The dark side of ‘Zwarte Piet’: A misunderstood tradition or racism in disguise? A legal analysis

Autor:	Koen Lemmens
Rok vydání:	2017
Předmět:	Sociology and Political Science Human rights media_common.quotation_subject Fundamental rights Face (sociological concept) Character (symbol) Gender studies Colonialism Racism Great Rift Depiction Sociology Religious studies Law media_common
Zdroj:	The International Journal of Human Rights. 21:120-141
ISSN:	1744-053X 1364-2987
DOI:	10.1080/13642987.2016.1276448
Popis:	There is a passionate debate going on in the Netherlands and Flanders on the figure of Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). Zwarte Piet is a character that is part of the tradition of ‘Sinterklaas’ 1: Piet is the black valet of Sinterklaas. Because of the stereotyped depiction of Sinterklaas’ companion (black face, thick rouged lips, curly hair, golden earrings, pageboy dress) it is argued that Zwarte Piet is a form of racism. Activists advocate, therefore, that Zwarte Piet be abolished or that he lose at least his characteristic features, associated with colonialism and slavery. In this article I will argue that understanding the Sinterklaas tradition is very complicated. There is no consensus on the appearance and the origins of Zwarte Piet, the tradition has changed over time and there seems to be (minor) geographical differences between the various European regions (in this article, the focus is on the Netherlands and Flanders). As a consequence, multiple readings and interpretations of the Zwarte Piet f...
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
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