The Oprahization of America: 'The Man Show' and the Redefinition of Black Femininity

• In Event: Race, Gender, and Reality Television

Abstract

This analysis of the representation of Oprah Winfrey on The Man Show demonstrates that Winfrey outmaneuvers the “controlling images” of Black women, as described by P.H. Collins, placing White patriarchal hegemony in question. The hosts of The Man Show struggle to regain hegemony in a society where they feel they are becoming increasingly marginalized by ridiculing Oprah and her accomplishments as they attempt to redefine and disempower her image of Black femininity.

Author

• Valerie P. Palmer-Mehta, Oakland University