06.22 pm, Tuesday February 14 2012

Outrage over French Vogue's blackface photos

09:30 AEDT Wed Oct 14 2009
By ninemsn staff
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Model Lara Stone in the provocative photoshoot.
The controversial Red Faces sketch.
The controversial Red Faces sketch.

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Less than a week after Hey Hey It's Saturday landed in hot water for its controversial Red Faces sketch, French Vogue has caused outrage with white models painted in blackface.

The current issue of the fashion magazine features a series of photos of Dutch model Lara Stone with her skin painted black.

The photo shoot has angered American fashion websites, with the provocative French magazine accused of cultural insensitivity.

Influential blog Jezebel said both Hey Hey and French Vogue's use of blackface was offensive in "ways that stand entirely apart from cultural context".

VIDEO: Hey Hey's controversial skit

"France and Australia may not have the United States' particular history of minstrel shows as a form of popular entertainment going back to the 19th century, but something about the act of portraying a white woman as black ought to sound an alarm, somewhere."

Jezebel said the American photographer Steven Klein should have known "what buttons they were pushing" by using blackface.

French racism campaigner Dominique Sopo said even if the shoot was not racist in intent it was certainly "tactless".

"If the aim was artistic, and not to pass off the model as a black girl, the fact that it produces such reactions shows that the world of images — advertising, fashion, whatever — is now paying for its long tradition of not allowing black people to show their bodies in public," he told The Guardian.

The French magazine has previously stoked controversy with fashion shoots of supposedly pregnant models smoking and leather-clad women kissing with blood pouring from their mouths.

 
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