BBB Commentary: New York Times “Of Color” Gift List
If you’re not a regular reader of The New York Times, or were absent from Twitter and the blogosphere over the past few days, you may have missed the bruhaha about the New York Times’ newly infamous “Of Color” Gift List. Published in the Style & Travel section of their ’09 Holiday Gift Guide, the list features “gifts created for and by people of color”. Well isn’t that handy!
Henna Kit
Not only are a several of the gifts questionable, but the fact that The New York Times saw fit to create this list at all is what is most baffling to me. I mean, who is the gift-giver in this scenario? Surely, not people of color. Yes, in theory, one could argue that a gift-giver of color might want to give a recipient of color “gifts created for and by people of color” (again, their phrase…). But would said person of color really turn to The New York Times for such a gift? Not likely.
Baby Jamz Hip Hop Nursery Rhymes CD
For starters, people of color like to receive the same commercialized gifts that everyone else likes to receive. We’re not so culture-centric that we wouldn’t appreciate a Wii, iPod or plasma TV (I’ll take an Amazon Kindle, please) for the holidays. We’d welcome it! This isn’t to say, however, that we wouldn’t also appreciate a gift that speaks to our heritage. But one wouldn’t automatically turn to a generalist paper like The New York Times for tips on buying such a gift. There are far better (not to mention, more appropriate) resources that specifically cater to people of color on a regular basis. Which leads me to believe that this list was created for folks of non-color.
Asian Faces by Taylor Chang-Babaian
Yes! It all makes sense now! What could possibly be more taxing during the holiday season, than shopping for your friend/relative/co-worker/neighbor of color? Enter what I now call, “The List”. After looking at this list several times, it’s purpose has become crystal clear to me: Quite simply, it’s supposed to make it easy for White folks to know what to get us difficult colored folk for the holidays. Lord knows how hard we are to shop for!
African-inspired dress from Boxing Kitten
This gift guide presumes that the most logical thing to do, is to buy your ethnic friend an ethnic gift. Furthermore, it assumes that a person of color would even want these gifts. What it should include is a disclaimer explaining all the side-eye you’ll be getting from that friend in 2010. While some of the gifts are stylish, they still might make your friend question your choice in gift (the Maatano fashions from twin African designers, a beauty book for Asian women). Some of the gifts will surely make you look racially insensitive and just plain foolish (a home henna kit for your Indian pal, a CD of hip hop nursery rhymes for your African American friend’s tot, a t-shirt with “Wise Latina” emblazoned on the front, Hair Rules hair care for “problem hair”).
Radio One Gospel Cruise 2010
I don’t know who is more at fault here. The New York Times or Simone Oliver, the writer of the list, who is African American (no coincidence, I’m sure). I suppose Ms. Oliver was only completing an assignment she was instructed to write. Even still, as I stated on Twitter last night, a generalist paper like The New York Times wouldn’t make a gift list for the gay person or Muslim person in your life without it being offensive, so why would you make one for people of color? As far as the editors of the piece, I don’t understand how the potential for offensive wasn’t seen. Did no one think this was a bad idea?
So, what could The New York Times have done differently? Well, if they wanted to spotlight designers and enterpreneurs of color, they could easily have done so in the regular Style section of the paper. Perhaps the piece could have featured the creators of these products or given insight into this niche consumer market.
"Wise Latina" t-shirt
However, this is not what happened. Instead, readers got a gift list whose objectives and intent were left open to reader interpretation. It’s a gift list for crying out loud. Who should have to interpret that? Many blog commenters across the web feel that the list is flat out racist (see NYTPicker, Mediaite). While I wouldn’t go quite that far, I do feel that the list is racially suspect. I certainly hope that The New York Times thinks twice before making such an insensitive faux paux in the future.
Please share your thoughts in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you think!
Now, back to the beauty!
All Images: NY Times
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