Tyra Banks stirred up some controversy Oct. 28 when she had the girls on “America’s Next Top Model” made up to represent different races for a photo shoot. A number of bloggers and journalists considered the act to be foul and insensitive; E! even went as far to ask whether the photos were “racy or racist.”

I don’t particularly like Tyra Banks, and I care even less about the world of fashion, but to consider the photos in question to be racist is an outrage. Merriam-Webster defines racism as “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.” I feel ridiculous having to cite a dictionary in order to prove my point, but it seems as though the people labeling this act as a racist gesture have no grasp on what the word actually means.

Banks was in no way degrading or extolling a particular culture or race; she was simply attempting to mimic their physical attributes. Physical attributes are not founded on false pretenses or assumptions as are stereotypes — they’re undeniable observations.

The controversy that this incident sparked is further proof of our culture’s racial hypocrisy. We push for tolerance and acceptance of other cultures, but are discouraged from actually immersing ourselves in them. We are told to take a walk in another’s shoes, yet warned to observe and not take part for fear of offending someone. It’s obvious the models weren’t seeking out any serious cultural enlightenment in this photo shoot; there wasn’t any negative context with it. It was a neutral event demonized by those who view any recognition of people’s differences as an attack.

This paranoia can often lead to the same racial stereotyping it tries to stop. We commonly generalize America’s black population to be “African-American” without stopping to think not every person with dark skin is from Africa and not everybody in America is American. In attempting to lessen racism, we stereotype one’s origin based on the color of their skin when we could just call them by the color of their skin. This would be like referring to every white person in America as “European-American” — an equally unfair assumption. The fact is, black people are black, white people are white and that is the only accurate judgment anyone can make. Any other assumption drawn from the observation of skin color — country of origin, religion, shoe size — is more of an act of stereotyping than what Tyra Banks did.

Unfortunately, this is only one of many times an intentionally innocent act has been misconstrued as racist. Another good example happened during the 2008 Summer Olympics. Spain’s basketball team members posed for a photo with their eyes held back as slits, which team member Jose Calderon claimed was “a ‘wink’ to our participation in Beijing.” Calderon went on to say it was meant as “an affectionate gesture.” The team members eventually apologized, despite the fact that they meant no offense and viewed the action as an acceptance of the Chinese rather than a mockery. Still, a large number of people labeled the incident racist.

What really astounds me about this is that the Chinese were quick to forgive and forget, while everybody else — not even involved — were the ones making a big deal. It’s easy to think the Spanish team should’ve known better, but to say that would, once again, show an ignorance of one’s culture. They didn’t see anything wrong with what they did.

Our society needs to stop overreacting to situations like these. Simply recognizing and emulating another culture is not racist unless some issue of inferiority, superiority or stereotypes are attached to it. The melodrama we put on these situations only adds to racism by broadening its definition and helping to separate people in the wrong ways.

What we need most is the clarity to identify how people are alike while still being realistic and honoring their differences. People may be equal on the basis they all have similar needs and rights, but those things are only the crudest foundation of a human being. The beauty of this country, and our whole world, lies in the differences between people and what we can learn from one another.

However, instead of embracing these differences and allowing ourselves to broaden our horizons, we are told that everyone is the same. We are taught that to point out the aspects which make us unique is demeaning and offensive, even when no harm is intended. This may be an overstatement, but before we can fix this problem, we have to realize it’s the small things, such as above, building the way we think, and that’s a good place to start.

– Tom Hummer is a junior in English from Ames.