Racism in Mexico
Click to viewROUGH TRANSLATION (made by me) (any corrections are cool):
0:03 - Which is the brown-skinned (moreno) doll?
0:05 - This one (girl points at the dark-skinned doll)
0:07 - And which is the white doll?
0:07 - This one (girl points at the white doll)
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0:09 - (Woman to the boy) Which doll is pretty?
0:13 - (Boy points at the white doll)
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0:14 - Which doll is ugly?
0:16 - (Boy points at the dark-skinned doll)
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0:17 - Which doll is bad (as in a bad person)?
0:21 - Neither
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0:22 - Which doll is bad?
0:24 - This one (boy points at the dark-skinned doll)
0:26 - (To the boy) And why?
0:28 - Because...well, this one is brown and that one's white.
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0:33 - Which doll is ugly?
0:35 - (Girl points at the dark-skinned doll)
0:37 - (to the girl) Why?
0:38 - Because I don't like the color brown
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0:41 - Which doll do you like more?
0:44 - This one (boy points at the white doll)
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0:45 - Which doll is good (as in a good person)?
0:47 - This one (boy points at the white doll)
0:48 - And why?
0:50 - Because... blondes don't scare me because, I can trust them and (mumble) and someone like this one (refering to dark-skinned doll) I don't trust them as much
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1:03 - Which doll is bad?
1:05 - (Boy points at the dark-skinned doll)
1:06 - Why?
1:10 - I don't know
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1:12 - Which doll is ugly?
1:14 - This one (girl points at the dark-skinned doll)
1:15 - (After being asked why) I don't know, it's just that I think that it is (refering to the dark-skinned doll), how do I tell you?, em... more brown-skinned and it doesn't look as white and it doesn't have a good appearance [in comparison to the white doll].
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1:31 - Why is the white doll good?
1:34 - Because its eyes are blue and its body is all white
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1:40 - Which doll is ugly?
1:42 - This one (boy points at the dark-skinned doll)
1:44 - Why?
1:46 - Because it's black
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1:49 - Why is that doll bad?
1:51 - Because it's brown
1:53 - And why being brown is bad?
1:57 - Because it hits [people]
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2:01 - Which doll do you like more?
2:04 - White
2:06 - Because its eyes are pretty and its race too
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2:12 - Which doll looks more like you?
2:17 - A little bit like this one (girl points at dark-skinned doll)
2:19 - It's just that I'm a bit blonde in my legs, and in my back. And in my face and in my arms I'm brown
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2:33 - Which doll looks more like you?
2:41 - (After struggling with his answer) Ehh, this one (boy points at the white doll)
2:42 - In what?
2:43 - In........the......ears? And that's it.
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This video was made in the "Racism in Mexico" campaign.
Research was made with Mexican children, replicating the experiment created by Kenneth and Mammie Clark in the US in the 30's.
Here it is shown part of the result which reflect the answers of the majority on the interviewed children in the research.
The video was made in a safe and trustworthy space and the children answered in all liberty.
Due to the complexity of the subject, a class/workshop (can't find the equivalent of taller) of racism was made with the interviewed children and their families, to generate a place of recolections and thoughts of the emotions that were generated.
The parents gave their consent to use this video with the purpose of raising awareness of the issue of racism.
We are asking people to respect all the children who participated, as they are not an isolated case, but the reflection of our society, as racism is transmitted and reproduced in our culture.
As a last note, we like to note the fact that we couldn't find a brown-skinned doll with these characteristics in Mexico City's toy stores.
Actually, a black doll was repainted with a lighter skin tone, and the blue eyes were replaced with brown eyes.
-Note by OP: To clarify, moreno means dark-skinned, but in the context of the video and Mexico, it refers to a brown skin tone, more specifically, to the skin tone of mestizos (mixed European/indigenous) and indigenous people.
BEFORE ANYTHING ELSE: THE VIDEO NOW HAS ITS OWN ENGLISH SUBTITLES, YOU CAN CHOOSE THEM ON THE "CC" BUTTON. IT'S MORE ACCURATE THAN MY TRANSLATION.
The results of the video are not surprising at all, but I'm glad this video is getting attention in the country. Racism in Mexico is subject that is not discussed enough. Some see it as US only problem, others say "Blame TV! Blame US!" when the issue goes all the way back to the Conquista. Mexican culture is full of racism (calling someone "indio" or "indígena" is an insult in common parlance), classism, elitism, and appropiation of indigenous traditions.
ALSO, browneyedguuurl posted this really cool link and YOU SHOULD ALL CHECK IT OUT (full of videos and information about being black in Latin America): http://www.pbs.org/wnet/black-in-latin-america/
Spanish speakers: AVOID THE COMMENTS IN YT