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Jumei — Indian Red Riding Hood
Published: 2012-11-20 23:09:03 +0000 UTC; Views: 31079; Favourites: 1791; Downloads: 322
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Description
Painting for Jordan Desmarais, the winner of my Facebook contest.Related content
Comments: 68
This absolutely stunning! I love everything about this piece 
My dear I am so sorry that you've been hurt by these cyber bullies. Calling this picture and you a "racist," is appalling, rude, and completely absurd. There is nothing "racist" about this drawing! Those people are just ignorant fools that are jealous of your beautiful artistic talent. Please do not let such words hold you back. You are one of the most talented artists that I've seen and your work is so lovely. Your artwork is known and loved all over the world. And those bullies, well, it is their cruel attitude that makes them nobodies. Keep gracing the world with gorgeous art ^_^ <3
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I'm not sure if cyberbully is the right word to use, but I am really thankful for your compassion! I think people just tend to overreact and blow a situation out of proportion.
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I LOVE this! it is STUNNING!(p.s. NOT racist in the least! so idk what these other people are talking about lol)
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I don't see the problem with the woman in question.She looks like she's from the northern part of India, or a Hindustani. They have a lighter complexion than most, and do exhibit some caucasian features.
With that said, the girl is drawn elegantly,and the tiger looks very gentle.The ear placement is bugging me abit though, but that can be looked over easily.Good job.
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I absolutely adore this piece more than you would know 
I just saw your post on facebook, and came here to read the comments - and I can't believe how rude people are being to you. This is your style - everything in your work is pale; it's part of your unique aesthetic. I know you never intended to insult people with this work.
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This is lovely! But i wish I didn't see most Indians portrayed as super super light skinned/white!
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Looks like a tiny stamp of art nouveau with indian/arabic influences. Beautiful.
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beautiful~ I absolutely love the tiger's fur.
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Wow, this is absolutely stunning! Everything is so detailed and intricate, yet very elegant and sophisticated. wow. ~ ;A;
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Nobody with a tiger needs to worry about a wolf LOL
Great piece!
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Totally! But the tiger is the replacement of the wolf in this case
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Beautifully done! My only reservation is in titling this 'Indian' but showing a Anglo/Caucasian woman. This can unintentionally bring negative thoughts about race and culture for many viewers. It's a conversation that doesn't need to be made in light of the Red Riding Hood story you're trying to tell. I find your style very lovely and I think she would look just as beautiful with darker skin and actual Indian features. Even if it's not your style and out of your comfort zone, you can still embrace it and show us your creativity.
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Actually, in Northern India there are women who exhibit more Anglo/caucausian characteristics such as pale skin and lighter eyes due to the mixing of Persian blood. My good friend is from Northern India and she carries very caucausian features that aren't the expected features for an Indian woman. I can see the validity in her artwork. Besides...this is a commission if the commissioner wished for a darker skintone and "actual Indian features" she would've requested it, even then Jumei would've had to decide to go with the norm or choose something the mainstream is not aware of. She chose the latter.
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Perhaps. She had also indicated that drawing something other than Anglo/caucausian is out of the norm for her which can be a technical preference that many of us have. It could have been a mix of the two reasons.
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I never said that it is out of the norm for me.
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I had to look back at your original comment and I digress. 
Granted, you did make a conscious decision to forgo. If she's northern Indian and this is what the commissioner wanted, then that's fine. Maybe adding additional information in the description might clear up any confusion.
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Yes, I do agree with you in that case, but then again, it is her choice to draw whatever she likes. We can just choose to like it or not.
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Very true. In the end she can draw however she wants; I do love her style. I would vehemently disagree with any accusatory comments calling her a racist, but at the same time the slippery slope regarding ethic preferences is real and it doesn't surprise me when it's brought up. I doubt she expected that though, even if she was trying to represent the people of northern India it still would have come up anyway. It's not something she obligated to consider but I hope a few negative comments doesn't turn her off from trying the idea darker complexions in the future.
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It really is beautiful.
I think though, in the future it might be worth getting a reference for women of ethnicities you aren't used to drawing. I understand there are concessions to be made for your colour schemes and style, but she's quite noticeably caucasian around the nose which is a little distracting.
Otherwise great
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I chose to keep my usual facial features recognizable instead of drawing a stereotype Indian woman. It was a conscious decision.
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I think you've hit the nail on the head on this one. That's what's been bothering me about this picture. This is just a mainstream representation (which is a harmful beauty standard) of what model beauty is in India. Which is harmful, due to the fact that a majority of Indians have very dark skin, non caucasian features and dark think hair. Which this girl in the picture doesn't represent. This picture in essence, is projecting a harmful beauty standard imposed on many.
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And a mainstream representation of an Indian woman is a dark-skinned beauty, with non-caucausian features. I have friends from India, who are nowhere NEAR the typical indian features, they have pale skin, light eyes and caucausian features. Want to know why? Because they are from Northern India, and those in that part of the country have a strong Persian influence. India has a rich background with many cultures infused, and I think it's insensitive for you to assume that the artist has to represent the majority. The majority itself is a complete stereotype.
It's like saying, the majority of Africans are dark-skinned, they must be represented as dark-skinned to maintain their ethnic backgrounds. But in South Africa due to the Dutch and British settling there, we see caucausian looking Africans, Charlize Theron is proof of this, she is from South Africa. Does the fact that she does not represent the majority make her any less of an African? I think it doesn't.
I understand your qualms with whitewashing ethnic backgrounds, it's a horrible thing. But in this case, I do not see it, I see an artist trying to represent a different type of Indian, and there should be nothing wrong with that. But that is just my opinion.
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Last time I checked, Persians look very ethnic and not like Natalie Portman. My friend who is Indian had a very straight caucasian like nose, but she still looked like her ethnicity. I'm not saying that there is a typical Indian look, but saying that this could be any indian girl is a stretch. And if that's the population she's choosing to represent, the northern type, then she should of stated so.
And I love it when people bring up that fact that white people are in south africa. They're there because of imperialism, and up until a few years ago the black african people were second class citizens in their own land. There a vast amount of africans from different cultures and skin tones. but be specific if you depicting from a different type of culture and not from what seems like the general norm.
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I agree. It's just another example of Westerners imposing their cultural standards onto Eastern cultures, which is so insulting and harmful. Europe's history of fetishizing and whitewashing India is just being perpetuated through images like these, and India has suffered greatly due to the imperialist cultures which have settled in their nation. It is socially irresponsible, ethnocentric, and bloody racist of a white artist to paint an Indian woman as white. Frankly, I'm just tired of casual racism like this going unchecked. Thank you for agreeing with me.
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I think it is very racist to assume that there are no white Indian women. I am half Thai half Dutch and constantly mistaken for an Indian woman from the Northern parts by Indian people themselves. They are fair skinned and have light eyes with dark hair because they have more influence from Persian ancestry. India is a large country with many influences and cultures. And like the noble and rich families in Europe in the Renaissance, it was common that girls were whiter because it showed that they didn't work on the country side. Like in Asia.
You are talking about a different issue and portraying a white washing subject what is a more prominent problem in Afrika and within the Afro-American culture which is a very big problem yes, I agree. It is very sad. But I don't think this piece deserves such attention.
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Its a huge problem within east asian and south asain countries too. Pretty much an country that was effected by imperialism and colonization.
I suggest that you read this:[link]
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I never made any assumption that there are no white Indian women. You are assuming that I have made that claim, but if you've read a few comments I've made to some others, I've noted that, yes, of course there is diversity within India. It is a large country with a rich history, and so, naturally, it does not have one face; no country has one face.
I would also never be as racist to assume that a white woman, clearly drawn in likeness to a Northern European woman, can be a representative of a predominantly dark-skinned nation, particularly when Western nations are exceptionally guilty of white-washing almost all people. It is also incorrect to connect class and whiteness in India, because that was not a prominent concern until there was Western imperialist influences, which is just another example of how Western nations have been racist and ethnocentric.
You are wrong about white-washing being most prominent in Africa. It's prominent worldwide and has footing in history as far back as we have art! It's shocking and disappointing. One of the most recognizable faces in the Western world, Jesus Christ, is an example of how art as historically portrayed a person of color as white.
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I just chose these features because it's my style and I didn't want to diverge too much from it. That's all. No need to make hurtful accusations.
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I'm sorry that you're hurt by my comments. My initial reaction may have been too harsh since I lacked the calm I needed to be polite. I urge you to consider that your perception of your style as being limited to and inherently "white girl" might be perpetuating a racist ideology; holding the opinion that depicting non-whites as European is inherent and key to your style, while being bothered by "divergence" into non-white depictions, is very racist. With artistic expression, there's certainly a lot of wiggle room and freedom, but that does not eliminate the ideological factors in our creations.
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I couldn't agree more with jumei;
You don't experess a great knowledge of racism, making a joke out of yourself with your hateful comments.
Your attitude does not fit a teacher. Nuance and apologies would suit you better in this case. I saw your blog; so rude, so underhand, and for what purpose? If you want to attack a racist; find a real one! you are barking up the wrong tree!
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I'm just going to give this to you also.
I don't think I called you asshole, if I did for one it was very immature of me, and I'm deeply sorry for that. What you're doing is tone policing. I am often very patient and kind to people when explaining things of this matter. But I have to say, it doesn't help to be kind and nice to things of oppressive nature. Woah, for one I am a POC and know all about racism first hand. Secondly I believe that you are using the wrong definition of racism. I am not trying to create drama, it's a simple critique that you took personal. Doing something racist is not always malicious or intentional. It can be done with or without intent. Secondly, I'm just bringing to light a very huge problem that has been going on in DA for years.
I think it would be helpful if you read these links:
[link]
[link]
[link]
I've done my research, very thoroughly actually. Remember, the racist act is more important than being called a racist. Being called a racist does not make you a bad person, it's more or less having to deal with society. And, my blog is suppose to be welcoming, so I will be taking about the part where I called you an asshole and apologize.
For you: I would like to say that or reveling all types of racism is very important. There isn't one type of racist person. And racism in our society has become more causal and overt. I never ever said that I was trying to be a teacher either. Thank you for viewing the blog though, if I can improve upon anything let me know!
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Haha sorry; i goofed up ;
I took you for daifan...You can just ignore it.
Sorry again,
Thanks for your elabourate comment though...
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You did reply to Daifan, if I see it right...
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Hahah, it's alright. I was so confused, I was looking everywhere on my blog for where I called Jumei and asshole! Please don't be shy and look through the links I've provided! And just message me if you have any questions!
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You're sorry that I am hurt by your comments, but you're calling me a 'racist' and 'asshole' nonetheless on your blog. If you want to encourage people to accept different cultures and ethnicity, you might want to be more polite and explanatory next time. The way you're going about it right now, has the opposite effect. But actually I really wonder if that is what you're aiming for because it looks more like you're trying to create a drama. I'm quite disgusted by your judgement. I have never had any grudge against any kind of ethnicity, and I find your statements very hurting and short sighted. Do some research on racism before using such loaded words.
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