soportando y sobreviviendo
October 18, 2011
-
Copied from Racialicious: Fandom and its hatred of Black women characters.
What do Martha Jones, Tara Thornton, Guinevere, and Mercedes Jones have in common?
- If you answered that they are major supporting characters in hit TV shows, give yourself 1 point.
- If you answered that they are among the few fictional representations of Black women on major network television shows, give yourself 2 points.
- If you answered that fandom, for some mysterious reason, hates the shit out of them, give yourself 5 points.
- If you answered that fandom’s hatred of these characters are particularly gendered and racialized along stereotypes about Black women, hand yourself the internet.
The level of hatred spewed at these characters sometimes even manages to spill over onto the actors who portray them. Poor Rutina Wesley can’t do anything right in True Blood fandom. And according to some Merlin fans, Angel Coulby is probably the Antichrist. OK, I exaggerate. But not by much.
If you watch Merlin or True Blood, you’d know that some of the more melanin-challenged characters deserve that sort of vitriol waaaaaaay more than the characters it’s directed at, particularly if you consider reckless endangerment of innocent lives to be morally reprehensible. These are the same people who swoon over Franklin – a psychopathic vampire kidnapper/rapist/murderer – but wish all sorts of hellfire and brimstone onto Tara Thornton. Let’s not talk about how, in the eyes of Doctor Who fandom, Martha Jones’ chief flaw is not being someone else*. Gleeks seem to hate Mercedes just because she’s competition for Rachel. And Merlin fandom seems to believe that Morgana’s treacherous magical White girl ass is a more empowering role model for women than Guinevere’s steady, quiet strength**.
What’s so wrong with these characters according to fandom? Hm, let’s see:
- They have an attitude problem.
- They’re lazy.
- They’re mean.
- They’re stupid.
- They’re ungrateful.
- They’re selfish.
- They’re sluts.
Why do I feel like I need to puke and take a shower every time some of this shit shows up on my Tumblr, my LJ, or some other social media? Oh yeah, because this shit ain’t new, and it makes me sick.
I’m not going to break down the history of stereotypes against Black women because, hello, Google is your friend (until it enslaves us all to its will). This is Ars Marginal. We’re beyond that 101-level bullshit. Instead, we’re going to talk about how it affects real Black women in the real world. You know, the Black women you live with, work with, play with, love with, and so on.
When I see fandom reacting to fictional Black women this way, I wonder what they’re saying about real Black women while our backs are turned.
- If we react angrily to being repeatedly ignored, disrespected, and/or abused, will our White co-workers say we have an attitude problem?
- If we are open about seeking and enjoying sex, will our White friends call us slutty?
- If we demand recognition of our talents and gifts, will our White counterparts say that we’re looking for a handout or are getting too uppity?
- If we achieve better results with less work, will the White people in our lives call us lazy?
- If we speak our truth without apology, will White people call us mean?
- If we take care of ourselves, will we be called selfish?
- If we act, speak, or think without prior White approval, will we always be seen as stepping out of line?
Martha Jones: not a strong female (IMO) but I blame the writers
Tara Thorton: one of my favourite characters on True Blood - a hell of a lot stronger and less annoying that Sookie
Guinever: meh, the whole show is meh and she doesn’t stand out to me
Mercedes: I don’t blame her for “having an attitude problem” because up until recently she has seriously been thrown to the background in order to make Rachel look better. Glee is seriously annoying me more and more, but much like a car crash, I just have to take the time to watch and see what happens. Also, she’s in high school - she’s still developing as a human being, she’s allowed to not be perfect and honestly she’s one of the least annoying people on the show. And Glee, wtf with the asian-dating-asian black-dating-black couples? A giant WTF
(Source: racialicious.com, via ancestryinprogress)
