You may have seen a movie trailer floating around about a white man posing as a black woman on the radio and becoming a hit sensation.
The movie is "Loqueesha" and I cannot believe that this story pitch made it all the way to a release date and not one person thought something was wrong with it.
I was absolutely appalled when I saw the trailer, but not surprised.
The movie world has always made fat, black women the butt of the joke.
They were never the leading character or the love interest.
Even here--a movie centered around a fat, black woman--and a white man plays her.
The trailer introduces us to this bland middle-aged white man who is adequate at giving advice.
He attempts to break into radio with his own show but is shut down.
Consequently, he needs money to send his white average child to be around other rich, average white children.
When he is shut down-- he takes the road most below average racists white people take.
A black person would have got this job.
"If I was a black woman, I'd be perfect for this."
Whenever people begin that phrase it usually ends with someone saying some B.S. like this.
Let me give you a few examples of how to correctly finish that phrase:
"If I was a black woman, I'd be the last option to most for dating"
"If I was a black woman, I'd be over sexualized and underappreciated"
"If I was a black woman, I'd face scrutiny for not catering to a man."
"If I was a black woman, I'd make less money than white men, white women, Asian women, and Native women."
"If I was a black woman, and I asked for help I'd be seen as a welfare queen."
That's better.
The trailer further incriminates itself as the "co-signers" pop up.
"Co-signers" are the black people who are there to say it's okay, speaking on behalf of the rest of us.
The black woman we see is a conventionally attractive, slim, light-skinned woman. The man is pretty much the same. Neither are bigger or as dark as the caricature of Loqueesha is portrayed to be in the movie poster.
The character Loqueesha is just that-- a caricature.
She is mean to callers, she is rude, and she even hangs up on a suicidal caller.
However, she is painted as matronly. As a woman, you could be friends with.
You even get to see a "co-signer" who is a bigger, black woman who loves the sham of a radio personality.
A big, black woman you can trust leads back to the Mammy trope.
It's why they paint her as such because many white people and their ancestors grew up suckling the breast of a fat, black woman while her child faced malnourishment.
This is modern day blackface. The poster is a black woman's face split over the lead actor's. Like a fat, black woman trapped in a white man's body. And of course, he does utter that line. As if all it takes to be a black woman is to be rude and have a voice inflection.
I take personal offense as a fat, black woman in radio. I feel like this movie spit in my face and laughed. I can count on one hand the number of black women in Rochester media. Same goes for the amount of black, fat women I see on radio and tv.
Come tell me how easy it is to make it in radio--the fat, black woman who has a broadcasting degree.
The fat, black woman who wants a shot in radio and who is going to have to fight for her sot with every inch of her being.
The fat, black girl who didn't have one professor who looked like her, but still pushed because there has to be a place for me in this business. I have the voice, a personality, and ambition.
And there is a spot. I guess this movie is proof that a white man has taken my spot.
As usual.
