A symbolically successful black woman’s fame signals the US has overcome racism

Evidence

Viewers are encouraged to feel assured that they are part of a collective of dogooders battling a collective of dictators, oppressors, and barbarians—that they will help to bring justice around the globe. Winfrey herself embodies the possibilities of a postracial and postfeminist United States. Her identity as an extraordinarily successful (and extraordinarily wealthy) black woman symbolizes that the United States has overcome a history of racism and sexism. She now speaks as a privileged First World subject. — Evelyn Alsultany, Arabs and Muslims in the Media, 699

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the critique of ‘postracial’ and ‘postfeminist’ discourse in contemporary critical race and media studies.