Image of the Day: This cartoon comparing first ladies has some riled up

Image of the Day: This cartoon comparing first ladies has some riled up
See something, shriek wildly. (Image: Screen grab of YouTube video)

I have to confess to not having heard the stereotype of black women as angry and masculine, but I googled the keyword phrase “black women are angry and masculine” and sure enough the stereotype exists. The website MadameNoire even traces the generalization back to its origin, which it alleges was the 1930s radio show “Amos ‘n’ Andy.”

Having acknowledged that, I will add that I am not surprised. It’s hard to think of an attribute that wouldn’t be deemed racist if it were applied to blacks.

Nevertheless, a cartoon by Montana-based artist Ben Garrison has struck some viewers as trading on the angry, masculine black female stereotype. Here it is:

cartoon

And here are some of the reactions on Twitter. The first message is from a woman whose handle appropriately, is, @AngryBlackLady. She tweets:

why youNaturally, some of the reactions gratuitously trade one insult for another:

342D0E2A00000578-3590830-image-m-17_1463265505243

Then you have the rash generalization by Femi H:

And, finally, you have the “projector,” who gazes into the tea leaves and sees his own image reflected back:

Angry black

Garrison defended his work as satire, tweeting “Satire could strip naked, paint itself purple and yell ‘Satire-satire!’ and they still wouldn’t see it.”

I’m not sure I agree with his defense. I find it hard to see where this cartoon isn’t mean-spirited and crosses a line. There are many things about Michelle Obama that deserve criticism. Going after her appearance, however, is setting the bar low.

Howard Portnoy

Howard Portnoy

Howard Portnoy has written for The Blaze, HotAir, NewsBusters, Weasel Zippers, Conservative Firing Line, RedCounty, and New York’s Daily News. He has one published novel, Hot Rain, (G. P. Putnam’s Sons), and has been a guest on Radio Vice Online with Jim Vicevich, The Alana Burke Show, Smart Life with Dr. Gina, and The George Espenlaub Show.

Comments

For your convenience, you may leave commments below using Disqus. If Disqus is not appearing for you, please disable AdBlock to leave a comment.