Everything Is Problematic: Charcoal Face Masks

Late last month, a college professor labeled the Disney musical Mary Poppins racist calling the chimneysweep dancing scene "a parody of blackface." As if to one-up the New York Times Op-ed by professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, some folks this week have upped the ante as they foam at the mouth claiming that charcoal masks are also a form of blackface.

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Poe's Law is in full effect as it becomes more and more difficult to ascertain what is genuine outrage and what is the result of trolls mocking said outrage by feigning upset over ridiculous non-issues... like Katy Perry's recently discontinued line of shoes which have also recently been cited as an example of blackface.

As is the case so many times, it's not even the group of people supposedly "targeted" getting offended in many cases here.

If my face mask picture offended anyone I apologize, I’ve been pretty low lately and so I was literally just trying to enjoy a charcoal mask (which happens to be the color black, which is basically the only kind I use)

— 𝑀𝒾𝓈𝓈 𝒟𝒶𝒹𝒹𝓎 (@a_lyssam_arie) February 18, 2019

Delete this tweet. Never apologize for stupid people

— LeAnn 💋 (@Densatyy) February 18, 2019

All this in what has got to be one of the most questionable Black History Months in recent memory. What with Jussie Smollett's hate crime hoax, the governor of Virginia admitting to wearing blackface, his African American Lt. Gov. being accused of sexual improprieties, the Gucci "blackface" scandal, the all-white Adidas "Harlem Renaissance" sneaker, Liam Neeson's admission of wanting to kill a black man after a friend of his was raped, Jennifer Lopez headlining a Motown tribute and (one of my personal favorite flukes of this Black History Month) Bill Cosby comparing himself to Martin Luther King Jr. or Gandhi as a "political prisoner" I'm sure some folks would just as soon have a do-over.

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Millennials- the forever aggrieved generation! What next?A charcoal face mask is now racist? pic.twitter.com/sdjk8DbFOR

— ThotsAloud (@ThawtsAloud) February 18, 2019

I use this charcoal face mask for men and this is getting bloody ridiculous !!!! How is this racist ?? Sorry to all you snowflakes out there but we would like clean skin and we won't stop using it !!!!!! I won't stop using it because it's the only mask that actually works for me pic.twitter.com/AwE2Zx8NTV

— Kyle Partridge (@KylePartridge4) February 18, 2019

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A search for 'charcoal face mask' on Twitter brings back a mixed bag of tweets regarding face masks in general and several recent ones related to the manufactured outrage scandal du jour. If you search for charcoal face mask Twitter's algorithms currently are auto-suggesting "racist." A search for 'charcoal face mask racist' though brings back far more results related to how ridiculous and inconsequential the whole thing is in the first place.

At what point does the stupidity stop?
Attention Everyone: Charcoal Face Masks Are Now Racist#charcoal #facemask #racism https://t.co/mQhVXlqJC4

— Logic Doesnt Lv Here (@LD_LH) February 18, 2019

Many have, rightly so, questioned whether the whole thing is intentional parody or satire or if people can really be that oversensitive.

Is this satire?? Because using a peel off charcoal face mask for skin care isn't racist. People are taking this too far now.

— Susie mcbride (@Ewokgrl) February 11, 2019

Though the Daily Mail article was the catalyst for the most recent debate, there is plenty of mention of how charcoal face masks may or may not be racist. Once again, it's not always that easy to tell what is a joke and what isn't.

I wanna do one of those charcoal face mask but I don't wanna be racist :///

— dan (@dan_of_the_hour) March 9, 2017

I'm trying a charcoal face mask. I look hella racist, but it's clearing the hell out of my pores.

— BJ Colangelo (@bjcolangelo) April 10, 2014

Just wait till they find out about all the charcoal face mask videos on the internet. There's going to be a lot of racists to be hunting down.

— Tom Smith (@TomSmith996) January 22, 2019

At least a few people are willing to admit that context matters. Face mask? Not racist. Face mask with racist captions? Probably racist.

currently having a debate on if charcoal face mask are racist or not pic.twitter.com/JWJsRzs3k6

— colby (@YEAHIMHATIN) December 28, 2016

Just wait till they find out about all the charcoal face mask videos on the internet. There's going to be a lot of racists to be hunting down.

— Tom Smith (@TomSmith996) January 22, 2019

Charcoal face masks are fun and cleansing and all but if you’re going to post a picture of you in the face mask, don’t put some stupid ass caption like, “I knew I was gonna go black,” that’s not funny, it’s not cute, it’s racist.

— nessa (@jennessasea) December 21, 2017

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Another important thing to remember that we always try to warn folks about in our Everything is Problematic segments: just because it's not considered inappropriate this week, doesn't mean it won't be next week, next month or next year. Case in point:

I had on a black charcoal face mask and my extremely conservative dad said “liberals will call you racist and say how dare you try to be black with that mask on” and now he’s mad at me bc I called him ignorant 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

— Hannah (@_hannahmiley) November 25, 2017

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