Modern Philosopher Some Might Say

Loved Until They Speak

How Black Women are Loved Until They Show Emotion.

By Matilda Daniel

Audiences have seen this time and time again. Women in the media attain a following until they show emotion, speak up and suddenly their kind "persona" vanishes and their "true" colours are revealed. My question is, why is their anger (almost always deserved and situational) seen as their "true colours"? Why isn't it the humour, gracefulness and positive attitude they wear for the rest of their life and coverage?

The beloved reality show, Love Island, USA, Olandria Carthen.

Appeared as an original cast member for season seven, immediately created a name for herself with her high-fashion looks, model-like face card and humorous comments throughout conversations. Fans and followers grew rapidly once she coupled up with Nicolas Vansteenberghe; the two were fan favourites and made it into the Final top 3. However, backlash sparked when Olandria raised her voice at her ex-couple, Taylor, during a fire pit challenge. Once she raised her voice, fans took to social media to almost celebrate that her "true colours" were finally shown.

A "gotcha" moment.

She went from beloved to “problematic” in 30 seconds. Not because she did anything wrong, but because she dared to be a black woman with emotions.

This conditional love we have for women of colour, love that only extends as far as silence, reveals less about the women and more about the audience judging them. For black women in media, we don't offer them neutral ground. They are praised for being graceful or condemned for being too much. White TV personalities are often allowed full emotional range: anger, messiness, breakdowns, without being seen as fundamentally flawed, unlike black women, who are policed into emotional flatness.

And this isn't just aired throughout heavily edited reality TV. This happens in every space women have fought to be in.

Sport? Let's think of Serena Williams. In 2018, Williams stopped the game to confront the umpire and accuse him of sexism, while yelling and throwing her racket.

The commentary was less about the event that caused her outburst, but the fact that she "embarrassed" the sport entirely, with the event still being talked about today. A hardworking professional athlete, now seen as the face of an emotional, rage-filled mental breakdown.

But that's overseas. No. In our own Australian Media? Rhianna Patrick, a prominent Australian journalist, left the ABC after consistent racist comments towards her appearance, voice and mannerisms. With comments stating she comes across "too aggressively" with her points. This pressure and high standard people expect from black women can leave them with no room left to voice their opinions.

The distinct pressure to tick off an inclusive checklist only extends if the selected women are polite, smiling, and silent. The distinct pressure on black women to be more presentable compared to white women is another adjacent issue filtered into our everyday lives.

Being sexualised more than white women, women of colour face microaggressions from others in workplaces and online. Despite all women facing minority setbacks and sexualisation, a white woman's dignity has always been seen as something that needed to be protected, while black women's simply aren't. Subconsciously, the mistreatment of their bodies and intelligence is seen as warranted in the media. "Superwoman schema" is a term that represents black women carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders and never cracking or wobbling under the weight. Women of colour in my life have expressed to me that when they are in the workplace as one of the only black women, they feel as if their actions represent the entire race. They feel the unspoken pressure to be 'on' all the time.

Acknowledging my privilege of never having to experience this type of criticism is the bare minimum. Additionally, every time I watch news events or reality TV moving forward, I will ensure I clock the apparent racism shown to women on screen and continue addressing it, however small the platform.

The irony is that the same audiences who accuse Black women of “showing their true colours” reveal their own instead. The swift punishment of Black female emotion shows the bias still embedded in society. We accept Black women on-screen, but only if they’re edited for our comfort. We want their confidence, but not their boundaries. Their warmth, but not their frustrations. Their beauty, but not their complexity.

Reality TV claims to be about authenticity, but only allowing some people to be real.