Last week's episode of Empire lit up social media when Becky, the plus size A&R rep for Empire records played by actress Gabourey Sidibe, had an intimate scene with Empire rap artist J Poppa, played by actor Mo Mcrae.
 |
| Photo credit: eurweb.com |
The scene was set: two chocolate skinned lovers on a rooftop at midnight, the city's skyline as their backdrop, caught in the afterglow. Becky, knowing she needs to get some rest for work in the morning, and J-Poppa wanting just a few more minutes of quality time with his lady. After some flirtatious banter, Becky wraps her ample leg around J-Poppa's waist. Clearly, Becky is going in late.
At least, that was how I saw the scene as it played out before me. I let out a loud, "Yaaas! Go on and get it, Becky!" and was more than happy to see actress Gabourey Sidibe getting more screen time show, as well as seeing her character's storyline get deeper.
Unfortunately, because the world is filled with as...opinions...there were more than a few individuals who were quite vocal in their dislike of the scene. Most of the dissent began with memes like this:
and then dived deeper into more personal, rude, and even vulgar comments about the actress's weight.
I've been a fan of Gabourey's since her feature film debut in Precious. I have considered her a BFF in my head since one of my good friends met her and she was a down-to-earth, really cool chick. Obviously, as a dark-skinned plus size woman, my support of her is being a cheerleader for someone who looks like me. So, the next day, as the hoopla ensued on social media, I posted a link to this article about the scene on my FB page.
Here's where it gets...interesting.
A male associate on FB posted the following as a comment under my link:
"nobody wanted to see that........empire is going for shock value rather than intrinsic story line value...Its my right to not want to see 400lb women having sex. As an intelligent person since I don't I turn the station or don't watch. Everybody is on the P.C. bandwagon and has preferences of their own............just stop. If you're on the path to health I have no problem supporting you..........If you want to show me BBW bikini pics I will promptly decline because that is not my cup of tea.....and its my right"
A moment of back story: I'm friends with this individual on FB because we once had a friend in common that LOVES plus size women, and has dealt with, in some form or fashion, women who look like Gabourey Sidibe.
*ahem*
A few of my friends, most plus size, but one who is truly just a cool chick who believes in body love for all, definitely let him know that they did not appreciate his opinion on the matter. But the whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth for a few reasons:
He is absolutely correct that he has a right to his personal preferences when it comes to what he wants to see on television. I won't sit here and lie and say that opinions like his don't sting because to say you don't want to see her is like saying you don't want me to be able to see ME: the plus size, dark-skinned women of the world who aren't hourglass shaped, who are over a size 14, and are largely invisible to the rest of the world unless we are the comedic sassy side-kick or the angry black woman. Everyone has a right to see themselves and their lives in media (because as several articles pointed out, fat women have sex, too). It took time for the roles in Hollywood for black actresses to shift from maids to that of chiefs of surgery, lawyers, medical examiners, international spies. So why not a plus size A&R rep at a hip hop label who has a love life outside of work?
It's disheartening that we live in a society that rushes to watch zombies in the post-apocalyptic world, attacking human beings, eating live flesh complete with blood and gore, while the humans fight and kill each other to survive in the most brutal of ways, and it is called "creative and innovative tv". But a dark-skinned, plus size woman getting a five minute implied sex scene is "disgusting".
(P.S. if your mother is plus size and you were disgusted...how do you think YOU got here? But I digress...)
Secondly, we need to stop looking at all plus size people and assuming every negative stereotype associated with being overweight on sight alone. YOU DO NOT KNOW A PERSON'S HEALTH RECORD SIMPLY BY LOOKING AT THEM! I'm so sick of the "care and concern" type of shaming i.e. "I'm sorry but she needs to lose weight. I only say that because I'm concerned about her health." Unless you are waking up in Ms. Sidibe's, or any other plus size person's bed, and living with them 24/7, you do NOT know what they are, or are not, doing to keep their bodies healthy. When you have plus size women who are yogis, training for iron man competitions, etc. at some point, we're going to have to learn not to paint with such a broad stroke when it come to plus size people and their outward appearance.
The only other piece that annoyed me was the limited support from those men I know who say that they love plus size women. Perhaps Ms. Sidibe isn't your personal cup of tea. Maybe I'm wrong in my "insult one, insult all" attitude. But it would have been nice to see some male support, too. Part of me feels like if Gabby looked like Jill Scott, the response would have been different (P.S. I love me some Jill Scott, too). But that's my ish, and another story for another Weigh-In Wednesday.
Of course, my BFF in my head is #unbothered by the whole thing and gave this response:
 |
| photo credit: David Livingston |
"I, a plus sized, dark-skinned woman, had a love scene on primetime television.I had the most fun ever filming that scene even though I was nervous.But I felt sexy and beautiful and I felt like I was doing a good job. I’m very proud of the work we all did to make that scene a great opening for the episode. I keep hearing that people are 'hating' on it. I’m not sure how anyone could hate on love but that’s okay. You may have your memes. Honestly, I’m at work too busy to check Twitter anyway. #Booked."
- Gabourey Sidibe (aka #bosschick)
*drops mic & kicks over the mic stand, too*
What were your thoughts? Do you hope tonight's Empire offers up more of the same between Becky & J-Poppa? Let me know in the comments & I'll see you next week with another Weigh-In Wednesday!
No comments:
Post a Comment