I haven’t said much, on this blog, about the Rihanna/Chris Brown situation (let it be known though that this is only reflective of the very real problem with domestic abuse in communities of color), but something has happened, media wise, which really bothers me. Apparently, someone from the LAPD leaked the photo to gossip site TMZ*, which then proceeded to post it. While I understand that readers would want more information about the situation, I doubt it’s because they’re actually interested in Rihanna’s well-being, or because the owners of TMZ want to raise awareness about domestic violence by showing its results. No, the owners of TMZ posted a picture of her, post-abuse, because it’s a great way to boost traffic, make money and earn notoriety. It’s a show to them. An exploitative and insensitive show.
*I’m not linking, you’ll have to find it yourself.
I went looking for it this morning because I was curious to see what ‘visible injuries’ looked like, after getting into it with a friend who insisted that we didn’t ‘know how bad it was’; but after I got over the horror of seeing exactly how bad it was, I couldn’t stop looking her expression. She looked so sad and defeated. And now I feel really guilty for participating.
But like you said, this is really about domestic violence in the community and how ridiculously common it is.