Femimism was not made for women of color. Whether African American, Asian, Hispanic, Latina, Native American, Indian, if you were not a white woman feminism was not originally meant to protect you. In the fight for equality white women fought for equality in comparison to white men while conveniently forgetting about Black and Hispanic women. Lately there has been a commentary about the intersectionality of racism and sexism. It is obvious that in the entertainment industry womem of color receive less oppurtunities than their white counterparts. At last night’s Emmy’s, during her acceptance speech, Viola Davis brought this issue to the forefront.
Lets not forget Viola Davis is the first black woman to EVER win an Emmy for Lead Actress in a Drama. After 67 ENTIRE years, Viola Davis is the first black woman to win this award. Viola Davis’ commentary about racial inequality and under-representation in the acting world is much like Nicki Minaj’s recent commentary about women of color and body shaming in the music industry.
Much like Minaj’s tweets, Davis’ comments went unheard and/or misunderstood by her white counterparts. It is surprising how similar their white counterparts reacted to their cry for equality and justice. It is a popular belief that white women that do not understand the intersectionality of racism and sexism noramally mistake the commentray of Women of Color as some type of exclusion. In reality women of color have been left behind for years and are trying to catch up in the race that white women have already begun.
Like Viola so gracefully stated “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there”
If you take anything away from Viola Davis’ speech take this:
- Women of color are barely represented in the media.
- Women of color are normally typecast and become stuck in stereotypical roles that don’t express the diversity of thier culture.
- Women of color do not get the recognition they deserve inany sector of the entertainment industry.
- Women of color, especially black women, have fewer opportunities in comparison to men and their white counterparts.
In addtion to Viola Davis, Regina King and Uzo Aduba also received Emmy’s for their roles in their respective television shows. So let us not erase the struggle of women of color in the entertainment business. Let us take a tip from Aunt Viola and strive to create more opportunities for women of color and give them the representation they deserve.
Thank you for your words of wisdom Aunt Vi HCXO!