As Raven-Symoné’s work draws her from the television screen to the Broadway stage, Oprah Winfrey sat down with Symoné to bridge the gap from adolescence to her adult presence.
Though hers was not the namesake for the television show, Raven-Symoné gained a unanimous “Aww” from America in her role as Olivia on The Cosby Show. As a child star and, later, a figure many youth associated with Disney Channel works such as That’s So Raven and The Cheetah Girls, Symoné has recently made a subdued leap to Broadway, starring in the stage adaptation of “Sister Act”.
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| Symoné as Olivia in The Cosby Show. Photo courtesy of style blazer.com |
Despite her continued body of work and aptitude to stay out of the public eye, Symoné’s recent interview on Oprah Winfrey’s “Where Are They Now?” is making up for missed tabloids of years past.
Concerning her identity, Symoné told Oprah:
“I don’t need language [for identity]. I don’t need a categorizing statement for it. I don’t want to be labeled gay. I want to be labeled a human who loves humans. I’m an American. I’m not an African-American. I don’t know where my roots go to. I do know that my roots are in Louisiana. And that’s a colorless person.”
Before the full interview debuted on the OWN network, American audiences erupted on Twitter with refute to Symoné’s thoughts on racial identity.
In an act that makes a clear delineation from her sit-com history, Symoné’s re-definition of racial classification takes several steps from the comfortable categorization of race that was apparent in The Cosby Show era.
The New York Post writes of the interview in defense of Symoné and her progressive act, which offers that individuals should accept and deny the labels that society subjects us to. The article titled, “She’s So Raven”, reads, “In short, any honest person looking at what she said knows this woman didn’t reject either her race or her sexuality. All she rejected were the labels.”
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| Symoné and Oprah Winfrey on the set of the "Where Are They Now?" interview. Photo courtesy of people.com |
For public figures, media purports a monopolization of ideas. Even our most prized media forms define people and events in definitive manners. It is this narrow nature of media that Symoné defies in her OWN interview.
In a short span of time, Symoné expands on the ways in which audiences should be able to relate with those they see on television and on stage. If sit-coms intend to re-create reality and the people within it, sit-coms need also to advance in real-time with the reality of policy and identity and the individuality that comes with the labeling of Americans today. Because, according to Symoné’s reminder, this country is a melting pot.
Symoné’s childhood character, Olivia, was known to stir the plot and create profound ideas to linger for her cast-mates and audiences alike. To that end, it wasn’t so out-of-character for Symoné to re-align the American tendency to regulate race. With a friendly approach and enough quirky character as she held two decades ago, Symoné pushes race into relevant representation.
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Kyle, I really enjoyed this post on this recent media circus. I have actually seen several articles regarding this interview and, at first, I was not quite sure what to think. Several outlets are saying that Oprah seemed offended and that Raven's declarations seemed unsettling. The first article I read was from Cosmopolitan magazine, (link included at the end of this comment) and this writer was rather infuriated that Symone would have the audacity to consider herself colorless and not identify as gay. Her argument was that Symone should be proud of her roots (even if she is not entirely sure where she came from) and have pride in her sexual identification. Other articles that I read were mostly in Symone's defense and I agree with parts of each of the articles. I think that this interview was 1) fantastic publicity for a star that has been out of the spotlight for quite some time and 2) a great way to spark some educated conversation regarding topics that DO matter in the media. Overall, I really enjoyed reading your post and look forward to reading in the future!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/news/a31861/raven-symone-oprah-race/
Alexa, we love a good weigh-in on the news from Cosmo. I agree with you that this interview gave American audiences a reason to continue a dialogue around the topic of identity. And in a rare occurrence, I disagree with the column from Cosmo, because I thought it was such a profound thing for Raven to do--defy the limitations that societal labels bound her to as a black lesbian. In no point during the interview does she resist her race or her sexual orientation, she just asserts that she'd like to define these identities in ways that are most befitting of her. Thank you for your thoughts, sister!
DeleteI really enjoyed this post, even if I'm personally conflicted over Symone's decision to reject those labels. They are, of course, hers and no one else's to reject. I'm not disputing that in the least. But I wonder if some people will be rubbed the wrong way by her casting off her race and sexuality in terms of how they affect her acting, rather than acknowledging the effect that those very real parts of her life have had on her career. Naturally, I'm sure it's incredibly tedious for conversations about one's career to be constantly couched in discussions about race or sexuality, and it's not my decision or anyone else's what labels she uses to self-identify. I'll be interested to see how people react to this.
ReplyDeleteTaylor, I think you bring up a good point in the balance between Raven's career and her self-identity that has come to the public forefront following this interview. In follow-ups to this interview, Raven has been able to discuss how she was raised to put her work in the public eye and not her personal life. Thus, when a public figure has something variant to say on the topic of identity in America, it's hard for audiences to respond to and appreciate multi-dimensional definition for self-identification. What is normative in America is unexplored and Raven gives us all a reason to explore a larger labeling system from this interview. Thank you for offering your thoughts!
DeleteHi Kyle,
ReplyDeleteI love what you did in this blog post. In my point of view, I also agree with Symoné's idea that she just rejected her label, not her race and sexuality. I dont know why people have debates over this, because If they do think that race should not matter our life and how people look at each other, what she said might not be controversial at all.
Annie, this is such a good point. The ideology of colorblindness in America is certainly ratified when controversy arises over interviews like Symone's and Oprah's.
DeleteI think both in and out of fame, labels are crucial to an individual's perception of their own identity, especially when a person falls into multiple groups of oppression. Not everyone has been able to reach the level of self comfort and and self acceptance that Raven has and it's easy to see why. For someone who is in Raven's same shows, being colored, a women AND gay, it's easy to want to just give in to society's labeling. However I think that Like Raven, one must become empowered by their oppression and become the exception.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a good point, Alejandra. The idea that marginalized individuals need to embody their subjectification of the 'lesser than' status might help to move television in particular into a category of respect, rather than rejection.
DeleteI think this is really important on a personal level for people who struggle with not feeling able to fit into labels. That idea of not forcing a person's self into a category and being okay with it is something that I feel a lot of people struggle with. Now labels are important to some people, and people who feel like they need or want those labels should be able to have them guilt free, but I feel as if what was being said here is really important, especially for people who do not fall onto a binary scale that society sends to push onto people. There is just a lot in this she is saying that I think is really validating for people who struggle with this.
ReplyDeleteI love that you bring the binary categorization into the light in your comment, Chanelle. This interview, especially, is one to show that degree to which Americans have moved beyond a binary scale for identification and the need for acceptance of this progression.
DeleteI think it makes sense that Raven Symone has to distance herself from labels in a society that thrives on valuing some labels more than others and also discrediting people because they are "this" or "that". With Raven as a black, homosexual, she has to try and communicate that she is basically "just a human who loves other humans". This may be because she wants to actually identify with sympathizers of gay rights and civil rights while not leaving behind those who share her prescribed labels by society.
ReplyDeleteI'm hopeful that Raven is not distancing herself from these labels that she belongs to in society, and from her interview, it sounds like she is not. That would be such a negative thing for other Americans who are black or of the LGBT community. She is, in fact, a human who loves her partner-- not "basically" another human. It's language like this that creates "othering" in our society. Thank you for commenting.
DeleteI grew up watching her on TV and I always loved the characters she played. I admired her as Raven, and it's refreshing to see her as someone that I still admire. I agree with her description of being a human that loves humans. I think it is a beautiful way to put it, and I think more people should view it like that
ReplyDeleteI love this note. I, like many other in this media fiasco, have not given the most thought to the way that Raven made such a positive name for herself and is loved by many because of her work. Hopefully this is a factor that has diminished any prejudices that might otherwise accompany Raven's identities, because people have an admiration for her that goes beyond her identities.
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