Representations of Black Women in Contemporary Media: A Roundtable Discussion

Discussant: Tiana Ferrell, The Atlanta Free Speech This roundtable discussion explores the current discourse concerning the role of the media in enabling, facilitating, and challenging the social constructions of the Black female body. With a focus on the intersection of race, class, gender and sexuality, the roundtable discussion will examine contemporary representations of Black women in the various mediums that serve to construct what is known as popular culture. Through the lens of Black Feminist Studies, featuring the works of bell hooks and Melissa Harris-Perry, the panel examined African American women in mainstream culture through a critical examination of popular representations of Black women; analyzed the production and consumption of such representations; and explored the ways these processes influenced basic assumptions about social roles. Roundtable participants analyzed popular TV series, for the stereotypes used to identify Black women in media today. The participants will discuss the common tropes: jezebel, mammy and sapphire. The participants will also discuss the attack on Black mothers, highlighting the contentious 1965 Moynihan Report, identity sharing, misrecognition and the crooked room, and the strong Black women construct. Popular television and media discussions will focus on Black actresses playing main characters in Empire, How to Get Away with Murder, Scandal, and Treme