‘Yellowface’ Snapchat Filter Sparks Online Backlash
Snapchat is under fire yet again for what many users are calling a “yellowface” selfie lens.
On Monday, angry users took to Twitter to call out the app for their “overly-racist filter,” according to The Verge.
Dear @Snapchat , thanks for the overly-racist new filter…when can we expect Blackface? pic.twitter.com/vKZn18NDYM
— Brian (@bkisnah) August 9, 2016
.@Snapchat wanna tell me why u thought this yellowface was ok?? pic.twitter.com/sgpW4AFPsE
— grace (@tequilafunrise) August 9, 2016
The filter, which gives users closed, slanted eyes and enlarges their front teeth, appears to play on racist stereotypes of east-Asian facial features.
@Snapchat @snapchatsupport idk if u realize, but this filter is yellowface and u should take it down pic.twitter.com/MLSHz0Bbkl
— lia (@limb_light) August 9, 2016
But despite the backlash toward the filter, Snapchat claims their intentions were never to be disrespectful.
“This anime-inspired lens has already expired and won’t be put back into circulation,” Snapchat explained in a statement released Wednesday, the BBC reports. “Lenses are meant to be playful and never to offend.”
However, some users aren’t having it. One even tweeted out Snapchat’s official community standards, pointing out that the app tells their audience not to “make other people feel bad.”
Also, @Snapchat’s “yellowface” filter is more like Mickey Rooney’s character in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” than anime. pic.twitter.com/8PD0IjA2RZ
— Ken Yeung (@thekenyeung) August 10, 2016
@Snapchat here’s a reminder of your community standards. “Don’t make other people feel bad.” #racistsnapchat pic.twitter.com/1AFMVgfnEf
— Maggie Roque (@mhroque) August 9, 2016
Others compared the image messaging app to U.S. Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Love you @Snapchat but you’re acting like Trump. Clearly racist and with the maturity of a 3rd grader. Yellow face is never “playful”
— Reid Robinson (@HootReid) August 11, 2016
Yikes.
And unfortunately, this isn’t the first time the popular app has been called out for racism.
Back in late April, the platform was in the hot seat after they released a Bob Marley filter on 4/20, which was not only deemed as blackface, but many also suggested Snapchat had “reduced [Marley’s] legacy to nothing more than a weed mascot for white hippies.”
The app has also been accused of “whitewashing,” through filters that lighten skin tone.
On snapchat, digital blackface & yellowface, and those filters that subtly reinforce white superiority https://t.co/OqzKJXwvfg
— Hunter Harris (@hunteryharris) August 11, 2016
Alright, Snapchat. Enough is enough.
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