Views on black women coloured by media

The Twitter spat between Nicki Minaj and Taylor Swift is far more than two pop princesses having a go at one another. Minaj is reminding us how appallingly black women are treated by media, says Louise O’Neill.

IT MIGHT be tempting to dismiss last week’s Twitter feud between Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj as a mere battle between two oversized egos but in doing so, we ignore the points that Minaj was trying to highlight.

Her belief that black women are perceived differently by the media (predominantly controlled by white men) was validated by the manner in which she and Swift were portrayed in coverage of the “spat”. Photographs accompanying online stories were markedly contrasting, images of Minaj looking angry and Swift appearing innocent and harmless.