Racist! Really?

[Felon]

Another 'world has gone mad' thread. Does a tweet from a child author on their opinion of a cartoon depicting a sporting event really even thread worthy?

This is GD nowadays.... it's literally nothing other than political correctness and free speech threads, that said - it is a huge thing in the world right now.

It's become such a huge thing that humans are going through, I try to switch off and get back to work - then I realise my own workplace is caught up in an online storm over sexism, racism, and the whole company is having a massive allergic reaction, and it's dominating every conversation I have #noescape

 

[robfosters]

Don't caricaturists usually over-exaggerate features? Isn't that the defining characteristic of the style?
Got a big nose? It'll be even bigger in your caricature. Same goes for ears, lips, whatever.

Also, this quote: "overexaggerated body parts to depict Serena as hyper masculine" is apparently a racist stereotype too. Ok, let's just ignore that she is pretty masculine to the point where many genuinely think she's a man.
Her body parts are over-exaggerated in reality. The cartoon wasn't even that far off in that regard.

Yes caricaturists exaggerate, but generally they exaggerate the particular features of an individual. The huge lips are more evocative of a now, unacceptable style of caricature that ridiculed all black people.

 

[The_Abyss]

I certainly don't agree with JK Rowling's opinion, but this caricatures used in this way were always likely to offend.

 

[Uncle Petey]

Yes caricaturists emphasise, but generally they emphasise the particular features of an individual. The huge lips are more evocative of a now, unacceptable style of caricature that ridiculed all black people.

Yes, that's true, but she does have large lips and body parts and they got emphasised like anyone else would, regardless of race.

 

[VincentHanna]

Ok, let's just ignore that she is pretty masculine to the point where many genuinely think she's a man.

Lets not ignore that, because those people are pretty dumb.

She just had a baby...

 

[koolpc]

Reminds me of 'spitting image'. I don't see anything racist in the cartoon.

 

[robfosters]

I certainly don't agree with JK Rowling's opinion, but this caricatures used in this way were always likely to offend.

I shudder to think of some the catucatures and cartoons that would have appeared in newspaper in the southern states of the
US in the 50’s/60’s.

 

[robfosters]

Lets not ignore that, because those people are pretty dumb.

She just had a baby...

I don’t see what having a baby has to do with being masculine?

 

[Uncle Petey]

Lets not ignore that, because those people are pretty dumb.

She just had a baby...

Yeah, but regardless, she is very masculine however dumb people may or may not be.

 

[VincentHanna]

I don’t see what having a baby has to do with being masculine?

It was the "Some people genuinely think she's a man" bit.

 

[Semple]

It is frankly ridiculous.

Critics are also complaining that he drew her as a big muscly woman. It would be a bit daft to draw her as stick thin, when everyone knows that she's a very muscly woman.

 

[The_Abyss]

I don't see anything racist in the cartoon.

If you can't see how others might then perhaps that's part of the problem.

 

[Uncle Petey]

It was the "Some people genuinely think she's a man" bit.

I agree, it is kind of dumb. The point is that she IS that masculine to the point where people have questioned it.
She's a genetic freak and I don't mean that in a bad way. Most elite athletes are.

As for the cartoon, I think it's the red lips, rather than the size that's the issue.

 

[dowie]

its a bit of a dodgy area, obviously cartoonists emphasise people's features, Serena is a big girl etc...

on one hand if you were to draw cartoons only of white people you're engaging in a sort of racism of low expectations

on the other hand there is a history of certain types of cartoons where black people have been mocked - there does perhaps need to be some care taken so as not to inadvertently end up with something along those lines... probably a bit of caution re: big red lips etc..

I doubt in this instance there was any dubious intent and frankly people are willing to get triggered over the slightest thing these days

 

[koolpc]

If you can't see how others might then perhaps that's part of the problem.

People see racism in anything these days! World has gone barking mad!

 

[Chris Wilson]

I shudder to think of some the catucatures and cartoons that would have appeared in newspaper in the southern states of the
US in the 50’s/60’s.

Nurse, smelling salts for robfosters, he's Googled cartoons from the Carolinas, quick now girl!

 

[inogen]

Of course it's racist. It's drawing (excuse the pun) heavily on several historical racist tropes.

The fact that Serena Williams and her behaviour is an open goal for a cartoonist to lampoon using those tropes is neither here nor there.

 

[Avenged7Fold]

The thing is, only Williams features were exaggerated and it is pretty weird Osaka is depicted as a slight, blonde, white girl... Osaka is almost the same size as Serena and is half Haitian Half Japanese.

 

[VincentHanna]

I think that's the main thing really, you might be able to argue the cartoonist wasn't being purposefully racist if he hadn't turned a dark haired asian in to a pure white blonde...

 

[XeNoN89]

Of course it's racist. It's drawing (excuse the pun) heavily on several historical racist tropes.

The fact that Serena Williams and her behaviour is an open goal for a cartoonist to lampoon using those tropes is neither here nor there.

It would be racist if he drew a random black women using specific exaggerated features

What he actually did was draw Serena and exaggerated HER features which has ended up looking similar to the above.

He clearly wasn't being racist but expecting people in this day and age to look a little deeper before become triggered is just not going to happen.