Representations of Black Women in the Media In 1920 W.E.B. Du Bois cited the damnation of women as linked to the devaluation of motherhood. This dilemma, he argued, had a crushing blow on Black women as they were forced into slavery. Black womanhood, por- trayed as hyper-sexual by nature, became an enduring stereotype that did not coincide with the dignity of mother and wife. This portrayal continues to reinforce negative stereotypes of Black women in the media today. This book highlights how Black women have been negatively portrayed in the media, focusing on the export nature of media and its ability to convey notions of Blackness to the public. It argues that media such as rap music videos, television dramas, reality television shows, and newscasts create and affect expectations of Black women. Exploring the role that racism, misogyny, and media play in the representation of Black womanhood, it provides a foundation for challenging contemporary media’s portrayal of Black women. Marquita M. Gammage is Assistant Professor in the Africana Studies Department at California State University, Northridge, USA. Her research interest focuses on overt and covert representations of racism and sexism as they pertain to media-generated images of Black womanhood. Routledge Transformations in Race and Media Series Editors: Robin R. Means Coleman University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Charlton D. McIlwain New York University 1 Interpreting Tyler Perry 4 The Myth of Post-Racialism in Perspectives on Race, Class, Television News Gender, and Sexuality Libby Lewis Edited by Jamel Santa Cruze Bell and Ronald L. Jackson II 5 Representations of Black Women in the Media 2 Black Celebrity, Racial Politics, The Damnation of Black and the Press Womanhood Framing Dissent Marquita Marie Gammage Sarah J. Jackson 3 The Cultural Politics of Colorblind TV Casting Kristen J. Warner Representations of Black Women in the Media The Damnation of Black Womanhood Marquita Marie Gammage First published 2016 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2016 Taylor & Francis The right of Marquita Marie Gammage to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gammage, Marquita Marie, 1983- Representations of black women in the media: the damnation of black womanhood / by Marquita Marie Gammage. pages cm. — (Routledge transformations in race and media; 5) Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. African Americans in mass media. 2. Women in mass media. I. Title. P94.5.A37G36 2016 302.23089'96073—dc23 2015025359 ISBN: 978-1-138-94519-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-67155-0 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by codeMantra Contents List of Tables and Figures vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1 From Sara Baartman to Michelle Obama 15 2 From the Auction Block to Hip Hop 34 3 The Reality of Reality TV 71 4 Ain’t I a Woman? Cause I Damn Sure Ain’t a Man! 93 5 I am Mom-in-Chief 113 6 Redefining Black Womanhood: An Africana Womanist Approach 136 Conclusion 149 Index 157 This page intentionally left blank List of Tables and Figures Tables 2.1 Top Ten Rap Music Videos That Feature Black Women 2010 37 3.1 Reality Television Shows Starring Black Women 2014 76 3.2 Reality Television Show Episode Descriptions with Messages of Hyper-Violence in 2014 80 5.1 Black Female Lead Character as Mothers in Television Dramas 2014 119 5.2 Black Mothers in Reality Television Shows 125 Figures 1.1 Sartjee the Hottentot Venus, Now Exhibiting in London, Drawn from Life, circa 1810. Image provided by the Westminster City Archives 21 6.1 Participant with Son 139 6.2 Participant with Group of Community Kids She Mentored 141 6.3 Participant’s Two Friends 144 6.4 Participant as Naturally Beautiful 145 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments I begin by acknowledging my foremothers and founders of Africana Wom- anism for their insight and courage in creating a theoretical methodology attuned to the cultural and historical lives of Africana women. Clenora Hudson-Weems, Nah Dove, Delores P. Aldridge, Pamela Yaa Asantewaa Reed, and all Africana womanists, thank you for paving the way and creating the space for culturally appropriate scholarship on Africana womanhood. Black female focus group participants from the south and east coast helped to inspire this manuscript. Their critiques of the representations of Black women in the media and their desire to see more accurate portrayals of womanhood encouraged me to systematically evaluate images of Black women in current popular media. I would also like to thank all research participants who participated in my study Perceptions of African American Females: An Examination of Black Women’s Images in Rap Music Videos. I must acknowledge the Cheikh Anta Diop International Conference for providing the platform in which I first presented my analysis on the damna- tion of Black womanhood. I would like to thank the conference committee and the intellectual community of Afrocentric scholars who attend the con- ference for their critical feedback and support. The students at California State University, Northridge, and California State University, Dominguez Hills, were very receptive of my analyses of media images of Black women. I acknowledge the students in The Black Woman in Contemporary Times course and all students who attended the Black Bag and Flawless: Black Women and Body Image discussion panels. Thank you to the Department of Africana Studies and the Sisterhood orga- nization for providing the venue to share my research with the academic community at CSUN. The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences at California State Univer- sity, Northridge, provided several grants to financially support the writing of this manuscript. Summer grants and research grants throughout the Fall and Spring semesters helped to secure resources and course release throughout the manuscript writing process. Words cannot express my gratitude for my mothers, sisters, and girl- friends who supported me and my family throughout the writing of this book. My mother Thelma Pellerin has offered invaluable support, and is