Fairbank Fairy Soap

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This is an image that is advertising Fairbank Fairy Soap from the early 1900s. The particular image is depicting a white child holding a bar of soap in his/her hand (gender is not clear in this particular ad, also not important in this example due to the emphasis on color/race) looking at the black child. On the bottom of the picture, a statement is written,” why doesn’t your mamma wash you with fairy soap!” The white child is depicted as being clean and well groomed due to the fact that he is in the possession of the soap and positioned as a representative/visible example of the soaps functional effect. The black child on the other hand, is clearly positioned and depicted as being poor and dirty. The difference in clothing can be noticed between the two children in which the white child is wearing shoes and socks and the black child is barefoot.

The white child seems to make a question/remark and is looking straight at the black child with his hand pointing out. The black child is staring back while looking up, with a guilty look accompanied by a body stance in which the hand is gripping/lifting up the piece of clothing and the feet are bow legged, all combining in showing uncomfortobility. The language the statement is written in and shown being said by the white child to the black child is in a Southern/Black form. The fact that the name of the soap is Fairy, points to the fact that fairies are associated with whiteness, due to the fact that majority of fairies are white (ex. Snow White fairy tale). In truth the ad is targeting whites and pointing out that using this soap you stay clean and if you do not, you get black and dirty. The color contrast also plays a role with the simple difference in the definition of the words White and Black in the dictionary. White is almost certainly associated with cleanliness and pureness.

The raced black body is clearly made to be inferior in this ad. The black child is poorer, dirtier and is depicted to only understand the older Southern/Black dialect. The white child is aware of that and speaks to the black child in such dialect. The white child is surprised on why this child is dirty? The assumption and reason is that his mother does not use this particular soap. The white child ignores black child’s possible reasons of lack of necessities, low economic class, and social status. This connects to what Richard Dyer mentions in his article of the ‘white privilege’. He states that white people do not see their privilege and the child is depicted to be so surprised and programmed to believe that everyone should have a bar of Fairy Soap, how could they not? His example of the standards that are created by white people in terms of them succeeding and others bound to fail can be read through this ad. Overall, the message that Richard Dyer points out of white bodies not being raced can be seen clearly due to the various depictions that I examine in this ad.