#maryjanepatterson

  I haven't made any posts previously on Being Mary Jane because every time I finished an episode I would take to my journal; I felt like my reflection required something a little more intimate than just a tumblr post.     But now that the season is over and I've had a solid week to digest and fully develop a sound opinion on the show, I will be gracing y'all with my humble opinion.    There's been a lot of talk about how badly black women are being portrayed on TV right now, especially in regards to Scandal and Being Mary Jane.  What I don't understand is this.  Are we flawless beings? All jokes aside, who said black women are above being shown as adulterous women? As confused, unsure and slightly off balance women? We are not perfect. Black women are versatile. We are an eclectic group of people. The goal is to have multiple representations of who we are as opposed to just one or two examples of what we can be.  I do not take offence to the Mary Janes or Olivia Popes of the TV world because they are just one of the many versions of us that exist and I think its amazing that these stories are being told.  Not to mention in their own ways, they embody many of the very things that are me or the women around me.    Being Mary Jane put me in a very reflective mindset. I was often very angry after an episode or very sad. I had to look at myself and ask why? I, many times, felt her frustrations. The desperation in which she searched for love. The drive that pushed her to make many of the career decisions that she did, some she regretted. The overwhelming feeling of things getting out of control, and the fear that grips her when it happened.   It liberated me to see these things manifest on the screen because I finally felt like that I am not alone in making flawed decisions and out here living my flawed life. We live and learn. Mistakes are made, and we keep trying to do better. There is no shame in this.   We are flawed. And its okay. This is what I got from Being Mary Jane. Thank you, Mara Brock Ali. - Lee xo