minstrelry
nounEtymology From minstrel + -ry.
1
The art of minstrels.
2
A simplified depiction of another culture, especially black African, for entertainment purposes, generally seen as offensive.
- Possibly it was a tune of West African origin or, equally likely, a piece of mock-Ethiopian minstrelry composed by a white American.1998, Neil Parsons, King Khama, Emperor Joe, and the Great White Queen: Victorian Britain Through African Eyes, page 162:
- Minstrelry (making oneself up as “the other” to take the other over, to evacuate difference, to control representation) is indeed a dangerous and unethical practice.2007, Judith Miller, Ariane Mnouchkine, page 58:
1 more example
- Spearheaded by Charlie Parker, bebop, or just bop, had evolved in the 1940s, partly as an antidote to the crowd-pleasing showmanship (demeaning minstrelry, as they saw it) that was demanded in popular big band swing.2009, Travis Elborough, The Long-Player Goodbye:
- Synonyms
- minstrelsy