This post was originally written on 6th May, 2010.
 |
| Pears Soap advertisement |
According to Anne McClintock in Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Imperial Contest (1995), ‘commodity racism’ (replacing ‘scientific racism’) was pervasive in Victorian society. Its commercial products often advocated white supremacy and endorsed imperial expansion. Soap, first sold in Britain in 1884, became one of such products which signified the ‘cleanliness’ of white civilisation. The famous Pears soap advertisement (pictured), for example, shows that the use of the soap magically whitens the body of the black child (but not his face).
While in the past, some commodities emphasised the differences between peoples, in today’s highly globalised world many more commodities promote sameness. In 1962, Andy Warhol used Coca Cola bottles in his “210 Coca Cola Bottles” (and a group of other works) and his subsequent comment on the beverage highlights the universality and democracy of commercial products:
What’s great about this country is that America started the tradition where the richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca-Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coke, Liz Taylor drinks Coke, and just think, you can drink Coke, too. A Coke is a Coke and no amount of money can get you a better Coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking. All the Cokes are the same and all the Cokes are good. Liz Taylor knows it, the President knows it, the bum knows it, and you know it….
Coke is ubiquitous not only in America but all over the world; its imagery is readily recognisable (I even mentioned it in a poem about my father, “His T-Shirts”). I would like to add that in China sometimes you may get a bad (counterfeited) Coke, even if you pay the right amount of money, the ‘right amount’ depending on who you are buying it from and where. ‘Sameness’ is a complicated concept in my mother country, despite what some people think about the homogeneity of people from this pseudo-Communist nation.
My question is, can you think of mass-produced and -consumed products today that could be considered racist? Or are they more like Coca Colas?
- You might also be interested in this article about soap ads featuring Japanese imagery.
- Also see the sequence of pictures titled "Black representation in advertising".
9 Responses “Commodity racism” →
limmerpalooza
May 6, 2010
I’ll give your question some more thought, but one product that’s always bothered me here in Asia is ‘Darlie’ toothpaste, or ‘black person’ toothpaste in Chinese. So problematic on so many levels. I have no idea the history behind this company but I don’t think that should matter at this point in history. Whatever association can be made between black people specifically and toothpaste just doesn’t seem good. Is it like the Pear’s soap ad and if Darlie can clean a black person’s teeth, it can clean anyone’s teeth? Is it commenting on health and hygiene? For me, it just recalls every racist image in the catalog – sambos, mammies, et al, all with wide smiles, overly darkened faces, and overly white teeth.
t
May 6, 2010
Your points are all valid but they have tried to make the image of Darlie (originally called ‘Darkie’) less racist, much like companies in the United States such as Uncle Ben’s and Aunt Jemima. So I wonder if these are old brand images that have just held over from an earlier time with some modernisation. What I am really wondering is if today there are any brands that overtly use racist techniques to sell products.
In traditional racial discourse, the lack of personal hygiene was indeed associated with the ‘Other’, whatever that means.
May 7, 2010
What about these cookies marketed by Nabisco in Spain, under the name “Filipinos”? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filipinos_(snack_food)
t
May 8, 2010
Yes, racist:
The resolution’s author, Philippine Congressman Heherson Alvarez, claimed that the name of the cookie was offensive due to the apparent reference to their color, “dark outside and white inside”.[6] His resolution stated “These food items could be appropriately called by any other label, but the manufacturers have chosen our racial identity, and they are now making money out of these food items.” [5] On August 26, 1999 Philippine president Joseph Estrada called the brand “an insult”.[5]
And this is hilarious:
The protest was filed despite Foreign Secretary Domingo Siazon’s initial reluctance on the matter. Siazon had reportedly said “he saw nothing wrong with the use of ‘Filipinos’ as a brand name, noting Austrians do not complain that small sausages are called ‘Vienna sausages.’” [5]
I wonder what people think about “Russian dolls” (also known as “matryoshka dolls” or “abushka dolls”) or “Chinese boxes”, though? Do the many layers of dolls or boxes reflect the nature or character of the Russians or the Chinese? And if yes, what is being suggested about these peoples? Any thoughts?
Leo
May 8, 2010
They are hard to understand?
May 7, 2010
Can “Chinese food” be classified as racist? I mean, Americanized “Chinese food” isn’t even remotely what people eat in China; it is a stereotype. In fact, apple pie is considered to be “American” yet Americans don’t eat apple pie often. If the frequency of consumption is a baseline for a food to be classified as “American”, how often do they eat pie compared to “Chinese food”?
Shadowy figure
May 7, 2010
A racist toothpaste today would be anachronism. In a hundred years, we’ll probably view today’s commercial items in a completely different light, and we’ll find something that we do not think twice now to be as comical as the Victorian soap commercials are to us. My guess is that one of those comical things will be the way we view gender roles and relationships.
t
May 7, 2010
Rocco recommended the video below (perhaps this could be a response to Allan?) I had lots of fun watching it. (Is ‘fortune cookie’ really Chinese? Have you heard of the dishes ‘Odds & Ends’ (i.e. ‘leftovers’) and ‘Pizza Chinese food’? Why did so many people (100+) win the lottery at the same time …. )
May 9, 2010
The various stylized commodities of music (Country, Rap, Gangster Rap, Punk, Rock, etc) can at times be very racist; at least lyrically, and it sells, often promoting (selling) misogyny right along with it. Unfortunately some of it is damn good music- keeps the mind tapping right along to the wrong beat.
-
-
0 comments:
Post a Comment