The Characteristics Of Picaninnies: By Chance
Chance writes: The book titled The Birth of a Nation set the standard for cinematic anti-Black images. All of the major Black caricatures are in the movie, including, mammies, sambos, toms, picaninnies, coons, beasts, and tragic mulattos. The depictions of Lydia (black parent and one white parent therefore, making Lydia a mulatto) — a cold-hearted, hateful seductress — and Silas Lynch (mulatto) — a power hungry, sex-obsessed criminal — were early examples of the pathologies supposedly inherent in blacks.
The Characteristics Of Picaninnies
By Chance, Chancellorfiles
Chance: Picaninnies as portrayed in material culture of America have skin coloring ranging from medium brown to dark black – light skinned picaninnies are very rare. Picaninnies come in all ages, they include infants (babies) and teenagers; however, most picaninnies appear to be 8 t0 10 years old. Picaninnies are both boys and girls the girls often have their hair plaited in short plaits and the plaits point in all directions. And sometimes picaninny girls have matted hair; their hair is matted because it has not been comb in a long while. Picaninny boys often are bald (no hair) and their heads shine like metal. These picaninnies have often been portrayed as having big large-wide eyes with the white part being very white, very oversized red lips, real white teeth, medium brown or very dark black skin, and oversized mouths — the oversized mouths were to accommodate huge pieces of watermelon.
These picaninny black children were poorly dressed and un-kept physically — they wore torn ragged clothes and the clothes were oversized. Also, in some caricatures picaninny children are shown semi-nude. This nudity also was a suggestion that black parents do not love their children enough to teach them modesty. A parent who loves and cares about a child would never let that child go out into society half nude and with out decent clothing. This neglect implies that blacks are less civilized than whites. Whites are known to be civilized and wear clothes. The nudity presents another problem, and that is it sexualizes black children. When black children are viewed as sexualized at a young age it opens up the possibility — that black children are so irrelevant and animal like that it is ok and alright for adults to sexually abuse them. In some caricatures black children are shown totally nude with their genitalia and buttocks exposed – and often with no shame. Often the buttocks are oversized. (more…)