Representation Of Black Women In Media

In The US the epitome of representation is Shondaland. We see high powered black women in roles that weren’t specifically written for them. It’s the kind of representation we’ve been hunting for, all on one network, all written by one woman. When I was younger I aspired to be Shonda Rimes, I wanted to write shows that showcased black reality, the kind of reality that featured cookouts on Saturday and over the top drama on Monday. And while I can watch Shondaland shows and get the kind of drama I crave, the kind of drama I wanted to create, we don’t always get full representation of black women. I understand that you can’t get a complete view of black women in three shows,  but that in itself is where the problem lies. We can’t have a few black main characters and call it representation. The Olivia Pope’s and Miranda Bailey’s of the world don’t cover the vast and complex spectrum of black womanhood. We shouldn’t expect Shondaland to be the end all of representation, when she specifically creates one type of black woman, we need to create a diverse group of black women on television, because Shondaland is not enough.