Glossary
Yellowface
The alteration of a white actor’s appearance for the performance of AAPI characters by yellowing their skin with makeup and tightly taping their eyelids. More recently, this term has come to refer more widely to casting white actors in specifically AAPI roles as well as the use of digital alteration in lieu of makeup and prosthetics. As in Blackface minstrelsy, the practice originally accompanied the performance of offensive racial caricatures for the purpose of mockery and the confirmation of white superiority. (78)(79)(80)
Citations
78. Yellowface: Asians on White Screens – IMDiversity
79. It's "Ah Sin" to be Yellow in America: Theatrics of Racial Humor in Protesting Injustice
80. MANAA Asserts Offensive Use of Yellowface, Exclusion of Asian Actors in 'Cloud Atlas'
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The JJI Glossary defines terms that are necessary in discussing equity in the arts. This glossary is the result of countless hours of thoughtful research and innovation by our team.