Why I Need ‘Chewing Gum’ Star Michaela Coel to Be My Life Coach
I watched the entire first season of the Netflix series Chewing Gum in under 24 hours, setting a personal record since binging on House of Cards in an entire weekend.
The British comedy stars Michaela Coel, who portrays Tracey Gordon, a 24-year-old salesclerk. Gordon decides to lose her virginity while dealing with her insecurities and her God-fearing mother and sister. Each episode is packed with belly-busting humor and awkward imagined or real sex scenes.
In a candid interview with Vibe magazine, Coel discussed the lack of black and imperfect characters like Gordon. “I don’t see it on TV enough, and that’s why I made the character,” she said. “If I wasn’t black, I would have [written] that part for a black person and cast someone else. I want people to watch it and to feel liberated and do whatever they want.”
Coel also delivers the self-positivity sermon I desperately need to get through this thing called life.
“I’m black, I’m dark, and I’m f***ing beautiful. My skin is gorgeous, I love myself, people with good eyesight love me too, and the rest of the world can f*** themselves.”
Not since the ’90s era of popular sitcoms like A Different World, Moesha, and Living Single, have I had a profound connection with a character who thought and looked a lot like me. Tracey Gordon is unapologetically black, dorky, and sexy, and we all need to see multifaceted women like her on TV.
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