The problem with blackface in Singapore, explained

SINGAPORE: A succession of blackface controversies have cropped up in Singapore in recent months.

The latest involved a group who attended a company dinner and dance event in November wearing afro wigs and blackface make-up.

In September, a car dealer posted a video featuring a Chinese salesman in dark face paint and edited to include images of African people over a laugh track.

In July, a student from Raffles Institution, a leading school, dressed as a dark-skinned delivery rider.

Each episode sparked strong reactions online, with some asking “what’s wrong with this?” while others questioned why this keeps happening in Singapore: The public airing of blackface incidents here dates back at least more than a decade.

What is blackface and why is it offensive?

There are some disagreements about its origins, with some suggesting the practice first came from Europe while others say it’s unique to minstrel shows in America during the early 19th century, said Associate Professor Selvaraj Velayutham from the Macquarie University’s school of social sciences.

Regardless, blackface is a product of Western colonialism and it was used to caricature black people in entertainment and advertisements, the sociologist added.

In the 1830s, white actors in the United States would blacken their faces with burnt cork or shoe polish while they performed comedy routines about – and ridiculing – black people.

These performances perpetuated a range of exaggerated negative stereotypes about African Americans, such as being lazy, ignorant and criminal.

And they were for the entertainment of a predominantly white audience.

Researchers say that at its heart, blackface is about unequal power relations and the assertion of control by one group that sees itself as superior to the other.

Blackface is thus considered derogatory in many parts of the world because it invokes a racist and painful history.