Sex and the City
The Top Ten Reasons Black Women Don't Care About Blair (and the White Woman)

By Esther Iverem
SeeingBlack.com Editor and Film Critic

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To what appears to be a general ho-hum among Black women, actor Blair Underwood made his debut recently as a romantic interest on HBO's "Sex and the City," which follows the love lives of four White women in New York City. Your ever-faithful and intrepid critic has investigated this ho-hum and presents to you, with an assist from members of DC Sistagirls, THE TOP TEN REASONS BLACK WOMEN DON'T CARE ABOUT BLAIR (AND THE WHITE WOMAN.)

Number 10)
It's Their White Fantasy, Not Our Black Reality
(Or…'Who Cares About these Hoochies Anyway?')
We are used to watching TV and films with a double consciousness. "Sex and the City" shows the hyper "reality" of four White women—Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte— in New York City. This reality includes their fantasies, including the recent fascination of Miranda with "Mimi and Jules," a sitcom from London about an interracial romance between a White woman and a Black man. Some women, like Cheryl Charity of Alexandria, Va., say that Underwood's appearance is just a ploy by the show to boost ratings during its final season. Others admitted that, though they liked the series, they'd lost interest in it—especially since, as Nicole McClean of Washington, D.C. says, the show's four women "live in the whitest NYC I have ever seen." We might add that "Sex in the City" can leave that London s&*t—where Caribbean and African men flock to White women—in London.

Number 9)
We Don't Control the Media…
If we did, we'd make international shows that show how beautiful, smart, talented and sexy WE are—and how much men (Black and other) love US. And, if we desired, we would show quality relationships between Black women and White men, not the tawdry variety such as those featured in "Monster's Ball," "Die Another Day," "Dark Blue" or "Street Time."

Number 8)
…But We Still Control Our Own Reality
(We Still Got the Keys to the Lex!)
Despite the plethora of media promoting European beauty standards and White women with the ever-so-in-demand Black man, African Americans are still more likely to marry each other, compared to the marriage patterns other groups in the United States. (Underwood, who plays Dr. Robert Leeds on the show, is married in real life to a Black woman.) "I also faithfully watch Sex in the City," says Venessa Hadley of D.C. "But just because we see [interracial dating on TV] doesn't normalize it or bring any more credence to it than if we didn't see it. I believe in the institution of the Black family and think that as we assimilate more and more with mainstream society we are getting away from those values."

Number 7)
A Fine Black Man on the Tube is Still a Fine Black Man on the Tube
No matter who he's with, there's nothing like a little brown sugar eye candy for the starved. (Baseball is OK but thank gawd the NFL season is here with all those tight pants!) "Personally I am very happy for Blair," says Karen Alston of D.C. "It is so difficult for 'us' to get major roles in Hollywood." (And besides, didn't Blair already do the White woman thing back on "L.A. Law"?) And didn't Samantha, the nympho of the four, already "do" a Black man in seasons past?

Number 6)
Live and Let Live
(Dr. Leeds is Probably a Sorry Brother Anyway)
Many of us are secure enough to be happy for anyone in love. And many of us in the man marketplace don't consider Black men who date White women as men taken from us. They were not for us, for the Black family or community anyway. It's not our loss. "You know, who really cares any more about the Black-White thing," says Talia of New York City. "The whole concept is starting to get overrated. Don't get me wrong I love Black men and hope God has it in His plan for me to marry a Black man—but I am not going to be outraged at the site of interracial couples. At least they are finding love."

Number 5)
Single Mommies Need Love Too!
Many Black fans of the show particularly have empathy for Blair's love interest, Miranda, because she is the lone parent—and a single parent at that—among the four women. She seems to be the most working class in origins and she has been experiencing recently a drought in relationships and male attention. April Stubbs-Smith of Gaithersburg, Md. adds, "I did find it odd that his character was making all the moves per se. Rarely do you see a man (Black or White) running after a woman with a infant like that."

Number 4)
The Curiosity of White Women is a Spectator Sport
Lest we think we are the only ones discussing this, V. Campbell Carter of Germantown, Md. tells us that "the touting of this relationship still is a BIG deal to Whites. While we see it all the time and perhaps have just tuned out, my [White] co-workers have been talking about this for WEEKS."

Number 3)
The White Woman Looked Pretty Tore Down (Meow…)
More sympathy goes out to Miranda for the first episode because she caught the chicken pox from her son and looked pretty tore down. It's hard to begrudge her love when she's sliding around her apartment in a housecoat with calamine lotion smeared on her face. And …please school us in cross-racial and cross-gender aesthetics. Is Miranda supposed to be, um, fine?

Number 2)
He's Just a Friend—For Now
(And besides, he isn't Denzel!)
To the shock of her fellow White members on the condominium board, Miranda made all the initial moves on Dr. Leeds, who was being interviewed for the possible purchase of a unit. She persuaded them to accept his application and chided them for their unstated racism. When she sees Dr. Leeds later, she lets him know that he "owes her big time" for her intervention on his behalf. When he befriends her, we can assume that he's just grateful for her kindness. He inquires about her marital status and offers her personal attention but this could be interpreted as just being friendly. Right?

Number 1)
And…the Number One Reason We Don't Care About Blair and the White Woman Is That She Didn't Get the Drawers (Not in the first episode anyway.)
Later, true, she WAS riding high.

A version of this article first appeared on www.bet.com.

— September 12, 2003

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