I’m a chronically online black girl, who enjoys all forms of media as escapism but I have been faced with sub-textually racism in the media and overt racism from fans in fan-spaces all my life. I could honestly rant for YEARS about colorism, lack of fleshed out black characters, fandoms inability to include black people/characters etc.
But today I want to focus on the one that has been haunting me and plaguing fan spaces for the past couple of years which is the “disposable black girlfriend trope.”
What is the Disposable Black Girlfriend Trope?
Well Wikipedia defines it as:
“a common trope in which a Black female characters disproportionately often serve as temporary love interests, only to be passed over in favor of the one true love: a white love interest, or sometimes a love interest who is a non-Black person of color. The trope is commonly found in canon media as well as fan-made transformative works.”
It’s found in everything, however where it is most apparent is in long form media such as TV shows. Here are some examples and what makes them so awful (though there is so much more than this out there):
Angela Moore – Boy Meets World (1997–2000)
Angela, a Black woman, was in a long-term relationship with Shawn Hunter, but in the final season, she was suddenly written out under the excuse that she needed to be with her father. Meanwhile, Shawn got a happy ending in with a white woman.
Her departure felt forced, as if the writers didn't want her to be part of the "final" love story. Despite their romance and ability to understand one another Shawn, a white main lead could NEVER end up with a black woman.
Amber Bennett – Invincible (2021 - present)
Amber, a Black girl, is introduced as Mark Grayson’s first love interest. However, many fans see her as a placeholder before Mark inevitably gets with Atom Eve (a white, red-haired girl).
When Mark starts failing to show up due to his superhero duties, Amber calls him out, which is reasonable. Instead of the show making this a moment of understanding and growth, Amber is written and perceived as unforgiving and demanding. Despite her just being a teenage girl who wants honesty from her boyfriend. This plays into the “Angry Black Woman” stereotype, making it easier for audiences to justify why Mark should move on to Atom Eve.
By Season 2, the show pushes Mark and Atom Eve’s romance, making it clear that Amber is temporary.
This follows a common pattern in media where Black women are just the “starter girlfriend” before the main character moves on to their “true love” (who is often white).
Many fans outright hated Amber for being “too harsh” on Mark, despite her having valid reasons to feel frustrated. She was called manipulative and controlling, and to this day on Twitter people are still ranting on about their hate for Amber.
Fans were/are far more forgiving of Atom Eve’s flaws, highlighting racial bias in how characters are perceived.
What makes Ambers situation even worse is that she was race-swapped, Amber was originally white and was made black for what I assume is 'diversity'.
Mel Medarda – Arcane (2021 - 2024)
Mel is introduced as a powerful, intelligent woman who becomes a mentor and lover to Jayce, a male lead. Their romance is significant but short-lived and ultimately ends in her being left alone with no friends, family or Jayce.
She elevates Jayce’s status but is ultimately pushed aside. Mel helps Jayce rise to political power, shaping him into a leader.
However, her own backstory and ambitions are murky, with the writing leaving a lot up to interpretation. Some fans paint her as a manipulative classist elite who never loved Jayce and only used him for her own political gain, despite her growing to care and love him a lot.
Many fans refused to acknowledge her relationship with Jayce and instead shipped him with Viktor, a white male character. And though non-cannon ships are common, she was often vilified as a "seductive, controlling Black woman," which is a common racist stereotype in media. Further justifying why Viktor their "pure white king" deserved Jayce more.
Bonnie Bennett – The Vampire Diaries (2009 -2017)
Bonnie, played by Kat Graham, was a main character throughout the show, yet her romantic relationships were either short-lived, tragic, or barely developed compared to her white counterparts.
She was often sidelined as the "magical helper" for Elena and others, rather than getting her own fleshed-out story.
When she finally had a romantic arc with Enzo, he was quickly killed off, leaving her single again.
Despite being a fan favorite, Bonnie was given little focus in romance compared to white female leads like Elena and Caroline. She was frequently used as a plot device to save others rather than having her own meaningful character development.
Her love interests either died or disappeared, reinforcing the idea that Black women don’t get lasting love in mainstream media.
Nicole Richardson – The Summer I Turned Pretty (2022–Present)
Nicole, a Black girl, was a love interest for Conrad, the white male lead, but was portrayed as a bitchy rich girl, with no real backstory or explanation and was quickly written off. She was used as a temporary romantic interest to create drama and upset in the romantic development of Belly and Conrad.
Though I would be more forgiving of her character as she was only a side character, it was odd that the ONLY black girl in the entire show was just a narrative device to put a wrench in the story of Belly and Conrad.
Why This Matters & What Needs to Change
This trope reflects real world biases in which Black women are not seen as the “ideal” romantic partners for often times non-black individuals. Ultimately replaced by a white or non-black woman that they can “settle down” with. Additionally these black female characters are judged far more harshly than their white counterparts, and are rarely given grace for having human emotions and flaws.
Ultimately these black women’s stories are not held with the same amount of respect and often fall out of the narrative when they no longer serve their purpose in furthering their non-black love interests storyline.
I often hear people in fan-spaces say that this is not a big deal and that black women should just “get over” this, but imaging spending all your life seeing media where women who look like you are:
- Never the final option
- Rarely get backstories or character motivations, leaving them very 1 dimensional
- Are hated by the entire fandom for minor flaws
It genuinely hurts to see that. And it’s why I’ve become very disillusioned with fan spaces because people not only fail to realize their racial biases but when called out double-down and don’t care.
What do you guys think about this trope and the writing of black women in media in general?
<3 Jade
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