White Lady Funerals

The following blog must be partially taken as a joke. It is not written to purposefully offend "White Lady Funerals" and any claims of racial bias or bad taste are purely of the opinion of the blogger.

Some of you bloggers out there may have seen a particular type of funeral ads by the "White Lady Funeral" company that has been circulating the television sphere. Now, perhaps it's because I've been watching a lot of Six Feet Under lately (which is worthy of a blog in itself) but I took particular notice to this one funeral company that was offering it's services.

Their mission statement (as seen on their website, click here to see more) is as follows: "Our aim is to provide excellent funeral service to families of every race and religion. We are a dedicated team of women who offer the assurance of absolute support and professional attention with genuine care. We are committed to the training of our staff in all areas of funeral service with the vision of providing the best service available in this honourable profession. Because our families are our highest priority, our mission is to provide this service with honesty, care and respect."

From their advertisements on television, the services offered are that of white ladies being grief counselors, funeral directors and pallbearer's while wearing all white and disgustingly ugly hats. Now the first thing that comes to my mind when I see this ad is that it is offensive. I understand it is called "White Lady Funerals" because they are women dressed in white. But let's get a little beneath the surface here. While it may have been no intention to be racially prejudicial, (as they claim in their mission statement, they serve "every race and religion") the idea of a black family sending out invitations for a family member's funeral to be held a "White Lady Funerals" seems beyond comical and quite unlikely.

It's interesting when you include colour representation into the mix. It is accepted that most people generally wear black to a funeral. These "White Lady Funeral" staff members are in all white. The colour black usually symbolises darkness, death, unhappiness, evil. White is the colour of purity, peace, innocence and good. So, the idea of "White Lady Funerals" inadvertently says that the colour of their uniform symbolically combats against the evil of death (black) and will bring peace to the grieving process.

The idea of women wearing white may seem innocent enough, as does the point of the business in providing a service that is done best by women (as seen in their view), but how you would feel if you weren't either white nor a woman. It's the name that is the problem here. It goes back to such archaic and racist ideas, mostly segregation. The name implies that it is ONLY white women who can provide this service, and perhaps the only gender and race it will provide for. I'm sure that the services of the "White Lady Funerals" are quite sufficient, but I think they may need to seriously rethink their name if they want to represent and serve a wider base and come into the 21st century, where we have apparently come so far when it comes to civil rights.

So while it may seem like I'm calling "White Lady Funerals" white supremacists, think about the reaction it creates in you, or people you know. Are you offended? Have you been to a "White Lady Funeral"? Is this a fair reaction or an unfair and exaggerated one?