Thursday, January 22, 2009

Colour words


One of the interesting consequences of the Obama Presidency is the move, by London-based journalists at least, to find a new language for talking about the colour of skin, away from the mostly politically defined terms black, white or ethnic

Just 2 examples from recent coverage in The Times:

Black people, people of colour, call them what you will … - Robert Crampton

Only a woman of colour could get away with this shade … a total no-go area for women of pastiness – Lisa Armstrong

Then just to add to the fun, a young man who is now making a nice living as an Obama look-alike. So alike in fact that when I first saw his photo I thought there had been an editorial slip-up & they had published one of the man himself – but no, the skinny wrists & gappy fingers are not those of the real deal

Most instructive of all, at least for those who think that there are obvious & clear cut differences between racial groups, Ilham Anas is from Indonesia

I can hear the conspiracy theorists now

Complicated? No, just complected




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