rest in preference: an analysis of race and female competition

in the midst of the digital landscape, have you ever wondered if the pop culture we consume on our algorithms subtly weaponizes female relationships? i certainly have. in this video essay, i’ll be looking at the hidden systemic structures behind race and female competition and how modern entertainment, reality TV, and the music industry profit off of dividing us. using frameworks of critical race theory, intersectionality and the impact of controlling images, this analysis will dive into the ways systemic racism, texturism, colorism and negative racial stereotypes manifest across our media landscape. wait, did you see the thumbnail, roll your eyes and think that Nicolandria, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce and SZA have nothing in common? oh, my sweet summer child… whether it’s Huda Mustafa’s subtle (not really) racism and colorism, SZA’s positioning in the contemporary pop culture landscape, Chelley Bissainthe and Ace Greene’s “Black love” gimmick and the cultural fallout from the release of The Life of a Showgirl last year, white supremacism brings us all together! alleged microaggressions on Opalite and Eldest Daughter? Travis Kelce's wigger phase and history with black women? served with a side of chocolate milk, please. and if you see me connecting all of this to our current socio-political climate and exploring how these patterns societal shifts under the current Trump administration, i might know a thing or two. 00:00 introduction 03:55 theories and concepts 05:58 black women vs. white women, white supremacy and the media’s role 10:58 black women in music, white women jealousy and microaggressions 13:36 white women and the appropriation of black aesthetics 17:08 lightskinned women’s insecurity, interracial relationships and passive racism 23:20 colorism, texturism and Eurocentric beauty standards 27:10 final thoughts and conclusions read up on plausible deniability: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plausib... read up on Critical Race Theory (note: i based my findings on Dr. Robin DiAngelo’s book White Fragility, but she did not conceptualize CTR–major error in scripting): https://jordaninstituteforfamilies.or... read up on Patricia Hill Collins’ controlled images: https://www.sfu.ca/~decaste/OISE/page... read up on the matrix of domination by Patricia Hill Collins: https://sk.sagepub.com/ency/edvol/soc... read up on the intersectionality framework by Kimberlé Crenshaw: https://www.jstor.org/stable/1229039 read "Beauty & The Beast" by Stephanie Tinsley: https://substack.com/home/post/p-1719... read "Hey White Women, We Can't Be Friends..." by Satura: https://substack.com/home/post/p-1796... huge thank you and shoutout to ‪@ChrissiesWay‬ for helping inspire this video. thank you for all the phenomenal and highly important work that you do. watch Chrissie’s channel:    / @chrissiesway   follow my Substack: https://substack.com/@mimiarchive