In the book of Sociology in Our Times by Diana Kendall 2012, race and ethnicity is discussed broadly in chapter 9. Diana Kendall defines race as a category of people who have been singled out as superior or inferior by real or alleged physical characteristics such as eye shape, hair, texture and skin color and other subjective selected attributes. The racial categories identified by the US Census Bureau include white, black, Asian and American Indians. Ethnicity is defined as one's cultural background or national origin. The main characteristics of ethnicity are cultural traits such as language, clothing, holidays or religious practices, a sense of community, territoriality, ascribed membership from birth and a feeling of ethnocentrism.
The issues of race and ethnicity are exemplified in the article “ The Many Meanings of The Black Panther’s Mask s.” Black Panther is the first superhero of African descent in mainstream Americans comics. The Blank Panther has thrilled the black and white children making them dress up like the title character. Blank Panthers Mask and claws are on toy store shelves in anticipation of the film’s release. The Black Panther’s mask has many meanings based on what people feel and ethnicity and race is evident in this article (Singer, 2010).
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One of the meanings of the Black Panther’s mask is the ability to embrace the black superhero. They could be perceived as an unwitting form of cultural appropriation, which has become a subject of discourse in the recent years. Brown 2014, a star of Black Panther, is thrilled at the prospect of both black and white children dressing up as the title character. The dressing of masks by white kid shows some cross over. The white kids dress up like the Black Panther and this has shown some cross over attitude.
Secondly, the whole lot of black superheroes is essential for growing black kids. Many parents are divided on how the Black Panther’s blackness figure into children's relationship to the character. Some parents argue that placing racial boundaries around expressions of fandom is unnecessary. The Blank Panther reflects a lot of cultural and social constructs of black Americans.
Furthermore, the Black Panther Mask provides the most significant cultural truth possible that will be part of the phenomenal power player. The cast of characters is a sort of culmination that represent more than race beginning to breathe out of ethnic casting without even having produced the film yet. The Black Panther comic is essential as it makes children to transcend races in a lot of ways. It is seen in the scenario where a kid not of the same color asks his/ her parents to dress him like Black Panther. The Black Panther issue helps the white kid to open up their minds and judge the character of the story based on history and personality. The white kid should identify a black superhero and connect to. Some parents have felt pressure to hammer home black panthers heroism through the lens of race (Singer, 2010).
The Black Panther mask reminds the black of their race in the United States. Both black and white parents are reluctant to talk about race with young children. When they do, they miss the chance to talk about inequality although research supports the idea that children develop an awareness of race and difference at a very young age.
In conclusion, dressing as the Black Panther is not offensive or appropriate. The character of the Blacker Panther comes from an invented African country and wearing the mask is not quite the same as wearing the black face. Black panthers relationship with the black community and its history creates an opportunity to teach nonblack children about the black experience. There is a lot of structural inequality in society, and kids are noticing it. Failure to mention it by not talking about it will eventually preserve the status quo.
References
Brown, J. A. (2014). Comic book masculinity and the new black superhero. African American Review , 33 (1), 25-42.
Kendall, D. (2012). Sociology in our times . Cengage Learning.
Singer, M. (2010). “Black Skins" and White Masks: Comic books and the secret of race. African American Review , 36 (1), 107-119.
