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[Jabo]

I tried to read that thing but i was mainly confused. Feel super-old...

kimoi...

*blocked*

 

[ZehDon]

Did you even read the OP? It isn't saying simply using a gif of a black person is problematic, it's about context and intent. It's saying certain gifs in certain contexts COULD be problematic.

Did you even read my post? I opened by saying I find the concept behind the article ridiculous. Certain anything in certain contexts is problematic, so you don't get points for "what ifs" from me, you have to bring more to the table. And the article fails at anything more than a poor imitation of an Onion article. Attempting to liken people posting lots of, or predominately, GIFs with black people in them to black face is self-evidently 2017-levels of stupid. I gave my counter example.

Now, can people post GIFs that presented in a racist manner? Of course they can, people are pricks at the best of time. So, I'm not sure what the point of the article actually is, or what the take away should be other than "I'm not saying white people posting GIFs of black people is racist, I'm just saying..."

Personal favourite moment from one of my personal favourite films:

 

[TrutaS]

Not gonna lie. I'm not here for the topic but for the sick ass gifs lol.

We should just replace everything with dog gifs, until PETA shows up to say that's not right either. Honestly of all the problems, I don't think this is one.

 

[Izuna]

We should just replace everything with dog gifs, until PETA shows up to say that's not right either. Honestly of all the problems, I don't think this is one.

So offensive

That dog is not saying that and you're petting words in its mouth.

 

[Snarky(HEART)]

I mean I guess you guys can tell Black women the overabundance of "sassy" or "ratchet" black girl memes and gifs that people share and post and the spreading of harmful stereotypes about black women isn't actually a problem.

We don't get to just say race isn't linked with one specific aspect of culture like GIFs just because we personally don't see it or choose to think about it. It's still there.

And this isn't me telling you to STOP posting gifs of sassy black women. Just you should be aware of the potential implications.

 

[Media]

I mean I guess you guys can tell Black women the overabundance of "sassy" or "ratchet" black girl memes and gifs that people share and post and the spreading of harmful stereotypes about black women isn't actually a problem.

We don't get to just say race isn't linked with one specific aspect of culture like GIFs just because we personally don't see it or choose to think about it. It's still there.

And this isn't me telling you to STOP posting gifs of sassy black women. Just you should be aware of the potential implications.

I always thought ratchet was offensive so I've never used it. Like I said, I thought I was being shitty by only having one black dude in my gif collection, but I can see why perpetuating shitty stereotypes with those types of gif would suck.

Edit: Thinking on it, I might have had a bunch of Layfette from True Blood gifs because I loved him but I might have been worried about it for some reason, maybe this is why? The stereotype? Though I did love he bucked the sassy gay black male stereotype by also being badass.

 

[johancruijff]

race/nationality impersonation is one of the oldest trick

a pillar of authoritarian regimes

 

[ZeoVGM]

I used to see this in Popgaf a lot (I'm glad that mods have banned that community)

Wait, they did? Like, recently?

 

[megatronium]

That was a good read

"As a black man" is reaching "Now I'm not racist but" levels of foolishness.

In all instances I use "as a black man" to establish credibility on a subject or to make sure it's understood that it's from the mindset of someone who represents our community.

Establishing credibility is one of the 1st rules in autobiographical storytelling. Yes it's quick and somewhat inelegant but it gets the job done.

 

[Mr. X]

Yeah, noticed this when they memed the black guy and his exaggerated expression from a bangbus vid like a decade ago.

 

[Agent Gibbs]

As a Brit

I'm not sure what American culture is without Black culture

Vomit on scones?

McDonald's?

On topic:
I could see how some possibly offensive gif's could be a bit problematic (dis gunna be gud - the caption is blatantly a stereotypical accent and a little off, whats wrong with correct English and said gif?) but generally I feel the article is reaching

“as a black man…” before proceeding to sound like anything but

did I read that right? isn't that in itself a little racist? presuming that a black person would sound/write in a certain way and/or have exactly the same view point as the writer?
Its like they assume all black people have had the same experiences and share a collective view, that's a huge assumption!

I can't tell the gender or race of a person on here, so I'm not sure who other people can, not unless they all start using stereotypical language?

Perhaps as a Brit I should start using stereotypical British phrases? would people like cockney rimming slang? Posh Toff? or perhaps my Native Yorkshire Accent? ( I have the most neutral accent, aside from the odd colloquial word)

 

[Media]

In all instances I use "as a black man" to establish credibility on a subject or to make sure it's understood that it's from the mindset of someone who represents our community.

Establishing credibility is one of the 1st rules in autobiographical storytelling. Yes it's quick and somewhat inelegant but it gets the job done.

I sometimes say "As a woman" if it's relevant to the conversation.

 

[Sony]

I don't see the similarity of blackface and "black gifs". Blackface is attempting to impersonate a black person, exaggerated racial features included. Like, blackface is a caricature and doesn't resemble a black person at all. But the people in the gifs are actual black people. So I don't really get the digital blackface?

 

[Apt101]

I mean I guess you guys can tell Black women the overabundance of "sassy" or "ratchet" black girl memes and gifs that people share and post and the spreading of harmful stereotypes about black women isn't actually a problem.

We don't get to just say race isn't linked with one specific aspect of culture like GIFs just because we personally don't see it or choose to think about it. It's still there.

And this isn't me telling you to STOP posting gifs of sassy black women. Just you should be aware of the potential implications.

I think we all get that. But people using those sassy black women GIF's (as a topical example) aren't the ones propagating stereotypes, nor is that their intention (by and large, minus the people using them to make racist jokes on /r/the_donald or some shit). The problem are the people making a lot of money by either being or pretending to be those stereotypes in television and film. I can't tell you the number of times someone has changed the gym TV to VH1, MTV, et al, and there's some black people up there proudly being every poor stereotype they can be, basically cartoons. But see, they're getting paid bank to do it. Complain about those people, not some white guy sitting at his computer responding in a Twitter thread with a head rolling black woman because he thinks it's funny in that context, and not because it has anything at all to do with her race.

 

[hydrophilic attack]

am i committing digital blackvoice by using black expressions like "tryna", "a'ight" and "y'all"

 

[Hyun Sai]

am i committing digital blackvoice by using black expressions like "tryna", "a'ight" and "y'all"

As a 90% black man, you offend me, so imagine the 100% ones.

 

[MoonsaultSlayer]

What does this say about diversity in other media? Should a white male NOT make a game featuring another race because it's appropriation or digital black face?

I will be honest, though it's not a gif, my first reaction reading the OP was that "makesyouthink.jpg" guy lol.

On one hand, it does make me think and I do get where they're coming from. But on the other, I don't know where this leads and I don't think I like being called out for enjoying the content of these gifs when I don't look at them negatively.
Edit: and what I mean is, I view GAF as one of the more open-minded and accepting places on the web and when I see these gifs used, it never seems done with ill-intent towards the race of the person in the gif. But this could be an issue elsewhere so my opinion means nothing if that's the case.

 

[megatronium]

am i committing digital blackvoice by using black expressions like "tryna", "a'ight" and "y'all"

Those aren't "black expressions". That's regional (southern) slang... Go to GA and everyone talks that way.

 

[Izuna]

am i committing digital blackvoice by using black expressions like "tryna", "a'ight" and "y'all"

Nah fam.

 

[Famassu]

I think the article is reaching, frankly, and is borderline ridiculous. Using reaction GIFs doesn't equate to adopting nor presenting a persona, let alone focusing on the race of the people within the GIFs. Typically, they're selected more for entertainment and comedic purposes, then to present an honest recount of a person's exact reaction and/or emotional state to whatever-thing. Unless you think literally thousands of people are attempting to convince the world that Weebay's shock and revelation is somehow a universal truth, common only to the human condition?

Let's get specific. I have a selection of Denzel Washington GIFs in my reaction list. I think we can all agree that Denzel Washington is black. As it so happens, I am not black. Why do I have these specific GIFs of Denzel Washington? Because I think the man is one of the greatest actors of any era, I love basically every film he's ever done, and damn it, I enjoy showing off his range any chance I get. He's iconic, talented, and worth any scrap of praise I can offer. I am not racist, nor am I donning blackface, by using GIFs featuring Denzel Washington. And, frankly, insinuations to contrary get under my skin.

I don't think the problem is implied to be with ALL black person gifs, mostly with ones that portray black stereotypes (sassy black woman, gangstahz etc.).

 

[Fat4all]

I used to see this in Popgaf a lot (I'm glad that mods have banned that community)

Thank goodness

 

[Aselith]

I'm sorry but only Daym Drops can express my feeling about fast food cheeseburgers. I can't stop now.

-----


I'm not fully sure I understand the issue here. Is it people using only black reaction gifs to create an impression that they are black or that the gifs are reinforcing harmful stereotypes?

 

[Glass Rebel]

What does this say about diversity in other media? Should a white male NOT make a game featuring another race because it's appropriation or digital black face?

I will be honest, though it's not a gif, my first reaction reading the OP was that "makesyouthink.jpg" guy lol.

On one hand, it does make me think and I do get where they're coming from. But on the other, I don't know where this leads and I don't think I like being called out for enjoying the content of these gifs when I don't look at them negatively.
Edit: and what I mean is, I view GAF as one of the more open-minded and accepting places on the web and when I see these gifs used, it never seems done with ill-intent towards the race of the person in the gif. But this could be an issue elsewhere so my opinion means nothing if that's the case.

The article already says that it's not about the intent but the action. And nobody is being called out, the author is just calling attention to the effects of the practice. It isn't about you.

 

[big_z]

--

But if people wanna see what the article is talking about, go on Twitter.

how does girl on left wipe ass?

 

[Pie and Beans]

Always summer these articles.

It feels like the answer the offended are looking for these days is wilful segregation and regression. I mean yeah, seems like shit is just as bad in America as ever, but the answer is never going backwards.

Things like cries of "appropriation!" fight the blending of cultures that is the only way the dream of frictionless, hateless integration occurs. It's ridiculous anyway because all culture is 'appropriated' from your upbringing the day you were born.That's just...how it works.

 

[TheTylerRob]

how does girl on left wipe ass?

I got you bro

https://youtu.be/Raitma28dRA

 

[Massive Duck. C.M.]

Always summer these articles.

It feels like the answer the offended are looking for these days is wilful segregation and regression. I mean yeah, seems like shit is just as bad in America as ever, but the answer is never going backwards.

Things like cries of "appropriation!" fight the blending of cultures that is the only way the dream of frictionless, hateless integration occurs. It's ridiculous anyway because all culture is 'appropriated' from your upbringing the day you were born.That's just...how it works.

Did you even read the article or are you just knee-jerking to the title

 

[Izuna]

how does girl on left wipe ass?

what an ignorant thing to say

I got you bro

https://youtu.be/Raitma28dRA

whhhhhat the fucccccck

 

[*Splinter]

Interesting article. I think the people complaining about outrage culture need to reread it. This isn't about offending people, it's about considering why we do the things we do. (Referring to the gifs specifically. The "as a black man" stuff is just an obviously bad thing).

I used to think black reaction gifs were (mostly) being used by black people, but they've become way too common for that assumption to hold up.

("Reread" was probably over-generous)

 

[Vincent Grayson]

I think the article is reaching, frankly, and is borderline ridiculous. Using reaction GIFs doesn't equate to adopting nor presenting a persona, let alone focusing on the race of the people within the GIFs. Typically, they're selected more for entertainment and comedic purposes, then to present an honest recount of a person's exact reaction and/or emotional state to whatever-thing. Unless you think literally thousands of people are attempting to convince the world that Weebay's shock and revelation is somehow a universal truth, common only to the human condition?

Let's get specific. I have a selection of Denzel Washington GIFs in my reaction list. I think we can all agree that Denzel Washington is black. As it so happens, I am not black. Why do I have these specific GIFs of Denzel Washington? Because I think the man is one of the greatest actors of any era, I love basically every film he's ever done, and damn it, I enjoy showing off his range any chance I get. He's iconic, talented, and worth any scrap of praise I can offer. I am not racist, nor am I donning blackface, by using GIFs featuring Denzel Washington. And, frankly, insinuations to contrary get under my skin.

The bolded is *YOUR* problem though. God forbid you be forced to spend a moment considering something, and pondering whether it might be problematic.

 

[big_z]

I got you bro

https://youtu.be/Raitma28dRA

Ayana toilet destroyer

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

I used to think black reaction gifs were (mostly) being used by black people, but they've become way too common for that assumption to hold up.

Same..

Well... mostly anyway.

There are just some gifs that are just great reaction gifs, that just happen to be a black person in the image. I wouldn't immediately assume the person using these are black.

I think the article raises an interesting point about the over-representation of black reaction gifs for the more extreme emotions/reactions, since these are the ones that reinforce stereotypes, as opposed to the more moderate everyday reactions.

 

[cameron]

If you’ve never heard of the term before, “digital blackface” is used to describe various types of minstrel performance that become available in cyberspace. Blackface minstrelsy is a theatrical tradition dating back to the early 19th century, in which performers “blacken” themselves up with costume and behaviors to act as black caricatures. The performances put society’s most racist sensibilities on display and in turn fed them back to audiences to intensify these feelings and disperse them across culture.

Outside these cherry-picked, celeb-studded examples are countless reaction images of small sensations like Tanisha from Bad Girls Club and Ms. Foxy from Beyond Scared Straight, or relative unknowns, pulled from news coverage, YouTube, and Vines. These are the kind of GIFs liable to come up with a generic search like “funny black kid gif” or “black lady gif.” For the latter search, Giphy offers several additional suggestions, such as “Sassy Black Lady,” “Angry Black Lady,” and “Black Fat Lady” to assist users in narrowing down their search. While on Giphy, for one, none of these keywords turns up exclusively black women in the results, the pairings offer a peek into user expectations. For while reaction GIFs can and do every feeling under the sun, white and nonblack users seem to especially prefer GIFs with black people when it comes to emitting their most exaggerated emotions. Extreme joy, annoyance, anger and occasions for drama and gossip are a magnet for images of black people, especially black femmes.

I'd imagine there's a feedback loop on perception, that's maybe not obvious.

Interesting article. I think the people complaining about outrage culture need to reread it. This isn't about offending people, it's about considering why we do the things we do. (Referring to the gifs specifically. The "as a black man" stuff is just an obviously bad thing).

I used to think black reaction gifs were (mostly) being used by black people, but they've become way too common for that assumption to hold up.

("Reread" was probably over-generous)

The author fucked up by not writing exclusively to the super dense demographic who thinks their sassy gifs are going to be taken away. It's the same shit you see on the gaming side.

 

[HazySaiyan]

Did you even read my post? I opened by saying I find the concept behind the article ridiculous. Certain anything in certain contexts is problematic, so you don't get points for "what ifs" from me, you have to bring more to the table. And the article fails at anything more than a poor imitation of an Onion article. Attempting to liken people posting lots of, or predominately, GIFs with black people in them to black face is self-evidently 2017-levels of stupid. I gave my counter example.

Now, can people post GIFs that presented in a racist manner? Of course they can, people are pricks at the best of time. So, I'm not sure what the point of the article actually is, or what the take away should be other than "I'm not saying white people posting GIFs of black people is racist, I'm just saying..."

Personal favourite moment from one of my personal favourite films:

Yes I did, and I don't understand what your complaint was. The article isn't aimed at you, nobody's saying you can't or shouldn't use Denzel Washington GIFs. It's specifically talking about certain types of GIFs from certain types of people for particular reasons

 

[Daffy Duck]

I'm not sure if this topic makes me realise I don't think about anything to any real depth or if I think people analyse things way too much.

 

[ruie]

Interesting article. I think the people complaining about outrage culture need to reread it. This isn't about offending people, it's about considering why we do the things we do. (Referring to the gifs specifically. The "as a black man" stuff is just an obviously bad thing).

I used to think black reaction gifs were (mostly) being used by black people, but they've become way too common for that assumption to hold up.

("Reread" was probably over-generous)

The article talks about different things and doesn't even give us some proofs about the facts it is based on.

black reaction GIFs have become so widespread that they’ve practically become synonymous with just reaction GIFs.

Is there really more black reaction gifs than the others or is it just the perception of the author?

These are the kind of GIFs liable to come up with a generic search like “funny black kid gif” or “black lady gif.” For the latter search, Giphy offers several additional suggestions, such as “Sassy Black Lady,” “Angry Black Lady,” and “Black Fat Lady” to assist users in narrowing down their search.

False. Just tried it on Giphy and the additional suggestion I received was "black lady dancing". Curious enough I also got "white lady dancing" when I searched "white lady". I'm new to giphy, don't know how it comes up with additional suggestions (based on the gifs results, other user searches, familiarity, whatever)

For while reaction GIFs can and do every feeling under the sun, white and nonblack users seem to especially prefer GIFs with black people when it comes to emitting their most exaggerated emotions.

Is it really? any study we can read about it?

 

[*Splinter]

Same..

Well... mostly anyway.

There are just some gifs that are just great reaction gifs, that just happen to be a black person in the image. I wouldn't immediately assume the person using these are black.

Oh yeah really unique stuff like this:

I guess I look at differently (and I use it myself).

It's the more regular (yet exaggerated) reactions that always felt different to me. Particularly twitch emotes

 

[DerangedHermit]

This is the dumbest fucking shit I have ever read.

So what you're saying is that you never read the stuff you post?

 

[cameron]

edit: misread

 

[ruie]

You deliberately omitted the sentence right after in the bit you quoted:

"False". Good job, brah.

Yes, false. I'm not talking abour the results, I'm talking about the additional suggestions the article mentions. I have not been offered those pairings.

 

[cameron]

Yes, false. I'm not talking abour the results, I'm talking about the additional suggestions the article mentions. I have not been offered those pairings.

Alright, that makes sense.

 

[Trickster]

Oh yeah really unique stuff like this:
I guess I look at differently (and I use it myself).

It's the more regular (yet exaggerated) reactions that always felt different to me. Particularly twitch emotes

As dumb as most twitch emotes are, I really don't see how they could be considered a problem?

 

[Violet_0]

have there been instances where posters pretended to be black when they're not?

I only remember the guy who posed as Japanese, a long time ago

oh, and

RIP in peace, PopGAF. I wonder what killed them, in the end

 

[Preezy]

Me reading OP

 

[*Splinter]

As dumb as most twitch emotes are, I really don't see how they could be considered a problem?

I don't know if they are a "problem". I still think it's worth considering why you do/don't use them.

 

[Trickster]

I don't know if they are a "problem". I still think it's worth considering why you do/don't use them.

Ah I think I get what you mean. Like what kind of emotes people will spam if a trans-gendered person appears on stream?

 

[Gattsu25]

I complained about this shit waaaay back when people were spamming this shitty faux-ebonics minstreled-ass gif

It's not a new complaint.

 

[UncleSporky]

And this isn't me telling you to STOP posting gifs of sassy black women. Just you should be aware of the potential implications.

Isn't this a roundabout way of saying the same thing, though?

People get offended if you tell them to stop doing something outright, so you tell them to think about it instead, in the hopes that their thinking and self-examination will lead them to do it less often. It's saying, I'm not telling you to stop...I'm telling you that you should arrive at the conclusion you should stop on your own.

I mean surely the article's intent is not for people to pause, think about the implications for a bit, and arrive at the conclusion that nothing about their behavior is wrong and they can continue posting everything as before. The intent is that some people will stop, or at least do it less. I don't think there's any getting around that.

 

[Htown]

As dumb as most twitch emotes are, I really don't see how they could be considered a problem?

I take it you haven't seen twitch chat spamming the TriHard emote when a monkey appears in a video game, then? Because that shit definitely happens regularly.

 

[Chuckie]

I take it you haven't seen twitch chat spamming the TriHard emote when a monkey appears in a video game, then? Because that shit definitely happens regularly.

I had to look op Twitch and TriHard to know what you were even talking about (I'm getting old af)

But you are right, first thing I read that it is used almost solely for racist ass purposes.