In a 2012 Oscar roundtable discussion about the lack of roles for black actresses, Viola Davis, who stars in the upcoming Rhimes show, spoke to the perception that she is automatically less attractive than women who “look like Halle Berry” – women with lighter skin or more loosely curled hair. It was a candid reflection on the way white supremacy manifests itself in the industry: Eurocentric beauty standards simply drive Davis (and people who look like her) out of the competition for roles for which they are qualified because decision makers think a “whiter” look is more relatable or desireable. Actress Charlize Theron then interrupted Davis’s complex critique of the political nature of beauty standards to say simply, “You’re hot as shit”– failing to process any deeper meaning whatsoever. The moment was not, as Theron seemed to understand it, about Davis having low self-esteem or seeing herself as less beautiful than Berry, but about understanding how the Hollywood system both fails to create roles for black women – especially those with dark skin – and see black women inhabiting roles not specifically created for them. The dearth of black women in influential Hollywood roles, and Theron’s failure to understand the gravity of a critique of the driving force that impacts employment prospects, and Stanley’s disaster of a review, by no means exist independently of one another, and none of them need be actively malicious in order to cause harm. They are all bound together by a unifying thread: the inability or unwillingness to see black women as fully human, fully women and worthy of complex, multi-faceted characterizations on screen that reflect the full spectrum of our lives and our emotions. Via Masala Militia
Posted on: Wed, 24 Sep 2014 12:57:02 +0000