America’s Next Top Model Contestant Heather Wins a Challenge and…..
October 25, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Not quite sure what to make of this one: Last night on America’s Next Top Model, Heather who is said to have “mild Asperger’s syndrome,” won a challenge and got to model for Carol’s Daughter, a line of beauty products for women of color. Guest stylist Mary J. Blige suggested that Heather be “painted brown” or, as Jezebel puts it, to appear in “mildly offensive blackface.” Go here to see a video clip; Heather is now featured on Carol’s Daughter’s website (and here are photos of her appearing in front of a back drop of recycled aluminum cans).
There’s an entry on my blog about this same topic that I think will make you smile … The entry is titled “Strike A Pose.”
Heather eat your heart out!
Judith
http://parents.com/autismville
As for the black face, Heather is the model not the one in charge that made that call. To blame the model is wrong.
Would you mind linking directly to the post Autismville?
I followed the link presented and ended up finding a few posts but nothing that looked like strike a pose to me.
Thanks for pointing that out Joe—-I didn’t mean to imply that. I think this is the Autismville post?
Thanks for the link.
BTW, Heather’s picture on the Carol’s Daughter site is very well done.
Yea
I meant that remark in reply to the jezebel blog not you. Sorry for the confusion
First, Carol’s Daughter is for anyone who wants to use the product. Just because a woman of color started the company, and the product is used by a lot of women of color doesn’t mean that it’s exclusively for them. Also, no one ever comes out and says, “this product is exclusively for these people.” You can’t alienate an entire demographic like that. Anyone will tell you, that’s bad business.
I think it’s pretty out there to say that Heather was in blackface. It’s a tan. You’d have to consider every person with a spray-on tan, or other type of bronzer, to be in blackface. That’s ridiculous.
I guess it might be said (very literally) that we’ll all women/people of color….. have never had to use a tanning product as the sun does its work and especially for my son Charlie (who is half-Asian).
My apologies for not following through. Quite obviously new at all of this! Thanks for posting the actual link Kristina …