Representation in Media
Media is terrible with representation. While there are many movies and shows with POC, they are often stereotyped, light-skinned, or tokenized.
Specifically black women are almost always light-skinned and thin. Which, are not a problem, except that there are so few WOC who aren’t. In Suits, the two black women with prominent roles have very light skin and are very skinny. On Supernatural, Billie, one of the very few lasting POC, is light skinned, although not as skinny as most WOC in media. In All American, a show that is generally great about representation, the two female main characters are very thin and light-skinned. In Never Have I Ever, the main character’s best friend is a very thin light-skinned WOC. Zendaya, one of the most famous WOC in media, is a very skinny, light-skinned woman. On The Bold Type, the black main character is a thin, light-skinned woman. There are countless examples, and these are only the ones that I have personally watched. While it is not bad that there are light-skinned women in media, it is still representation after all, it is really telling that there are far more light-skinned women than dark-skinned. This stems, I believe, from the sexualization of light-skinned women, and the vilification of dark-skinned characters. By creating characters like these, and not characters who are dark-skinned and heavier, the producers reveal both their inherent prejudices and their view of the audience as all or primarily white, which is not accurate.
Another very evident characteristic in most media is that most black characters are not allowed to become visually angry. Most of the characters I’ve listed never yell or shout or show anger like white characters do on screen. Black men are especially subject to this. In America, when black people were being given more rights, white men grew fearful that black men were more physically able than they. This led to a fear that women would prefer black men over white men. At first, when they appeared in media, black men were portrayed as brutish and animalistic. Subsequently, as black characters became more prominent and accepted, black men were re-characterized as calm, rarely rising to anger, and happy with their place in life, as an attempt to placate the fears of the white audience.
Interestingly, a very prominent stereotype in media is the “angry black woman”, a black woman who is sassy and demanding but ultimately easily broken down into those two characteristics. The reason that WOC are allowed to be angry, but MOC are not is more rooted in sexism than racism, though it is of course related, but breaking it down, white woman are allowed for more characterization than black women. Often, instead of being given two personality traits, ex. sassy and demanding, they are allowed actual personalities. In fact, one of the biggest problems with representation is the characterization of black characters as boring, uninteresting, people who are really only there to check the box labeled “representation” or more likely “token POC”.
There is, of course, more that I could say on the subject, as there is simply so many layers to racism in media, tokenism, stereotypes, and more. However, I try and write these essays based on what I see, movies and tv shows that I watch. What I have written I think delves into what these shows reveal about their unintended biases. And I am NOT saying these shows are bad, I love all of them, but they still contribute to these problems.
I think that the audience of these shows and others are ready to see more representation on screen. Shows should have more dark-skinned women, more angry black men, and essentially more characters of color.
