Misogynoir In Hollywood

Binod Dhakal, 

In 1962, American civil rights leader Malcolm X gave a fiery speech regarding the discrimination and hatred meted out against women of colour in America. He claimed, in his speech, "The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” 

Atrocities

 Atrocities carried out against black people in general and black women, in particular, are a real thing even though the United States has undergone various socio-political transformations. One thing remains unchanged - the misogynoir. The term was coined in 2010 by a Black feminist, Moya Bailey, assistant professor of Africana Studies at Northeastern University. It refers to how racism and sexism intersect together to oppress Black women.

The main tenet of misogynoir is that Black women are more likely to bear the brunt of patriarchal violence than white women.

The deeply imprinted misogynoir in the American unconscious surfaces in Hollywood from time to time. It should be noted here that Hollywood has never been kind to Black people, especially women. Black actresses are underpaid, more prone to verbal and physical assault, and sexually exploited more often than their white counterparts. 

The unconscious hatred against Black women embedded in the psyche of Hollywood was more evident at the stage of the 2022 Oscars. The host of the 2022 Oscars, Chris Rock, made a very demeaning joke onstage against actor Jada Pinkett Smith mocking her baldhead. Smith has previously spoken that she is fighting a medical condition called alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss.

Rock's alopecia jibe was not well received by Mrs Smith and her displeasure was apparent. Her husband Will Smith, the winner of the best actor category at Oscars 2022, walked to the stage and slapped Rock, much to the shock of hundreds of participants present at the ceremony as well as millions of viewers glued to their TV screens across the globe.

 The reactions to the Chris-Will altercation are divided. Some are praising Will Smith for his 'chivalrous act' defending his wife's 'honour' while others are criticizing him for not being able to take a joke merely as a joke. But, the more important question that demands an immediate answer here is not about who was right and who was wrong. We need to find an answer to what lies at the root of Chris's degrading jokes and Will's urge to confront them. The answer to the question is toxic masculinity accompanied by racialised misogyny.

Jada's Alopecia Chris was wrong in mocking Jada’s alopecia as black women have a very emotive and often troublesome relationship with their hair. The shaved head for a Black has a very painful memory that goes back to the time of slavery. White masters would not tolerate Black slaves' 'naturally textured hair and they would resort to forcible shaving to stop the Blacks from taking pride in their unique ethnic identity. The sole reason for hating Black people's hair as something unnatural and exotic was to degrade their self-respect as human beings. 

The legacy of hating Black people’s hair (particularly women’s) is still embedded in the collective unconscious of the American populace. The Eurocentric beauty standards of hair, propagated by the billion-dollar cosmetic industry, always disregard the naturally textured hair as inferior and present the smooth and silky hair of Whites as beautiful. 

The Black women with protective hairstyles like braids, twists, locks and knots are publicly humiliated. The hair loss or shaved head of a female is taken as ugly and even something to be ashamed of. Thus, Chris Rock's alopecia jibe against Jada Pinkett Smith should be taken as an attempt at bullying and body-shaming against a woman of colour.  

The joke is on Chris as he had co-written and co-produced a documentary film called “Good Hair’ back in 2009 in which he tried to dismantle the myths and biases related to Black women's hair. 

The documentary won praise from the stars in Hollywood and was successful, to some extent, in shattering the inferiority complex that Black women possess about their hair. Any attempt to make fun of Black women's bodily vulnerability is a classic example of misogynoir which gets emboldened when people take this form of bullying merely as a joke. What Chris did is verbal violence and should not be condoned under any pretext. 

What makes his jibe more problematic is the fact that The House of Representatives, on 18 March, has passed legislation namely the Crown Act (Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair) Act, making discrimination against natural hair at home, offices, schools and other public places a criminal offence. The Crown Act, if made into law, will help in reducing hair violence.

Smacking Chris for the demeaning joke he made against his wife does not make Will Smith a hero either. He should have dealt with it with a rational mind and abstained from violence. It was only up to Jada if she wanted to confront Chris.

 But, for the fragile male ego of Will Smith, resorting to violence was the only reparation for the humiliation. Will's behaviour contains all the traits of toxic masculinity that undertakes women incapacitated from speaking on their own and believes that women need a voice in a man who has to save the honour and dignity of 'his lady' at any cost. Will Smith did not consider his wife as an independent woman who can take decisions on her own. Instead, he treated her as his possession who needs to be protected - a typical plot of English romantic novels and Hollywood period romances.

 Sexual Fantasy

In a different context, the sexual fantasy Will Smith expressed in an interview about going on a world tour together with ‘a harem of 20 women’ reveals his toxic masculinity that sees women only as an object of sexual gratification. He has even accepted cheating on his wife and indulging in extramarital affairs, which makes him a classic example of the custodian of rotten patriarchy.

The problem of Hollywood insensitivity speaks to the problem of its misogynoir attitude within the field that is structured by both gender and racial relationship. The entertainment industry can lead by example, by making tangible reforms and better making the industry a safe place for black women.

Otherwise, the image of Hollywood, in the words of actor turned politician Arnold Schwarzenegger, as "the symbol of dreams and a symbol of opportunity and hope" will no longer remain intact and it will soon degrade into a toxic place of cultural decadence full of uncivilised misogynists.

(A freelancer, Dhakal writes on contemporary socio-political issues)