What is happening to Leslie Jones, isn’t new nor is it okay. Following the premiere of Ghostbusters, which was celebrated for it’s all-female cast, “White Tears Twitter” launched an attack on the actress and Saturday Night Live comedian. It ended, sadly, with none of her co-stars or colleagues coming to her defense, and Jones leaving Twitter.
When Jones was forced to depart from Twitter for self-care reasons, this wasn’t the first instance in which racist and sexist trolls launched an attack against black women on social media. This, perhaps, was the first time that a black woman had been forced to publicly leave because of it.
In the case of Leslie Jones, the spotlight on her is bright and beaming. Not only was she a lead actor in Ghostbusters, she was also revered for her Olympics commentary which landed her in Rio for the duration of the games. The first set of attacks against her fell short when Twitter eventually came to bat for the actress and made necessary policy changes. She’s a black woman in the spotlight, who was able to obtain power and dispel her trolls.
And in America, a black woman with power is more dangerous and threatening to white fragility than simply being a black woman.
The fact of the matter is, social media isn’t where these anti-black woman sentiments begin and end. These attacks are only a reflection of America’s attitudes towards black women as a whole. In an article covering the hack of Leslie Jones’ website and the leak of her nude photographs, the New York Times spoke to Brendesha Tynes, a professor of education and psychology at the University of Southern California who specializes in social media and cyber bullying. Tynes says that these attacks are a part of a “serious anti-black woman problem in the U.S.”
But, is any black woman surprised?
To be black and a woman is to be the literal antithesis of a white male. Every time a black woman with power, in the spotlight, makes even the slightest action, the (with no welcome) trolls come out to play.
The anti-Michelle Obama problem.
The first few times I’d seen these sentiments rear their ugly heads on my timeline was always in reference to Michelle Obama. In May, a very distasteful cartoon of Michelle Obama juxtaposed against Melania Trump caught the sight of my eye. NBC’s Tamron Hall even pulled out receipts during the RNC blasting Scott Baio for his tweets about the First Lady.
This image unearths some of the most racist ideologies from American history. Not only is Michelle Obama depicted to look like a man, she also exudes and attitude standing without the grace that we all know her for. This is only an extension of the hate that the First Lady has received since her husband hit the campaign trail more than eight years ago. This hatred even trickled down to Malia Obama when she announced her acceptance to Harvard, and subsequent gap-year. For the First Lady, as the election continued, “White Tears” Twitter began to cape for Melania Trump, even when she plagiarized Michelle Obama’s speech.
In defense of Gabby Douglas’ religious freedom and attitude.
The Olympian was forced to offer an apology for not putting her hand over her heart while the national anthem played. Though, these same Twitter trolls did not come after the white male Olympians who, like Gabby, stood at attention, but did not put their hands across their chest.
What's wrong with this photo?? Gabby Douglas needs an attitude adjustment… pic.twitter.com/M6Z5Cl2k2n
— Jessie Phillips (@jessieflips) August 11, 2016
The complaints continued when social media users came to find issue with Douglas not exuding overwhelming enthusiasm as her teammates participated in the Olympic games. The backlash on Twitter was unnecessary and downright petty.
Disgusting. I hope this is the LAST we see of Gabby Douglas! #CrabbyGabby #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/ErAqzajuPj
— AnimalRescuer (@LghtUpTheWorld) August 14, 2016
What will it take for America to accept what we know to be #blackgirlmagic, but what they view as a threat to their existence?
