#FreshJuice: Women in Hollywood; A Roundtable Discussion!

A Roundtable Discussion Featuring Black-Ish Star, Tracee Ellis Ross

Tracee Ellis Ross was one of the six featured hollywood A-List actresses who joined in on a roundtable discussion regarding the presence of women in the industry. Put on by The Hollywood Reporter the discussion attempted to have a diverse group of women including, Amy Schumer 34 (Inside Amy Schumer), Tracee Ellis Ross, 42 (Black-ish); Kate McKinnon, 31 (Saturday Night Live), Gina Rodriguez 30 (Jane the Virgin); and Lena Dunham 29 (Girls).
It’s good to see Tracee being included in such discussions and bringing her own personal experiences and insight to a mainstream conversation. Although she was born into royalty being Diana Ross’ daughter, she has faced adversity within the industry, and is definitely relatable to black women in this society. One thing she did mention was her role on Girlfriends. The show doesn’t seem to get the recognition it deserves, being a modern successful black-casted show and representing single, professional black women in todays society. A lot of shows following have definitely piggy-backed their way off of its success. Lena and Tracee touch on it here concerning racism’s presence in the industry.
DUNHAM So many shows wouldn’t exist if you and Mara [Brock Akil] hadn’t made Girlfriends and pushed it as far as you did.

ROSS We did 176 episodes.

RODRIGUEZ Damn.

ROSS Being on a show run by a woman with four women leads gives you a template that when you walk out into the world, you don’t see it. It changed my expectations.

Other strong topics included the stereotypes placed on women; what they’re expected to wear, being ‘front-cover’ cute, as well as stereotypes based on race. Although what may seem like an urban/black character on script, studios are still usually looking for a Caucasian actor, and the roles often designated for blacks involve over exaggerated behaviors and ‘ghetto’ related tendencies.

Gina Rodriguez, the star of CW’s Jane the Virgin also touched on the lack of roles for Latino women as well. This is why her recent Golden Globe win was such a big moment for her. During her acceptance speech, some of her words were regarding the Latino community she consistently serves, “This award is so much more than myself, it represents a culture that wants to see themselves as heroes,” she smiled.

Although it’s great to see diversity happening in Hollywood, there is still a lot of progress that needs to happen. Fortunately women and discussions such as these help develop the conversation and move thoughts forward into more strategic strategies that benefit all of Hollywood’s audience.

Ashley Avery| IG: Averyashlay | Twitter: Averyashlay