Whiteface is a type of performance in which a person wears

theatrical makeup Theatrical makeup is makeup that is used to assist in creating the appearance of the characters that actors portray during a theater production. Background In Greek and Roman theatre, makeup was unnecessary. Actors wore various masks, allowing ...

in order to make themselves look like a

white person White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as " ...

. The term is a reversal of the form of performance known as

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

, in which makeup was used by a performer to make themselves look like a

black person Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

, usually to portray a stereotype. Whiteface performances originated in the 19th century, and today still occasionally appear in films. Modern usages of whiteface can be contrasted with blackface in contemporary art.

History

The earliest use of the term, noted by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', is from the ''New York Clipper'' in 1870, informing readers that William "Joe" Murphy has given up minstrelsy to "appear on the legitimate boards in white face." By 1908, actor

Dooley Wilson Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (April 3, 1886 – May 30, 1953) was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film ''Casablanca (film), Casablanca''. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme ...

had earned his nickname for his whiteface impersonation of an Irishman singing a song called "Mr. Dooley". The ''OED'' also lists a 1947 reference to the black actor

Canada Lee Canada Lee (born Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata; March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952) was an American professional boxer and then an actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he became an actor ...

performing the role of Bosola in ''

The Duchess of Malfi ''The Duchess of Malfi'' (originally published as ''The Tragedy of the Dutchesse of Malfy'') is a Jacobean revenge tragedy written by English dramatist John Webster in 1612–1613. It was first performed privately at the Blackfriars Theatre, ...

'' in whiteface.

Examples

* The 1970 film '' Watermelon Man'' begins with

Godfrey Cambridge Godfrey MacArthur Cambridge (February 26, 1933 – November 29, 1976) was an American stand-up comic and actor. Alongside Bill Cosby, Dick Gregory, and Nipsey Russell, he was acclaimed by ''Time'' in 1965 as "one of the country's foremost celeb ...

playing a whiteface character, who then wakes up one morning to find himself to be black. *

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

performed in whiteface on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'' in the 1980s, and appeared in whiteface for minor characters in the films '' Coming to America'', '' Vampire in Brooklyn'' and ''

The Nutty Professor The Nutty Professor may refer to: * ''The Nutty Professor'' (1963 film), directed by and starring Jerry Lewis * ''The Nutty Professor'' (1996 film), directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Eddie Murphy ** ''The Nutty Professor'' (soundtrack), sound ...

''. * The 2006 FX reality television show ''

Black. White. ''Black. White.'' is an American reality television series that aired on FX. The series premiered on March 8, 2006, and supposedly documented two voluntary families of three, one white, and the other black, in which through studio-quality make- ...

'' had two families realistically portrayed via makeup as another race: One as blackface, the other whiteface. * To promote his new album "White People Party Music", Nick Cannon portrayed a character of European descent named Connor Smallnut. * In the 2004 film '' White Chicks'',

Shawn Wayans Shawn Mathis Wayans (born January 19, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Along with his brother Marlon Wayans, he wrote and starred in The WB's sitcom ''The Wayans Bros.''(1995–1999) and in the comedy films ''Don't Be a ...

and

Marlon Wayans Marlon Lamont Wayans (born July 23, 1972) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. Wayans began his career portraying a pedestrian in ''I'm Gonna Git You Sucka'' (1988). He went on to regularly collaborate with his brother Shawn Wa ...

play two FBI agents who go undercover as young white women by using whiteface.

Comparison to blackface

Blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

is widely considered racist due to its traceable racial links to

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

. For this reason, blackface is heavily condemned in modern art forms, while whiteface is occasionally employed in modern times, usually in a comedic context. Those who defend it as art differentiate it from blackface, often arguing that whiteface does not draw on a legacy of racism in the way that blackface does, hence argue that the intended satire of white lifestyles is not racist. Critics of whiteface condemn it for being hypocritical or a double standard.

History

Examples

Comparison to blackface

References

Further reading