Benjamin Law: A friendly reminder that blackface is not OK

Benjamin Law. Photo: James Brickwood

A few mother's days ago, we took mum to see Breakfast at Tiffany's, one of her favourite films. There's so much to love about that movie – until you get to Mr Yunioshi, Holly Golightly's Japanese neighbour, played by ... Mickey Rooney.

Rooney's yellowface prosthetics didn't make him look Asian so much as what happens when you expose Tupperware to fire. At first, most of us laughed in shocked disbelief, but there are only so many times you can watch Rourke saying "Haw, Miss Go-Rightry" like some crrrrrrazy Oriental.

"Well, thank god we're past that awkward period when white people dressed up as other races for a lark!" we thought after the lights came on, then put it out of our minds.

Until last month, when Australia had a blackface controversy making world headlines (again). To recap, Opals basketball player Alice Kunek thought it'd be an awesome idea to paint herself black to resemble Kanye West, prompting teammate Liz Cambage – who is black – to express outrage about it online.

Australia maintained the rage for weeks – against Cambage. "It was meant to be FUN," one prominent newspaper columnist wrote. "Alice was HAPPY." Maybe I'm pointing out the obvious, but someone's joy isn't the most convincing defence for poor behaviour.

Given that nearly every commentator who defended Kunek and attacked Cambage was white ("I'm not offended by it, therefore it can't possibly be racist!"), I've decided to weigh in, embarrassingly late, trotting to the gate like a lethargic gay pony to offer my opinion before shyly trotting away.

Because no one seems to be saying the obvious: that Australia has a racist history of blackface. Right up until the 1950s, for instance, white singers – called "blackfaced coon-singers" – performed around Australia in black make-up.

Remember: calling out people who think it's hilarious to black/brown/yellow themselves up with shoe polish and dental floss isn't "political correctness gone mad", folks. It's called growing up.