As college students, we’re entering a time of self-discovery while also finding our own definition of what womanhood means to us. Navigating this means experiencing many firsts, while also searching for signs of relatability in order to be seen and daydreaming about what lies ahead as we live life, embracing the good and the bad.
There has been discourse around the BET show Being Mary Jane, starring Gabrielle Union. This series tells the story of a successful Black cable news anchor thriving in her job field, but feels as if something is missing. The show premiered the summer of 2013, and has ran for five seasons, ending in a finale movie in 2019. Over the last two months, there has been a resurgence of conversations around the show and what it means to watchers.
Women are finding themselves sitting down; rediscovering this show during their adult years, after watching it for the first time when they were teenagers. As they tune back into the life of Mary Jane, they find that it hits differently the second time around. Videos upon videos on TikTok have commented things like I haven’t watched this show since I was 16, but now at my current age, of course this series hits different!
Mary Jane as a character is complicated, but that’s what makes her great. She’s complex and real. That doesn’t always mean being a good person, or making the best decisions. It just makes her human. That’s why the audience can relate — because they themselves are just trying to navigate their life by being their most authentic self while battling complicated dynamics in friendships, family and self-worth. Mary Jane is the epitome of discovering womanhood and what it means to be a black woman in society, who is also successful. Of course the show is dramatized, but that doesn’t make the topics discussed within it less real.
It’s messy, but life is messy and to be able to push through we have to build discipline and pick ourselves up. This manifests in all types of forms: from journaling, dancing around the room, or even a song to uplift. The series is a comfort for women. Watching it now lets them understand it, relate to it, and appreciate it for what it is.
It’s fascinating to hear how people perceived a show after growing up and being able to relate to things they themselves never expected to go through initially. Mary Jane seems to be the new “It Girl” for women entering in their years of becoming a woman, while being a guide towards success and self improvement. In a way, we’re all Mary Jane. Just trying to move with grace one step at a time.