Are we regressing in what it means to have representation?
With All-American ending its eighth and final season, Boarders ending with its third season, and a plethora of new white YA shows on the way, it makes many young black adults wonder where our next ‘Young Adult (YA) show’ is. In the 1990s and 2000s, numerous black YA shows emerged, such as The Parkers and The Game, but what about now? Many people feel that we are going backwards on what it means to be represented in media.
The case of the missing black girl
With a recent drought of black YA, there’s an even greater shortage of black girls in YA media. Many YA shows have come out in recent years, and people are noticing a lack of black girl presence in these shows. Many often ask the question “Where are the black girls?” which is a valid question to ask, considering most of these shows are set in places where black girls are based. Audiences have even begun to theorize that if a show contains a black male character, it will not include a female one, and they use shows such as Adults and Overcomers as examples, which is sad, because there were so many old shows that had black girl characters that were even leading characters. It leaves people to wonder: what can they watch?
But shows that do include a black girl aren’t any better. Many shows face criticism over the underuse of their black female characters and the lack of storylines they get. For instance, The Summer I Turned Pretty, where they Race-bent the character of Nicole Richardson, played by Summer Madison, who is Conrad’s girlfriend in season one, just for her to be sidetracked and disposed of after being used as development in Conrad’s and Belly’s relationship. Many people call this an example of the disposable black girlfriend trope. The trope is a common occurrence in media, and it occurs when a Black female character is introduced as a love interest, only to have her removed or discarded in favor of the main character’s “true” love interest, who is usually white. This often leaves a sour taste in people’s mouths, especially after seeing so many shows and movies do this trope.
So what now?
Now that we’ve addressed the lack of Black media in the mainstream, what can we do as audience and consumers? Many people have given up trying to find and watch shows that represent themselves and people who look like them. Some have resorted to just watching old shows like Moesha and Everybody Hates Chris to see black main characters and casts, which just isn’t fair. We need more black modern and up-to-date media. It’s essential for us, as consumers and audience members, to stay informed and watch the black shows and media that are emerging, despite the ongoing drought, such as Forever and the newest seasons of All-American and Boarders.
Black young adults nowadays deserve to have black love, especially young black love, as well as drama and feel-good stories. The lack of young black adult media is pushing teens and young adults to watch shows that make them feel inadequate or relate to things that genuinely don’t understand them. That’s why it’s important to have shows like Forever. It was a hit; many young adults loved the relationship between Keisha and Justin and saw themselves represented in ways they didn’t think were possible. That’s why representation matters.