tomibunny:

atacoinside:

johnnyjoestarrelatable:

dynastylnoire:

thawrah:

8figs:

with huge noses and over lined lips

I JUST HAD TO CLOSE MY EYES FOR A SECOND AND LIKE……..DIGEST THIS WHA T THE HELL

You know why

clowns actually originated in egypt to entertain royalty- they wore weird masks and imitated gods.  there were also clowns in ancient china, greece, and italy. it wasn’t “black face and then switched to white face” like i saw in the notes– the clown white paint was invented in 1801. 

the big, red nose is associated with alcoholism/being drunk (heavy alcohol usage can lead to severe rosacea and swelling of the nose), because drunkards in ye olde times were seen as fun for the whole family. the overlined lips create an exaggerated smile). curly or big hair was seen as whimsical and fun, as was a lack of hair (if you look up ‘vintage clowns’, you’ll see their hair is puffed out to the sides or upwards. nowadays, people probably wear afros because they’re cheap, and don’t involve lots of styling. 

i am passionate about clowns

They are a terrifying breed of monster, and must be eradicated from the face of the earth, but it’s relieving to know they weren’t born from a place of racial prejudice.

BOTH…BOTH OF THESE REALITIES CAN EXIST AT THE SAME TIME. 

Yes, all the things above about clown styles NOT being derived from racism are true. 

HOWEVER, a very generic and popular “clown” appearance can be drawn very very easily to minstrel shows and the way in which lips and hair were styled to impersonate black people. (or make a caricature of them, as it were) 

While the clowns you’ve pulled up as reference are wearing styles not necessarily linked to racism, that doesn’t mean clowning and minstrel shows didn’t ever rub elbows and feed into each other. They 100% did. 

Are clowns AS A WHOLE unquestionably racist? No. 
Do some clowning styles have roots in anti-black racism? Yes. 

Both of these things can be true at the same time, I’m sorry to break it to you. 

Ice cream trucks aren’t inherently racist but guess what? Ice cream trucks still play the instrumental of the song N***** Love A Watermelon so………..there’s still a very lasting overlay from minstrel shows even in something as simple as ice cream truck jingles.

You have to face that racism, especially anti-black racism, seeps into EVERYTHING of our everyday reality. Because that’s what racism DOES. You can’t just brush it off because things can also have roots in stuff other than racism. Because racism is everywhere. All the time. Always.