One idea I had for the change of the character would be to not modify Shirley as an individual, however, change her backstory. Part of Shirley’s grit and fiery attitude comes from her past toxic relationship, in which her ex-husband cheated on her for a prostitute. What if that never happened? From there, Shirley would’ve never really had to go along life on her own and would’ve actually had a happy family. However, there is a more negative side to this rewrite, as Shirley would’ve conformed more to traditional gender “standards” where women would be expected to stay home and take care of the household. This wouldn’t really eliminate the stereotype. Another possible rewrite can be the addition of a man. A man to balance out this stereotype to mask the inequalities between genders. This man can possibly have an equal chance of opportunity with Shirley to showcase that people get to where they are for their hard work and dedication and not their past. Essentially, another idea out there is to leave Shirley unchanged. Despite her hardships and fulfillment of the “strong black woman stereotype,” she was a piece in the show that pieced everyone together with her role as everyone’s mom. Although there is judgement in society for “proper” raising methods, Shirley exhibited that every mother is different, but they share the essential quality of a mother’s love.
Hello again Kyle! I love Shirley's character as is, but for the point of analyzing ways to take out the negative impact of positive stereotypes, I have a suggestion for a rewrite. What if Shirley as the caretaker of the group was a man whose wife left him. That is not as common of a stereotype I believe, what do you think?
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DeleteI like your ideas but I have to agree with Kaelyn too, where maybe a gender switch will also be a possibility.
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