Subtleties

In class this week, we’ve been discussion how races (specifically black vs. white) are portrayed in the media through film, television, advertisements, etc. We’ve discussed how minority races are often seen as the “other” in relation to white people and how hints of racism/racist ideas live on through the subtleties of modern racism. We’ve discussed how black women in the media are typically either overly sexualized, objectified, or compared to animals.

In this United Colors of Benetton ad (that was originally meant to break down racial barriers) we see a pair of naked black breasts—take note that her entire body is not shown— nursing a white baby. This campaign was an interesting way to attempt to dissolve racial separation, but the viewer should step away from the image and wonder: Why isn’t it a white woman bearing her nude body to nurse a black baby? The answer is this: black women have always been overly sexualized and objectified in the media for ages, whereas objectification of white women is relatively new; the separation of decency and indecency is different for women of different races. If it were a white woman nursing a black child, [I imagine] her breasts would be covered by a towel or blanket or by an obstructed angle, whereas, we don’t think twice about seeing a black woman’s body completely vulnerable and exploited in an ad.

On a side note, this ad recalls the days of slavery when black women took care of their white masters’ children. Would it be too ‘cutting edge’ to picture a white woman caring for a black child in an ad? The standards for representing white women and black women in the media are certainly not equal, but we are conditioned to not question the subtle racism in ads. We see it, but apparently, we do not mind it and do not challenge it.