'Daily Show' Podcast Dissects Strong Black Woman Stereotype

Have y’all been watching ‘The Daily Show with Trevor Noah’s’ podcast series ‘Beyond The Scenes’ hosted by Roy Wood Jr.?

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We’re loving the podcast and particularly are excited to give you guys a first look at the newest episode – “Strong Black Woman” – featuring Chelsea Williamson and “Harlem” creator Tracy Oliver which is set to premiere tomorrow, Tuesday, April 26.

The episode breaks down the history of the “Strong Black Woman” stereotype and how it affects Black women. Chelsea and Tracy discuss how this harmful trope often leads to people forgetting that Black women feel pain and it makes Black women appear invincible when that really isn’t the case. The panel discusses examples like Serena Williams’ near fatal childbirth experience. Tracy also relates some personal experiences from her career as a writer and producer in Hollywood where she was forced to deal with toxicity and notes she was unable to emote in the same way that she has often witnessed her white counterparts behave in similar situation. Tracy also raised the issue of white TV executives fascination with Black pain and poverty.

The episode also offers a deep dive into Tracy Oliver’s show “Harlem” where she discusses an episode in it titled “Strong Black Woman.” Fans of the show will recall how this episode highlights the harmful effects of this stereotype and illustrates this from the point of view of a masc queer Black woman.

The panel goes deeper in discussing ways in which others can be more empathetic towards struggles Black women go through and ways for Black women to be more gentle with themselves so they don’t feel the need to be “strong” all the time.

We LOVED this episode and hope you will too.

Check it out below:

About The Daily Show with Trevor Noah podcast series “Beyond the Scenes”

Hosted by Daily Show correspondent Roy Wood Jr., the series gives listeners an inside look at how producers and writers of the Emmy-winning series use comedy to tackle a variety of complex topics, from racial injustice to sex robots. Correspondents Desi Lydic, Dulcé Sloan, Michael Kosta, Ronny Chieng and Contributor Jordan Klepper, along with an array of special guests, will also be featured. The premiere episode, Therapy in the Black Community, which launched last summer, featured Roy alongside Daily Show writers X Mayo and Ashton Womack for a wide-ranging and deeply personal discussion about mental health, Black church, the protests against racial injustice and police brutality of 2020, and more.