Black women are EVERYTHING!

"Strong Back woman! Rhino skin!"

I know what you're thinking: "What did she just say?! Rhino skin?!" Let me explain myself. My sister told me story about someone she's knows actually being told this by a white woman. Ridiculous right? Something else that's ridiculous is that this is a trope that's seen far too often in the movie/TV industry. The trope that Black women are these super strong people who can take anything that life throws at them and are put through some of the worst of the worst situations only to brush it off like it has no effect on them. And this is something that's seen as a positive. Now, I'm not saying that Black women can't be strong. The problem is that's all we're allowed to be. (I'm using 'we' because even though I'm talking about black women characters, these shows and movies influence people's opinions on us.) We are the strong, finger waging, neck rolling best friend. Awful, traumatic things may happen to us but we just let it roll off our rhino skin backs and everything is alright.

This is a problem because black women are more than this but we're rarely allowed to be the opposite of strong. We are rarely allowed to be vulnerable. This is really problematic on many fronts.
Before we go into it I want us to first accept the fact that TV shows and movies have an influence on us whether we're in it for just the entertainment or are seeking something more. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, let me move onto these fronts.

We ARE human
Seeing us black women as one thing and one thing only dehumanizes us. I mean, the phrase "rhino skin" equates us to an animal. Black people's history includes our ancestors being treated and sold like property. It includes an actual law that stated that we were considered 3/5 of a human being. We weren't considered fully human and now we have these characters that aren't allowed to express the full spectrum of human emotions. When you create these characters that are only allowed to be one thing you're enabling those who still think that we aren't fully human. You're also planting that seed into the minds of people who may not have an opinion formed yet. Which brings me to my next point.

How you see us on screen is how you think we are in real life
If you live in an area with little to no black woman or people, what you see on TV or in the movies is what you're going to think we are like in real life. You may not think this but it goes back to what I said about the influence of TV and movies. Just sit and think for a minute about what you think about black woman, or any type of person for that matter, and why. You may be surprised.
How you think about a group of people determines how you treat them.

How we see us on screen is how we see ourselves
I'm going to get a little personal here. I'm one who bottles up my feelings. I also am the type of person that when things happen to me, I let it roll off my back and move on with my life. Anyone out there knows how important and necessary it is to express your feelings and emotions.
So, when  I see a character on TV or in a movie who looks like me and expresses her feelings I think "Well if she can cry her eyes out about xyz and it's okay, I can cry my eyes out about abc and it's okay." We don't have to feel ashamed, embarrassed or think that something is wrong with us when we express these feelings and emotions. It's okay.

So, Black women are everything. We are strong. We are vulnerable. We complex, multi-dimensional people. We are human.
Let's celebrate these types of characters by leaving your favorites in the comments.