3.2 Race, ethnicity, and performance

Race and ethnicity shape how we perform and perceive identity. They're not fixed traits, but fluid social constructs that change over time. Performance can reinforce or challenge stereotypes and power structures related to race and ethnicity.

Artists use various strategies to subvert racial stereotypes in their work. This can be a powerful way to assert cultural identity and resist assimilation. However, there's always a risk of commodification or accidentally reinforcing the very stereotypes they aim to challenge.

Race and Ethnicity in Performance

Social Construction and Representation

Top images from around the web for Social Construction and Representation

• 

  Sociological Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity | Boundless Sociology View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Theoretical Perspectives of Race and Ethnicity | Introduction to Sociology View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Introduction to Race, Ethnicity, and Discrimination | Introduction to Sociology View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Sociological Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity | Boundless Sociology View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Theoretical Perspectives of Race and Ethnicity | Introduction to Sociology View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

Top images from around the web for Social Construction and Representation

• 

  Sociological Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity | Boundless Sociology View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Theoretical Perspectives of Race and Ethnicity | Introduction to Sociology View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Introduction to Race, Ethnicity, and Discrimination | Introduction to Sociology View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Sociological Perspectives on Race and Ethnicity | Boundless Sociology View original

  Is this image relevant?

• 

  Theoretical Perspectives of Race and Ethnicity | Introduction to Sociology View original

  Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

• Race and ethnicity are social constructs performed and represented differently across cultures and historical periods
  • Shaped by social, political, and economic factors
  • Racial and ethnic identities often essentialized and depicted as fixed, innate characteristics in dominant cultural narratives and representations
  • Critical race theorists argue race and ethnicity are fluid, socially constructed categories constantly negotiated and redefined through performance
• In many Western societies, whiteness constructed as the unmarked, invisible norm against which other racial and ethnic identities are defined and represented
  • Can lead to exoticization, marginalization, or erasure of non-white identities in performance contexts
  • Examples: Orientalism in ballet (Nutcracker), whitewashing in Hollywood casting (Ghost in the Shell)

Performance as Reinforcement or Challenge

• Performances of race and ethnicity can serve to reinforce or challenge dominant power structures and ideologies
  • Minstrelsy in 19th century America involved white performers donning blackface to mock and dehumanize African Americans
  • Harlem Renaissance saw Black artists using performance to assert their humanity and cultural pride (Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston)
• Diasporic communities often use performance to maintain connections to their cultural heritage and negotiate identities in new contexts
  • Can serve as a form of cultural resistance and adaptation
  • Examples: Bollywood dance in South Asian diaspora, Chinese opera in Chinatowns

Performance and Stereotypes

Perpetuation and Subversion

• Racial and ethnic stereotypes often perpetuated through repetitive, essentialized representations in media and popular culture
  • Shape public perceptions and limit opportunities for marginalized groups
  • Examples: "Magical Negro" trope in film (The Green Mile), "Dragon Lady" stereotype of Asian women
• Performance can challenge and subvert stereotypes by presenting more nuanced, complex representations of racial and ethnic identities
  • Reclaiming and redefining stereotypical tropes or creating entirely new narratives and images
  • Cross-cultural casting, color-blind casting disrupt essentialist notions of race and ethnicity in performance
  • Examples: Hamilton's diverse casting, The Wiz all-Black reinterpretation of Wizard of Oz

Strategies of Subversion

• Irony, satire, and parody are common techniques used by performers to critique and subvert racial and ethnic stereotypes
  • Exaggerating or inverting stereotypical tropes exposes their absurdity and harmful effects
  • Examples: Spike Lee's Bamboozled, Margaret Cho's stand-up comedy
• Subversion of stereotypes in performance is not always straightforward, can risk reinscribing the stereotypes it seeks to challenge
  • Performers must navigate this tension carefully to avoid perpetuating harmful representations
  • Example: Dave Chappelle's use of racial stereotypes in comedy has been both praised and criticized

Performance as Identity Assertion

Resisting Assimilation

• Performance can serve as a powerful tool for marginalized communities to assert cultural identities and resist assimilation into dominant culture
  • Showcasing traditional art forms, languages, and customs
  • Example: Día de los Muertos celebrations in Latinx communities
• Many artists use performance to explore complexities and contradictions of racial and ethnic identity, drawing on personal experiences and histories
  • Serve as a form of testimony and self-affirmation
  • Examples: Anna Deavere Smith's documentary theater, Kehinde Wiley's portraits

Community Celebration and Solidarity

• Festivals, parades, and other community events serve as important sites for celebration of racial and ethnic identities through performance
  • Foster a sense of pride, belonging, and solidarity among participants
  • Examples: Puerto Rican Day Parade, Lunar New Year festivals
• Assertion of racial and ethnic identities in performance can also serve as a form of political resistance
  • Challenging dominant power structures and demanding greater visibility and representation
  • Example: Black Lives Matter protests incorporating dance, music, and spoken word

Risks of Commodification

• Commodification and appropriation of racial and ethnic identities in performance can risk reducing them to essentialist stereotypes or exotic spectacles for consumption by dominant groups
  • Examples: Coachella's appropriation of Native American headdresses, K-pop's use of hip-hop aesthetics
• Performers and communities must grapple with tensions between cultural preservation, adaptation, and appropriation in an increasingly globalized world

Race, Ethnicity, and Power in Performance

Intersectionality and Access

• Race and ethnicity intersect with other power structures (class, gender, sexuality, ability) to shape access, representation, and reception in performance contexts
  • Intersectional approach necessary to fully understand these dynamics
  • Example: Misty Copeland as first Black principal ballerina in American Ballet Theatre challenged both racial and body type norms in ballet
• Historically, white supremacy has shaped performance practices in many Western contexts
  • Privileging white artists and audiences while marginalizing or exploiting performers of color
  • Practices such as blackface, yellowface, and redface in theater and film
  • Example: Minstrel shows in 19th century America

Colonialism and Cultural Appropriation

• Colonial legacies continue to shape global performance practices, often exoticizing and appropriating cultural traditions of formerly colonized peoples
  • Postcolonial artists and scholars have sought to challenge these legacies and assert cultural autonomy
  • Example: Māori haka appropriated by non-indigenous sports teams and performers
• Appropriation of racial and ethnic performance traditions by dominant groups can reinforce power imbalances and erase cultural specificity
  • Issues of cultural ownership, authenticity, and exploitation central to debates around appropriation in performance
  • Example: Controversies around white artists using Black music and dance forms (Iggy Azalea, Miley Cyrus)

Contemporary Barriers and Resistance

• In contemporary contexts, performers of color often face barriers to access and recognition in mainstream performance industries
  • Typecast into stereotypical roles or have work relegated to niche markets
  • Example: Lack of diversity in Oscar nominations leading to #OscarsSoWhite campaign
• Intersection of race, ethnicity, and power in performance is constantly being negotiated and contested by artists, audiences, and institutions
  • Marginalized performers continue to use performance as a site of resistance, self-definition, and cultural affirmation in the face of ongoing power imbalances
  • Example: Indigenous artists using performance to challenge colonial narratives and assert sovereignty (Spiderwoman Theater, Idle No More)