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Dr. Boyce Watkins; VH1 Basketball Wives Shaunie O’neal, Expert on Black Female Images in Media?

July 1, 2011 by  
Filed under Ent., News, Opinion, Sista Talk, Weekly Columns

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(ThyBlackMan.com) In a CNN article that appears designed to promote her upcoming appearance as an “empowerment speaker” at the Essence Music Festival, Shaunie O’neal, executive producer of the hit show, “Basketball Wives,” was given the solemn task of analyzing the complex issue of black female portrayals in American media.  Choosing Shaunie to represent the disappointing images of black women in media is like having a Malcolm X lecture delivered by Flava Flav.

Rather than thoroughly analyzing the problems with black female portrayals in media, Shaunie appears to go out of her way to defend the buffoonery of her show by portraying the women on basketball wives as misunderstood souls who’ve been dealt the misfortune of being placed with other individuals whose minds aren’t quite right after the end of their relationships.

“As you see on the show, I’m not a big supporter of the bickering, drink throwing and fighting, but when you put a group of strong, independent and vocal women who are going through or just came out of a bad relationship together, there’s bound to be a little drama.”

Shaunie fails to mention that she and other producers carefully orchestrate the circus that the audience sees on TV every week, and that these women would likely be taken off the show if they weren’t catty, ghetto-fabulous and  vicious toward one another.

In her article, Shaunie also mentions the “rags to riches” story of Tami Roman, former wife of retired NBA player, Kenny Anderson.  She mentions that Tami was homeless after Kenny blew all of his money and divorced her  too.  So, perhaps Shaunie should refer to Tami’s story as a “rags to riches to rags” story, which happens to far too many women who go chasing after financially-irresponsible athletes.  In many cases, the dreams of basketball wife glamour and glitz being promoted on shows like this one only leave the woman with a divorce, an empty bank account and a couple of nasty venereal diseases.   At least that’s what I explain to girls I mentor as they (gasp) watch this show themselves.

As I listened to Shaunie miss the mark in her effort to complain about the very same stereotypes she’s perpetuating, a few questions came to mind.  First, given that most of the women on the show either aren’t married or never were married to the men on whom they’ve built their stardom, should the show really be called “Basketball Wives?”  Perhaps a more appropriate title might be “Basketball Baby’s Mamas.”

Secondly, how did Essence get to the point where they somehow considered women like Shaunie O’neal and the hyper-dramatic ex-stripper Nene Leakes to be empowerment speakers?  Were Angela Davis and Michelle Obama busy that weekend?   I would love for someone to email me and explain exactly how Nene Leakes is empowering….in fact, I dare you.

Third, why would Shaunie agree to let CNN misplace her as a spokesperson for black women who feel that their images have been shamed by shows like Basketball Wives?  A strong feminist scholar or respected public figure might be more appropriate, and I am insulted for my daughter, mother and grandmother when I see Shaunie misrepresent their demographic.   Perhaps we are now learning what happens when black minds are controlled by black media that really isn’t being run by black people – CNN should never have done this.

Staff Writer; Dr. Boyce Watkins

Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition. For more information, please visit http://BoyceWatkins.com.


Comments

14 Responses to “Dr. Boyce Watkins; VH1 Basketball Wives Shaunie O’neal, Expert on Black Female Images in Media?”
  1. Mr. Time says:

    Point is, black folks need to boycott these foolish programmings that depict black men and women as silly. Just because a web site like this reports on it, I doubt that the columnist is actually trying to get us to watch them, but to do something to show that black people will not tolerate such garbage and lies about the black community. Better to let people think you are a fool than to watch the shows that are trying to portray you as a fool, which in turn actually makes you the fool.

  2. Nicholas says:

    When a fool has more money then they know what to do with. They Over Eat, Overdress and Talk Loud and Wrong. I aint mad Dho’

  3. Padma says:

    It’s always saddening to watch African American men and women of unsophisticated appearance and behavior continue to exude the stereotypical image that the African American community has been fighting hard to reject. The word “ghetto” is another excuse for people to accuse any African American of being incapable of acheiving refinement. You can become refined through religion or good family values. Dr. Martin Luther King’s family never acted the way these women do in a foreign countries or domestically. When his wife and kids went to India they were refined. Refinement is not a “white” thing, it’s a component of civilization. If African American men and women cannot behave civilized on television then what will the children think? That it is ok to behave in a regressive manner?

  4. Evonne says:

    How old are these females? They act like young school girls who enjoy arguing and fighting all the time. No wonder their men left and never married them. Their children should be embarassed to see their mothers acting like they’re acting on national television, especially their daughters. I’s be embarassed if it were my mother. I didn’t like Royce last season, but this season she seems to be the sensible one out of the bunch and is keeping her distance from the nonsense.

    Tammy is off the chain, has a loose crew and is not working with a full deck. Meeka is a misfit in the group. Shaunie is an instigator. Susie needs to stay home with her children and Jennifer needs to find a new best friend because Evelyn is all about Evelyn. I don’t know why Evelyn is so upset about Jennifer speaking her mind on the radio about Chad. She didn’t say anything she hadn’t said about him to Evelyn’s face. Chad IS a media whore and I hope he leaves her standing at the altar! What happened to Ruby, Chad? Basketball Wives is a disgusting depiction of black women.

    These females don’t represent me or any of the beautiful black sisters I know. These are juvenile, bitter, and angry females. That’s why they argue and fight so much! In this day and age, with all the progress blacks have made over the years, why does the white media continue to portray blacks in a negative sense? And why do we continue to apease them? I wish they would hurry up and take this series off the air and show positive portrayals of us. NeNe Leaks is not a positive portrayal of black women. She is also angry, btter and an attention seeker.

  5. Wayne says:

    Thank you for this a article and recognizing the Emperor has no Clothes. Shaunie and NeNe exemplify the worst stereotypes of Black Women in Media. Shame on Essence for featuring and not exposing them. I guess this is what happens when you are no longer black-owned.

    It’s like having Charlie Sheen on a Good Parenting panel.

  6. Tefnet says:

    Calling Shaunie O’Neal a media expert is an insult to all true journalists and media professionals. I expect more from CNN.

  7. MsMobetter says:

    Dr. Watkins,
    That CNN article was a joke. It had absolutely no substance and exactly what was the point? Shaunie is obviously being guided by fame and fortune. I can never, ever remember a time when I argued or fought with any of my girlfriends even when we had drama with men. Sure we would discuss our relationships and even had disagreements, but never to the point where we were in public places or in another country openly displaying ignorance with fights and shouting at each other as if no one else was in the room.

    I was at the Essence Music Festival this weekend and passed by the stage when NeNe and Cynthia were presenting. I stopped for a brief minute, but realized their presence was more about publicity and getting people to come by the stage as opposed to substance. I also watch Basketball Wives from time to time to see if there are any changes, but it keeps getting worse. I agree Shaunie did try to be civil in the beginning, but gave in the to ratings.

    As the cab driver from Jordan who took my husband and I to the airport from Essence said, the images on TV seen around the world are what they believe is the truth about black women because TV is their only real connection to the world. If you wanted an image to represent black women, would you want that to be reality TV or Michelle Obama?

    MsMobetter Daily Thoughts;
    http://mobetterbysheila.blogspot.com

  8. The Watcher says:

    Next up Cathy Hughes complains not about having to pay artists, but lements on the fact that black radio plays such degrading music. Oh wait…

  9. Roland says:

    It’s like watching a chimp exhibit at the zoo.

  10. Frank says:

    I guess black women will now blame black men for their stupid behavior on these shows.

  11. kevin sylvain says:

    even though i hate these shows,,,,i watch them…….happy i don’t have a daughter…….its some sad shit

  12. Mo'Kelly says:

    In other news…Debra Lee, president of BET complains in a CNN editorial about the negative imagery featured on BET.

  13. The Soul Man says:

    These type shows is just about the three B’s boobs, butt and blabbermouths, another Springer show after dark

  14. Sapphire says:

    LOL!

    Is all I can say or write about this article!

    What a joke!

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