“Insecure” May Be Over, But What It Did For Dark-Skinned Black Women Remains

In late December 2021, the long-awaited sequence finale of “Insecure” aired, the fruits of nothing lower than a cultural phenomenon throughout the tv panorama. The present could also be over, however its impression and legacy on tv — the way it exhibits, affirms, and honors dark-skinned Black girls — will undeniably be felt for years to come back. “Insecure” is a present for and about Black folks. From the storylines, music, and costuming to the cinematography and Black Los Angeles as its backdrop, “Insecure” is the primary present to deal with dark-skinned Black girls characters in a nontokenizing method: authentically representing Blackness untethered from whiteness.

Sometimes, if there’s a Black character on a TV present, they’re the one Black character: their important goal is to assist the white important character’s storyline as the perfect pal or colleague. The tokenization of dark-skinned girls characters consists of being lowered to the mammy trope, the “indignant Black girl” stereotype, or the oversexualized sidekick. Even exhibits with a principally Black forged are likely to characteristic only a few dark-skinned Black folks; many heart on whiteness and the way Black characters navigate white America.

This follow is the results of each racism and the lesser-discussed colorism, or prejudice in opposition to these with darker pores and skin in favor of lighter pores and skin. Colorism stems from enslavement, at which period the enslaved with lighter pores and skin have been granted privileges and perceived as smarter and extra fascinating due to their proximity to whiteness. The legacy of colorism is realized right this moment in who will get forged as leads and who finally ends up fading into the background — if proven in any respect — on tv exhibits over the past 50 years. When Black girls prevail because the lead or important love curiosity, they’ve traditionally been nearly solely gentle skinned, skinny with Eurocentric options, or biracial — at occasions showing racially ambiguous.

Rae mirrored on the dearth of illustration for dark-skinned Black girls in media in a July 2018 interview with “Teen Vogue,” saying: “Darkish-skinned girls nonetheless painting a sure archetype and I need to change that . . . they’re both tremendous sturdy, impassive, robotic — or hyper-sexual, and you do not get the in-between very a lot.”

Rae greater than achieved her objective of spotlighting dark-skinned Black girls with “Insecure.” Not solely is its important character, Issa (Rae), darkish skinned, however her finest pal and gut-check, Molly (Yvonne Orji), is as nicely. Beginning with Kelli (Natasha Rothwell) and Tiffany (Amanda Seales), their prolonged friendship circle additionally exemplifies the significance of Black sisterhood proven not as a monolith, however as a illustration of Black girls of various hues, sizes, and social class. Rae intentionally selected to inform nuanced tales that signify the lived experiences of dark-skinned Black girls on display, like when Molly finds out she’s getting paid considerably lower than her white male colleague (an all-too-real expertise for Black girls), or when Issa feels the burden of illustration when she’s anticipated to be the voice for all Black folks on the group nonprofit the place she works.

And “Insecure” would not solely forged dark-skinned Black girls — it additionally amplifies pure hair, contradictory to the overwhelming pattern of Black girls having to straighten their hair to ascribe to white skilled norms inside society. Issa rocking her pure hair within the office sends an empowering message to Black girls who’ve lengthy feared that sporting their hair in braids or in pure textures would make them seem “too Black” for the white gaze, stereotyped as indignant and aggressive by their white colleagues.

Seeing two dark-skinned characters on display for 5 consecutive seasons challenged the colorism that prevails in Hollywood and past to today. It helped viewers reimagine who and what colour is taken into account stunning and fascinating throughout the diaspora of Blackness. Issa and Molly should not outlined or measured by the “gentle is true” yardstick, featurism, and even what is taken into account “Black magnificence” by societal requirements.

The ultimate chapter of “Insecure” has closed, however certainly one of its most enduring legacies can be what it does for dark-skinned girls. As a dark-skinned Black girl, how “Insecure” decentered Eurocentric magnificence requirements and centered dark-skinned Black girls as multidimensional, fascinating, and unapologetically worthy of affection made me really feel seen on tv for the primary time. Having the ability to see Molly and Issa navigate their friendship — like when Molly would not share her mom’s well being points at work, fearing her coworkers will suppose she will’t deal with her tasks, so she turns to Issa for assist — is a major second in itself. Friendships between Black girls are hardly ever proven in depth on TV, however it’s the sisterhood of Black girls that’s the essence of how we join and look after one another.

Sooner or later, I might think about psychologists, movie programs, and the following technology of TV connoisseurs alike can be dissecting and learning the impression of “Insecure” and the way its place within the cultural zeitgeist revolutionized how dark-skinned girls are understood as stunning, obligatory, and of the second. I’m grateful to “Insecure” for affirming dark-skinned Black girls in every single place. It is a present the place we’re seen, valued, and made to really feel safe within the magic of our personal pores and skin. Via “Insecure,” we get to see and love ourselves. As a dark-skinned Black girl, I’ll always remember how monumental “Insecure” is in celebrating darkish pores and skin as a mirror and reflection of self-love.