Who's That Lady? The Portrayal of Black Women on Love and Hip Hop Atlanta

Abstract

Reality television is a popular fixture of American culture. Its stars are famously dramatic and outrageous, which can make for good entertainment. However, the women, particularly women of color, are often the most theatrical, exhibiting unacceptable and out of control behavior. Studies of reality television have, for the most part, failed to examine the deep-rooted ideologies of the dominant culture that are represented in the portrayals of Black women. This qualitative content analysis studies the current images of Black women on reality TV and interrogates the continuation and rearticulation of historical stereotypes. Through a series of detailed analyses of the first season of the VH1 series Love and Hip Hop Atlanta (LHHA), this study examined the way traditional portrayals of Black women have evolved over time, whether or not there have been any changes at all in these historical images, and if there has been a development of any new representations. These overwhelmingly negative portrayals of Black women are harmful in that they affect how they are viewed and treated in society (Boylorn, 2008; Hooks, 1992). After collecting and interpreting the data, it was found that LHHA contributes greatly to the continuation and rearticulation of traditional typecast roles, although some characters exhibited no stereotypical behavior at all. This research will add to the discourse of reality TV by bringing attention to the many stereotypes of AfricanAmerican females that are still broadcast in a genre television that is thought to be truly representational.