Imagining in oppressive contexts, or, what’s wrong with blackface?

Zheng, R. and Stear, N.-H. (2023) Imagining in oppressive contexts, or, what’s wrong with blackface? Ethics, 133(3), pp. 381-414. (doi: 10.1086/723257)

Abstract

What is objectionable about “blacking up” or other comparable acts of imagining involving unethical attitudes? Can such imaginings be wrong, even if there are no harmful consequences and imaginers are not meant to apply these attitudes beyond the fiction? In this article, we argue that blackface—and imagining in general—can be ethically flawed in virtue of being oppressive, in virtue of either its content or what imaginers do with it, where both depend on how the imagined attitudes interact with the imagining’s context. We explain and demonstrate this using speech act theory alongside a detailed case study of blackface.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Zheng, Dr Robin
• Authors: Zheng, R., and Stear, N.-H.
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Philosophy
• Journal Name: Ethics
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• ISSN: 0014-1704
• ISSN (Online): 1539-297X
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The University of Chicago
• First Published: First published in Ethics 133(3):381-414
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher