Shameless: The Ignorance of Liam’s Racial Identity and Problematic Portrayal of Veronica
Shameless, a show about the Gallagher family living in the South Side of Chicago, explores many different real-life issues such as alcoholism, financial problems, and family conflicts throughout this 11 season series. Although Shameless helps display many American problems in a truthful light, the representation of Black people in the show is problematic because of the whitewashing and harmful narratives that are displayed. In Shameless, all of the characters are predominately white, except for two characters, Liam and Veronica. This blog post will focus on the representation of these two characters in a series where everyone else is white.
Liam is the only Black child in the Gallagher family, and in the beginning seasons, he doesn't play much of a role considering his age and lack of verbal skills (Murphy, 62). Despite this, he still embodies Black representation on the show. (Murphy, 62). Liam becomes more known in season seven when he is given a free ride to a prestigious private school and season eight when he is more vocal. Although it’s not stated how Liam got a free ride, it soon becomes obvious he was to attend this school to be the school's token Black child. This notion is conveyed throughout season eight, such as episode one around 21:20, when the viewers watch as Liam is pulled numerous times from his class to be put in the playground that the tours walk by and the tour guide says they have diversity at the school. Here is one short video montage clip from multiple episodes showing Liam being taken away from his class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjP2ejCz2m4 . Sesali Bowen talks about this in her article, "We Need To Talk About Shameless' New Liam & His New School." where Bowen says, "Unbeknownst to the Gallagher family, Liam was only allowed to attend his new private school to be their shining example of diversity, even at the expense of his education." And while this spotlights a real issue that happens regarding diversity quotas at schools, Shameless still falls short in representation due to whitewashing communities in the show and the Black characters, such as Veronica, fitting into racial stereotypes.
Pictured: Liam at his new private school being the only Black male there.
It isn't until season ten where Liam comes to terms with his racial identity and the whiteness his family and community have imposed on him and his life. Not only does whiteness occur in the show, but also Liam is mistreated often as well. Liam is used for all sorts of manipulative things like helping Frank, his father, steal things because his innocence is easy to take advantage of. Trin Moody says in the article, "Time To Get Critical About Representation in Shameless," says, "His family's ignorance of his identity is glimpsed over… [and] the characters give little acknowledgment to his mistreatment." When he decides to move in with Todd, a Black friend, and his family, he becomes connected with his ancestral roots. When he sees Todd's house is full of pictures of Black representation, including Obama, he feels welcomed and encouraged to accept his blackness. Therefore, Liam embraces his race and dismisses his family's disapproval of moving out and working on his identity. Liam’s change of identity is not only shown in his room decorations but also in how he dresses and looks with a new hairstyle, an afro. Liam also talks with a Black family member, Maver, who later becomes a mentor for Liam and teaches him how to live in America as a black man. Mavar is critical to Liam's development because he can connect with another person of his race and get valuable lessons he wouldn't have received from his white family that doesn't understand what it's like to be Black. In this video clip, around 2:09, Mavar describes what it's like to live in America as a Black man to Liam, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhSGWLria4k . This video is one of the many lessons he teaches Liam throughout the season. Overall, seeing this significant change from season one to season 10 in Liam's character development is vital when thinking of how he went from "being plopped at the Gallagher dining table for Shameless to earn some diversity points." (Moody) to being his own person and character with personal triumphs without his white family members being present.
Pictured: Liam in a clothing item (dashiki) and hairstyle (afro) specific to his race.
Another Black character that has a problematic representation is Veronica, a neighbor to the Gallaghers, and like a second family member to them. Throughout the series, Veronica also mentors and helps Liam in understanding and embracing his identity. In season ten, episode one, Liam even asks Veronica to teach him about slavery and they eat food their ancestors ate in the past. And while this brings up important history of Black people, the scene still has a light-hearted undertone, which can take away from its seriousness. This shows that although Shameless includes important topics regarding diversity, it still doesn't result in the Black characters being represented accurately. Although Veronica is viewed as a strong Black woman who has two daughters, a business, and a healthy relationship, she is also is portrayed as a sex-worker for some of the beginning seasons. She does this type of work to make money for her and her white partner, Kevin, to stay afloat, but this portrayal still doesn’t represent her well. Especially because her character is portrayed too sexually in the show, not only from her side work but the way she is dressed. Veronica wears many revealing and skimpy clothing, which can further sexualize her and take away her personality and character. From the very beginning seasons, there are many shots of Veronica having sex and/or her wearing only her bra and underwear often, when looking at scenes of her female white best friend, Fiona, she doesn’t have nearly as many scenes similar to Veronica’s. This is not okay because it can portray Black females in a false and horrible light that can say they are here for only sexual purposes.
Pictured: Veronica in a more revealing top while Fiona is all bundled up.
Nicole Murphy talks about how Veronica's character has been developed well enough to not be a token character in the show, but "her job as an internet sex worker and her relationship with her boyfriend Kevin are often shown in ways that slide easily into the jezebel myth." (Murphy, 63) This myth is explained as one that labels Black women as hypersexual females who influence white men into their beds (Murphy, 63). Therefore, it's evident that Veronica's representation is highly problematic, considering the myth roots stem from slavery. Throughout the series, Veronica uses her body to gain profit or something else via a sexual act with a white man. In season nine, episode three, Veronica helps one of the Gallaghers get a recommendation to an academy by doing this. This is also a considerable problem because Veronica is used for white gain, meaning she helped Carl, a white male, get something while she got nothing in return. Therefore, while Shameless has walked in the right direction in some aspects, the show is lacking greatly in proper representation for both Liam and Veronica. Hopefully in the next season, there will be better representation of both characters as they continue living in the South Side of Chicago.
Pictured: Veronica making a joke that Fiona looks like her, which can indicate her outfit is revealing.
Works Cited:
Bowen, Sesali. “‘Shameless’ Gets Political With A New Liam & His New School.” Shameless Liam School, Chicago Immigration Race Issues, 6 Nov. 2017, www.refinery29.com/en-us/2017/11/179867/shameless-liam-school-racist-season-8-episode-1.
Moody, Trin. “Time To Get Critical About Representation in ‘Shameless.’” Medium, Incluvie, 27 July 2020, medium.com/incluvie/time-to-get-critical-about-representation-in-shameless-4fa2f6faac98.
Murphy, N. L. (2014). Class Negotiations: Poverty, Welfare Policy, and American Television. Austin: University of Texas.
