What Dorothy Roberts refers to in Killing the Black Body as “the myths about immoral, neglectful, and domineering Black mothers” have been reinforced through social media. For example, comical videos of people
embodying the stereotypical assumptions of Black mothers have been posted on
common sources like Vine and YouTube. In the video I linked to, we see one
young man depicting a white mother and a black mother and fully iterating what
are commonly assumed to be the differences between the two. To some, this video may seem like a critique
of existing stereotypes; however, others may see this embodiment as a
reinforcement of the myths of what Black mothers are like. So what do you think: is this seemingly
innocent depiction of mothers of different races harmful or helpful?
In this case it's neither harmful nor helpful. Calling upon racial stereotypes or common cultural practices for humor is really not politically motivated unless if it's done in an offensive manner or in a way that vehemently degrades an entire group of people. That being said, I don't think that the comedy in this particular video was attributed to the actual races themselves, but more so to the differences between them. The viewer's interpretation of that video is largely going to depend on their experience, but the video doesn't attempt to place one experience above the other or degrade any experiences. In my opinion, this particular video doesn't have enough in it to be politically helpful or harmful on a grand scale.
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