Blackface actors insult blacks, drag queens insult women

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Blackface” is a style of theatrical makeup that originated in the United States, and is used to make an actor look like a Black person, but in a very exaggerated way. It is the countenance of an iconic, racist American archetype—that of the “darky,” as Blacks were often called in the past. Blackface also refers to a genre of musical and comedic theatrical presentation in which blackface makeup is worn. White blackface performers in the past used burnt cork, and later greasepaint or shoe polish, to blacken their skin and exaggerate their lips. They’d often wear woolly wigs, gloves, tailcoats, or ragged clothes to complete the transformation. Later, Black artists also performed in blackface. http://www.blackhistory.com/content/61585/blackface