brownface

[ broun-feys ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

makeup used to darken one’s face and other exposed skin to imitate the skin tone of an ethnic or racial group, as Hispanic, South Asian, or Middle Eastern:
People were offended when he arrived at the Cinco de Mayo party wearing brownface.
imitation of a minority group member’s appearance, speech, traditional dress, etc., by a person who is not a member of that group:
White voice-over actors have recently come under fire for performing brownface with stereotypical Indian or Mexican accents.

First recorded in 1965–70; brown ( def ) + face ( def )

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