries (Lentin 2008), but are supplemented by local discourses of tolerance and openness towards differences that further contributes to disconnect Dutchness from racism (Essed & Hoving 2014;Çankaya & Mepschen 2019). In contrast, discourses of race in Finland are articulated around specific strategies of erasure connected to discourses of victimization and Nordic exceptionalism (Hoegaerts et al 2022) while, in turn, discourses of race in France are connected to deep-seated national ideologies of secularism, universalism and republic (Sommier 2020). Despite the variety and complexities of racial formations in Europe, these are often discussed through examples and scholarship from the United States (US), whether it is to argue race has no place in Europe today or to address European racial realities through US lenses.…”

Colorismo, racismo e identidad. Estrategias didácticas para fomentar su discusión en el aula

“…Sin ir más lejos, disfrazarse de una persona de color continúa ocasionando revuelo a día de hoy. La costumbre de pintarse la cara, muy común en Estados Unidos y Canadá bajo el fenómeno blackface (Winant, 1998;Willsher, 2019;Sommier, 2020), ha mermado la reputación de varios personajes públicos, a lo que se agrega la polémica que suele producirse tras la cabalgata de los Reyes Magos. En el pasado, representantes municipales o presidentes de la asociación de padres se disfrazaban del rey Baltasar, lo que obligaba a que se aplicaran pintura negra sobre la dermis.…”

Identifying The Key Contributory Factors Behind Ethno-national Conflict

“…After all, despite the Soviet Union passing an ostensibly liberal constitution in October 1977, which 'guaranteed' its people freedom of speech, press, assembly and religious belief, this did not detract from it being arguably one of the world's most oppressive regimes during the twentieth century. Similarly, there are many dissenting voices in well-established western democratic societies that are concerned by the growth of a left-wing, politically correct, 'woke' culture, which, they feel, has served to eat away at their freedom of expression, even for views that would have easily passed for moderate only years previous (Sommier 2020;Hitchens, 2020). Therefore, rather than the constitution, whether codified or not, being itself of importance, its value and impact should be assessed by how it is implemented and adhered to (Grugel, 2002;Kubal, 2020;Li, 2020;Moore, 2020;).…”