Zendaya, Maria Taylor and The Martyrdom of Black Women
All news stories are being siphoned through two filters: race and gender.
Instead of acknowledging Russell Wilson as a great quarterback, people have to insert the fact that he is a great BLACK quarterback. Every time Donald Trump opens his mouth, people feel the need to comb through every word because he might be “racially dog-whistling” or showing his “sexism” (even though I’ve seen no real evidence that Trump is a racist or sexist, nor do I think it matters if he is a racist or a sexist, but I digress). Of course, singer and actress Zendaya’s big night at the 72nd Primetime Emmys was viewed through the gender and race-colored glasses everything else is.
24-year-old Zendaya made history at the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, becoming the youngest winner in the category of Best Lead Actress in a Drama for her role in HBO’s “Euphoria”. That was not enough as America’s race-regulating audience made sure to add in that she is the 2nd Black woman to win the award, behind Viola Davis who won in 2015 for “How To Get Away With Murder”.
We are at the intersection of two movements in America: race and feminism. Each movement consists of its own victim ideology and figureheads.
In the race movement, criminals such as George Floyd and Jacob Blake have become examples of how the police (who are all typecasted as “evil, racist white men”) are targeting and killing Black men. LeBron James and Colin Kaepernick, and all of their victimhood glory, have become standard-bearers for how Black men should conduct themselves in 2020.
The narrative in the feminist movement is women are the leaders of society. Men simply play a backup role. Most of us are looked at as Robin playing second-fiddle to Batwoman. Feminists marginalize men and immaturely believe that any and all signs of masculinity are “toxic”. When a woman is right, she’s right. When a woman is wrong, she’s right.
With those two movements being as intertwined as they are now, the ones who have real estate in both hold a seismic advantage. Black women who feed into the narrative that they are oppressed because of their race and gender are placed on center stage so the world can feel sorry for them. For years, Zendaya has spoken on the poor treatment Black women get in Hollywood. Despite many viewers of “Euphoria” saying she did an okay job in the role, she quite possibly could have been elevated because the Emmys needed a Black, female face to plaster on media outlets and avoid retaliation from the Leftist mobs. Remember, the award shows are just as much a part of Hollywood as the movies are. Zendaya having her historic night makes for a great mainstream story.
Similarly, ESPN’s Maria Taylor benefits from Black woman martyrdom. Taylor, who claims she forgot to include one of the NBA’s Top 10 players on the All-NBA ballot, hid behind her race and gender when the “evil, white man” Fox Sports Radio host Doug Gottlieb offered legitimate criticism over the weekend:
Taylor preaches about equality in the sports media sphere. Gottlieb’s criticism of her is equality. He held her to the same standard she would a man. Unfortunately, it is Gottlieb who gets slandered on social media and will probably have to apologize for his harmless critique. All because people feel sorry for Black women.
The media propping up Black women in order to feed a narrative is not equality. True equality is when people of all stripes and backgrounds are able to succeed, fail, receive praise, receive criticism, earn money and lose money equally. There is good AND bad that comes with equality. Many people, and many Black women, simply want privilege. They want the comfort to be able to say and do what they want without any consequences. Some want to be rewarded extravagantly for their average efforts.
Zendaya and Maria Taylor are enjoying a great deal of success right now, but will it cost them, and other Black women, down the road?
