Everywhere you turn on television, women are fussing and fighting with each other. Be it the “Real Housewives,” the “Desperate Housewives” or the “Basketball Wives,” television is pumping out some of the cattiest, most duplicitous females ever seen on the small screen in quite some time.
Nowadays, however, in this era of reality television, where we spotlight everyone from the destitute to the posh, it seems that black women are getting hit hardest by this new form of insta-entertainment.
As I watched “Celebrity Apprentice” last night, and witnessed the often-combative NeNe Leakes respectfully argue her point with Dionne Warick, I was taken aback.
“That’s it, NeNe?,” I thought.
No voice inflection. No bugged eyes. No neck rolls and finger waving.
Sure, NeNe stands up for herself on the show. She and Star Jones will continue to go at it. But as bad as the strife between African American females on “Celebrity Apprentice” gets, its nowhere near the level of shows like “Basketball Wives,” which sees women like Royce or Tami verbally berate the likes of Jennifer or Evelyn. And vice-versa.
Or what about the new series “Love & Hip Hop,” which features black women arguing and crying over their relationships with rappers.
And let’s not get started on the Godfather of this modern age of Jerry Springer-like reality television, “The Flavor of Love,” which created so many outrageous spin-offs featuring explosive personalities (remember “I Love New York,” or the shameless “Charm School?”) it would take a week’s worth of in-depth research to simply scratch the surface of its cultural impact.
In truth, reality television manages to make everyone look like a downright fool, but when a certain group isn’t as strongly represented outside of tawdry “Wives” shows (how many black women are headlining comedies or dramas on television?), it makes it easier to put someone in a box. And keep them there indefinitely.
In the eyes of many, if a black woman isn’t hosting her own daytime talk show like Oprah or Wendy Williams, she’s likely verbally berating another woman of color on a show that aims to be “real.”
And that’s exactly what America wants to see. It’s exactly what America has grown to expect.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Tuesday, March 29th 2011 at 1:30PM
You can also
click
here to view all posts by this author...
