Whiteface is a type of performance in which a person of color uses makeup in order to appear fair-skinned. The term is a reversal of the form of performance known as

blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

, in which makeup was used by a performer to make themselves look like a

black person Black is a racial classification of people, usually a Politics, political and Human skin color, skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and ofte ...

, usually to portray a stereotype. Whiteface performances originated in the 19th century, and today still occasionally appear in films. Modern usages of whiteface can be contrasted with blackface in contemporary art.

History

The earliest use of the term, noted by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', is from the ''New York Clipper'' in 1870, informing readers that William "Joe" Murphy has given up minstrelsy to "appear on the legitimate boards in white face." By 1908, actor

Dooley Wilson Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (April 3, 1886 – May 30, 1953) was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film ''Casablanca (film), Casablanca''. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme ...

had earned his nickname for his whiteface impersonation of an Irishman singing a song called "Mr. Dooley". The ''OED'' also lists a 1947 reference to the black actor

Canada Lee Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata (March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952), known professionally as Canada Lee, was an American professional boxer and actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he beca ...

performing the role of Bosola in ''

The Duchess of Malfi ''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theat ...

'' in whiteface.

Examples

* The 1970 film '' Watermelon Man'' begins with

Godfrey Cambridge Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell, he was acclaimed by ''Time'' in 1965 as "one of the country's foremost cel ...

playing a whiteface character, who then wakes up one morning to find himself to be black. *

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, and singer. He had his breakthrough as a standup comic before gaining stardom for his film roles; he is widely recognized as one of the greatest comedians of all time. H ...

performed in whiteface on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' in the 1980s, and appeared in whiteface for minor characters in the films ''

Coming to America ''Coming to America'' is a 1988 American romantic comedy film directed by John Landis, based on a story originally created by Eddie Murphy, written by David Sheffield and Barry W. Blaustein, and starring Murphy (in various roles), Arsenio ...

'', '' Vampire in Brooklyn'' and '' The Nutty Professor''. * In the 2004 film ''

White Chicks ''White Chicks'' (stylized as ''WHiTE CHiCKS'') is a 2004 American buddy cop crime comedy film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans from a screenplay co-written by Wayans, Xavier Cook, Andy McElfresh, Michael Anthony Snowden, with additional contrib ...

'',

Shawn Wayans Shawn Mathis Wayans (born January 19, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He made his debut on the comedy television series ''In Living Color'' (1990–1993). He went on to work with his brother Marlon Wayans on The WB si ...

and

Marlon Wayans Marlon Lamont Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for his work with his brother Shawn Wayans on The WB sitcom ''The Wayans Bros.'' (1995–1999) and the comedy films ''Don't Be a M ...

play two FBI agents who go

undercover A cover in foreign, military or police human intelligence or counterintelligence is the ostensible identity and role or position in an infiltrated organization assumed by a covert agent during a covert operation. Official cover In espionage, a ...

as young white women by using whiteface. * The 2006 FX reality television show '' Black. White.'' had two families realistically portrayed via makeup as another race: One in blackface, the other in whiteface. *

Nick Cannon Nicholas Scott Cannon (born October 8, 1980) is an American comedian, television presenter, actor, and rapper. In television, he began his career as a teenager on Nickelodeon's '' All That'' before going on to host '' The Nick Cannon Show'', '' ...

white faced in portraying alter ego character Connor Smallnut in promoting 2014 album " White People Party Music". *

Chamillionaire Hakeem Temidayo Seriki (born November 28, 1979), better known by his stage name Chamillionaire (), is an American rapper. He began his career in Houston's hip hop scene in the late 1990s. He was briefly signed with the local record label Swishah ...

whitefaced as anchorman Bob O'Wildy in the 2007 video for '' Hip Hop Police''.

Comparison to blackface

Blackface Blackface is the practice of performers using burned cork, shoe polish, or theatrical makeup to portray a caricature of black people on stage or in entertainment. Scholarship on the origins or definition of blackface vary with some taking a glo ...

is widely considered racist due to its traceable racial links to

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

and

racial segregation Racial segregation is the separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Segregation can involve the spatial separation of the races, and mandatory use of different institutions, ...

. For this reason, blackface is heavily condemned in modern art forms, while whiteface is occasionally employed in modern times, usually in a comedic context. Those who defend it as art differentiate it from blackface, often arguing that whiteface does not draw on a legacy of racism in the way that blackface does, hence arguing that the intended satire of white lifestyles is not racist.

History

Examples

Comparison to blackface

References

Further reading