“They take this Greek life thing to another level. These different fraternities and sororities even have beef with each other. It goes beyond just stepping too! This isn’t the same Greek scene that Auntie Natasha, Roxanne Steele, and Brianna Carter were a part of back in the day – you know, where everyone used to be cool no matter what frat or sorority you pledged. That’s definitely not the case anymore, at least not down here at this university. Things have changed! The whole entire Stomp the Yard movie series is starting to seem a little bit more like fact than fiction.”
– Aaliyah’s cousin Crystal Smith on Greek Life at Willowsfield University, from the forthcoming young adult novel “The Diary Of Aaliyah Anderson: Volume II”
Amid the ongoing discussion on the rape allegations against Bill Cosby, Azealia Banks’s jihad against T.I. and Iggy Azalea and the ongoing conversation on racial injustices around America, the controversy surrounding the new VH1 reality show Sorority Sisters has captivated the attention of many in the black community. Heated discussions have been sparked on all platforms. An economic boycott has been waged against Viacom that has big name advertisers like McDonalds preventing their advertisements from being played while the controversial show is airing. Seeing us ban together in the hundreds of thousands to protest a negative portrayal of black women warms my heart. It also makes me happy to see black folks actually using strategy and tact to get their demands met.
In my opinion on the show, however, I’m still straddling the fence.
I watched the show and, I must admit, it is a ratchet display that I would rather not have on national television. But, it just blends in with the other reality T.V. shows that are popular now. It basically follows the same formula! To be honest, I believe that the creation and broadcasting of this show is actually a good thing for the black community at large. My reasoning for saying this will become apparent later on but I want to show the world how neutral I am on this situation surrounding Sorority Sisters.
My Argument For Supporting #BoycottSororitySisters
Like I said before, I actually got a chance to watch the show and I agree that it is a horrible stain on the already messed over image of black women in the media landscape. The fact that it’s depicting sororities, which are respected and sacred entities in the community at large, in this capacity is incredibly egregious. Half of the women on the show are obnoxious and display the worst aspects of the social scene of Black America. And, of course, the one beautifully dark-skinned career woman that speaks articulately and is on her grind jugging multiple responsibilities is ridiculed and relegated to being “boogie” and full of herself.
I mean seriously! What did Veronica do to get al
l that hate and hostility from Priyanka? Veronica even went out of her way to show that she isn’t stuck up. Meanwhile the conveniently named hoodrat Priyanka tried her best to spark up a vendetta with her, even insulting her later on in the episode by implying that she isn’t a self-sufficient woman due to the fact that her significant other happens to be an electrical engineer. Then she antagonizes her by keeping on asking “did I offend you?”, hoping to get a rise out of her so they can have a classic reality T.V. fight moment.
Putting on display how divisive some of us are towards individuals in our own community that we inherently feel are “better than us” isn’t a good look at all. And, to be honest, Priyanka’s insecurity issues is the reason why she has a problem with Veronica. In the same conversation where Priyanka and her friend Lydia ridicule her for being “boogie” (which Veronica handled perfectly), she brings up the fact that she didn’t have many favorable experiences with members of the Zetas while she was in college.
Priyanka says, with a somber look on her face, “I’ma be honest with you. When I was in college, the blue and white girls….they terrorized me. I haven’t had a good experience with the blue and white girls.”
Ok, that’s great but what does that have to do with Veronica? I guess she’s going to be Priyanka’s punching bag during the season, seeing the fact that she’s the residential Zeta that doesn’t seem to be built for the intense drama and confrontations that come with being on a reality T.V. show. As a matter of fact, Veronica summed up Priyanka’s redundant viewpoint on her perfectly, saying, “So now I get it. Priyanka has issues with me because she had bad experiences with Zetas in the past. That was in college and has absolutely nothing to do with me.”
Should I even bring up the sham of a tea that Adrene tried to put on? I guess there’s no better entertainment on a Monday night than seeing two accomplished business owners bicker, fight and hurl insults at each other like little girls. The white female Delta that swears she understands the struggle that black women have to go through every day due to how she perceives she’s treated because she’s white in a historically black sorority makes you want to support the boycott even more.
But…………..
My Argument Against #BoycottSororitySisters
At the end of the day we can conclude that this show is entertainment. It’s true and dually noted that the image of black people, especially black women, isn’t all that great in the media right now but this show isn’t nearly as worse as Love & Hip Hop or the hordes of other reality T.V. shows that depict black women as vain, insecure, redundant, over-sexualized savages. Well, at least not yet! If your only justification for rebelling against this show is because of the fact that your sorority is being depicted in a bad light, that’s a major problem.
Why is being unapologetically black last on our collective value and priority lists? There are T.V. Shows that display black life in horrible ways but when the AKA’s and Deltas get drug into the frying pot, now we have a problem! Now we can economically sanction these corporations and firms that swear they have an interest in black buying power for supporting a show that depicts Greek life in a negative way. Oh, and the participants on the show just show happen to be black women. That fact comes secondary to Greek affiliation.
Nevertheless, this is a good situation for the black community to be in. Why? Simply because of the fact that it shows what we’ll do when we really feel disrespected. As you read this article, there are still thousands of Twitter users trying their best to get in contact with the corporations in a desperate attempt to compel them to support the protest. If the protesters actually galvanize and get this show off air, things will be even better. Now, there’s no excuse to enact our power when we see true injustices. When the next Mike Brown or Trayvon Martin situation happens, let’s put pressure on the system just like the protestors embroiled in this social media war with VH1 are doing!
The time for action is now!
-We came, we saw, we conquered! My debut publishing effort “Riverview High: Circumstances” reached #2 on the Amazon charts! Check it out on Amazon today. Don’t forget to leave a review!
-“The Diary Of Aaliyah Anderson” is out now! Make sure to go get it!
Do you have any questions, comments or concerns? Was I right or wrong on this issue? I would love to hear from you! Contact me directly at:
Email: [email protected]
Kik: @AuthorRandallB
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