Gender and Sexuality Studies

Abstract

Black women are consequently too frequently rendered invisible within Hollywood’s mainstream movie space. This presentation focuses mostly upon black female iconography within mainstream film since movies are more ubiquitous and typically enjoy larger audiences and longer shelf lives than individual television shows. To this extent, few studio-backed, widely distributed movie vehicles feature a solitary black female lead actress. The fact that these controlling images remain largely unchallenged within Hollywood means that such narratives continue to elevate white women at the expense of black women who remain visually subjugated as a reflection of their oppressed status within society.

Hence, the oft-exploited nature of black female imagery and their intersectionality not only reflects black female subjugation off screen within society, but it also reinforces what we do not want to happen to white women, or at least, will not allow to happen to white women as part of the white male-dominated patriarchy’s partiality for white female protection. Thus, the idea that all black women were designed essentially to either serve white men in a sexual manner or a servile manner is a perverse fiction of white imagination crystalized in film that has yet to undergo sustained challenge or disruption within Hollywood. For, in looking at  most black female mainstream characters, it is important to look at not only the image the black woman creates, but also the shadow she casts. In other words, black female iconography gives us information twofold: 1) about the continued marginalization of black women, 2) and also of the sustained glamorization of white women.

Biography

Frederick W. Gooding, Jr. (PhD, Georgetown University) is the Dr. Ronald E. Moore Endowed Professor of the Humanities and Associate History Professor of African American Studies within the John V. Roach Honors College at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX. Featured in national outlets such as "New York Times," "USA Today," and "TIME Magazine," Dr. Gooding is a professor of pop culture who engages audiences on subtle racial patterns "hidden in plain sight." Dr. Gooding has also provided social commentary on CNBC, CBS, and Fox News networks and has reached an international audience through his writings and invited lectures.