3 dimensional portrayals of women of color, but only if they have white male love interests
I am glad to see more 3 dimensional representations of women of color in mainstream media. However, I’ve largely been frustrated by the erasure and dehumanization of men of color in these stories, and the elevation of white men as the most desirable, perpetuating white male supremacist ideas, and want to see way more stories of people of color being romantic partners with other people of color. I won’t know how much of this is related a long history of white gatekeepers, writers, producers, executives, casting directors making decisions to insert white men into (often) the center of stories, or how much of it is related to storytellers of color internalizing ubiquitous, hegemonic, racist ideas of white being the most desirable and the necessity to center white people for more “success” and “universal” appeal.
Both are problems interlinked with each other and both perpetuate these white male supremacist ideas further.
There is a long history of white men in positions of power trying to control white women, and women of color, through “miscegenation” laws and the ubiquitous perpetuation of ideas that white men are more desirable and men of color are dehumanized predators…
