Black Female Love Interests in Country Music Videos....or lack thereof

When you look at country music videos, you might see a Black woman but she's usually an extra in the background. Nothing wrong with that. But I'm not concerned about just the overall presence of Black people in country music videos, because you do see that. (Blake Shelton's "Boys 'Round Here" and Toby Keith's "I Wanna Talk About Me") But you never see the Black woman being the love interest, she's usually one of the background people or the friend of the love interest.


The first argument will probably be that Black people don't listen to country music.  THAT IS NOT TRUE!!!!!!  Lots of Black people listen to it especially when we want a break from the "bitches and hoes" that is sometimes heard in rap music.


In case you didn't already know, Black people not only listen to country music, but they sing it too.





                                                                                        Look at   Charley Pride   Charley Pride's music taught listeners that country music was ...



                                                                                                                             Darius Rucker

                                                                                                            Mickey Guyton    Mickey Guyton Has Her Girlfriends' Back on 'Sister' Sounds Like ...

and    Rissi Palmer just to name a few.



I talked to a friend about this and they said that country music is still considered "good 'ole boy" stuff. 


In hip-hop and R&B music videos, the female love interest is often Black but sometimes she is White, Mixed, or racially ambiguous in some way. No big deal. It's all good. Nobody cares. My point is that these videos are more diverse.



The next argument will probably be that White country boys don't like Black women.  THAT IS NOT TRUE EITHER!!!!!!  We are living in a changing world. Interracial relationships are becoming more and more common, including those involve Black women and White men.


I guess the real question is not "Why are there no Black female leads in country music videos?"  We know the answer to that. I think that the real question is "When are country boys going to stop acting like they don't notice Black women?"


I just feel like since singers, as well as fans of country music, are becoming more diverse maybe the videos should reflect that other than the Black girl just being the friend of the love interest. I just find it hard to believe that nobody else wonders about this.  These singers go on tour, all over the country. Surely they have seen beautiful Black women somewhere. Another thought on this matter is that some people who listen to country music may quite possibly be against interracial romance.  So if someone like Jason Aldean or Trace Adkins featured a Black love interest in their music videos, would it be viewed as a promotion of race-mixing?  Would they stop listening to their music because of this? 

Comments

Michelle Rae said…
Wow this is an interesting topic. I've never noticed it until I read your Blog. Come to think of it we do need more leading black female singers.This is an issue that needs to be address and it's cool that you are pin pointing it out!!!
Unknown said…
Of anyone was ever looking for one I'd volunteer.