Face to Race

21     According to Roberts' Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty, Black women's bodies have, throughout history, been represented, monitored, and regulated by a White supremacist patriarchal society. Roberts explains that "American culture is replete with derogatory icons of Black women—Jezebel, Mammy, Tragic Mulatto, Aunt Jemima, Sapphire, Matriarch, and Welfare Queen" (8). Even today, Black women's bodies are still (re)presented as grotesque, pathological, and deviant. Representations of the Black female body are still constructed by a White supremacist patriarchal society. Though the meanings of these bodies may change throughout different historical moments, one thing has remained constant. According to hooks, (re)presentations of Black women "seem to represent an anti-aesthetic, one that mocks the very notion of beauty" (71).

22     Black women (and Latinas) are often constructed against normative White femininity. Roberts argues that "whites are associated with positive characteristics (industrious, intelligent, responsible), while Blacks are associated with the opposite negative qualities (lazy, ignorant, shiftless)" (9). In the seventies, Grier depicted to mainstream culture what a strong Black woman embodied, but it is important to note that we do not intend to romanticize these images for there were still racist and sexist subtexts. Our argument, however, is that Pam Grier is no longer playing a sexy, strong Black woman. Instead, she is the present day Aunt Jemima of The L Word. Pam Grier, once known as Foxy Brown—the essence of Black sexuality in the 70s—has become the desexed Sapphire and Aunt Jemima. Cornel West argues that

The dominant myths draw black women and men either as threatening creatures who have the potential for sexual power over whites, or as harmless, desexed underlings of a white culture. There is Jezebel (the seductive temptress), Sapphire (the evil, manipulative bitch), or Aunt Jemima (the sexless, long-suffering nurturer). (119)

Unfortunately, there is not much diversity in the roles Black women can play on television and in film. This is especially evident on The L Word.

23      Portraying the only Black character on a lesbian based show is a far cry from the dominant roles of Foxy Brown and Coffy. Grier's character, Kit Porter, is the half sister of Bette, one of the main characters. We are continuously reminded that Kit and Bette are 'half sisters.' It is not clear why each of them refers to the other this way, especially upon introductions. It is, however, a defining feature of their relationship. Kit is an uneducated (Aunt Jemima), unemployed, manipulative (Sapphire), recovering alcoholic who was once a famous R&B singer (ironic). Kit's life is portrayed as a constant battle between good and evil: she habitually falls short of her goals, and she can never seem to reach the level of success of her White lesbian counterparts because of her educational, economic, and emotional shortcomings. Andrea Queeley contends, "Black performers have always been pressured to perform the Blackness of the white imagination, and the Blackness is most often in the service of white supremacy" (4). Pam Grier's character perpetuates multiple negative stereotypes of Black women and reaffirms White negative perceptions of Blacks. The L Word's narrow-minded generalizations of Black women are a result of the racial stereotypes that have been perpetuated by Eurocentric culture, which control the media. West contends that these myths and stereotypes "are part of a wider network of white supremacist lies whose authority and legitimacy must be undermined" (131). The first time Kit appears in The L Word strongly exemplifies of West's argument. She is pulled over by a White police officer and we learn that Kit is driving with a six month suspended driver license. Facing jail time or a pricey fine, Kit tries to bribe the officer with Aaron Neville concert tickets. She sweet-talks the officer and, instead of jail or a ticket, he impounds her car and gives her a ride to Bette and Tina's house. We find this scheme problematic for various reasons. First, since Kit is the only easily identified Black character on The L Word, to many viewers she is their weekly representation of Black culture. Kit's portrayal as a fast-talking, manipulative, recovering alcoholic demonizes Blacks to the millions of viewers who may learn about Black culture through watching The L Word. Second, this scheme glorifies the White police officer since he does not take the concert tickets and ultimately goes out of his way to drop Kit off. He upholds his pure, egalitarian White standard while Kit seems irresponsible and corrupt.

24      Grier's character also bolsters the current myth of meritocracy. Sociologist Thomas M. Shapiro defines meritocracy as "the idea that positions are earned through hard work and personal achievement and through no resources other than one's own" (77). The principles of meritocracy are instilled in North America's very fabric; intertwined within the stars and stripes is the myth that everyone has the same opportunities for social and economic mobility, no matter one's skin color. Kit's poor decision-making and alcohol abuse are seen as the only reason behind her failures. The topics of racism and discrimination are never mentioned; Kit's shortcomings are never socially deconstructed to show societal injustice against Blacks, people of color, and gays and lesbians of all races. Gallagher observes, "whites view the opportunity structure as being open to all regardless of color. . .whites attribute racial inequities to the individual shortcomings of blacks" (4). Kit's lack of education, employment, and lengthy history of alcohol abuse reinforces White's negative views of Blacks, and legitimates Whites' rational for their racist views as they control what is Black through the media. According to Queeley,

From Birth of a Nation to Amos 'n' Andy to Good Times to Family Matters, the television and film industries are notorious for disseminating stereotypical depictions of Black people created by white writers and directors. (4)

Queeley illustrates hegemony in popular culture. White writers and directors disseminate negative and sectarian images of Black culture, of which, as mentioned above, all viewers make meaning. However, the images read and internalized by Blacks assist in their own oppression; too often, Blacks, as well as many other groups, learn what it is to be Black by reading popular culture images. These negative images of Blacks, therefore, are made a reality by Black viewers through 'lived' experiences.

25     On The L Word, Kit is powerless because of her inability to 'pull herself up by her bootstraps,' and live the American Dream. According to Kellner, "Radio, television, film, and the other products of the culture industries provide the models of what it means to be male or female, successful or a failure, powerful or powerless" (1). Thus, through Kit's character, White viewers consciously and unconsciously learn about Black culture. The L Word's representation of Black culture transmits negative ideological images. White media perpetuates negative Black stereotypes, which frame Blacks as deviant, nihilistic, pugnacious, irresponsible, yet profitable for billion dollar corporations that want to market their products with Black faces to the masses, i.e. Nike, Sprite, Polo, Reebok, Verizon, etc.