By: Erin Flood (’19), Staff Writer
Black Panther just reached one billion in ticket sales, not even a month after its release date. Part of the film’s success in attendance comes from the multitude of Black women who showed out to support the film. The film was one in which dark skin Black women took the lead, making Black girls around the world look on the screen, and see someone who finally looked like them. However, in the film’s greatness, there were still aspects that perpetuate some of those stereotypes among Black women. It seems to me, in Hollywood, the representation is not on a spectrum, but in extremes. One could say, you either see someone who looks like you who appears rather tough and masculine or one who is fetishized and sexualized. The problem is, Black women are more than just that.
In the Black Panther, characters like Okoye played a major role in the film. She was a tough, strong, and an independent woman; all qualities that many of us aspire to have. But to me, we did not get to see a vulnerable and feminine side to her, ultimately creating a lack of depth within Okoye. Women can be both. Additionally, in places outside of films like gifs, are other ways in which Black feminism is erased. Queen Bey has been created into a gif in which her muscles look larger, and her face appears more masculine. And what I think is the most premier example of this issue, is with Serena Williams. She’s one of the most amazing tennis players in the world, but much of people’s focus centers around her figure and how “masculine” she is. It’s the overarching concept that in white spaces, Black femininity is erased.
Even in spaces that are more progressive and inclusive than these typical white spaces, there are still instances in which stereotyping occurs and Black femininity is removed. SNL is a prime example of this. Leslie Jones is one of the most notable and well-known Black comedians on SNL. However, she has been repeatedly placed in masculine-like roles. Even with her newer film, Ghostbusters, she played a very masculine woman who lacked a middle ground for her to be feminine in. This is just another example of a white space in which Black femininity is erased.
It is noteworthy to mention that the erasure of Black femininity is as significant in the media as its opposite, the over-sexualizing of Black women in the media. Erasing Black femininity is a hindrance in the media and the over-sexualizing of Black women is just as hindering. Stereotyping of Black women as exotic, sexual beings has been an issue since the beginning of time. From movies as early as The Birth of the Nation, to today’s music videos where Black women are many of the times portrayed as strippers, with lyrics calling women “bitches and hoes”. Stereotyping like this is not just a problem because it lacks well-rounded representation, but it forces Black actresses to give in to these stereotypes, in order to form any traction in the media industry. For example, with Actress, Halle Berry, she did not resist playing a sexual, promiscuous woman in Monster’s Ball and she won an Oscar for her performance in the film. Halle Berry has opened the door for many women of color and has provided on-screen representation for Black girls, but it is at the cost of giving into the extremes that white Hollywood spaces push us in.
The point is, there are layers to people. Everyone has the ability to be strong and tough and other times be vulnerable and feminine-like. To place a Black woman in a role in which she only represents half of that is not only incorrect, but it halts any form of pushing these stereotypes out of the media. Additionally, everyone is more than just bodies and appearance. So, to continuously over-sexualize the Black woman is an insult and again, is halting any progress there could be. At the end of the day, seeing women in the media like Danai Gurira, Halle Berry, and Serena Williams is a step forward, as Black women deserve to see people who look like them on the TV and the big screen; but we deserve people who have ranges of personalities and emotions like us, too. So, just like everyone else, we are on a spectrum, not on two extremes.
