I make it my business to keep up with trends in the media, so I was not surprised when I heard about Vibe magazine’s new cover featuring some of the black bad girls of reality TV with the caption…wait for it: “Meet your new role models: Kandi, Tamar, Evelyn and Chrissy.”
Holy Hell Cats, Batman!
If you are a self-proclaimed reality TV snob or have just been under a media rock then you may not know that these women represent the very popular shows “The Housewives of Atlanta,” “Braxton Family Values,” “Basketball Wives” and “Love and Hip Hop,” respectfully. The shows have made these women and others like them household names, but some would ask, at what cost?
The women featured on the Vibe cover are there because they have become famous, or infamous, because of their reality personas -- personas that participate in behavior including but not restricted to: being loud, crude, confrontational, earring snatching, heel tossing, spitting, cursing, cat fighting, neck rolling, over-the-top media banshees. What they also have in common is that this behavior is not only a guaranteed ratings booster, it has become synonymous with reality shows that feature women of color.
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| On the June-July cover of Vibe magazine, reality TV vixens Kandi, Tamar, Evelyn and Chrissy are held up as our "new role models." |
So who is ultimately responsible for this image, and should such women be held up as role models?
What are the implications for other young women who see these shows and aspire to be like these women?
Shaunie O’Neal, executive producer of “Basketball Wives,” released a statement to Vibe: “I will never say I agree with some of the behavior between my girlfriends on the show, but if we were to edit certain things out, the show would be scripted and not reality,” she said.
News flash! Many of these shows are very much “produced” to stage and encourage certain behaviors and reactions.
O’Neal goes on to say, “As a woman of color with kids, I am very aware of myself, but I also have to be aware that my choices cannot be the same for everyone on the show and I have to respect that.”
Translation: I am laughing all the way to the bank because I want to have a life and reputation beyond the show, but if these reality TV Valkyries want to act a fool every week, then so be it; I’m getting paid!
There are a few dynamics at work here. These are women who, by all accounts, are trying to get their hustle on and cash in on their fame before the payday runs out. We also have shows that boast incredible ratings, which means that on some level the viewing audience co-signs this type of behavior.
Can we associate the latter scenario with similar urges that drive us to smell the milk well beyond its expiration date or to curse out folks in traffic who are rubber necking but we ourselves slow down and with voyeuristic glee take in the spectacle of some horrible accident?
To really get into a discussion about why these shows and their representation of black women and marginalized communities is detrimental, we have to visit a class I like to call “Media and Culture 101.”
Case in point. I grew up watching the opulent, diva-packed, nighttime soap opera “Dallas” back in the day. The show captured some of the most well-produced catfights caught on film. However, for every female co-star Joan Collins pimp slapped each week, only her actions were scrutinized; she did not become a representative for all white women. This is the historical and contemporary difference as it relates to media and culture.
Right or wrong, people from marginalized communities who are in the media have a tendency of becoming extended representatives of that community. So when Evelyn of “Basketball Wives” (and I am not making this up) takes off her shoes, cursing, climbs over a table at a posh venue and hurls a wine bottle at another woman, then on some level all black women and women of color become scrutinized due to her actions.
So if we are now celebrating women like this as the new role models and this trend continues, then you may find yourself watching a new show next season -- “Black She Devils.” This new reality show would explore the sometimes-complicated life of being the first lady and wife of a mega-church pastor.
I can hear the promo now: “Watch and enjoy the heavenly hijinks as these spiritual divas do battle with deacons, fashion designers, the usher board, kitchen ministry, choir directors, Satan and, most importantly, each other.”
I’m just saying.
