Let's Stop Idolizing the 90's for Dark Skin Representation.. That Time Period was ROUGH!

if you are a light-skinned person and you are  seeing people dog out your dark-skinned friend   and you're laughing along with them you're a  bad friend you're a really really bad friend sometimes it don't make no  sense does it really have to there is nothing I can say hi welcome to Mayowa's  World hi y'all my name is mayowa and on my channel   I like to discuss things around colorism texturism  typically things with an anti-blackness today's   topic is actually going to be discussing dark  skin representation in the 90s through sitcoms   so I've been seeing some rhetoric that I want to  push push back against, a lot of times I'm seeing   people say oh I wish I missed the 90s, the 90s  were so great, the 90s was a really great time for   a dark skin representation -a really great time  for black women, look at all the sitcoms- there's   so many sitcoms that was showing black women  in the 90s I wish you can go back to that time   and so I wrote a tweet and my tweet is doing  like numbers people were really engaging with   it so I decided to make a YouTube video around  this topic so I'll read you my tweet. my tweet   said I think there's also this idolization of  sitcoms in the 90s for end quote having way   more dark skin representation and I would really  push against that colorism was so severe in the   90s and there was a normalization of making jokes  about dark-skinned folk openly in black sitcoms   so for those who are new my name is mayowa I was  born in England I lived there for a year and a   half two years that I completely grew up here  in Atlanta Georgia so all of my socialization   comes from being here in the South so I grew up  like many black kids did in America watching a   lot of sitcoms a lot of black sitcoms and during  the 90s personally myself I didn't feel like it   was an easier time I felt like there was a lot of  very confusing things I felt like there was a lot   of isolation and we were grasping for straws for  representation yes we had sitcom shows like Moesha   Living Single we had things like The Parkers  but I didn't particularly feel like this was a   great time compared to where we are now and I'm  gonna unpack things I saw in media from the 90s   that really really need to be addressed so first  I'm going to start with the things I didn't like   in the 90s and then I'm going to end it on the  shows that I felt like were pretty decent but I   think a lot of the shows that we are glorifying  was is was problematic is problematic something   that I also really wanted to point out during this  whole discourse is that in the 90s I I feel like   colorism seemed so severe for me as a black dark  skin kid growing up in the 90s because there was   no other representation than what you saw on TV  , now we have YouTube we have other alternative   social media platforms that you can find yourself  and see yourself represented in but in the 90s   literally it was just the TV sitcoms it was and  then and then uh the magazine ebony jet magazines   you know what I'm saying like so if you weren't  seeing yourself on TV like it was really isolating   and also there weren't things like what I'm doing  here on my platform which is like critiquing so   another reason why I felt like things felt more  severe for me um growing up was because there's   no things very bizarre things happened on TV  very bizarre and there was no one there was no   one that was like like other than your friends  your family the people you know it was like no   one talking about it okay so the first thing I  want to even put out which I feel like one of   the things that was not a good representation for  dark skin people was like the way that they did   on Viv on Fresh Prince like I remember I think I  was like I don't know nine eight I don't know how   old I was when they had erased her completely  but I felt that was like very sad and also I   feel like they didn't address it except for like  maybe one episode where they made a joke about   it but like there was no one explaining like  what happened so I feel like without that even   the explanation is not good but it definitely  puts this um thing in your head that like dark   skinned people are replaceable not to mention  the endless amount of times that has happened in   sitcom where a dark skin person is literally  replaced by a light-skinned person foreign this is one of my first reasons why I don't think  the 90s and 2000s was good it's like that was just   really normalized I'd never seen a show where  there was a light-skinned person as the lead and   then they're replacing them with someone dark  skin so that was the first thing that was like   it wasn't good so for me the biggest show that  was just disastrous and catastrophic was Martin   that show was so like not only Not only was that  show bad for me to watch but I feel like I could   see materialistically how that affected us I don't  know if you guys have ever experienced that but   sometimes when there are things that's happening  in the environment maybe in media you can like   notice a change in how people relate to you  take for example I remember when um wakanda came   out there's a lot of people being like Oh My My  Empress the queen or they'll call you wakanda like   I feel like that seeing dark-skinned people like  that was like a reference point for people to be   like oh boom if someone had a shaved head and they  dark skin most people are gonna say oh you look   like you know what I'm saying one of the girls  from the from Black Panther so I feel like that   um and also so I feel like black panther made it  culturally cool to embrace african-ness you know   that's what that that movie did so when Martin  came out similarly I feel like it was actually   hell for my for multiple reasons um I first  reason let's examine okay yeah this is gonna   be the bulk of the of the video Let's examine the  relationship between Pam Gina and Martin because I   really feel like this Dynamic of Martin degrading  a dark-skinned woman consistently as his entire   character and personality and then the light  skin friend like not defending her and then like   Martin's showing Gina's softness but Pam hardness  that that Trio relationship is like replicated in   real life all the time all the time and I really  feel like it comes from it being so normalized in   media like a lot of people see Gina's personality  as something that's really admirable but how is it   admirable that you're watching your friend get  made fun of consistently and being called a dog   and an animal and being dehumanized and ungendered  and you just you're smiling and you're like ah   stop girl it's like what the eff... like that  was so bad so I'm going to show a clip well I'm   not going to show a clip because I think my clip  will get taken down but I'm gonna put the audio of   the clip of Martin talking to Gina and we will  watch together and I will respond in real time your breath smell like train smoke girl your hair   is so nappy Wilson couldn't pick  it it's me you Tommy and Mama Do Its so nice to that Pam Martin told me on  the way over that she was raised by wolves   well I hope they do weaves in the joint  because that's where you go or with your   dirty anybody know the quickest way there?  oh yeah on Pam's back uh but we all can't   fit it's not your breath smelling like boiled  bologna anything else we do to help like like   um if he needs an organ uh like a cow heart  or something we got the whole cow right here   now okay everybody's not like Tommy  I don't have a pit bull to protect me that's it well I'm gonna leave I knew it   this is all your fault Pam they don't  want me having pets up in my place get the least you got to go Martin  atrocious let's unpack a lot okay   first off even the this is the person that  just jumped out to me the part that really   gets me in that clip is when he said to her  like oh if you don't get your nappy headed   did you see her hair texture and he's calling her  nappy-headed and that's the part that gets me is   because I realize that the term not beheaded is  more so just given to anybody dark they don't   even care what your hair texture is like that  and that's for me why I've always reclaimed   that word because as a kid I mean y'all have seen  my hair you see the proof you see the pudding in   you see what kind of hair texture I have you know  I'm saying my hair is very very kinky so you can   imagine how I felt growing up where people  are calling someone whose hair straightened   and permed is is kinky headed you can only imagine  what my head would be would be called like all the   Beady beads all the all the nappy-headed all the  kitchen all of that stuff that's like that sets   the template right like because we are young as  a being a kid in the 90s people and people would   go to school and say the same things Martin  was saying because it was such a culturally   uh important heavy part of our sister of our of  Black Culture people go and say these things some   people call black dark-skinned people dogs animals  wolves everything like that was really normal   and no one defended her like she was always  the one having to defend herself that's that   and then just like the fact like what kind of  friendship is that like that's the thing that   really needs to be examined like what kind of  friendship is that for real and and what I want   to say as well is like just in case it wasn't  clear if you are a light-skinned person and you   are seeing people dog out your dark-skinned  friend and you're laughing along with them   you're a bad friend you're a really really bad  friend if you are seeing someone and they're   making fun of like if if your boyfriend calls  your friend ugly or tells your friend to get out   you both need to get out together yeah you need to  break up with that relationship because that's so   that's so violent and that is enabling like that's  colorism because your complacency is very loud   your lack of standing up for someone is very loud  yeah I didn't like that and um and even her effing   boyfriend like because he was still friends with  Martin yeah both all of them need to go yeah Pam   needs to have her Pam should have had her own show  all together scrap them all and um and then the   other thing that was really detrimental with dark  skin representation was when he created Sheneneh   I feel like this was such a bad moment like I I  remember growing up I was in like I don't know   first second third grade whatever there was a girl  in my class her name was Shaniqua and people just   kept and she was dark skinned and people just kept  like likening her to Shaneneh and I could see her   go smaller and smaller and smaller and I just feel  like as a black girl okay let's say you wanted to   go and wear a bright you know I'm wearing bright  red lipstick you want to go and wear bright red   lace so you want to go and wear purple lipstick  you want to go and have extensions with color   people was people would literally be like oh  look at you like Saneneh I'm even seeing when   I when I'm even looking at stuff online trying  to find things about Shanay I'm seeing white   men impersonate Shanaynay so it's like white men  impersonating a black man impersonating a black   woman like it's really sick and not only is it  problematic because you're like you're taking   actual things that are very cool about Black  Culture the nails the confidence the the things   that we have to work really hard to even get to  even wearing bright colors because we're told to   mute ourselves you take all of that and then you  make it into a minstrelsy and then people laugh   and people enjoy it and people parade someone who  does that and and on top of that it also affects   trans people because it makes it seem as if anyone  who is performing femininity anyone who is anyone   who diverts away from a cisgendered aesthetic  and adorns themselves in anything deemed as   'feminine' as feminine it's considered a joke so  it literally just made it hard for everyone so Not   only was it bad enough that Martin is essentially  playing a caricature of a dark-skinned woman   I feel like this created a trend of popularizing  black dark-skinned Men playing caricatures of   black dark-skinned women that we still see today  in a lot of the comedies that we enjoy but I feel   like they realized that Everyone likes to laugh  at black women so if you have a black man and   he's being but just unreal like unrealistic over  the top essentially minstrelsy it will sell and   another thing I wanted to also mention was the  ways it was normal to just make jokes about fat   people in the 90s particularly also dark skinned  fat women and the fat suits and the fat jokes   and the trans jokes and like essentially every  marginalized group has to kind of accept being   the butt of the joke and that's why so many of  these comedians talk a lot about cancer culture   because they know that they're like hey what  happened in the 90s you guys were shutting up   in the early 2000s you guys are shutting up  why are you speaking now and I think that's   because they were ex it was so normal for people  to not be able to say things when it offends them   um another show that I feel like is 50 50 without  some representation is the show Living Single so   in one way like okay Maxine's character Maxine  is just wow like us a triple threat like she just   really has everything but what I didn't like  and what I remember as a kid is I didn't like   the way that Max and Kyle which was her which  ended up being her love interest but like he's   the other dark skin person like how he would they  would be mean to each other and he would say mean   things back to her I think often like calling  her maybe like a calling her like getting her   to some animal they were both mean to each other  but like that whole like enemies to lovers thing   was really big in the 90s I don't think it's big  now I don't even really like that because I feel   like if a man is calling you a dog unless you're  like six on the playground and then you meet when   you like 20 something I don't really like if  you're a grown ass man call me a dog calling me   ugly and stuff and then we start dating very  strange but that show also too I feel like   showed Maxine like had she had complexities  she had strength also let me know what you   guys are thinking as well because I haven't seen  particularly living Living Single since I was   a kid but I just remember feeling like the way  he would talk to her and they would fight with   each other would be really really intense but I  haven't seen it in a while so this is just off   of my recollection and so these are like the  shows that had dark-skinned people but there   is an endless amount of TV shows that had  not one not one dark-skinned um woman not   to mention that there was an animal to my TV  shows that would have like a dark-skinned dad   um a light-skinned mother a dark-skinned child  a light-skinned sister and they're supposed to   be siblings very like and even when I say um dark  skin none of them I'm talking about is like there   are people who are deep dark skin who are a lot  darker than somebody like me or people who are on   these TV channels and I never see that represented  like the show that has like a really positive   um feeling in my heart was Family Matters I felt  like that was cute as in like having the the   dark-skinned mother who was so cute and the dad  and then like the whole family was just like that   was really that was cute that was something that  I really liked but granted I'm probably mentioning   that I like three out of the 25/20 or two and so  like now take take okay like when I think about   shows that I that I'm watching and yeah when I  think about shows I'm watching now I you know   there's things like insecure but I I have Maybe  I'm Wrong maybe this is a me thing but I feel like   um people rely Less on TV sitcoms because  there's so many different Arenas of media   like so okay take short I'm not representing  much in TV and the only show that I saw that   really kind of was soothing for me and  made me feel good was a show like insecure   and um and the wild part about insecure was like  I remember watching an interview with Issa Ray   where she said that they literally tried to get  Lauren London to play Issa her own show like if   that's not another repeat of that whole like  lightning up everything I don't know how much   more evidence proof things that you need like  the show is literally off of Issa Rae like and   if that show has Lauren London in it I it would  not be what it is I would not engage like I feel   personally really tired like when I see a show and  I see light skin a light-skinned woman as like the   main Center Point and there's a dark-skinned  guy I completely disengage like I'm just not   interested in the same Stories being told over and  over and over and over again but I am thankful for   alternative for me for alternative platforms I do  makeup that do make us feel validated like I feel   like a lot of feelings I've had in my body I've  literally been able to see someone speak about   it online and that's the biggest difference  between what I think about now versus the 90s   so much ish that was really really unacceptable  was like normalized well now I feel like there   are less people who are willing to make jokes  openly jokes about dark skinned people like the   same way they were in the past they still do of  course and they still have the thought but I feel   like there's definitely going to be like pushback  culture really means something now so yeah I mean   I agree that right now like it's not great it's  not great and also I wanted to point out too that   even with insecure like there was a lot of um  discourse about how Kelly was Kelly's character   as the fat as a fat person was underdeveloped  and there was like a lot of just kind of her   being the butt of the jokes and stuff like that  so I don't even want to make it seem like it's   um Rosie over there as well but I wanna I  wanna know what you guys think because like   yeah I feel like there is technically less  less TV shows but there's also like less   direct uh mockery direct insults and so I want to  know for you guys like what TV shows in the 90s   did you like what part of my how did you guys  find my critiques and also to um what do you   think is better to have like less representation  with less insult or more representation with more   insult if you get what I mean because I feel  like we had it a little bit more in the 90s   but the jokes was was very was hurt in my chests  yeah so thanks for watching have a great day bye

Channel: Mayowa's World

Views: 57,433

Keywords: colorism, colorisminthe90s, blacksitcom, blacksitcomscolorism, blacksitcomcolorism, martintvshow, martincolorism, pamginacolorism, auntviv, darkskinauntviv, lightskinauntviv, 90sblacktvshows, sheneneh, shenaynay, mayowasworld, texturism, blackcomedy90s, black90s, antiblackness90s

Id: dS7Xzv6wNEM

Length: 19min 8sec (1148 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 06 2022