Media & DiversityNEWS

Lupita Nyongo and the

Conditional Fascination
with Black Media Images
JUNE 25, 2014 BY GUEST POST
Lupita Nyongo has become a glamorous media favorite, but her international allure
wont insulate her from having to navigate the politics of an industry and media prone to
typecasting and pigeonholing actresses and women who share her complexion.
By Tiff Jones

Lupita Nyongo is the second black woman to serve as Lancmes brand ambassadress, but that
doesnt mean that theres been some sudden shift in the dominant view of dark-skinned black and
brown women in the advertising industry.
A recent story about regular black people versus ethnic black people on US college
campuses in theRoot.com made me think about the current media embrace of the multi-
talented Lupita Nyongo.
First published in April, the piece resurfaced again over the weekend. In it theRoot.com
staff writer Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele reports that many black American students
find that being just black in America is boring; Eromosele goes on to highlight the
achievements of ethnic blacks from Africa or Europe, apparently at the expense of black
American progress.
Comparatively, part of the reason US media has welcomed Lupita is because, like those
ethnic college students, her blackness is international, and in mainstream media-
speak, international is coded language for exotic other.
Not that Lupitas talents dont make her deserving of media attention. In fact, after her
Oscar win for 12 Years A Slave there was much media speculation about what
was next for the 31-year-old actress, whether she would fall prey to the Oscar curse that
seems to befall black actresses after theyve received award recognition by the
Academy. Quite the opposite, Lupitas star is rising.
Not only has she snagged a role in Star Wars
VII (J.J. Abrams was, reportedly, initially looking to cast a mixed-raced actress) she is
also slated to adapt Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichies acclaimed
novel, Americanah, into a film, in which shell serve as star and producer (in
collaboration with Brad Pitts production company Plan B). Lupita also landed the cover
of People magazines annual 50 Most Beautiful People 2014 issue, the cover of the
July 2014 issue of Vogue, and an exclusive contract as the new face of
Lancme (making her the second black woman to serve as the cosmetic companys
brand ambassadress).
Her thriving in a mercurial business that has, so far, embraced Lupita has no doubt
been refreshing. Its also been impressive seeing Lupita use her platform to challenge
conventional media standards of whats deemed beautiful. However, Lupitas
popularity doesnt mean that theres been some huge and sudden shift in the dominant
view of dark-skinned black and brown women in the industry. Lupitas growing fame
still isnt the criterion for mono-racial black actresses; particularly those who are
American-born. Lupita Nyongo presents the type of interesting background, visual, and
personality that has easily endeared her to the cult of personality. And the entertainment
industry certainly loves to eat up stories about other anything or anyone non-normative
that will feed their affinity for pointing out others differences.
The medias giddy fascination with othering non-American born black women in the
entertainment industry, is what provoked handlers for figure-skater Surya Bonaly
to fabricate a story about her origins, and what caused fashion photographer Peter
Beard to sell some convoluted story about his discovery of Somali supermodel Iman, to
the fashion world a story that she admittedly helped perpetuate. For most black
American women in the public eye (and in general), being just black or not deemed a
special enough snowflake apparently isnt sufficient enough to garner visibility,
opportunities, or respect. But American women who are visibly black are definitely
interesting enough to vulturize before being totally erased from the equation.
In the 20+ years People magazine editors have been cranking out its Most Beautiful
issue, only three black women have graced its cover: Halle Berry (who is biracial)
appeared in 2003; it took the magazine nine years to put another black woman, a light-
skin Beyonce, on the cover of Most Beautifuls 2013 issue. While its been made clear
that neither Halle or Beyonce is Peoples (white) norm when it comes to the cover of the
magazines annual list of superlatives, both are still the accepted standard when it
comes to the preferred black female aesthetic in mass media, castings, and personal
predilections.
Lupita has said herself that she didnt always feel beautiful in her skin, during a poignant
acceptance speech at an Essence awards luncheon earlier this year; and shes
emphatic about wanting to serve as an inspiration to other young black girls who dont
often see representations of themselves on TV or in magazines.
Some may (understandably) scoff at any
suggestion that black beauty needs to be filtered through the white gaze and validated
by white authority. Breaking News: It doesnt. But its important to keep in mind that
media images and characters that are inclusive matter to young black girls who are
coming-of-age, being fed a steady diet of respectability politics, shadeism, racio-
misogyny, and shady product endorsements that dissuade them from being proud of
who they are, to such an extent that they feel the need to physically alter themselves to
fit in. Also, distorted views on black beauty are often perpetuated intra-racially, driven by
cultural imperialism; its important not to lose perspective of what breeds self-hate.
Im still loath to call Lupita a fetish, because she is immensely talented, deserving of all
the wonderful things, and beautiful period. And her image is needed in the fray. But
when it comes to who is chosen to grace magazine covers and who become black
leading ladies, the dominant media requires more dismantling, especially since there
are a number of equally talented black seasoned actresses who have been in the
business for years, but still come up against a dearth of plum roles because casting
directors and producers often offer them to bankable (read: palatable) biracial or
multiracial actresses even in biopics where the subject is fully black; and industry folks
will shamelessly costume a multiracial actress in blackface and prosthetic makeup to
force it to work.
Lupita has become a glamorous media favorite, trendsetter, and is helping influence the
way the world looks at dark-skinned black women. But her international allure
notwithstanding, this still doesnt insulate her from having to navigate the politics of an
industry and media prone to typecasting and pigeonholing actresses and women who
share her complexion. Shes definitely carved out a niche for herself, but Lupitas
success doesnt mark the end to the way mass media view black women who dont
often get the red carpet rolled out for them with such fanfare, or regular black students
matriculating at Ivey League college campuses who may not get how special they
actually are.

Tiff Jones is the creator and writer of Coffee Rhetoric, a blog about women,
pop-culture, film and race. A contributor to both print and digital platforms, she has
offered commentary on HuffPost Live and WNPRs Where We Live.