Darren Criss is half Pinoy. He has almond eyes with extravagant lashes, medium gold toned skin, and thick black curls, but there have been a lot of accusations lately of the production team trying to whitewash him in season 3. Do I think Blaine is being whitewashed? Yes. But I think HE is doing it as a character choice.

• Glee has no problem with interracial couples, including queer couples . Samcedes, Artina, and Brittanna are proof of this.

• Glee has no problem matching skin tone for people of color. Mercedes, Tina, Santana, Mike, and other PoCs have always shown perfect match between the makeup used on their faces and bodies.

• At Dalton, Blaine felt comfortable and safe. His skin tone was natural, his hair neat but curly, and when he wasn’t in uniform, there was nothing remarkable about his clothes. His attitude also radiated confidence despite occasional signs of approval seeking.

• Blaine is TERRIFIED of public schools like McKinley because of his past experiences. We know canonically his approach to not being hurt is to blend in and disappear (Prom).

• Ever since transferring, his hair has been slicked flat with enough gel to repel gunfire.

• He seems to be wearing paler, pinker makeup on his face alone. The makeup department isn’t that clumsy. A scared teenage boy would be. Also, when he was nervous and getting ready for West Side Story, he was piling on pink blush like it was going out of style.

• His behavior has gotten high strung, guarded, and so approval seeking that it is painful to watch.

• His wardrobe has changed radically, and in a way that very much reflects Kurt’s tastes, not what were previously established as his.

• The singing and performing that made him a minor deity at Dalton are a source of targeting and ridicule now, even as they are his remaining base of acceptance with the small group that does like him…and even there, it has been made explicitly clear he is not allowed to be TOO good lest he bruise the Ego of Finn. Watch his eyes during/after “It’s Not Unusual. ” He was expecting the roar of cheers that would have come at Dalton. The smirking indifference shook him badly.

• Insecure teens affecting things that are untrue to their real identity has been a consistent theme from Tina’s stutter to Artie’s ridiculous Gangsta persona to Santana’s heterosexual promiscuity to Dave’s bullying.

Blaine is scared shitless at that school. I think he feels like he has to “perform gay” with his wardrobe now in solidarity with (and to seek approval from) Kurt, but the visibility makes him so much more uncomfortable that he has to erase anything else that might make him a potential target, like being a racial minority. This is very consistent and true to character, and it’s something I hope will be - and believe will be - addressed, but I don’t think it will happen until season 4. With Kurt leaving, Blaine will not only have to decide whether to remain at the school, but how he is going to present himself now that he is no longer socially half of Klaine, and I think that’s where it’s going to come up.

Tl;Dr - Taken in context with his other changes in presentation and overall character, I think Blaine is whitewashing himself rather than the writers and production staff suddenly trying to pass him. Besides, I don’t believe the makeup department is that sloppy.