Be Careful With What You Call Coonery
I am not a television person at all. In fact I miss my favorite shows unless I’m reminded that they’re on. Since my ultimate favorite show, “Girlfriends” left The CW, television has been almost nonexistent in my life. Well, except for Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. My new guilty pleasure is watching “The Tiny and Toya Show”. I’m quite sure that I will also be sitting in front of my TV when “The Frankie and Neffie Show” airs.
When I watch these shows I don’t see people like Tiny, Toya, Frankie, and Neffie as “ghetto” or as “coons”. I see them as women who have been through trials and tribulations just like every other normal human being.
After watching an episode of “The Tiny and Toya Show” as well as a preview of “The Frankie and Neffie Show” I started to think. I thought about how tons of people are calling these shows “coonery”. BET has actually picked up more flack than they already have gotten due to the airing of these two TV shows. I think that some Black people specifically tend to categorize TV shows that depict people who would be considered “ghetto” as “coonery”.
When I watch these shows I don’t see people like Tiny, Toya, Frankie, and Neffie as “ghetto” or as “coons”. I see them as women who have been through trials and tribulations just like every other normal human being. I also see courageous women who are strong and liberated enough to share their trials and tribulations with millions of viewers. Regardless of the fact that these women may be loud, “country”, emotional, and dramatic I see the beauty in their struggles.
What I also see in these women is a few of my family members. I can name several people in my family who hold some of these same characteristics. I also can name several people in my family who have been through some of the same things that they have been through. What’s funny is I know I’m not the only one. So my question is why do we sometimes peg a show that easily reflects some of our closest loved ones or people that we know as “coonery”?
Is it that these shows sometimes hit too close to home? Or could it be that these shows depict parts of ourselves that we often try to reject?
33 Comments – Add Yours
Latest Articles
Most Popular This Week
Recent Comments
-
apple on
School Psychologist Under Fire for Twitter Rant About Killing “Young Black Male Thugs”
Then the parents have failed the girls too. So why aren't they killing each also
-
S.O.B on
On Plate Fixing and Other Wifely Duties
It's 2012 and we're still having this discussion! I don't fix men plates. But that is my choice. I don't knock women who do. If that works...
-
iQgraphics on
Pregnancy Weight Loss and the Public’s Betrayal
gurl bye! +1
-
Erin on
Pregnancy Weight Loss and the Public’s Betrayal
It wasn't about her weight, or that she just had a baby, she could've made a better choice in clothing. That's where she went wrong....
I don’t watch TV often either and I’m surely not a fan of BET like I was in my younger years but I too have been drawn to these shows. Frankie reminds me of my mother and I can relate to Toya’s situation with her mother and drug addiction. College was my first step outside my environment and exposure to a majority black people who had a different upbringing than I and there was a huge disconnect there. That degree did not wash that reality away, and did not change my love respect and admiration for the people I grew up with or the harsh reality of struggle. People are quick to talk about how they are portrayed in media but I consider these very accurate portrayals of a portion of black america that exist TODAY, short of being another tasteless mockery filled with ballooned stereotypes.
I don’t watch BET, but the existence of shows like this would be easier to stomach if there was more range in the portrayal of black women on TV. Apparently all we are shown as is “loud, country, emotional, and dramatic.” According to TV and movies, there are no shy, bookish, urbane, quiet, or reserved black women. They simply don’t exist.
I think the name-calling is a wrong-headed attempt to differentiate between the reality – that black behavior (like any other group’s behavior) cannot be pigeonholed – and shame at the stereotypical, manufactured portrayal.
I simply don’t watch BET anything. Forgive me but it’s trashy TV. I wouldn’t call anyone a “coon” as that is way too loaded, but “ghetto”, yes definitely.
Sorry but I don’t know women like these, and I’m certainly not related to any, if I were, we couldn’t be friends. Birds of a feather…
i do think that these shows reflect images that we are afraid or refuse to acknowledge about ourselves. we never truly see how our actions and decisions might affect someone or even ourselves in the short or long run. i find it sad that people nowadays must put everything in a category in order to accept it. EVERYBODY have their own ways to deal with the ‘troubles of the world’. these women might be seen as ‘ghetto’ because they express themselves ‘loudly’ and ‘air out their dirty laundry’ but there are sooooo many people who hide and do things behind other people’s backs and feel justified in their actions; is that any better?? i haven’t watched the show and probably won’t, but it’s time we stop judging people for having THEIR own way of dealing with their troubles. if u don’t like it, umm, change the channel or walk away. DUH!
I think every (black) person who reads this site can see family members in this show.
The frustration with this show -and others of the ilk – is not toward Tiny, Toya or Frankie per se. It’s toward the networks (BET certainly doesn’t have a monopoly in this regard) that exploits people’s pains and experiences for financial gain. Bottom line, these are people just like anybody else and their experiences aren’t invalidated by the medium through which it is displayed. In this instance, the medium is indeed the message.
Well stated Glennisha.
@ Gina I think that we can find good examples if we look, yes you may have to look a little harder but they are there. I just watched Antwone Fisher and Joy Bryant played an amazing part. Sanaa Lathan played the role of “shy, bookish, urbane, quiet, or reserved black women” in Something New. There’s Love Jones, The Best Man, to name a few.
I agree with both you and kween … that these shows sometimes hit too close to home…
Okay so i’m guilty of straddling the fence here.I talk mad shit about Tiny, Toya, Neffie & dem…but im addicted to it like it’s crack, thus im part of the problem of the high ratings for such shows. For me, they’re entertainment, pure & simple. I dnt know anyone in similar predicaments to any of them but I do know it exists and if these shows can persuade others to get up and do MORE with themselves, more power to them. I just feel like BET does so very little to show black women in a positive light and watchng Frankie yell HOLLA while flyin off into her rages as Neffie struggles with the decision to abort or not abort her child…smh. No. Its a mess.
Its not what you do its how you do it. I have just finished BS and will be pursing a Ph.D in a communications or a meida film doctoral program to address sepcific issues like this. It has been proven that media has an influence on at risk behavior of youth. With this it is very important that at least some of the shows that are targeted to Black youth are inspiring and send positive messages. I dont have a problem with Tiny and Toya or the Frankie and Neffe show but what is important to me is that we have shows that will counter the stereotypical images available to Blacks. Shows like GirlFreinds and Harlem Heights. Shows that stay on the air and arent seasonal or “special edition” shows. We can show our youth the way by displaying positive images, ones that they can aspire to be.
“Regardless of the fact that these women may be loud, “country”, emotional, and dramatic I see the beauty in their struggles.”
The problem, as I see it, is that they are being used to perpetuate negative stereotypes about black women. They most likely have gone through some hardships in their lives, everyone has. I don’t see having hardships as a justification for acting ghetto or knowingly acting in a way validates negative images of Black females; it their actions and puts their behavior/thought process in context.
As for them being on TV, I more pissed with the channels that green lit these types of shows than I am the actual Tiny, Frankie, and the rest of the women. It is not the hard to find living, breathing, positive examples of black females (or males).
Glennisha, I enjoyed reading this and I feel you. These are real women with real problems, and I can appreciate that. However, I do miss seeing reflections of successful African Americans on TV. Like you, I miss Girlfriends, women doing the darn thing in law, writing and real estate. That is what inspires me. I think there needs to be more of us on TV in every facet of life, like Harlem Heights maybe…but a little more raw.
I’m interested in the comment left by J.G. “Sorry but I don’t know women like these, and I’m certainly not related to any, if I were, we couldn’t be friends. Birds of a feather…”
What exactly is meant by the comment women like “these”? If you haven’t watched the show how could you know what kind of women they are? Unless your basing your opinion on the photo attached to the article. When I first saw previews for the Tiny and Toya show I thought it would be another negative depiction of our race. However after watching the show i too became hooked. It made me see them as strong women who have endured a lot in their lives and still strive to prosper in spite of their circumstance.
I too was an individual that thought I was above socializing with women like Tiny and Toya. They were too loud, too ghetto, didn’t speak properly, didn’t dress professionally and lacked education. After watching the show i’ve begun to check my snooty attitude at the door. I’ve been very blessed in my upbringing but forgot that some people don’t have it so easy. This showed me another side of life. We don’t all live in Baldwin Hills, Harlem Heights. The reality of our culture isn’t always shiny, or pretty. This is the first reality show to deal with that truth.
At the end of the day, the people on these reality shows are ‘people’, who perhaps have gone through their fair share of hardship. I respect that. However, if we are to examine them as characters and attempt to categorize them as a media image (which they are) , then it is true that their portrayals on television do reinforce stereotypes inherent to the coon image.
Let’s be real, there are a lot of black folk that can and do identify with “Tiny and Toya”. Not a problem. The gripe is with diversity, and lack there of. When the rest of the networks persistently feature programming that reinforces negative Black stereotypes, we should be able to rely on our own “BLACK entertainment television” to represent the spectrum of African-American experiences. BET does not accomplish this.
I think critics of the network wouldn’t take programming like “Tiny and Toya” so literally if BET offered a greater variety of images to contend with. And by that, I mean beyond specials on the Obamas. It seems as if Black media outlets are always game for reinforcing negative stereotypes, or limited stereotypes, especially as they pertain to Black women. You have your vixen, your bitch, and your happy, funny mammy– few images fall in between. I mean, why do you think it was so difficult for America to digest Michelle Obama. They called her aggressive. She wasn’t aggressive. She was a wife, mother, poised, well-spoken and tremendously educated… an image of the Black woman that was foreign to most American who look to television to define and understand us. I’m a Yale grad and when I first began working on-air in a southern town, they treated me the same way.
I also have to say that it’s not just non-Blacks who will make assumptions about our people based on images displayed on television, but it is also our own young people, who grow up watching Black television and have a lack of positive images to identify with and aspire to.
That’s my two cents.
Noni Aminah Jones
I was surprised that I liked the Tiny and Toya show which made me take a look at The Way it Is. It’s sad much of the lives but I like them both because neither (from what I’ve seen thus far) is elevating the things they’ve gone through. You actually see the pain that comes out of the tragedies and in both cases the “stronger” individual in the fam loving their family enough to move them to a better environment. Then Neffe being one to say I’m not going to lay on my sister and I have to have my own.
I tend to be bitter towards these type of shows because I too have fam like this but they never wanted to better themselves and being that I’d experienced some of the same, it can become hard to relate to I been through abc xyz because you can over come it.
But again I’m happy I watched both of these shows because they are working on making changes and also just the human aspect to it all.
I comes down to variety! When it comes to representation of black people on both and big and small screen, we’ve been severely marginalized. We’re still relatively invisible. So, every portrayal will be scrutinized closely. Once (if ever) we enjoy the same kind of variety in depictions as our Caucasian counterparts do, programs like this won’t be focused on as much.
Also, there’s still this concern that we have of what white people think about us. We’re concerned that these images, since they don’t represent the full variety of our experiences, will dictate how white people (the majority) see us. So, the sooner we let go of what is effectively an inferiority complex, and stop caring about what white people think, the better off we’ll be in general!
Glennisha, Great article….great topic…Look at all the feedback! Congrats!
That said:
I could givce two Sniffs about what WHITE people think of US. However,I am very concerned with how we view OURSELVES. Since I havn’t seen either show, I can’t speak to the content. I will ask this though: What message do these shows send to black women and girls? Only those who watch can answer.
I completely agree with Noni and Shadow. Where is the diversity in representing Black Women? Pearl Cleage called it twenty years ago…. sexually loose Jezebel, long suffering, desexualized Mamie, ghetto, loud, Welfare Mamma, and self sacraficing Auntie…that’s it. GIRLFRIENDS may have been the first diviation from these images.
And as far as the beautiful struggles of black women, there are those who have done it with FAR FEWER means than the wives and families of grammy award winning artists. And with much more grace/class to boot.
I DO know that I saw Frankie at the airport and was able to observe for about twenty minutes. SHE IS A TORNADO! And not in a good way. Every thing and everyone around her was in turmoil. HER BEHAVIOR and language was embarrassing. If she is anything like that on TV…I won’t be watching Frankie and Neffie anytime soon.
peace
There is nothing wrong with these shows if you have a balance of images on TV were black people dont have these “issues”. Thats were the problem comes.
My issue is that we have come so far as a race of people and when I constantly see shows that depict us as loud or even foolish it saddens me to no end. I mean there are black people that are positive and hard working and raising kings and queens out here. There is a high demand for foolishness and i for one dont watch these shows because it does not reflect what we as a people are about. Sure that is one side but when Tiny and Toya get more ratings than CNN black in America then you tell me where we are headed as a people. We have to wake up and reach one teach one.
With all this being said why are shows still like this so popular? The majority of the people who watch BET can relate to the issues these shows have so they watch them. Then on another even if you make on the most uppity Black woman mad you will see the “ghetto” come out so please people stop with this “holier than thou mess”.
On top of all this if there where so many who felt so strongly on the issue why don’t you send letter expressing your frustration with these shows except for sitting around shaking your heads? Every wants to complain but never take the time to improve the situation which is mainly whats wrong with our communities now we have a lot of commentators but no REAL LEADERS.
My rant is done lol
Without watching Tiny and Toya, it’s easy to assume the show is stereotypcial. Two “baby mamas” who have a country accent and it’s on BET. But I have a feeling people stopped there and started making assumptions about the show’s content before viewing the program.
I saw the first show, and was forced to come to terms with the misconceptions I and other black people have accepted about other blacks we deem “hood.”
The fact of the matter is, as Black folks we have also internalized ideas that certain things that seem “too Black” are somehow inferior. From what I actually saw, I found the show to be one of the most real, compassionate reality shows I have seen, black or white. Comparing this to shows like the Hills or Real World, where cast members are often vapid and shallow, Tiny and Toya prove to be class acts with heart and soul.
On the sneak peak, Toya was dealing with the heartbreak of rescuing her mother from drug abuse while Tiny was struggling with her father’s Alzheimer’s. It was sad, real, and showed a vulnerable side to the ladies that you don’t have an opportunity to see in other shows. Tiny also reminded the audience that while yes, she’s the mother of T.I.’s kids, they met when Tiny was at the peak of her success with Xscape and he was still underground trying to get some radio play. She was not some gold-digging groupie.
Weaves and accents aside (which a lot of us Black women have, so let’s not be so damn uppity) Tiny and Toya were likeable and the show was better than all that other mess we don’t criticize.