Black women rarely get to work without the burden of everyone’s biases, and reality television is no exception. The second part of The Real Housewives of Potomac reunion featured the cast discussing colorism.
Candiace Dillard-Basset, Wendy Osefo, and the rest of the housewives stepped up to the plate to facilitate the discussion, and I thought to myself, “I really hope they got another bonus for this.”
Dillard-Basset and Osefo have been held to a different standard than their counterparts by fans because of the color of their skin. Since joining the franchise, they have been the subject of racially motivated attacks from trolls.
They are victimized by certain viewers, not because of their friendly husbands or “antagonizing” comments, but because of their skin tones. This is demonstrated by dog whistles like “aggressive” being tossed at them while their counterparts get called “messy” for the same behavior. Even when they go out of their way not to portray stereotypes like Wendy did in the fight with Mia, they still get the brunt of the blame for every altercation.
Ashley and Mia acknowledged their privilege, and the Grande Dame admitted that colorism was entrenched in her family lineage. Robyn and Gizelle were, Robyn and Gizelle. But it was Candiace who consulted Miriam-Webster to explain that “prejudice or discrimination, especially within a racial or ethnic group favoring people with lighter skin over those with darker skin.” Executive producer Andy Cohen stepped back and said he was giving her the floor because she was “most vocal” about the situation.
Get someone else to do it
This emotional labor put the ownness on her to defend herself against something she should not have to put up with to begin with.
Colorism is real, and we should be talking about it, but having Candiace lead the conversation when she is the one being attacked by fans and trolls felt wrong. The way this went down is another…
Read the full article here
