A proud Australian Aboriginal woman has spoken out on Facebook about what she sees as ‘double standards’ after a family was blasted for painting her son’s face black while dressing him up as his sports hero, Fijian footballer Nic Naitanui.
Bec Bee from Cairns in Far North Queensland was responding to the outrage that followed when the Perth mother shared the image of her son. Bec points out that in 2013 when she dressed her daughter in a red wig and painted her face white as part of her Dr Seuss character costume no one said a thing.
‘Not once did anyone say anything when I painted my black daughter white 3 years ago, We need to stop the double standards, a hero is a hero,’ Bec wrote.
‘The little boy in the centre of last weeks book week did not suffer from racism or discrimination, he idolised a man who has achieved great successes even during pain, when most adult would have caved and collapsed into states of depression…’ she said.
‘Unfortunately now this little boy who has been shown by the dark skinned community that his admiration for a black man is unacceptable and has learnt racism!’
Bec believes the only way to create an ‘inclusive society is to not over react’ but educate and inform.
‘I grew up in communities, out bush, in towns, cities have been over exposed to direct and indirect racism. We cannot expect people or generations to change unless we change our reactions,” she wrote.
‘How do we create education about who we are?
‘We massage people to understand who we are, we seem to be reactive at the smallest issue that a little boy wanting to be like his Fijian hero.’
Adding: ‘I feel proud as a black woman that this little boy and his mum felt he is proud to colour himself black.’
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