Aniya & KC: The AA "Black Love" Obsession
I'm really glad that this gets to be my first politics & reality crossover post. With all the different opinions and discourses floating around, here are my thoughts.
While there is no exact LI chart for how much viewership is African American, from the takes I've seen from AA's, I believe it to be a considerable amount. Many of the takes on their relationship derive from 3 primary arguments.
Black love in media (or the lack thereof)
Black women & their downplaying
Starting from the beginning of their relationship, we know that neither KC nor Aniya was picked, so they ended up being put together. Over time, their relationship became more than just them being placed together. KC seemed to believe they were the strongest couple in the Villa at the time. However, as more problems began to arise in the relationship, first with the challenges and then with the Sol of it all, the audience began to see something that Aniya wouldn't till much later.
Many of the people who have discussed this relationship BEFORE KC revealed his true character often reference when he called her "the blueprint". I truly believe that this was his way of manipulating both her and the audience. He played on the instance of them being the only black couple in the villa when he started talking about his mother and his sister, and black women. He instantly had the ENTIRE black community that watches the show behind him. Throughout history, black women have been put down and belittled. KC used the black woman's experience to further his own agenda to keep himself in the villa. This is further exacerbated by his casa experience and sly comments about Aniya.
Aniya was not willing to give up the cat, not for nothing, and why would she? She had practically just met the man. As soon as he linked with Titi, Aniya was out the window. Also, his actions reflect the black man and woman's stereotypical interactions. How? Aniya felt as though she was giving him everything. He still wanted more. "I didn't get picked; no one was behind my door." He forgets to mention her and how no one was also behind her door. He focuses the narrative strictly on himself, which is like Love Island. However, he doesn't even try to handle the situation delicately; there was no sense of class in his movements.
Aniya, having basic self-respect for herself, made her a grandma. His not focusing on her in the slightest after their arguments perpetuates the idea of the black man not caring for the black woman. The black woman is supposed to take care of the black man, but when she doesn't, she becomes either aggressive (like how he described her when he brought Titi back or during Movie night) or unattentive. This, however, doesn't apply to the black man. He called her out of her name; he disrespected her verbally, emotionally, and physically. When he got to casa, he found a woman who was willing to give it up for him, and he moved on. Quick.
Their relationship, to me, sparked so much discourse about black love in media because it depicts the harmful stereotypical relationship between a black man and a black woman. The woman has to take the brunt of everything the man does, and the man gets off scot-free, but because he's a man, it's all right. This relationship is also furthered by the idea of the black man being the most hated man in America.
Their relationship intersects with racial and gender politics, specifically the politics regarding black men and women within the diaspora of the black community. There is a lot of source material straight from the show I could have included, but the post was starting to get a little lengthy...
I'm very glad to have this be my first intersectionality conversation through reality TV! Aniya being black and a woman does matter, and when it comes to this conversation, race and gender should not be looked at separately.
But that's it! Remember, It's Always Political.
