ta·boo
/təˈbo͞o/
Noun
A custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing. -The Google Machine
It has been exactly a week since the highly controversial "Is love colour-blind" article (below) was published in the University of Cape Town's official student newspaper. The Varisty Newspaper has since become the product of a number of rants on social networks, blogs and more recently, local news networks.
It was an unestablished writer's dream of a morning when I drew back my curtains to be greeted by cloudy skies and raindrops on my window which convinced me that it was a wonderful day to write an article. So, I opened my web browser and typed 'Qamran Tabo' into the Google search window because Google always has all the answers. To my detriment, every page I opened retaliated with "profile not found" or "profile does not exist".
(taps microphone and queues inappropriate Eminem soundtrack)
"May I have your attention please? May I have your attention please? Will the real Qamran Tabo please stand up? I repeat will the real Qamran Tabo please stand up? We're going to have a problem here".
Qamran Tabo is the undergraduate UCT student responsible for writing the article that caused a domino of anger-filled responses across networks. By choosing to write about race, a possible taboo in a country like South Africa with such a delicate racial history, the content in the piece continues to face growing outrage. Tabo made some very bold statements when she reported her findings after she conducted a survey amoung 60 students in a university that enrolls over twenty-thousand students.I tried to forgive the fact that she began her article by grouping "we 90s babies" together but I failed to find common ground with the content that followed mainly because the generalizations in the piece were abundant.
Tabo stated that it was unsurprising that Caucasians were considered the most attractive race. Unsurprising to who exactly? By making such statements, it becomes apparent that her personal views have shadowed what should be a thoroughly researched and well substantiated topic. In addition, she went on to make the following claim:
"Apart from colonialism, media has had a major effect on who we consider beautiful and worthy of attention and who not. There is still an overwhelming amount of white faces on TV, in movies and magazines. As a quick experiment, ask some of your friends what their favourite TV show is; chances are its cast will be predominantly Caucasian."
I don't doubt that the media is a key contributor in shaping our views and the way in which we see the world. It is however, important to remember that the media only provides a representation of their perception of the views of society at large. Being a current media student, these ideas have been key in my understanding. It is important to note that:
"The media
continually gives us a structure, framework and pattern for understanding
ethnicity and gender issues"
- O’Shaughnessy & Stadler (2005: 35).
That being said, it is up to the audience to formulate opinions and challenge, where necessary, what is being communicated through these texts. In other words, it is not good enough to substantiate conclusions about the attractiveness of Caucasians based on the number of Caucasians in these media texts. What about the nature of the show, the nature of the character's roles, the genre of the television show, magazine or movie, as well as their target market? Without taking these things into consideration, I may as well argue that Tyler Perry doesn't cast enough white actors in his African American movies and The Daily Sun does not publish enough content on successful white South African citizens even though its target market is urban centers in South Africa. Basically, what I'm trying to say is that her argument is flimsy.
She then went on to coin a white female as an "Aryan nymph". Pardon me for taking offense to what was possibly meant as a compliment on their behalf. You don't have to be well-versed in historical texts to know the The Aryan Race were classified as the master race, perpetuating ideologies which advanced racism and discrimination during Nazi rule which led to the holocaust. This idea of white supremacy need not be encouraged in a democratic country, especially not by "we 90s babies". Moreover, there is further elevation by use of the word nymph which refers to a beautiful woman or majestic being allowing racist dialect to infiltrate through her writing.
Although her piece was under the opinion segment, I strongly feel it was not handled in a professional or ethical manner. I believe Tabo's research was flawed in the sense that the number of people surveyed made her findings statistically inaccurate. I wish to reiterate that her findings are not well substantiated. In addition, the diction used indicated that her racial preferences and views have placed a veil upon her research. Even though the press release issued by the paper stated that "the “survey” conducted by the writer was for her personal insight and not that of a definitive, scholarly analysis. It was intended as a social commentary on the society in which she resides", I wish to argue that the mere fact that she conducted this survey raises the expectation on her conclusions because a survey should be a formal examination of particular topics.
According to findings before her online accounts were deactivated/suspended, Tabo expressed her distaste for the black population across online platforms as noted by law graduate and current international business law student Brad Cibane. (article below)
Is love colour-blind? Perhaps the answer is irrelevant.
http://bit.ly/ixrkF (University of Cape Town)
http://bit.ly/aaM7rK (Varsity Newspaper)
No comments:
Post a Comment