Snapchat Slammed Over Whitewashed Frida Kahlo Filter
Snapchat is under fire for yet another controversial filter. The social media network’s attempt to honor Frida Kahlo on International Women’s Day (Mar. 8) went left as many users pointed out how whitewashed the custom lens of the iconic Mexican painter came across on screen.
Had she been alive today, Kahlo more than likely wouldn’t approve of the tribute, which glossed over her brown skin and dark eyes. As Remezcla points out, the self-portrait artist was widely known for rejecting Eurocentric standards of beauty in favor of traditional Oaxacan styles.
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According to reports, users weren’t fond of how the app reimagined civil rights activist Rosa Parks and scientist Marie Curie either. Last year, the company was also criticized for its Bob Marley filter, which many likened to digital blackface, and its anime-themed lens, which promoted racist stereotypes of Asians.
Get it together, Snapchat.
can we talk about how whitewashed the Frida Kahlo snapchat filter is
— m (@aqenderpidge) March 8, 2017
why do the rosa parks & frida kahlo snapchat filters lighten skin tones? both were women of color & kahlo at least would hate skin bleaching
— (((va chambers))) (@vafromvirginia) March 8, 2017
Frida Kahlo would be livid if she knew she was made into a Snapchat filter for white girls to pretend to be her for a day
— hyper beast (@blackxgrl) March 8, 2017
ah yes i am sure frida kahlo, known protestor of capitalistic ideals and white beauty standards would love being a snapchat filter
— lydia deetz (@norahthenarwhal) March 9, 2017
any1 else feel deeply offended by non Latinxs esp white using Frida Kahlo Snapchat filter…it’s bad enuf when yt girls do it on Halloween
— mars (@nonbinarymilf) March 10, 2017
READ: Selena Quintanilla And Frida Kahlo Murals Defaced In Texas
