Blog 9

Faith Beglane

April 3, 2015

            In the book ‘Bad Feminist’, by Roxanne Gay, she talks about how it is hard to please everyone and how the media and television only really relate to well off white women in her charter Girls, Girls, Girls. The show Girls on HBO is about aspiring writer, Hannah in New York. She and her three best friends aren’t quite sure what they want or who they want it from. Each with their own perfect picture in their head but unsure as how to get it. They face day to day struggles that most women have to face. The directors try their best to make it repeatable, but Gay points out that they are really only relating to the white women in America. This point is made several times with many movies and show. The fact is that it’s a double edged sword. Diversity isn't shown all that often on the big screen but when it is, black women are usually shown in a way that is very feisty, and sassy. Although black women can be like this, I think that it’s more of a stereotype than anything else. There are not nearly as many famous diverse actors/ actresses compared to the amount of famous white people in society. One of the most uprising black actresses, Lupita Nyong’o from twelve years of slave, sets a really good example and doesn't portray the typical black women that most other shows seem to show. I think that if black women were shown the same way that Nyong’o is shown then it would start to please more people. The issue people have is not that their race isn't shown but more that it’s depicted in a way that is very stereotypical and could be considered offensive in some cases. Race is a very sensitive topic in today’s society and I believe it’s because of all the offensive things said on a daily basis. I think that if people were more accepting and paid less attention to the stereotypes then we would have a more accurate depiction of not only black women’s lives, but also the daily life of any female.