brownface

[ broun-feys ]

noun

1. makeup used to darken one’s face and other exposed skin to imitate the skin tone of an ethnic or racial group, as Hispanic, South Asian, or Middle Eastern:

   People were offended when he arrived at the Cinco de Mayo party wearing brownface.

2. imitation of a minority group member’s appearance, speech, traditional dress, etc., by a person who is not a member of that group:

   White voice-over actors have recently come under fire for performing brownface with stereotypical Indian or Mexican accents.

Word History and Origins

Origin of brownface¹

First recorded in 1965–70; brown ( def ) + face ( def )

Example Sentences

The discussion of “The Party” does allow Jay Chandrasekher to talk about Sellers playing a character in brownface, acknowledging that at the time, Sellers was the hero of the film and gets the girl, which was rare, practically excusing the performance.

From Salon

In addition to wigging, Bryant, Candece and other stunt women of color have had to contend with “paint downs” — or putting white people in brownface or blackface instead of hiring stunt women of color to double for non-white actors.

From Los Angeles Times

It features men in brownface wearing turbans, as well as several women in what appear to be south or central Asian costumes.

From BBC

A Chinese government ministry appears to have taken down an online video post which featured people in brownface singing an Indian song.

From BBC

It follows other racism controversies in China, where brownface and similar concepts are unfamiliar to many.

From BBC