Did The Black Community Short Change Gabby?

        “Was I satisfied [about being included in a photo inside the magazine]? Yeah, well… I mean, I come from a world where I’m not on covers and I’m not in magazines at all. And so I was happy to be in the magazine. At first I thought, ‘Hmm, should I be there?  Then I very quickly got over it. I think if I were a part of that shoot I would have felt a little left out anyway … I would have felt a little like… whether or not I should have been there.” – Gabourey Sidibe

        Word on the street is that Gabourey Sidibe- the brilliant actress who starred in the Oscar nominated film ‘Precious’- was overlooked by Vanity Fair. Wait, let me correct myself. Yes, she was interviewed & a photo was taken. Yet the interview & photo were tucked safely away within the pages of Vanity Fair, while she was NOT included on the star studded cover with her industry peers Kristen Stewart, Carey Mulligan, & Amanda Seyfried. Gabby herself feels like she may not have even fit in if asked. Maybe. Maybe not. Still it would have been good to see an extra splash of color & weight.

        As a full-figured African-American woman I know what it’s like to not see any images representative of you in the mainstream media. As a child the heavier darker people were happy, jolly, asexual buffoons. Not quite the type you’d admire. It wouldn’t be until I’d become a young adult where I’d discover & fall in love with Star Jones. Struggling with her own weight issues, she was still a brilliant, beautiful sista whose confidence & personality were larger than life. Ms. Jones was the only reason I’d watch The View at that time. But still, with your self-esteem & confidence levels through the roof, somebody ALWAYS got somethin’ to say. There were jokes about Ms. Jones just as I’m sure someone would joke about me too. But I’ve never seen the jokes get as nasty as they did when the world was introduced to Gabourey Sidibe. And what’s worse, the critics were from the black community.

        When the film debuted in November ’09, I couldn’t go on Twitter without seeing a barrage of insults attached to Gabby’s name. Many said she’d never make it as a mainstream success, that ‘Precious’ was the end of the road for her. And that assessment was made on how huge & dark she is. Which was confusing to me because if you read the book you KNEW she wasn’t gonna look like Halle Berry or Beyonce. Not to mention she looks like a lot of girls I grew up with in the ‘hood, so I didn’t see what the big fuss was about. Nobody commented on how she was a first time actress, who wandered into the audition & beat out 400 hopefuls and landed the role. And her performance was EXCEPTIONAL. No, no one mentioned that. It was just people of color using the same color issues explored in the movie to keep another person of color down. Damn, it’s amazing how the tactics of Ol’ Massa are still perpetuated today.

        Could it be possible that WE are the reason Gabby was slighted by Vanity Fair? Gabby is now Oscar nominated, defying the odds the Haterz thought they were speaking into her existence. People who think they are powerless thought they could diminish her power as well. Not so. And more sad is that we DO have the power to call shots & dictate what is seen as an alternative standard of beauty. Believe it or not, as folks of color WE ARE the trendsetters. The very features we naturally possess others are paying to get: Full lips, ample rear, coarser hair and darker skin. Others recognize and often times are threatened by our beauty. But we forfeit our power every time we openly, publicly & frequently insult one another. If we don’t hold our own on a pedestal no one else is going to. So what I’m asking is have we allowed our own self-hatred to be our worst enemy?

Holla @ Ya Gyrl …..

Spread Love … It’s The Bklyn Way!