tomia
Registered: Sept 23, 2005
Posts: 431
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| | Nov 05, 2005 at 01:29 PM | Reply with quote | #1 |
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My beef is a simple one: The way the media and corporations use children of obvious racially mixed backgrounds in advertising and television.
On the one hand I am glad that more biracial youngsters are getting acting jobs and that someone finds them attractive enough to sell their wares. But how could they NOT find these children attractive? Since I am on a messageboard which is devoted to biracial issues then I can speak frankly: Mixed children are beautiful. And I know that beauty is a very subjective thing but apparently the powers that be in the media and corporate America feel the same way. These children have that caramel colored skin that White America idolizes (spending billions of dollars every year for tanning-related products), the curly or wavy hair that Black America idolizes (spending billions of dollars every year for hair products) and the facial features which are ambiguous and could belong to either race. It is understandable why so many mixed children are now seen in print ads, television ads and television shows. They photograph well, they appeal to a large demographic, they are very marketable.
My problem is WHY have the media and corporations deemed mixed children acceptable (even profitable) to use in their campaigns but they haven't been able to swallow the fact that these children came from multiracial backgrounds-- not simply Black backgrounds. I'll give you one example:
When I started my bank account with Bank of America they gave me a rather large folder with my paperwork, terms of conditions, starter checks, etc. On that brightly colored folder there was a picture of a happy family. A mother, a father and two children (who apparently were twins). The mother was black, the father was black, the twins were (very obviously) biracial. So let's use these adorable little 4 year old twins w/ their tan complexions, curly hair and chubby cheeks but let's pretend they came from these two Black people because if we replaced that man who is the skin tone of Denzel Washington with someone the skintone of Brad Pitt then that will be too controversial and people may not want to bank with us.
Long story short: Let's use 'em because they're pretty but let's deny where they came from (cause that's NOT pretty).
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Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384
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| | Nov 05, 2005 at 03:40 PM | Reply with quote | #2 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by tomia
My beef is a simple one: The way the media and corporations use children of obvious racially mixed backgrounds in advertising and television.
On the one hand I am glad that more biracial youngsters are getting acting jobs and that someone finds them attractive enough to sell their wares. But how could they NOT find these children attractive? Since I am on a messageboard which is devoted to biracial issues then I can speak frankly: Mixed children are beautiful. And I know that beauty is a very subjective thing but apparently the powers that be in the media and corporate America feel the same way. These children have that caramel colored skin that White America idolizes (spending billions of dollars every year for tanning-related products), the curly or wavy hair that Black America idolizes (spending billions of dollars every year for hair products) and the facial features which are ambiguous and could belong to either race. It is understandable why so many mixed children are now seen in print ads, television ads and television shows. They photograph well, they appeal to a large demographic, they are very marketable.
My problem is WHY have the media and corporations deemed mixed children acceptable (even profitable) to use in their campaigns but they haven't been able to swallow the fact that these children came from multiracial backgrounds-- not simply Black backgrounds. I'll give you one example:
When I started my bank account with Bank of America they gave me a rather large folder with my paperwork, terms of conditions, starter checks, etc. On that brightly colored folder there was a picture of a happy family. A mother, a father and two children (who apparently were twins). The mother was black, the father was black, the twins were (very obviously) biracial. So let's use these adorable little 4 year old twins w/ their tan complexions, curly hair and chubby cheeks but let's pretend they came from these two Black people because if we replaced that man who is the skin tone of Denzel Washington with someone the skintone of Brad Pitt then that will be too controversial and people may not want to bank with us.
Long story short: Let's use 'em because they're pretty but let's deny where they came from (cause that's NOT pretty).
Very interesting. This is why I would like to see a Mulatto Media Watch started, to adress problematic representations of mulattos like you describe here. Any chance you can scan the picture and post it on the board for us to see? |
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tomia
Registered: Sept 23, 2005
Posts: 431
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| | Nov 05, 2005 at 04:22 PM | Reply with quote | #3 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by DaveVery interesting. This is why I would like to see a Mulatto Media Watch started, to adress problematic representations of mulattos like you describe here. Any chance you can scan the picture and post it on the board for us to see?
I don't think I have that folder anymore. This was from about two years ago. But if you think about it there are plenty of other examples, one of the most famous is the Huxtable household on the Cosby show. Two Mulatta children conveniently born to two monoracial parents.
I've seen mixed race children in diaper, toy and food commercials and when it shows their loving mother she is always (well, almost always, with one exception I can think of which was a headache medicine commercial) a Black woman. Now I understand that there are plenty of Black-White biracials who have a Black mother, however in the instances where these shows or commercials do show the "father" as well (like in that Bank of America example), he is always Black. Plus by showing the Black mother, even if the father is not present, that is implying that this child is from a Black family. It is kind of like saying "Don't you worry, folks! This IS a black child-- we are not promoting misegenation by showing this racially ambiguous kid-- rest assured this child is BLACK."
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Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384
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| | Nov 05, 2005 at 04:42 PM | Reply with quote | #4 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by tomia
I don't think I have that folder anymore. This was from about two years ago. But if you think about it there are plenty of other examples, one of the most famous is the Huxtable household on the Cosby show. Two Mulatta children conveniently born to two monoracial parents.
I agree that the children are a range of phenotypes that don't seem to correspond with the tv parents on the Cosby show. Some will argue "kids can come out all different colors" but I think it's notable that kids that look like Lisa Bonet, etc. rarely are shown either with parents that look like them or with interracial parents. However, I don't see Mrs. Huxtable as monoracial but rather as more of a brown mulatto phenotype. I don't have problems with presentations like the Cosby show, except when they are the only presentation of families with mulattos. Where are the families where the mother, father, and kids all look like Lisa Bonet? Or where the kids are 1st generation biracial with a white parent and a black parent? I agree with you that there's not balance. Quote:
I've seen mixed race children in diaper, toy and food commercials and when it shows their loving mother she is always (well, almost always, with one exception I can think of which was a headache medicine commercial) a Black woman. Now I understand that there are plenty of Black-White biracials who have a Black mother, however in the instances where these shows or commercials do show the "father" as well (like in that Bank of America example), he is always Black. Plus by showing the Black mother, even if the father is not present, that is implying that this child is from a Black family. It is kind of like saying "Don't you worry, folks! This IS a black child-- we are not promoting misegenation by showing this racially ambiguous kid-- rest assured this child is BLACK."
That's a great point.  Balance is needed. Fascinating post and thread overall. |
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tomia
Registered: Sept 23, 2005
Posts: 431
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| | Nov 05, 2005 at 05:05 PM | Reply with quote | #5 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by DaveQuote: Originally Posted by tomia
I don't think I have that folder anymore. This was from about two years ago. But if you think about it there are plenty of other examples, one of the most famous is the Huxtable household on the Cosby show. Two Mulatta children conveniently born to two monoracial parents.
I agree that the children are a range of phenotypes that don't seem to correspond with the tv parents on the Cosby show. Some will argue "kids can come out all different colors" but I think it's notable that kids that look like Lisa Bonet, etc. rarely are shown either with parents that look like them or with interracial parents. However, I don't see Mrs. Huxtable as monoracial but rather as more of a brown mulatto phenotype. I don't have problems with presentations like the Cosby show, except when they are the only presentation of families with mulattos. Where are the families where the mother, father, and kids all look like Lisa Bonet? Or where the kids are 1st generation biracial with a white parent and a black parent? I agree with you that there's not balance. Quote:
I've seen mixed race children in diaper, toy and food commercials and when it shows their loving mother she is always (well, almost always, with one exception I can think of which was a headache medicine commercial) a Black woman. Now I understand that there are plenty of Black-White biracials who have a Black mother, however in the instances where these shows or commercials do show the "father" as well (like in that Bank of America example), he is always Black. Plus by showing the Black mother, even if the father is not present, that is implying that this child is from a Black family. It is kind of like saying "Don't you worry, folks! This IS a black child-- we are not promoting misegenation by showing this racially ambiguous kid-- rest assured this child is BLACK."
That's a great point. Balance is needed. Fascinating post and thread overall.
I realize that Debbie Allen's and Phylicia Rashad's dad was very fair-skinned, and perhaps he was a multigen or maybe even a first gen biracial. However, the most everyone views "Mrs. Huxtable" as black and everyone looks at Bill Cosby as Black. It's not really like they got Lonette McKee to play the mother, someone who is very obviously mixed and just as ambiguous looking as the two Mulatta daughters.
I do have to give some recognition to my favorite daytime soap opera if I could. The Young and the Restless typically gets biracial actors to portray the children of established characters who are played by biracials. They never have been brave enough to show a first generational interracial family who has a Mulatto child but atleast they cast mixed race people to play the family members of other mixed race people.
Victoria Rowell, the actress who plays Dru Winters:
Dru with her "husband" Neil (played by Kristoff St. John)
Dru with daughter Lily (played by Krystle Khalil)
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Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384
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| | Nov 05, 2005 at 06:12 PM | Reply with quote | #6 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by tomia
I realize that Debbie Allen's and Phylicia Rashad's dad was very fair-skinned, and perhaps he was a multigen or maybe even a first gen biracial. However, the most everyone views "Mrs. Huxtable" as black and everyone looks at Bill Cosby as Black. I think lots of us look at "Mrs. Huxtable" as brown, mulatto, multigenerational mixed looking in appearance. This is related to a side concern for me in the media, of brown/mulatto men being underrepresented in American media compared to brown/mulatto women and dark skinned black men. When I see someone who looks like Debbie Allen or Phylicia Rashad, I don't think "That looks like a black woman." I think that they look like they could be mixed with black and white like me and lots of other brown mulattos. And when I see a media image of a dark skinned black man and a brown mulatto woman, I don't think "That's an accurate representation of what black people look like, the man is dark and the woman is brown." Instead, I think "why aren't there an equal number of images of brown mulatto women with brown mulatto men?" So, I guess I'm an example of someone who doesn't just look at Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashad as the phenotypical archetype of a black couple. Quote: It's not really like they got Lonette McKee to play the mother, someone who is very obviously mixed and just as ambiguous looking as the two Mulatta daughters. Well, I think Phylicia Rashad looks just as obvoiusly mixed and ambigious as Lonette McKee and her TV daughters. However, I agree that they don't look to many people like they would be the product of a Phylicia Rashad, Bill Cosby union. More power to families that do look like that though. I'm sure we've all met a few.
Quote: I do have to give some recognition to my favorite daytime soap opera if I could. The Young and the Restless typically gets biracial actors to portray the children of established characters who are played by biracials. They never have been brave enough to show a first generational interracial family who has a Mulatto child but atleast they cast mixed race people to play the family members of other mixed race people. Victoria Rowell, the actress who plays Dru Winters: Dru with her "husband" Neil (played by Kristoff St. John) Dru with daughter Lily (played by Krystle Khalil) [/QUOTE Sounds like The Young and the Restless is doing some good things for biracials. There are a lot of things related to mulattos that I haven't seen yet on tv. Like a show with an adult first generation mulatto son and/or daughter with a living black parent and a living white parent, where the family is not more dysfunctional than the typical tv family. I know that's a very specific request, but I'd like to see it. |
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mixedmom
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Registered: Oct 22, 2005
Posts: 2,083
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| | Nov 05, 2005 at 06:43 PM | Reply with quote | #7 |
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I found this ad in a Home Depot circular. Race is not an issue at all in this ad but I did notice that the mother looks white and the child who is assumed to be her daughter is mulatto. Dad is not in this ad. Every now and then, the ad makers will "sneak" ads like this one in. It's a refreshing change of pace. It makes me wonder if some of the decision makers are biracial people. Thanks for uploading this Dave. |
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tomia
Registered: Sept 23, 2005
Posts: 431
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| | Nov 05, 2005 at 06:50 PM | Reply with quote | #8 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by DaveSounds like The Young and the Restless is doing some good things for biracials. There are a lot of things related to mulattos that I haven't seen yet on tv. Like a show with an adult first generation mulatto son and/or daughter with a living black parent and a living white parent, where the family is not more dysfunctional than the typical tv family. I know that's a very specific request, but I'd like to see it.
Yes, I like what The Young and the Restless is doing. They also cast Bryton McClure (the little kid from Family Matters). He is Dru's and Neil's foster child. His mother is supposed to be a crack addict (which I would object to but considering Dru and Neil as well as Shemar Moore's character Malcolm are all successful business people it balances out) and they cast her with a Mulatta actress as well so that is great.
I would also like to see an interracial family --where, as you said BOTH parents are in the home and living-- with first gen Mulatto children (played by actual biracial actors of course).
I am not sure if any of you watch Judging Amy. Well I don't even know if they make it anymore but I did use to watch it. Tyne Daley plays Amy's mother (of course Tyne used to be on Cagney & Lacey). Anyway, she was married to actor/director George Stanford-Brown who is Black and they have 2 or 3 children. On one episode of Judging Amy you know Tyne had her hand in the storyline or atleast in the casting because it involved a Mulatta teenager (played by an actual --gasp-- biracial child!) who was being raised by her only living relative, her maternal grandfather, who was a crochety old Irish guy. One of the most beautiful things about it was that they focused on the storyline of these two headstrong people --one a teenager and one a senior citizen-- and how they needed to get along to make their family work and they never once mentioned the race dynamic. I thought that was terrific.
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tomia
Registered: Sept 23, 2005
Posts: 431
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| | Nov 05, 2005 at 06:52 PM | Reply with quote | #9 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by mixedmom
I found this ad in a Home Depot circular. Race is not an issue at all in this ad but I did notice that the mother looks white and the child who is assumed to be her daughter is mulatto. Dad is not in this ad. Every now and then, the ad makers will "sneak" ads like this one in. It's a refreshing change of pace. It makes me wonder if some of the decision makers are biracial people. Thanks for uploading this Dave.
Yeh, I love that. That's like that headache medicine commercial. It was Nuprin I think, but they had alot of Moms with their kids and they showed one little girl w/ curly, thick golden colored hair and cinnamon colored skin and her mom, a White woman, holding her on her hip and twirling her around.
I just wish this happened just as much as "Bank of America" type incidents.
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mixedmom
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Registered: Oct 22, 2005
Posts: 2,083
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| | Dec 28, 2005 at 05:37 PM | Reply with quote | #10 |
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Maybe things are starting to change. Isn't this a beautiful mulatto family? I'm a member of BJ's and they mail around their coupon booklets. This picture was in this months coupon booklet. |
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Mixmelo
Registered: Nov 01, 2005
Posts: 996
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| | Dec 28, 2005 at 05:55 PM | Reply with quote | #11 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by mixedmom
Maybe things are starting to change. Isn't this a beautiful mulatto family? I'm a member of BJ's and they mail around their coupon booklets. This picture was in this months coupon booklet. This is a beautiful picture mixedmom. On image banks which is what many/most companies use for their advertising it is usually still extremely difficult to find mulatto families. |
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Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384
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| | Dec 29, 2005 at 10:41 AM | Reply with quote | #12 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by mixedmom
Maybe things are starting to change. Isn't this a beautiful mulatto family? I'm a member of BJ's and they mail around their coupon booklets. This picture was in this months coupon booklet. Wow, that's a great picture. I wish these images were more popular in media. |
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mixedmom
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Registered: Oct 22, 2005
Posts: 2,083
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| | Dec 29, 2005 at 01:15 PM | Reply with quote | #13 |
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Maybe this picture can replace what's currently on the home page of mulatto.org until Hanzou completes his collage.  |
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Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384
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| | Dec 29, 2005 at 01:29 PM | Reply with quote | #14 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by mixedmom Maybe this picture can replace what's currently on the home page of mulatto.org until Hanzou completes his collage. great idea, mixedmom. Feel free to do it. Otherwise I'll get to it as soon as I have a chance. |
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Dave
Registered: Sept 19, 2005
Posts: 4,384
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| | Dec 29, 2005 at 06:05 PM | Reply with quote | #15 |
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Quote: Originally Posted by DaveQuote: Originally Posted by mixedmom Maybe this picture can replace what's currently on the home page of mulatto.org until Hanzou completes his collage. great idea, mixedmom. Feel free to do it. Otherwise I'll get to it as soon as I have a chance. It looks great. Thanks mixedmom. |
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