Dancing like a “white boy”: Diddy on Making the Band 4
by Racialicious special correspondent Wendi Muse, originally published at Does Race Matter?
If only I had a dollar for every time Diddy said something totally racist against white people, I’d be a millionaire. I was (regrettably) watching the new season of his Making the Band reality show last night and noticed that the entire time, he focused on belittling the white performers that had been picked to compete for band membership. It was a little weird as he constantly commented on how they were “dancing like white boys” and had to stop doing that, equating not dancing well to whiteness. I noticed that he also held the white men to different standards, expecting them to fail in a way, or, at least meaning that via most of his words. Imagine if someone on a show said, “stop failing out of school like a black guy. Get an A this time. Come on, look at all these white boys around you doing well in school. Black guys are stupid!” as motivation for one to do better. I mean, hey, it may work, but by asserting a stereotype about one group, one inadvertently makes a statement about another group, again relying on a stereotype. Ugh.
It also seems to give the white contestants an inferiority complex not because of their talent, but because of their race. They both frequently said things that reiterated Diddy’s statement, “I can’t dance like a white boy. I need to do better,” or by discussing the immense pressure they feel as the only white men in the band. They were clearly good enough to get there, but it’s possible that their minority status coupled with the negative reinforcement from Diddy was bad for their confidence…Sounds awfully close to something that happens to racial minorities on a regular basis, and seeing it so blatantly displayed on tv, despite the role reversal, made me very uncomfortable…
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Melay Araya wrote:
I think that this issue is very complicated. While Diddy should watch what he says, the Donnie and Dan need to realize that they are singing race music and that their are certain standards that they will be held to. Diddy is making an r&b group and besides the fact that their voices are not as strong as that of Mike, Deangelo and many others, D & D don’t sing r&b in a believable way. To be honest, when I hear them I think “those white boys are kinda good”–why? Maybe because they ARE talented, but gravitate towards a pop aesthetic even in the way they handle riffs and tone change. I’m not sure.
It’s clear that Donnie and Dan knew that they stood out since their auditions, but for most r&b fans I think the stick out because they are white AND definitely a notch below the average contestant on the show. Diddy has rewarded them more than most, giving them both the opportunity to sit on the contestant-led team that voted people off one week. I do think think that regardless of race, they are two of the hardest working guys on the show, but in my opinion, neither of them deserve to be in the band.
I look at Donnie and think that the only reason he is left is because he is a white, attractive male who can sort of sing.
Bets on if he makes it?
Posted 03 Aug 2007 at 9:51 am ¶
gatamala wrote:
Ditty actually “pulled the black card” from a chick last year b/c of her dancing.
Posted 03 Aug 2007 at 9:54 am ¶
lemure wrote:
This is funny because maybe Diddy is just projecting what he wants to be. I don’t see him hanging out with too many black people lately.
Posted 03 Aug 2007 at 9:59 am ¶
gandalf mantooth wrote:
I watched this episode (I have no choice) and it was pretty clear that Combs was trying to use the statements as a motivation to the White kid who was absorbing the stereotype regarding his dancing. Moreover, the producers used this as the narrative thread for the episode. I have no love for Combs nor feel a need to defend him.
Posted 03 Aug 2007 at 11:36 am ¶
Andom Ghebreghiorgis wrote:
Has Diddy ever seen himself dance? If I were him, I would never pejoratively associate bad dancing with whiteness. Unless he considers himself white of course…
Posted 03 Aug 2007 at 12:49 pm ¶
Sewere wrote:
This is coming from the same dude who could barely do the running man as one of Bobby Brown’s backup dancers?
As anyone noticed Combs ( I refuse to call him anything else) isn’t really known for being a good dancer anyways?
And I’m happy to own the fact that I’m straight hatin’.
Posted 03 Aug 2007 at 12:51 pm ¶
Bianca Reagan wrote:
Diddy just needs to stop. He can’t dance himself. There was no need for him to bring up Dan and Donnie’s lack of melanin.
Furthermore, the “white boys” were the least of his troubles. Diddy has major ego issues. (Shocker!) Did you see how he was treating BoomKat, aka Laurie Ann? He needs to check himself before he wrecks himself.
And I need to stop watching Making the Band.
Posted 03 Aug 2007 at 2:03 pm ¶
La - msviswan wrote:
I’m not really excusing diddy and I’ve never seen the show yet, but I guess I may have my bias on this assessment anyway.
In most white supremacist societies, being associated with “whiteness” collectively is never denigrated. So, telling a white boy he’s doing something like a “white boy” in comparison to doing it like a “black boy” wouldn’t really seem to take away much from the white individual respectively. Especially something like black “street” dancing, which is still associated with “idle” black culture by many non-blacks.
Malay made some good points also. But, I do agree with some points you made in reference to the stereotypes.
I also think it’s come to a point where minorities should really watch what they project to others. People now seem to get confused with the chicken and egg thing. So, do unto others, especially if your ignorance enables others who will try to use it as an excuse for theirs.
Posted 03 Aug 2007 at 3:15 pm ¶
Anonymous wrote:
Imagine if someone on a show said, “stop failing out of school like a black guy. Get an A this time. Come on, look at all these white boys around you doing well in school. Black guys are stupid!”
If someone said that, they’d be applauded and called “courageous”. They would be said to have meted out “tough love”. In other words, they’d be the new Bill Cosby. It’s worth noting, however, that Cosby dogged black folks out much worse.
Posted 04 Aug 2007 at 1:35 am ¶
lurker wrote:
Er, I don’t actually own a TV, so I’ve never seen this show, but the psychology major in me can’t help but let you know that it’s not negative reinforcement, it’s positive punishment.
(Negative reinforcement is rewarding an organism by removing an aversive stimulus, positive punishment adds an aversive stimulus.)
Posted 04 Aug 2007 at 7:45 am ¶
K.S.V. wrote:
“It also seems to give the white contestants an inferiority complex not because of their talent, but because of their race. ”
Uhh, excuse me but this “inferiority complex” is what people of color are feeling nearly EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY in mainstream U.S. society.
Sorry Wendi but I’m not feeling too sympathetic.
Posted 06 Aug 2007 at 1:21 am ¶
Wendi Muse wrote:
that’s my point KSV. what the show is demonstrating is what POC face all the time, though with the roles reversed (”Sounds awfully close to something that happens to racial minorities on a regular basis”).
my question is does that make it ok/acceptable/better? i don’t really think so. stereotyping is stereotyping, period, no matter what race the recipient of the generalizing or essentializing may be. just because POC deal with it on a daily basis doesn’t mean we should not empathize when people of the majority experience it. their status as white men (a race and gender, mind you, that they did not choose, just as POC and women, for example, do not choose theirs) doesn’t make the stereotyping more acceptable in my opinion.
Posted 06 Aug 2007 at 6:40 am ¶
Katie wrote:
I hesitate to use the word “racism” to describe what Diddy’s doing, though. Like Beverly Daniel Tatum (if I remember correctly), I prefer the term “prejudice.” The insults are not being delivered within a social framework that punishes the white men for their race and gender. To use the same word, to me, implies that the insult and the situation are the same if reversed, when they certainly are not.
Posted 06 Aug 2007 at 1:30 pm ¶
Miss Profe wrote:
Wendi, thank you for the insightful and candid post, and for showing that the proverbial door does swing both ways on matters of race. And, I’m with Biana: Diddy needs to stop.
Posted 07 Aug 2007 at 6:51 am ¶
glo wrote:
The reason some people feel funny about what Diddy is saying is because, you’re not use to being in that position. Black people are faced with that everyday. Even though you might not hear it, you know. How? by their actions. To be totally honest about it. Donnie is okay, but the other boys are better.
Posted 08 Aug 2007 at 10:29 am ¶
Blanky wrote:
Racism is “a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.”
Obviously, Diddy believes that race is the determinant of lackluster dancing ability in whites and superior dancing ability in blacks.
Furthermore, this is taking place in the immediate institution of Diddy’s (who has a net worth of 300+ million). Therefore, with multiple institutions backing him, Diddy is not being “prejudiced in regards to race”, but “racist”.
Posted 08 Aug 2007 at 5:08 pm ¶