How often do you see Black women being properly represented in the entertainment industry? Too often, Black women are poorly treated in the industry, sexualized from a young age, and given little representation, and when they are represented, it is with lighter skin women that fit eurocentric beauty standards. The media looks for Black women who have light skin, loose curls, and small figures, contributing to featurism and colorism on a larger scale. According to a study by Geena Davis, Black women and girls represented only 3.7% of leads or co-leads in the 100 top-grossing of the last decade and only 19% of Black leading ladies in the past decade had dark skin. There is clearly a problem.

Clea Matt