Southlands Regina King WOC in the Media

A guest post from Renee of Womanist Musings, who is all that and four bags of ketchup flavor potato chips. 

One of the reasons I tune into Southland each week is for Regina King.  Though there are a lot of women in prime time television there are not a lot of women of colour staring in roles that reduce them to cheap stereotypes. Regina King plays, Det. Lydia Adams.

Lydia grew up in the hood and she is not policing it.  I do at times have a problem with the things she asserts in character like drugs and criminality being a choice, because Lydia was able to pull herself up by her bootstraps but I fully recognize that the message of meritocracy is something the media is very committed to despite the fact that it is in many cases impossible to achieve a positive shift in class location.  Considering that minority actresses and actors are often forced to say lines that are abhorrent to keep their jobs,  the character of Lydia is far from the worst of examples that appear on television.

Lydia lives with her mother and she has an active sex life for which she does not feel any shame.  She is committed to her job and she is good at it.  My only question in terms of casting has to do with the fact that in the last two seasons she has very specifically been cast with a partner of colour and it feels a little like racial segregation.

If we didn't live in a White supremacist, patriarchal society the fact that Regina King plays Det Lydia Adams, there wouldn't really be worthy of an comment.  The truth of the matter is that King is a rarity in mainstream entertainment despite the so-called post racial world and African-American president.

“I’m just really thankful to have the chance to portray a character you don’t see every day,’’ said King in between filming. “I have women come up to me all the time and say that exact thing to me. They say they love my character and how she is a real woman with a real career that they believe. People love to see themselves on screen in a way that makes sense and seems on point.”

“I’ve tried to be flexible in my career by doing a little bit of everything and that’s worked for me,” says King. “It’s incredibly hard out there for women of color. That’s why I do love being a woman of substance on Southland. Someone who isn’t a caricature and isn’t a stereotype. But remember she wasn’t written as a black character and that makes a big difference in how she can be portrayed.”

King credits the writers and producers of TNT and Southland for encouraging the development of characters based on true human portraits and not on preconceived notions and ideas.

“We’ve all worked together to make Lydia an interesting person that isn’t based on being a girlfriend or sidekick on the show, which is something totally different in terms of writing and acting,” said King. “It’s great to work and have those kind roles, but it’s also great to have the key scenes and be the key character. It’s good for it to be about you sometimes.’’ (source)

What we should be asking is why King is the exception to the rule rather than the rule?  It's not just Black women that are subject to this sort of erasure?  Where are the women of colour in primetime, who are playing characters of substance?  If you turn to reality television, we exist to either be the token Black girl (I'm looking at you Bachelor), or we exist to be shamed for being ghetto, angry, loud or just generally unwomen?  There is a much greater chance in seeing a Black woman show up in an episode to be a prostitute, drug user, or an abusive mother.


Time after time we have heard Black women complain about the lack of good roles available to them, and yet nothing has changed.  It certainly does not help matters that the only ones consistently talking about this issue is us.  Every time I come across a feminist blog talking about roles for women in the media and declaring the degree to which they are feminist, I always wonder to myself when if ever are they going to note that at least they are seen, while we remain largely invisible?  Part of a feminist analysis of media should include the inclusion of marginalized women and yet it continues to be sadly lacking from our so-called allies.

It is my belief that it is even more important for women of color to see positive images of ourselves in the media than it is for White women, because we don't have the shelter that Whiteness to help mitigate the harm that sexism causes.  We don't need anymore Black sidekicks, girlfriends, or BFF's.  I am sick to death of seeing Black women reduced to the role of support staff for White people.  Turning us into new age Mammies is not progress, it isn't even changing the discourse. 

When we complain about this clear bias, we are once again labelled bitter, angry and even untalented.  Any excuse is drummed up rather than dealing with the ongoing active oppression of women of color. Socially, when think of womanhood, Whiteness is the automatic default and this is why as much as sexism is an issue for White women, they are not heavily invested in ensuring that woman means all women, rather than a very small select group.  Whiteness is dedicated to ensuring that whatever opportunities exist for advancement remain specifically in White hands.  This is why when they come to women of colour, with the typical but we're all women routine, I tend to role my eyes with frustration.  We may all be women, but we experience womanhood very differently. The truth of the matter is that we are only partners when you can exploit us.

This is why in everything I do, I commit myself to supporting the work of marginalized women. We cannot count on anyone to come to our aid, or speak about the various ways in which we are oppressed because it is a direct conflict with their unearned and quite frankly undeserved privilege. I am absolutely desperate to see more women in prime time like Regina King.  It is now the year 2012 and I still have not forgotten the fact that as a child, Clair Huxtable was the only face I could turn to who looked like me.  I know first hand the pain of erasure and as such, I cannot help but think about how tough the little Black girls born today will have it. I was shaped in ways I didn't even recognize as a child and I had parents who were very socially aware in terms of race.  Erasure tells us which bodies matter and it seems as far as the media is concerned, Black women still don't rate much mention.

Hollywood Is As Important To Trans People As Washington DC

One of the recurring things I gripe about on TransGriot is the fact that United States based trans people do not get to portray ourselves in film and television roles similarly to what has happened for over a decade in cinematic productions in other parts of the world.

While we've had the occasional film such as Stealth and Bella Maddo pop up for discussion on these electronic pages that has either a trans lead actor or actress or in Bella Maddo's case its all trans cast flipped the script and were playing cis people, the fact remains that many of the films I have talked about in the five years I've compiled TransGriot with trans leads actors are foreign films.

I've discussed films such as the Brazilian one Paulista and the Indian Tamil language film Paal that had transwomen playing transwomen.    In the States, it seems as though the pattern has been anyone except a transwoman should play a transwoman. 

What's jumpstarted this discussion again is another situation in which a trans storyline pops up in an American TV show, and it left not only a lot to be desired in its execution,  the person portraying the trans character wasn't even one of us but a gay man.    It has started an interesting discussion on my Facebook page about this topic that got me thinking about the subject.

One of the things I know from my people's history is that image is everything.    In order for us to make progress on the trans civil rights front from a legislative and legal level, we also have to make progress in terms of how our images are portrayed in popular culture.

Hollywood is just as important to the trans rights struggle as Washington DC or your state capitol.

African Americans for a long time were shunted into a few stereotypical roles before our pioneering actors and actresses like Harry Belafonte, Lena Horne, Sidney Poitier, Cicely Tyson, Diahann Carroll and countless others laid the groundwork in expanding the roles we can play.   In some cases the work that one ethnic group does to break down stereotypes for itself and resist stereotyping others can help open the door for other marginalized groups to tell their stories. 

Civil rights warrior Lena Horne had it written in her contract that she would never play a maid.   She also refused to play a Latina because she remembered the pain she felt when studio execs gave the role of Julie in Showboat, a mulatto character to Ava Gardner. 

But as this year's vanilla scented Oscar ceremony showed, we still have a long way to go before we have consistent representation in Hollywood with all ethnic and marginalized groups in this country.

I'm not saying that an actor of one ethnic group can't  play a character that is part of another ethnic group, a cis woman can't play a trans woman or a gay person can't play a straight one or vice versa.   What I am saying is that it is past time for trans actors and actresses to have the ability and get casted to play trans and cis characters on a more consistent basis.   Because we live those lives and have intimate knowledge of them, we'll play the hell out of those roles.  

Once we establish that we can act and do it well portraying our own lives, hopefully we'll get the opportunities for open trans actors to play roles not scripted specifically for us that we can give award winning performances in.

And don't stop there, Hollywood.   Hire some trans writers (hint, hint)  to write our stories and trans directors to help film those stores    They are toiling away in Tinseltown and would love to not only have the opportunity to hone their craft, but engage in a mutually beneficial partnership that helps everyone make a little money in the process
 

It's no accident that when the show Commander in Chief appeared on network television from 2005-2006 with Geena Davis playing President Mackenzie Allen and Dennis Haysbert playing President David Palmer during the second and third seasons of 24, we ended up having as finalists for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination an African American man and a woman.

Positive fictional roles can also have an unforseen impact on the youth of a minority group as well.    Nichelle Nichols Lt.Uhura character on Star Trek inspired a Chicago girl named Mae Jemison to become a trailblazing astronaut. A New York girl named Caryn Johnson was inspired to become an Oscar winning actress who would have a recurring role of her own on Star Trek The Next Generation.

Rebecca Romijn's Alexis Meade character on Ugly Betty was seen by trans and cis youth   Did Alexis' fictionalized life struggles open some minds to what trans people deal with and probably help us get some trans rights laws passed?    Maybe. 

Did it inspire a trans youth to buckle down in school, improve their grades or maintain them, and set the goal of going to college and become a businesswoman intent on helping our people?   Will it have the same cultural effects inside and outside our community?   Only time will tell.

But as long as the possibility exists and the reality is that art sometimes has a major impact on life, a Hollywood soundstage and the images it creates and broadcasts on our television and movie screens will be as important to the trans rights struggle as a city hall, a legislative capitol building or a courtroom is.

What WE Do Reflects On The ENTIRE Trans Community

I'm going to adapt a saying that used to hang in many of Houston GLBT bars back in the 90's for trans community use.

What I do reflects on you,
What you do reflects on me,
What WE do reflects on the ENTIRE trans community.

There was a discussion on Isis' FB page Monday night in which we were talking about trans women behaving as if they were still sitting on the Jerry Springer stage and triggered the musing that led to this post.   As I've written in these electronic pages numerous times, many transwomen wish to be seen as compliments to the sisterhood, not detriments to it.

These transwomen (and I include myself in that group) are cognizant of the fact we must be in many cases better women than our cis sisters in order to be taken seriously..  Unfortunately we have our nekulturny fringe in the community who are hellbent on living up to every negative stereotype ever written about transwomen and try to come up with a few more of their own for good measure.

Yes, just as those of us who are serious about being complements to our cis sisters are taking responsibility for our behavior, our sisters who want to be the next Springer TV star or call girl need to realize that their personal behavior negatively impacts the entire community.

We are judged as a marginazlized group by the worst we produce, not our best.    To complicate that PR problem, transpeople are a group that has far too many negative stereotypes about it and not enough positive PR and out positive role models to counteract it.

So yes, we need to be concerned with how the entire trans community is perceived by others .  We need to do a better job of pointing to friend and foe alike that we have accomplished, talented people in our ranks and relentlessly trumpet it.

We need a paradigm shift in which the trans narrative, who and what a transperson is and how a transperson is perceived is no longer driven by negativity and falsehoods, but facts, logic and concrete examples of people role modeling the positive behavior.

And if it means that we have to distance ourselves from the few fools in order to benefit the many people in the trans community, then we'll have to be tough minded enough to do so.