Misha B and the "angry black woman" trope..

[SunsetBeetch]

I think this is important even if you've never watched X Factor in your life.

Misha B was a contestant on X Factor in 2011. She was (falsely, it now transpires) accused of bullying and 'being mean' to.other contestants.

Some of the judges seemed to have a problem with Misha being a confident performer, an it seems to me that there is racism and sexism involved. Women aren't allowed to be too confident. And if you're a confident black.woman, well that's just the worst.

Misha has posted a video on her Instagram account speaking of her experiences on X Factor, and a clip of the bullying allegations being made.

Gary Barlow, who was a judge that series, has confirmed Misha's account of what happened in his autobiography. Also there is evidence of Misha and Little Mix (who.were pitted against each other by these allegations) supporting each other.

Misha has had mental health issues because of what happened to her. I hope she is feeling much better now. Her message is one of lifting other women and girls us.

This made me really sad and angry.

www.instagram.com/iammisha_b/?hl=en

Can't read any of it. All I get are a series of photographs which are there for a nanosecond before I'm asked to log into Instagram or Facebook; neither of which I have nor want.

I just read that in a newspaper online. It didn't surprise me at all. The producers want 'characters' on the show but it is so unethical and unkind to invent them. I'm glad Little Mix and Gary B spoke out.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/newsbeat-53049458

www.google.com/amp/s/www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8421685/amp/X-Factor-contestant-Misha-B-accuses-ITV-creating-bullying-storyline.html

This is the clip in question

twitter.com/sultanasrgross/status/1272271403375562752?s=19

Have you seen that Keisha Buchanan has made a video about this subject too? I will try to link it.....

Basically Keisha was pitted against every girl in Sugababes and cast as the aggressive black girl. That is the double bind of sexism plus racism in action. Society always pits women against each other and with black girls they use race too.

Leigh-Ann Pinnock has spoken about the topic and so has Shaznay Lewis!

I loved the Sugababes

And yes I remember this and agree with Misha. It was racism. They had to take her down as she was so good.

Yeah I remember the Misha B thing and thought at the time it was staged BS?

I watched Leigh-Anne Pinnocks video about it too, and she said she was told that she would have to work harder than the other girls and would be seen as a diva etc. To be fair, I don't think Leigh-Anne has ever been portrayed as a diva, but I wonder if that is why she has often been the quieter one from Little Mix, because she was worried about being too 'loud'

Poor Keisha. Yes, I remember her and Mutya being painted as the 'bitchy ones' and the reason band members kept leaving . And Shaznay being painted as the surly one (she was also the one who wrote all the bloody songs!).

Quite possibly Ender , which is really sad

I think what maybe isn’t said is that white women are fawned over by men (of all races) whereas black women don’t get the exposure or credit.
So what must’ve been hard is that say everyone’s saying how “hot” the Appletons/Mel Blatt and if you were Shaznay in that environment you would’ve felt ignored I think?
As a 40 something now she probably wouldn’t care about male approval but they would’ve been quite young in their hey day and it would’ve hurt?
The white girl in Eternal Louise Nurding got all the attention too.

Agreed, Siameasy

Ender- I agree

I think that Leigh -Ann is more reserved than the others because she doesn’t want to be regarded as the aggressive diva. Then because she is quieter, she is called moody.
She can’t win
Definitely thought that Misha B was stitched up by The X Factor. Absolutely disgraceful

This is so sad to read. I am so angry at how that poor girl was treated. I hope she's in a better place now.

Another thing Misha said was that her looks always being compared to other black female singers', and 'Why can't I just look like me?'. So she wasn't seen as an individual

Just as reality show contestants taking their lives changed the rule book for producers, this will have to change it again - and so it should.

Contestants aren't cannon fodder.

How has this taken 9 years to come out? That poor woman was absolutely castigated. I cannot imagine the absolute injustice of being falsely accused of bullying on national TV and knowing you can't stand up for yourself.

The angry black woman trope is an intentional catch-22 to force talented women into compliance. Get angry at the lies and prove them right, or meekly keep quiet in an attempt to prove them wrong and let them get away with it.

Makes me wonder why Mel B was designated Scary Spice as well. These attitudes are deeply embedded.

Yes, Mel wasn't the only unopologetically confident and 'feisty' member of The Spice Girls, by any means.

Makes me wonder why Mel B was designated Scary Spice as well. These attitudes are deeply embedded.

Indeed - she wasn't "scary" at all. Mind, Posh wasn't remotely "posh", either.

I was thinking the same about Mel B-of course she would never be posh or baby. I wonder if she felt she had to play up to the name? And wasn’t she blamed for issues with Geri?

www.oxfordacm.co.uk/music-3/the-taming-of-misha-b-the-villainization-of-black-female-excellence

That's a really good article, Siameasy. I particularly like this:

"Misha B’s experiences show us that for Black women there is a paradox that exists as a result of being both black and a woman. Black people have to go above and beyond to be recognised - mediocrity is not a privilege we can enjoy. Often there are gatekeepers waiting for the first opportunity to discredit you because white supremacy, which upholds anti-blackness, is ingrained in the very fabric of society and predicated on the superiority of white people and the inferiority of black people. Simultaneously, the patriarchy pushes women to subservience and submission, meaning that women who express confidence or self-assuredness are often painted in a horrible light. Black women cannot satisfy the expectations of both white supremacy and the patriarchy at the same time, because the necessity to disprove the presumed inferiority of black people directly challenges patriarchal archetypes of the submissive and subservient woman. A confident black woman who is excellent at her craft is a threat to both white supremacy and the patriarchy because she disproves the core premises of both constructs. The soldiers of these constructs seek to disarm us through their lies and half-truths. They seek to disarm us through attacking our self-esteem and our confidence - the very things that hold us up."

Yes the patriarchy plus racism puts black women in a no-win situation. Even if they are excellent (which they have to be) they aren’t allowed to enjoy it. They are expected be strong but then that is used against them too.

And then as some on Twitter have pointed out you have Tulisa sharing a panel with Kelly Rowland like Tulisa was worthy of that company and entitled to critique Misha

mobile.twitter.com/ChantayyJayy/status/1272307435110387716?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet

So what must’ve been hard is that say everyone’s saying how “hot” the Appletons/Mel Blatt and if you were Shaznay in that environment you would’ve felt ignored I think?
As a 40 something now she probably wouldn’t care about male approval but they would’ve been quite young in their hey day and it would’ve hurt?

The Appleton’s and Mel blatt were all cast in a film written for them by Dave Stewart. Shaznay was just left out. And this was never called out in the media IIRC. No way they’d get away with that shit today, thankfully.

No way they’d get away with that shit today, thankfully

I'm afraid they probably would.