Claudia Schiffer in "Blackface" for a German magazine

When you're a model, and a darn famous one at that, you're suppose to be able to model anything and everything. But when is modeling another's ethnicity part of a model's contract. Out of all the black models that could have been used for the shoot for this German mag I guess they made due with what they had by painting the kettle black...literally! I could care less what the world is doing because I'm not offended by stupidity but wouldn't it have been easier to have used a beautiful Natural African American model instead of "Creating" one?

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/06/09/2010-06-09_supermodel_claudia_schiffer_strikes_controversial_pose_in_blackface_for_german_m.html

I actually find it funny that the rep says "The images were designed to reflect different men's fantasies." So theres a dude out there saying "I want Claudia Schiffer; but black and with a fro"? lol [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] but idk if all these "different fantasies" were the same girl i guess the reps story checks out. and how come the poll says 100% of people say "yes the pictures offensive" when i clicked no? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


(sidenote: i think she looks better black lol but im probably biased because i looove with a passion brown skin [probably because ill sadly never be brown [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] {im yellow and dont tan well}])

Cherry: extraordinary! wrote:I actually find it funny that the rep says "The images were designed to reflect different men's fantasies." So theres a dude out there saying "I want Claudia Schiffer; but black and with a fro"? lol [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] but idk if all these "different fantasies" were the same girl i guess the reps story checks out. and how come the poll says 100% of people say "yes the pictures offensive" when i clicked no? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


(sidenote: i think she looks better black lol but im probably biased because i looove with a passion brown skin [probably because ill sadly never be brown [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] {im yellow and dont tan well}])

Yeah that's funny because I clicked no as well. I think they are just trying to make something out of nothing. It's not like she's in black face and eating watermelon!! I think she's showing that black women are desirable and sexy. She was also dressed as an Asian wearing a kimono, but I don't hear any Asians complaining.

lol but then it makes me wonder if the article writer was black, because we blacks do tend to get offended easy. I still get upset when they depict us eating fried chicken and watermelon . . . even though i love both [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I kind of have mixed reviews on the article. I think that Claudia is a good model but at the same time..why make her up as a black women? I do think the pics came out to be good and tasteful however I'm still asking myself what was the point of the photoshoot? This might be a way to gain publicity for the article/magazine? Or this might just be some type of artistic creative idea that the magazine came up with..who knows? lol!

Cherry: extraordinary! wrote:lol but then it makes me wonder if the article writer was black, because we blacks do tend to get offended easy. I still get upset when they depict us eating fried chicken and watermelon . . . even though i love both [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Exactly! As long as the joke is on another race we are ok, but let somebody even mention the word black and we get our panties all in a bunch! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

See, sadly our culture has truly forgotten what "blackface" was really about; it was meant as a joke. We have to remember history or we're doomed to repeat it. We don't know, as far as this article is concerned, what the Asian community felt about all of this when she donned a traditional Kimono but one thing is for sure she didn't have to paint herself to imitate them.

What I was clearly stating was that a "Real" African American model could have been easily used for this shoot. Are we this far detached from reality that we now think that black looks great on everyone but ourselves? Whether the shoot was tastefully done or not "Blackface" carries a negative connotation that was intentially made to be a joke. So I ask you this; what was wrong with her being her self to sell Dom? What is the joke here that she had to dress in blackface (that originated as racist entertainment for white folks and white folks did wear blackface as well) for alcohol?

I don't know, maybe some people just don't care anymore but afterall we do live in a world where anything and everything goes. I kind of like morals, standards, and better judgement while respecting one another's cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

I totally get what you're saying Tashafawn and believe me, I am not the anything goes type of person. I'm probably a prude by most people's standards, but I really don't think this was done in poor taste. Like they said, the photos were a depiction of men's fantasies. Sure they could have used a black model, but they didn't. They used the person chosen for the ad--Claudia Schiffer. I see nothing wrong with it at all. I think it's darn good modeling because she pulls it off very well sort of like when Tyra did the bald look.

I think we all know what blackface was all about, but it's not like her face is the only part that's black. Her legs look "black" as well and it's not like she dancing a jig or some other buffoonish behavior. She's showing the sexiness of the black female. Could a black model have done it better? Probably, but it's just not that serious to me.

However, I certainly respect your opinion on the matter.

Maybe it's just me, but I found the whole "men's fantasy" notion more offensive than the actual picture. I'm with a poster--I feel the wording of the title of the article was picked for the sole purpose of stirring the pot so to speak. Why can't it be just about women all over celebrating life--who so happen to like sipping Dom? Why is it that all women still have to be objectified?

Sorry I took the convo in a whole different direction, but that was the part that bothered me most.....The shot I felt was done in taste

wow there are a lot of problematic comments being thrown in this post. just because she ISNT eating a watermelon, she is personifying a specific ethnicity and person, a black woman.
black women are either sexualized and demonized and for black women, natural black women, to say that they dont find these pictures hurtful and offensive but rather think the photographer is trying to show that black women are "desirable and sexy" is so EFFED UP! that is all society ever tries to show us as - desirable, good F*&CKS, fantasises.

i am tired of being exoticized and even more tired of my own sisters thinking its okay to be exoticized.

ps. many of you showed look into what exactly "jungle fever" is and read author bell hooks - loving blackness and selling how pussy (yes the articles are titled that way).

@tashafawn24 - this will get you even more upset: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

I'm going to say that while I think it was done in good taste, the pictures were nice... it was bad taste to do so. This is no different than white men casting other white men to play indians, white women to play bi-racial women (as in Imitation of Life (Lena Horne was available, or more recent- Angelina Jolie in A Mighty Heart), etc. We don't need a white woman in "brown face" to show that black women are sexy, attractive, etc. there are plenty of women already representing, celebrity or otherwise. In my opinion, there are just some things that SHOULD offend us. We give them passes if it's done "in the right light" (kind of how my friends and I used to say a guy was cute in the right light- lol at that memory). This is just ridiculous to me and I won't even touch the objectifying women piece. Too many women are in agreement with it for the argument to retain water for long.

@poeticlyspkng thank you!

tashafawn24 wrote:See, sadly our culture has truly forgotten what "blackface" was really about; it was meant as a joke. We have to remember history or we're doomed to repeat it. We don't know, as far as this article is concerned, what the Asian community felt about all of this when she donned a traditional Kimono but one thing is for sure she didn't have to paint herself to imitate them.

What I was clearly stating was that a "Real" African American model could have been easily used for this shoot. Are we this far detached from reality that we now think that black looks great on everyone but ourselves? Whether the shoot was tastefully done or not "Blackface" carries a negative connotation that was intentially made to be a joke. So I ask you this; what was wrong with her being her self to sell Dom? What is the joke here that she had to dress in blackface (that originated as racist entertainment for white folks and white folks did wear blackface as well) for alcohol?

I don't know, maybe some people just don't care anymore but afterall we do live in a world where anything and everything goes. I kind of like morals, standards, and better judgement while respecting one another's cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

I understand what youre saying and i know blackface was used to insult us but they arent using it in an insulting way. The representative claims that the series, like i stated earlier, "was designed to reflect different men's fantasies." and if they used only her for said series, his statement might be legit. Id be upset about it if he used a lot of different white women playing other races though; seeing how hard it is for black models to make it into the fashion industry. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] He might be lying, idk, but i like to believe in the good in people.

wait, who implied black looks good on everyone but ourselves? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I think it's all perspective. Trust and believe Claudia isn't representing black women in that photo shoot, only someone else's perspective of them. White women don't need us to represent them in a photoshoot (the reverse is true too) and how often do you even see the reverse- but on Top Model- these shoots happen often.

I think the photographer implied that black looks good on everyone but us. To me those pics speak a thousand words and opinions. Trust and believe that these mediums are used to influence and sway thinking- subliminally. What message do you suppose it could be sending to young black women about our bodies and perhaps how we SHOULD be built or perhaps how much more beautiful we'd be if we were built like a white woman? I mean, the media and marketing are powerful tools. People are influenced in ways they don't even know. If a simple dorito commercial makes people go out and grab a bag, what makes this any less powerful? Just curious and thinking out loud. But this is a good conversation piece. I'm posting on my fb.

thanks for answering my question [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] and i have noticed that. A lot of black women who are idolized nowadays either have white features and/or are over sexualized.

Well, the fro is awesome.

poeticlyspkng wrote:I think it's all perspective. Trust and believe Claudia isn't representing black women in that photo shoot, only someone else's perspective of them. White women don't need us to represent them in a photoshoot (the reverse is true too) and how often do you even see the reverse- but on Top Model- these shoots happen often.

I think the photographer implied that black looks good on everyone but us. To me those pics speak a thousand words and opinions. Trust and believe that these mediums are used to influence and sway thinking- subliminally. What message do you suppose it could be sending to young black women about our bodies and perhaps how we SHOULD be built or perhaps how much more beautiful we'd be if we were built like a white woman? I mean, the media and marketing are powerful tools. People are influenced in ways they don't even know. If a simple dorito commercial makes people go out and grab a bag, what makes this any less powerful? Just curious and thinking out loud. But this is a good conversation piece. I'm posting on my fb.

I agree with everything that you are saying poeticlyspkng...I thought it was just me because when I looked at the pictures it was saying to me "Now this is what a man invisions a black woman to look like." And you're right, Top Model do these types of shoots often and I think as we let the little things slide we open up doors to letting even bigger things slide i.e. this mess. There's no doubt about it, she's a beautiful woman but why? There's another agenda that is being pushed here [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I think the man thing about this entire photoshoot with Claudia is to gain publicity. We all know people need to do something to make themselves sell in this crazy entertainment industry. If they really wanted the article to be about men's fantasies, they should have used REAL women and of all races. Don't use the blackfaces or nothing. They should have gotten women of those races for the photoshoot so they could really represent their culture.

I'm going to have to agree with vivaxbruja and poeticlyspkng on this one.

I didn't find anything positive about that shoot at all. More specifically I found dude's reasoning suspect and offensive. Men's fantasies indeed [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

tashafawn24 wrote:See, sadly our culture has truly forgotten what "blackface" was really about; it was meant as a joke. We have to remember history or we're doomed to repeat it. We don't know, as far as this article is concerned, what the Asian community felt about all of this when she donned a traditional Kimono but one thing is for sure she didn't have to paint herself to imitate them.

What I was clearly stating was that a "Real" African American model could have been easily used for this shoot. Are we this far detached from reality that we now think that black looks great on everyone but ourselves? Whether the shoot was tastefully done or not "Blackface" carries a negative connotation that was intentially made to be a joke. So I ask you this; what was wrong with her being her self to sell Dom? What is the joke here that she had to dress in blackface (that originated as racist entertainment for white folks and white folks did wear blackface as well) for alcohol?

I don't know, maybe some people just don't care anymore but afterall we do live in a world where anything and everything goes. I kind of like morals, standards, and better judgement while respecting one another's cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

Thank you for digger a little deeper and providing the background. We (Black people) are so quick to brush things off and say we're too sensitive, it's not a big deal etc. We are the ONLY race of people who attempt to discount our history. Jewish people NEVER, NEVER let anybody forget about the Holocaust. Why is that some of us are so quick to ignore some of the most painful events in our history that are still often used against us and mock us today.

The photos are offensive IMO, just as it was when French Vogue did it. Read more about it here.

http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/54706,people,entertainment,black-face-shoot-dents-paris-vogue-editors-hopes-of-succeeding-wintour

Interesting topic.

Thanks DvaAuNaturel for that other article! To think, that was dated last year so is there going to be more in the future? "Jewish people NEVER, NEVER let anybody forget about the Holocaust." Now, isn't this the truth! I think some people are so afraid of being labeled as "Sensitive" that they let things go. I'm black! So are my daughters! So were my ancestors who had no choice but to sit and take this ridicule and now we welcome it; darn near encourage it with applause? What is so special about a woman modeling a skin tone and brandishing an afro wig which is natural to us; not to mention that our skin get almost no recognition in a lot of white mags or runways? Nothing!

tashafawn24 wrote:Thanks DvaAuNaturel for that other article! To think, that was dated last year so is there going to be more in the future? "Jewish people NEVER, NEVER let anybody forget about the Holocaust." Now, isn't this the truth! I think some people are so afraid of being labeled as "Sensitive" that they let things go. I'm black! So are my daughters! So were my ancestors who had no choice but to sit and take this ridicule and now we welcome it; darn near encourage it with applause? What is so special about a woman modeling a skin tone and brandishing an afro wig which is natural to us; not to mention that our skin get almost no recognition in a lot of white mags or runways? Nothing!

ITA!