Minority Female Celebrities Lose the Mainstream Battle but Gain Acceptance that Matters

Let me introduce these lovely ladies to you: Raven Symone, Brandy, Selma Hayak, Selena, Aaliyah, Alfre Woodard and Regina King

I came across an African-American Entertainment blog. What caught my eye was the recent article about Raven Symone. Until I read it, I didn't know how out of touch with Raven I was. I am not a big Raven fan but I don't have anything against her. I didn't care for her on The Cosby Show and I don't watch her recent shows but she seems levelheaded and I see where she's coming from. It's good to see a young woman raised with true morals. In the article I am speaking, Raven brought up an issue that has been in the minority community for years.

Why aren't female minority celebrities given as much media attention as their white counterparts? Simple, because no one really cares.

Oh of course we can get on the cover of Latino Magazine and Ebony Magazine but what does that mean? It means a hell of a lot to our communities, and us but why do a lot of blacks and Hispanic superstars (women) still feel left out? I believe that's the way it's always been and the way it always will be. Minority celebrities state that the young white female celebrities are the media and world's obsession. And I have to say that they are right. It's never changed and it never will change. Aside from Halle Berry, Jennifer Lopez and Beyonce Knowles, how many minority women stars can truly say the main media accepts them?

When I say " main " I mean magazines and shows geared towards mainstream celebrities. Of course it's no secret that white is right, especially in the entertainment world. Or hell, anywhere really.

Now I finally see why blacks and Hispanics have our own channels, magazines, pageants, radio stations, comedy shows and networks. Because if it weren't for these promotional outlets, would anyone really know who we were? A person can be a superstar in the Latino and Black communities but still unknown to mainstream, which consists of a primarily white audience. The perfect example is Aaliyah Haughton.

Aaliyah was the first celebrity I ever mourned. I always listened to her music in high school and beyond because we were the same age but I didn't expect that her death would hit me as hard as it did. Something came over me and I began to think of Aaliyah as a relative instead of a celebrity. What hurt the black community and me personally was the " slap " in the face Aaliyah received from mainstream media. Oh sure the music networks did a couple of shows and showed some videos but she wasn't truly getting love from anyone except BET and other networks that were geared towards blacks. They played her songs on black radio stations but others…forget it. It was like no one had died. The funny thing is, Aaliyah had just as many white fans that adored her. She also had a strong following overseas yet could you believe that some mainstream (white) journalists poked fun by wondering what the big deal was because she wasn't " anyone important " or " famous "? Well some said that and worse. It caused heat from the black community and leaders like Al Sharpton who pointed out that our celebrities mean a great deal to " us ", if not to " you ". We all know that if Aaliyah had been more mainstream AKA Britney Spears that her death would have been on the cover of every newspaper, magazine and there would have been endless tributes. The black community has done loads of tribute for her since her death. But not too many in " mainstream " media knew that, shared that…and frankly cared about it. And why should they? Aaliyah didn't mean two sh*ts to them. Sad but true.

Brandy has been singing and acting for over eleven years but how many mainstream magazines like Vogue or Entertainment have you seen her on? Hasn't been that many has it? She's recently gotten married. Did you know that? Yeah the blacks know it, but what about the rest of society? As famous as Brandy is, none of this will ever make headlines. Yet if Britney Spears stubbed her toe it would be on the cover of Time Magazine. We know all about Britney's baby, what she plans to name it and how much her stomach weighs. I don't think many people even know that Brandy's husband is a famous NBA player or that they recently moved to New York. Once again, I'm sure nobody even cares. Brandy's not important. But Britney is. Britney's always been.

Alfre Woodard and Regina King are veteran actresses that starred in hit films. It wasn't until Jerry Maguire that mainstream even cared to mutter Regina's name. And since then they haven't said two words about her. Regina and Alfre, fine actors they are just don't cut it. Selena was murdered. Funny she wasn't known too much outside of the Latino community until then right? You ask people who Selena is they say " the person Jennifer Lopez played in the movie ". Now isn't that pitiful? She means a little bit more than that to us.

What about Selma Hayek? She looks just as gorgeous if not more than the white actresses of today. She gets parts but is she considered mainstream? Nope. And probably never will be. But who cares? Believe me they don't want to be accepted. They just want to be respected. That's a different thing altogether. Vogue and Elle Magazine could use some " color " and a little more" depth " if you get my drift.

Simply it could just boil down to the fact that none of these women are society's idea of beauty. They're not blond, blue-eyed or skinny. Or it could just be that they are minority women working in a white man's world. The entertainment field will always be a white man's world no matter how many people buy into it. But come on, no one needed this pointed out to them right? Flip through a magazine, turn on a major music station and turn on the television.

You'll see the real deal. And if you can't see it or don't see it after all this time then your eyes probably aren't opened to what's really going on. Or it could just be the other reason…you simply don't care.

The link to the Raven article I mentioned: http://blackinformant.com/2005/07/24/the-medias-obsession-with-skinny-white-girls

Photos are shots from the Internet such as publicity shots, etc. Scanned by Stacy-Deanne and not linked from websites. The photos are the property of their owners and just used for the purpose of this post.