Imagine a nine-year-old me dancing and singing along to Desi Girl at the top of my lungs, as I watched my favorite actress, Priyanka Chopra, tell the audience that desi girls are the hottest in the world. To say the least, I was pretty obsessed with her.
The obsession turned into more of an appreciation, and I was pretty thrilled when I found out Priyanka would be debuting into mainstream Hollywood. The only other popular South Asian that I knew of in Hollywood was Mindy Kaling, and it made me so happy to see Priyanka become her worthy counterpart. I realized that Priyanka had the opportunity to clear stereotypes about Bollywood, Indian media and South Asians in general, which a lot of people still read into. Priyanka has done so much for the South Asian community, and through her skillful acting, she’s brought to light that people of color deserve the same main roles that caucasian actors seem to be preferred for.
However, I recently read her interview with Refinery29 and I was upset. Priyanka stated “I don’t like the phrase woman of color. I feel like that puts women in a box. I’m a woman, whether I’m white, black, brown, green, blue, or pink — whatever. I think we need to start looking beyond that.” She’s right in the idea that there shouldn’t necessarily be a box, that women of color should be placed into when making decisions in the world of Hollywood. But what disappointed me was the fact that she missed the whole point as to why so many people emphasize the phrase “women of color.” It’s not meant to define the type of roles you can do or the type of person you can be. It’s meant to empower and strive PoC to look for equal opportunity within Hollywood. It’s true, you are human no matter what color your skin is. However, that color should never be forgotten. It represents your roots and the struggles that the generations before you have had to face. Being a woman of color in Hollywood is hard.
A lot of people within the industry don’t believe in you, but the phrase allows you to believe in yourself and the melanin the flows freely within you. When directors prefer CGI effects to allow for a white actress to look “more of a race” that they are not, over actually hiring people of that race, women of color should be commended when they pick up lead roles that don’t fit within the stereotype of characters they “should be playing.” All my life, I was so used to seeing South Asians play cab drivers, gas station owners and math nerds in films. Seeing a South Asian woman play the lead role in a popular TV show, is so huge in my opinion.
Before we can completely erase the gap between women of color and caucasian actresses in Hollywood, we must first acknowledge the fact that Hollywood does have a diversity problem, and when it takes measures to fix this problem, it’s important and should be lauded. Instead of promoting this “color blindness” within the industry, Priyanka should take more steps to advocate for women of color in the industry, and encourage males and females alike to follow their dreams into Hollywood and make places for themselves within the industry. Not as 7-11 owners or terrorists, but as fighters for lead roles that make a difference. Recognizing and using the term “woman of color” doesn’t define you but creates a sense of community and strength.
