Barksdale Women
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Barksdale Women:
Crime, Empire, and the Production of Gender
Courtney D. Marshall
In Ain't I A Woman?, bell hooks writes, "One has only to look at American television twenty-four hours a day for an entire week to learn the way in which black women are perceived in American society-the predominant image is that of the 'fallen' woman, the whore, the slut, the prostitute" (52). She argues that the sexual logic which buttressed chattel slavery lives on in popular culture images and public policy. HBO's The Wire challenges hooks's cataloging of black female stereotypes on two grounds; it allows for women's participation in crimes other than prostitution, and it invites us to see "fallen" women as complicated characters. On The Wire, black women are murderers, thieves, and drug dealers; they are also mothers, sisters, and girlfriends. By setting up black women vis-a-vis black men, the show examines gender variability within criminal networks. However, where hooks would see these depictions as detrimental to black women, I contend that these characters have a lot to teach us about black women's economic and organizational lives. The Wire demonstrates the central importance of the practices and discourses of crime, law, order, and policing to the formation of black female power and identity.
This introduction makes the argument that in general black women are portrayed negatively in the media but The Wire is the exception because it takes the time to explain the complexities of these “fallen” women according to their environment and their roles as a result. Both of the sides of the coin are shown because they mention the killers and thieves but they also mention the mothers and girlfriends. But the main thing is that that they are put “vis-à-vis” with black men. Making the point that the women are tied to the men, and as far as the Barksdale organization that is absolutely true but in the world of the Wire we have man examples of women who can be categorized as independent. To name a few there is the administrator in the school that helps Pryzbylewski when he first starts teaching. There is also the politician who was meant to be mayor before Carcetti cut in. These women are both independent of any patriarchal influence but the difference here I suppose is that they are part of the legitimate system. My point is that the media does not always portray black women in a negative light, rather there may be an expectation that we reinforce whenever we see a black woman who is a whore, drug dealer, or something else negative
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This chapter argues that rather than depicting mothers as failures because they are unable to keep their male relatives from committing crimes, The Wire challenges the very language on which we deem
mothers successful. By looking at three women in the Barksdale empire, 'f;
Donette, Brianna Barksdale, and De'Londa Brice, I will argue that the '
show invests mothers with the job of teaching civic values, even if those values are criminalized.' As a result, crime produces gender within the Barksdale empire.' Capitalism imposes a sexual division of labor, and women are obliged to fulfill the mother role in order to ensure the sys-
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Apr 1I find the line regarding the sexual division of labor and the mother’s role in the Barksdale drug empire very interesting. Brianna Barksdale’s role in The Wire is especially important in relation to this topic. She constantly has exchanges with Avon regarding the stability of their business and is especially important when it comes to trying to control D’Angelo. She is instrumental in making sure that he does not testify against Avon and his crew, and she is willing to go as far as sending her own son to jail for a long sentence in order to protect the family business. Brianna is also one of the main people that Stringer Bell and Avon rely on to talk to D’Angelo when he is having a hard time coping with prison. Finally, we see Brianna playing a huge role in the business again when she decides to stop paying De’Londa Brice for Wee-Bay’s service in the drug trade.
I find all of this interesting because it places Brianna in a powerful position throughout the show. Most other women in the role of mother, especially those from the middle and upper classes, would never have as much power as Brianna has in her position in The Wire. Could we say that The Wire and the women who are portrayed in the show actually represent a more progressive feminist ideal than we see in other social classes? Are women in urban/impoverished areas like Baltimore who participate in crime and who are integral in the drug trade actually more powerful/more equal to their male counterparts? Thoughts?
Apr 1I believe that women that are mothers in impoverished/urban areas hold a high level of power when compared to men. Typically I witness men seeking to gain the approval of their mother, and attempting to provide financially to establish themselves as true men. Brianna’s motherly figure is uncommon in my experiences of television women representation. I am accustomed to the mother who disapproves of the drug trade. The Wire represents women of various roles, and because of that I see the show as a diversion from how women are typically portrayed on television, which is more times than not powerless.
Apr 1I think Marshall makes a good point in showing how Brianna is different from a typical female representation. However, while The Wire shows her in a position of unprecedented power, and as you mentioned far from the typical “mammy” role that has been pervasive in media depictions of black women for some time.
While Brianna has this control, is it undermined by characters like Donnette that essentially are just pawns in the game who fulfill a slightly different role? Donnette is inevitably going to be a part of the Barksdale organization for a long time simply by her relationship with D’Angelo and her possession of information about the organization (think of the girl who was killed in the first season for knowing too much and spreading it around). Donnette is essentially powerless and I think when she is shown having sex with Stringer Bell, we get the message that she is dispensable and only kept around for these reasons. They don’t need her as an individual to accomplish anything, they just simply need her as a female. So while characters like Brianna break the mold, what can be said about how characters like Donnette keep the status quo regarding female representations in tact?
Apr 1I agree with the point made my Elizabeth. Donnette is a powerless woman and rather than seeing her involved in the day to day drug trade, or taking up a part-time job, she is obliged to fulfill the mother role, because D is absent. Donnette is essentially what Collin’s calls, the “whore.” Although she doesn’t ACTUALLY sell her body, she is a representation of the stereotypical whore, who sleeps around as a means to earn something. Donnette most certainly needs the money but she’s also looking for security. Stringer is also using Donnette, sleeping with her in order to keep close tabs on D in prison. I think it’s interesting to note that Stringer shows up at Donnette’s place…not the other way around. I don’t think Stringer is less worried about Donnette running her mouth than he’s worried about D potentially turning on the Barksdale organization. So although Donnette is represented as the whore, she is an extremely important character.
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Apr 1One thing that sticks out to me as I initially read this sentence is the role of mothers as a supply of labor, in essence, producing children that can be in the workforce. This article looks into the role of black women, but I don’t think this is particualrly different than white women. In this setting, and in that of The Wire, the black females are a part of the criminalized game, and those that aren’t actual criminals are still necessary to produce future criminals. If you look at this role outside the scope of the streets, with say white women in a more suburban setting, this is still true. THe women that do not work are relied on to produce children that will work in the future. The same can be said about black women in suburban areas, and white women in street areas. I don’t think race is as much a factor in a woman’s role, just a coincidence governed by outside forces. If most of the street gangsters in the Wire were all white, then I imagine that white women would be looked at the same was we are currently looking at these black women.
tem a steady supply of labor. The show sets up a striking distinction between the close-knit Barksdale organization with the new generation
of drug sellers in Marlo's crew.'
Insights into the gendered workings of The Wire are encouraged by new insights in black feminist criminology. These innovations lead to a more nuanced way of engaging representations of black female crimi-
nals. Iody Miller, for example, looks at the ways poverty, crime, and 'K
sexual violence are mutually constitutive in the lives of young black .
girls living in St. Louis. She conducts extensive interviews with young black boys and girls in order to "investigate how the structural inequalities that create extreme-and racialized-urban poverty facilitate ... social contexts that heighten and shape the tremendous gender-based violence faced by urban African-American girls" (3). She situates her project within a tradition of feminist criminology which has significantly shaped the ways we theorize women's participation in the criminal justice system, both as victims and offenders. She examines victimization as a precursor to offending, and emphasizes the "contemporaneous nature of victimization and offending by examining the impact of gender inequality on street and offender networks" (3). Miller implores us to expand our scope when it comes to female offending, looking at the ways that a society stripped of social services for women then criminalizes these very women when they participate in underground economies and criminal activity in order to care for themselves and their families. At the same time, we must work toward a more textured analysis of how patriarchy structures the economies in which they seek alternatives.
This new vision of female crime must come along with a more critical consumption of popular culture images of black female criminals.
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In depicting black female criminals, The Wire walks a fine line between making them stereotypical and malting them Victims, and as viewers we also walk a line between glorifying and rejecting representations of criminal behavior. Patricia Hill Collins identifies four overarching stereotypes of black women: the mammy, the matriarch, the welfare mother, and the whore. She writes that "each image transmits clear messages about the proper links among female sexuality, fertility, and black women's roles in the political economy" (78). While the mammy is asexual and devoted to upholding white societal values, the other three stereotypes are built upon hypersexuality, and to varying degrees, disordered gender roles. Collins writes that "the matriarch represents the sexually aggressive woman, one who emasculates black men because she will not permit them to assume roles as black patriarchs. She refuses to be passive and thus is stigmatized" (78). This particular stereotype of black womanhood serves a racist social order by implying that black communities, in their unwillingness to promote ostensibly proper gender and family relations, are thereby unfit for inclusion in the larger body politic. Margaret M. Russell argues that "Hollywood movies and television have served as the primary medium for the replication and reinforcement of stereotypes" drawing a critical genealogy which stretches from Sapphire of Amos 'n' Andy (adapted for television 1951-53)
Are the four stereotypes described by Collins necessarily all-encompassing for the women of The Wire? What category would someone like Naymond’s mother fall into? Also, I also noticed that there really are only adult female characters in The Wire. We see plenty of young boys and understand how their experiences shape their mentality, but we don’t see what types of influences affect the young girls that ultimately fulfill these stereotypes. Is this fair to the women of The Wire, or, as Russell argues, are these characters simply used to reinforce stereotypes?
It’s interesting that you point out that the female characters in The Wire are only adult female characters. I would definitely argue that in the first three seasons we find this to be true. However, in the fourth season (which mainly focusses on the institutional corruption of the school system) we are exposed to young middle school female characters that are exposed to the streets and one day may fill the role of the adult women characters we have become familiar with over the course of the season. I think season four is critical in showing us how the role of women has developed within the game. To answer your question about stereotypes—yes, I do think these characters are used to reinforce stereotypes to a certain extent. All the women characters are strategically placed within the story line to emphasize and/or contrast the role of women compared to men. It is clear that Simon put a lot of thought into the women characters, as their actions seem to be precise and deliberate to the broader scope of the show.
This sentence stood out to me because I have learned a little about it in another class. At first, I agreed with this statement but after going back and thinking about all of the female characters in the show, there were some that did not fit the mold. Which of the four does Snoop belong under? She fits none of the stereotypes given in this show. Marla Daniels is another black woman who I do not believe fits under any of these four stereotypical categories. Why is that people believe that they can place black women under four distinct categories when we know they are capable of so much more? Do you see them fitting under just four?
This list does seem limiting but if we examine a few female characters, we will see that the list really does fit all the females. Snoop is one of the few female soldiers we see throughout the Wire. She is ruthless and does not hesitate to brag about the murder of Stringer Bell in Season 3. I would consider Snoop to be a matriarch. According to Patricia Hill Collins, the matriarch is “sexually agressive … [and] will not permit [men] to assume roles as black patriarchs.” Snoop is unlike other black female characters in the show because she challenges the idea of femininity in the game. She travels to kill and is not responsible for her biological family (as a mammy is). Unlike Donette (who I would consider her to be a cross between a welfare mother and a whore), she is not sexually involved with a player in the game and reproduce. She does not use her sexuality to gain power. Donette, has D’Angelo’s son, allowing her to claim a firm stake in the game that gives her a nice apartment, money, and support for her child, as long as she is obedient and the game remains highly profitable.
to contemporary television shows. As a result, black motherhood is
a highly contested term in black cultural studies. Russell goes on
to suggest that the black female viewer is caught in an ethical bond with a number of responses open to her: "stoic detachment, awkward ambivalence, derisive laughter, deep embarrassment, stunning rage" all buttressed by a need to distance oneself from the "detestable image on the screen" (137). This range of responses is interesting for what it shows about the limited ways we are asked to evaluate these images. Like Collins and hooks, Russell can find no oppositional space within depictions of female criminals and no virtue in the depiction of female vice. I'm not interested in Vilifying or recuperating these characters, but critical reluctance to engage them is a problem, particularly given our voracious consumption of these images. While we can condemn these images of complicit mothers, a more useful approach would be to take their choices seriously and analyze why these fictional women seek refuge in crime
for their families and what the criminal network offers them.
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Donette, Brianna, and the Barksdale Code
While the first seasons center on the relationship between Avon Barksdale and Russell "Stringer" Bell, the two male heads of the Barksdale enterprise, the women of the Barksdale family play significant roles in its complicated sex-gender system. Donette is the girlfriend of D'Angelo Barksdale, a drug dealer and Avon's nephew. We first see her when DJ\ngelo brings her and their son to a neighborhood party organized by Avon. Stringer asks her to "C'mon, give us a twirl, let's take a look;' and it is clear she finds this inappropriate (1.02). Avon asks Stringer to get some food for her and remarks on her skinniness. D'Angelo replies that she has a big appetite. The scene's awkwardness is based on her body's appetites being fodder for the men's conversation. Though neither Stringer nor Avon know her very well (when she and D'Angelo first walk in, Avon asks if this is their baby), they do 110t ask her any questions that would demonstrate that she has a life beyond D'Angelo. To them she is a body whose function at that moment is to be scrutinized and discussed, the result of her reproductive capacities evaluated and admired. When Avon and D'Angelo begin to talk, Avon hands the baby to a woman and tells her to be careful with his "little soldier, his little man" (1.02). While it can be argued that "soldier" is a term of endearment, in this context it also suggests that her son will be brought up to work for and defend the family business just like his father. While he will be loved and cared for, like all soldiers in Barksdale's army, eventually he will be a dispos-
This paragraph stood out to me because it is describing the game in a formulaic, all-encompassing way differently than we have seen or talked about before. This description of how Donette is immediately judged for her life beyond the game, her ability to reproduce “soldiers” and overall her objective productivity in relation to the drug game begins from the very moment she meets a relative of her boyfriends. Identifying consciously or subconsciously that D’Angelo’s infant will eventually be a disposable pawn through the use of the term “little soldier” demonstrates the extent to which the game is a formula and is the only option. Before a child can even talk, his future has already been marked. Everyone, no matter who they are, is looked at for their worth or role in this drug game, and it becomes a formula unaffected by one’s own hopes, desires, aptitudes, etc.
Avon’s choice of words when describing D’Angelo’s baby boy foreshadow the baby’s expected future. He is born into the drug game, and as Jacqueline said, he is destined to be a pawn. I wonder what positive attributes can a child born into the drug game acquire from his/her environment. Is the street knowledge applicable into the education system, corporate world, or does it only help one in the streets? Does the knowledge of many children being born into the drug game enable us to sympathize with young criminals and drug dealers? Should we respect and give children who make it out of these environments easier access to college acceptance and job opportunities?
I think this paragraph is particularly interesting because it raises the question of perpetual nature of the game. Avon calls D’Angelo’s child a “little soldier.” It is clear that Avon has every intention for this child to work in the drug game and continue the family business. I believe the greatest influence over a child’s life is his family. When a child’s family and his parent’s friends all expect the child to enter the drug game, is there an opportunity for salvation? What institutions need to be in place in order to give the child a different avenue to pursue?
The last few sentences of this paragraph were intriguing to me. If kids born into the Barksdale clan are destined to become “soldiers,” pawns to be used by the gang to further its interests, then the mothers of these kids must at the very least be aware, and at the worst, complicit.
How do you think the women of The Wire feel about this “role” that they play, as parents to children who will eventually be used, whose future is essentially predetermined for them? Is this all part of “the Game?” We don’t have many examples, but Brianna in particular must come to terms with her own feelings about her child only after his death. If a woman in the Barksdale empire wanted something different for her child, what options does she have, if any?
I think this is an interesting point that you bring up. From early on Brianna trains D’Angelo to be a strong and tough individual. We see this in the scene where D’Angelo recounts an incident when two other boys were picking on him and his mother would not let him into the house until he fought back.
My response to your question regarding options that Brianna might have had is that I am not quite sure. I don’t know if Brianna did not have any other options or if she simply did not realize she had other options. She was born into The Game and her family had been in the drug trade for generations. The Barksdales were a strong, powerful, and wealthy family in Baltimore so she could have thought that the drug trade was actually a good/advantageous place for D’Angelo to be. I believe that she was unable to see that there were opportunities for success outside of The Game. She also talks about family a lot when D’Angelo mentions starting a new life, and I believe she thought the drug trade was the best option for D’Angelo because his whole family lives in Baltimore and we see that a close-knit family is very important in The Wire.
I do not believe Brianna had to consider how much she loved D’Angelo until he died. Yes, he was her son, but it was also an employee of a very successful family company. She was furious when D’Angelo refused to cooperate with Avon and accept his guidance in jail because he was being disobedient and threatening the welfare of the Barcksdale company. She wanted to protect her company because that was her life. Brianna did not consider how her skill set would translate into a legal job position. She hated to see that one of the members of her own family would challenge the family’s wealth: the companies, the actual drug trade, the pawns, and the countless other young men waiting for an opportunity to be involved with the Barcksdale family. I do not doubt Brianna loved her son, but I think she learned to love him more dearly once she had to begin to mourn his loss.
D was raised to be in the Barkesdale Organization so he did not have much of a choice in the matter. Im not sure if other options were really on the table for them. However, if Brianna wanted something different and better for her son she could have entered witness protection and relocated somewhere else in the US. Or she simply could have walked away from the whole criminal gang. However, we know that Brianna is not the kinda of person who walks away. In the scene with D and Brianna in the prison D talks about getting out and starting something new for his life. Brianna tells him that he cant because he owes too much to the family.
able pawn."
D'Angelo is imprisoned for 20 years at the end of Season One, and
Denette's role within the organization shifts. When she fails to visit him on a regular basis, Avon and Stringer decide to school her on jailhouse protocol. They first appeal to her loneliness and present themselves as viable social and economic alternatives to D'Angelo. When Stringer comes to visit her, she offers him one of D'Angelo's shirts, and when she bends over to place the shirt across his chest, she says, "You know it's a shame to let things go to waste" (2.03). While we can interpret the line to refer to her body, the line also connotes a sense that while she loves D'Angelo, anyone can wear his clothes. Stringer can replace DJ\ngeio both in his clothing and in his relationship. The show doesn't go so far as to imply that Donette is sexually indiscriminate. Rather, the exchange
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suggests that her version of domesticity is constituted by the public side of Barksdale criminal dealings.
Stringer quickly lets Donette know that as D'Angelo's girlfriend she has a part to play in the Barksdale organization, namely giving comfort to her imprisoned boyfriend. He tells her that prison is very stressful on men and it is imperative that the women in their lives keep them tethered to the outside world. "Only one thing he needs to be secure about, and if not then he might start thinldng he can't do that time and then we all got problems" (2.03). D'Angelo's personal relationship problems risk becoming a catastrophe for the entire organization. Donette is responsible for fulfilling a very different familial need than the men who work for Avon. In the scene, her feminine role within the organization is emphasized by her pink clothes and the ring on her wedding-band finger. Though she is not legally D'Angelo's wife, she is expected to fulfill the duties as if she were; she must be his sweet thing." This becomes even more interesting in light of the message The Wire sends about the affective bonds oflaw. The state structures family ties through the institutions of marriage; the modern family is constituted by the law. Stringer, Donette, and the other members of the Barksdale organization do not allow their economic gain to be bound by the law, just as they don't let the law determine who their family is. They sell illegal substances, use illegal weapons, and do not allow the law to dictate their affective ties. Though she and D'Angelo are not together anymore, Donette continues to fill a necessary function in the Barksdale organization through her domesticity.
I thought it was interesting when the author noted that the Barskdale organization plays by its own laws for economic gains but also for relationship responsibilities.It is clear the members have no respect for the judiciary system in their blatant use of crimes for economic success. But it is interesting that the organization also dictates its own customs with regard to relationship ties and responsibilities. Although Donette is not legally married to D’Angelo when he is sent to jail, the organization still mandates that she fulfill wife duties. Throughout the show we see relationships that resemble those of a typical family but without the legal credibility. For example Bubbles and Johnny appear to have a brotherly relationship. Avon and Stringer also appear to have a brotherly relationship. However in both cases their is no reason legal explanation for the relationships.
Donette, though I agree most of her existence in the show is dedicated to “giving comfort to her imprisoned boyfriend”, I think she also has ulterior motives within the Barksdale crew. She is presented as a girl connected to a Barksdale man, but I think the connection to D’Angelo stems for her looking out for herself. D is a way for her to maintain a certain lifestyle, and her domesticity seems to be the way she maintains her status. She is willing to act in a way to ensure she is still looked after. The restaurant scene in Season 1 shows this when D feels uncomfortable in a swanky restaurant because of where his money comes from while Donette sees herself as belonging because money is money and she feels she belongs there. While the men are keeping her in line, it seems she, also, is keeping her connection to the luxuries that come from being tied to the Barksdales. There Wire seems to give a deeper level of complexity some of the other females in the show as well by not making them fall into an easily definable category.
To connect this to a larger theme in the class, I think it is clear that Donette is doing what she thinks is necessary to survive, just like every other character in the show. Although Donette is the mother of D’Angelo’s child, in Season One it is made clear that D does not view Donette as his wife when we see D pursuing the stripper who works in Orlando’s. Donette must realize she is not in a monogamous relationship with D, and I think part of the reason she accepts this situation is because she realizes it is still the best opportunity available to her. Being in a relationship with a drug dealer provides Donette greater economic opportunities that she would be able to achieve on her own, but as a result she sacrifices her autonomy in order to live a better life.
I think you can look at the way Donnette turns a blind eye to D being a criminal similar to way in which the police force turn a blind eye towards Hamsterdam in season 3. In both circumstances, Donnette (and the Police) believe that if they ignore the drugs and gangsters, they can be happy. For Donnette, she gets money, and money is money to her no matter what the motives are. For the police, putting all the drugs together in Hamsterdam and turning a blind eye to the criminal acts results in lower crime rates and a safer city. In both circumstances, the drugs are being ignored because life is good, and trying to get involved with the drug game again would just cause more issue.
During Season 1, I noticed that Donette’s character arc is representative of the sort of thing you typically see in tv and movies. Her decision to have sex with Stringer is the sort of thing that you would see more often in movies than in real life. In this sense I thought Donette stood for the stereotypes of women you usually see in entertainment media.
Brianna on the other hand is a different type of character. Not only is she strong, she can be somewhat ruthless and cold. In my experience, it is rare that these qualities are so apparent in female characters – especially on television.
The character of Donette seems similar to other female characters in the Wire, because of her dependency on men. Just like Naymond’s mother, she is portrayed as only receiving income through the men she is involved with in the drug trade. Unlike D’Angelo’s mother who plays a role in the operations of the Barksdale organization, Donette’s only responsibilities seem to be to raise her child. The Wire presents females the majority of females in the game having submissive roles with the exception of Brianna and Snoop.
The idea that those involved in the drug trade and the Barksdale organization do not bound their relationships by the law is one that had not previously occurred to me. It calls into question the entire institution of marriage (another "institution, just one I never thought we would contemplate) and is particularly interesting in light of the recent gay marriage debates. While the Barksdale organization has obvious reasons to circumvent the law, they are essentially unable to participate in this ceremony to legally solidify such a bond. Does not having the label as a “wife” give women in The Wire more agency and autonomy? Is marriage strictly a “label,” or does maintaining a relationship without this mark craft a sort of different dynamic with different implications?
Jonathan, I think that you bring up an excellent point. However, I am not sure that the unmarried women of The Wire have more agency or autonomy. Rather, I think that they fulfill normal motherly roles without possessing a legal affiliation to a significant male. Just as Donette fulfills a role of keeping D’Angelo focused on the outside world (a role that men of the Barksdale organization could not fulfill), De’Londa Brice is responsible for nurturing a young Namond to hopefully one day take his father’s place on the street. For these reasons, I doubt that the lack of marriage provides benefits that marriage itself does not also possess. In my opinion, the lack of marriage within the Barksdale organization could very well be a by-product of the “game.” Why would couples go through the legal hassle of marriage, when the wife – due to the very nature of the game – could very well be widowed because of his line of work. This potential death – a death that some might consider to have a high likelihood of occurring – would only create further legal and financial constraints. Thus, it might just be better for both parties not be bound by law so that the female could more easily recover from the unfortunate by-products of the “game.”
In case Donette isn't moved by emotion, Stringer makes an economic appeal and shifts from treating her like a family member to treating her like the spouse of an injured employee. D'Angelo's hard work as a drug lieutenant has allowed her to have an apartment, car and money, and even though D'Angelo is in prison, Avon continues to support her as D'Angelo would. Stringer tells her, "We all got a job to do, and your job is to let D'Angelo know we still family" (2.03). Gender is central to the ways in which social relations are negotiated, built, and secured. Donette challenges these relations when she refuses to go to the prison, and Stringer must put her back in her place. The show highlights the interdependence of male and female gender roles as D'Angelo's continued cooperation relies upon Donette's feminized dependence on the masculine strength
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of the crew. D'Angelo is constantly reminded of the good job that his family has done for his girlfriend and son. Donette is being paid for her important domestic functions.
This arrangement is not egalitarian, however. Certainly, if Donette
wanted to leave D'Angelo and make a new life with another man, she would become a target for the organization. The danger of girlfriends on the show is that there is no telling how much their men have told them about the inner workings of the organizations. To remedy that problem, Stringer has sex with her. This is important because throughout the scene she flirts with him, but rather than call her actions inappropriate and admonish her for wanting to have sex, he gives in to her advances and acts as a sexual substitute. Stringer recognizes that if Donette is not satisfied sexually, there will be a greater likelihood that she will go outside of the organization to find another man, potentially passing on sensitive information. As the shot ends, the camera pans across the couch to the end table where we see a number of pictures of Donette and D'Angelo. If the show implies that she wants to move on from that relationship, her sexuality is made safe' by having her be with Stringer. Stringer does not allow her to explore what split affinities could arise if she were to have a relationship with anyone outside of the Barksdale crew. Recognizing the danger of her sexuality, they want her to use her femininity on their terms, and they want to keep it contained within the
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Apr 2In my opinion, Marshall highlights a very important aspect of women within the Barksdale organization. How can the situation in which the audience views Donette be extended to other major female characters in The Wire, particularly those that intertwined with the criminal organization? Donette’s relationship with D’Angelo essentially constrains her to the Barksdale crew, and prevents her from pursuing anyone in a relationship outside of this criminal circle. Whether she desires this restriction or not, Donette would fear for her safety if she went outside the organization to find love – even if she did not snitch. Such a dilemma provokes the question: are women able to escape a criminal organization should they find themselves intertwined with one? How is it possible to untangle themselves from such binds while maintaining their individual integrity and their lives?
Apr 2I completely agree with this comment because i believe that once your in you cannot get out (like the godfather said “just when i thought i was out, they pulled me back in”). There is simply no way out of criminal organizations. I think that Donette likes being in the organization because it provides her economic security and she does not have to do anything for herself. Even when D goes to jail, Stringer wanted her to go to see him every once in a while to keep his mind right because she is apart of the organization. She even starts a relationship with Stringer because she likes the security. In a way she is trapped in the criminal organization because she knows no other way to live
organization.
Though Stringer sends her on a mission to keep D'Angelo feeling like
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Apr 3Janelle Clayton Janelle Clayton : How Stringer and Donette Use their Sexualities to Gain Power or Financial Support. moreIt is very interesting that Marshall considers Stringer sexual relations with Donette was purely to keep her from seeking to satisfy her needs outside the Barcksdale family. Upon first viewing the scene where Stringer accepts Donette’s advances, I was confused. I did not understand how Donette could birth D’Angelo’s son, act like she loved him, and then have sex with his uncle. I was furious that the father of her son was in jail while she enjoyed the spoils of his hard, yet illegal, work. I thought Stringer was very irresponsible for allowing the young lady to even think of him in a sexual way. Marshall’s assertion that Stringer strategically has sex with Donette makes me reconsider how Donette used her sexuality to earn more financial support. It is very interesting the Stringer also uses his sexuality to tame Donette, keep her on track, and ensure that she continues to support the game, even while her spouse is locked away.
he is a part of the organization, Di\ngelo clearly wants out of the crew and disputes her claim that Avon and Stringer support their relationship and their desire to raise their son. By the end of her tenure on the show, Donette has mourned the deaths of both D'Angelo and Stringer, and in her last scene she cries alone on the couch while her son plays nearby (3.12). In a short time, she has had to bury two men that she loved, and with the fall of the Barksdale empire, it is unclear what her future holds. She is never depicted with other family members. She is not even given a last name; she is literally not a Barksdale. In her situation, black female sexual desire was used to crystallize the hierarchy of black masculinity and to maintain ties between them. Like a chess piece, she is moved from one man to another, and in the end she is abandoned.
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While Donette represents the ways romantic ties are used to manipulate people within the organization, Brianna Barksdale represents a more successful negotiation of maternal ties. Brianna is Avon's sister, D'Angelo's mother, and a key player in the organization. We first see her when she brings a special lunch to D'Angelo while he is working in the Terrace. She gets the food from Sterling'S, a local restaurant, and while D'Angelo is familiar with the restaurant, Wallace, one of the young men he supervises, is not. The show juxtaposes Wallace's limited exposure to the world outside of the Terrace with Brianna's easy movement in and out of the Terrace. Though the car she drives is a direct result of the work that boys like Wallace do, their labor allows her to not be bound to poverty like they are. Bringing food to D'Angelo places her squarely within traditional representations of motherhood.
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Apr 1Is the difference between Brianna and the matriarchs talked about at the beginning of the chapter that while she fulfills the traditional maternal role, she is still ultimately subject to the rule of Avon and the other male Barksdales? This paragraph states that she is not bound to poverty like the lower ranks of the chain and that she can move easily in and out of the Terrace, but is this true? It seems to me that the next few paragraphs go on to prove that she is just as constrained by the game as any of the male characters, with the difference being that her role is more of a supporting character than a main actor. While this lack of real agency might differentiate her from previous stereotypes of black women, she is ultimately subject to the decisions of others, which makes her an example of the general stereotypes of both women and minorities having less power.
When D'Angelo is arrested in the rental car with drugs, Brianna's maternal instincts cause her to challenge her brother. Like Donette, she is reminded that all of the material comforts she enjoys are dependent upon D'Angelo's cooperating with Avon and not sharing information with the police. Their reliance on D'Angelo puts them all in precarious relationships, but again, the men of the organization pretend that it is only the women who benefit and do not work. However, because Brianna is also Avon's sister and has been around the work all her life, she calls him on his lax supervision and is very angry that he would jeopardize her son's freedom so carelessly. Avon tells her that she needs to use her position as D'Angelo's mother to remind him of his commit-
. ment. Avon is able to manipulate D'Angelo's close ties to his mother in order to keep his empire strong. Brianna tells him, "You ain't gotta worry about my child. I raised that boy, and I raised him right" (1.12). While she knows that D'Angelo is being used as a pawn, she still demands that he be treated with respect. Her dual role provides an important context for understanding her cooperation and complicity with crime. Unlike Donette, whose influence remains limited to the domestic, Brianna can articulate motherhood and deploy it to sanction her own participation in the business. She successfully mobilizes the construction of motherhood to stake her claim in Barksdale politics.
Brianna is also regarded as a trusted leader within the organization, a role that is unusual in televisual depictions of female criminals. When Avon is
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released from jail, she tells him that she and Stringer will rebuild their earnings while he sits back. Until the police stop watching him so closely, she will handle the money and Stringer will handle the drugs. Though Brianna is conventionally feminine in many ways (marked most obviously in her makeup and clothing), in this scene she is also marked as being much like the men. While Avon and Stringer wear plain beige shirts, she stands out in a low-cut red outfit. She smokes a cigarette in a nonchalant way, making it clear that she is not nervous when talking about the drug game. She stands with her arms folded, in an exact physical echo of Stringer's body language. The scene makes the three of them look like a united front. They respect her opinion and follow her advice; she is given the same number of lines in the scene as they are. When they get to the subject of D'Angelo, she is both mother and employer, telling Avon that she will visit after she situates the new drug buy. She speaks to Avon as both a sister and a partner, telling him that he will definitely pay for D'Angelo's service. The action of the scene literally revolves around the efficiency and maternity of her body, and during this time of crisis, she is burdened with a wide range of Barksdale poli
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Mar 31I think that Marshall overstates Brianna’s power in the Barksdale organization. I agree that Brianna does possess some power within the organization, but she is never (at least from what I can recall) the sole actor in a decision. For example, she is either working with Stringer to convince Avon to share the Towers, working with Avon to comfort D’Angelo, or consulting Avon and Stringer in various matters. So as an individual, Brianna lacks agency, and in the Barksdale organization, agency is power- the ability to make decisions and enforce them. The connection between agency and masculinity is an important connection as well. All the women in The Wire lack agency, which ultimately renders them powerless.
Apr 1I would argue that Brianna exercises some agency within The Wire through her control of family finances when Stringer is dead and Avon in prison. She appears to be the one who makes the decision to cut off De’Londa Brice in season 4, exercising financial control over an individual who clearly lacks control over her own life, financially reliant on the Barksdale organization and behaviorally obedient to an imprisoned spouse.
Brianna is the one exception to female characters in The Wire doing what they need to do to survive in urban poverty and crime. Female characters in the Wire proactively attempt to secure a better existence for themselves through character traits more typically reserved for male characters in mass media productions, making their character analysis more difficult (or at least unusual) as there is no pre-existing stereotype into which we can easily place the female characters.
Apr 1I would agree with Kiley that all of the women in The Wire lack agency. Brianna eventually gains legitimate agency when she takes control over her family finances, but that is after the fact that she lost Stringer, D’Angelo, and essentially Avon, who made up her previous means of income. At the same time, Brianna is clearly the strongest female figure in the Barksdale organization. She seems to be the only woman who gains any sense of respect or voice of opinion among the male characters. I think viewers watch the show with little expectation of the inner-city women in the series, and are surprised to see how Brianna plays a more masculine role than one would expect in terms of the Barksdale organization.
cies and practices.
When D'Angelo wants to leave his family behind and "breathe like regular folk:' his mother's visit becomes even more important (2.06). She tells him he has two choices: do the time or step into Avon's place and let him do it. Either way, he must fulfill his place in the family. Brianna warns him that if he talks to the police he will bring down the entire family: "All of us. Me and Trina and the cousins" (2.06). The job of women here is to remind men of their masculine duties. Though she is a trusted advisor in the organization and certainly not incarcerated, Brianna manipulatively constructs herself, Donette, Trina, and the children as all being dependent upon D'Angelo, Avon, and the rest of the men. It then becomes D'Angelo's job to keep his mouth shut and save. them all from living "down in the fucking Terrace ... on scraps" (2.06) She even goes so far as to say that without the game they might not be a family. Their familial ties are strengthened by their participation in illegal activities, and this is the logic on which gender roles are constructed. When the organization needs the women to look pretty and be helpless, they do it. When it needs them to be fierce leaders, they do that i too. Donette and Brianna are required to perform a flexibility that is
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Apr 1I found this paragraph of Marshall’s piece to be particularly striking because of what it points out. In Marshall’s view, the women are submissive to men. As she points out about Brianna, “though she is a trusted advisor in the organization and certainly not incarcerated, Brianna manipulatively constructs herself, Donette ,Trina, and the children as all being dependent upon D’Angelo, Avon, and the rest of the men.” Put another way, Marshall is arguing that the women of The Wire ultimately do whatever is necessary in order to keep “the game” going so that the men can continue to be providers. As previously mentioned, Brianna is perhaps the best example of this because of the lengths she goes to keep the organization afloat (ie: essentially coercing her son to take his sentence for the family’s sake). To be honest, this is something that I really failed to notice when watching the episodes that dealt with Brianna. Is Marshall right about how women are used in The Wire?
Apr 1While I was watching The Wire, I got more of an impression that there isn’t anyone in the community who doesn’t have a specific role to play in the game than of a commentary on the role of women in gender dynamics. I think the article is correct in its assessment that women act in ways to further the men’s priorities, but I understood this depiction to be showing how everyone works in a different way to achieve the ultimate goal of their group winning the game.
Apr 2The scene where Brianna is coercing D’Angelo to take the sentence in order to save the Barksdale organization, so SHE can live in peace and prosperity on the outside was one of the most difficult scenes to watch in the wire. I’m currently studying the totalitarian state of Nazi Germany and there are arguments that women were, in fact, perpetrators, equally responsible as the Nazis for the persecution of the Jews. It’s a bit extravagant, but a better argument is that women were pragmatic, and benefitted from the Nazi policies. Like the game, the women who are automatically involved by association and feed off the men who are involved in the drug trade PROMOTE the lifestyle. Why would a man, earning quick money, earning social status and taking out various women, leave the game? It’s a never ending cycle which is perpetuated by the women in the game (mothers, girlfriends, “baby-mommas”) much like the Nazi totalitarian state which was perpetuated by women in the Third Reich.
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Apr 1Brianna’s statement to D’Angelo represents a dichotomy of two roles that Marshall discusses. While she is filling the role of the matriarch in following up with D’Angelo about his position in the Barksdale family, she is also managing him as a liable asset. Marshall discuses how Brianna is able to assume this masculine role as dictator and handler of individuals in their family; however, we see how her emotions are manipulated and brushed aside as Stringer makes plans to kill D’Angelo. Avon eventually finds out, but Brianna’s emotions and opinions are clearly less valued than Marshall seems to present them as being. To what degree is Brianna just another pawn? Does her emotional attachment to D’Angelo and connection to Avon just make her a higher risk player of the game?
Apr 2I think the risk for Brianna is more a personal emotional one than a physical one, which differentiates her from the male figures in the series. Even though she can assume the masculine roll when needed, she still has the other male characters to protect her and perform the external work that is likely to put them in the line of fire. Because of this, though, her work behind the scenes requires her to maintain not only her own emotional ties to people, but also their emotional ties with the rest of the group. This means that whenever a human loss occurs, Brianna has a much higher risk of being personally affected than others who are less involved with the maintenance of the network have.
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integral to the workings of the group. They represent the complex negotiations that occur between and among different constituencies in the imperial context.
like Father, Like Son
IfDonette represents the mother in limbo whose son might carryon the legacy of his dead father, and Brianna sacrifices her son for the sake of family, De'Londa Brice's entire life is built upon the ambitious dream of running the empire even after her ties to it are severed. The drama of De'Londa and her son Namond plays out like a younger version of Brianna and D'Angelo, and, like Donette, she was also romantically involved with one of Avon's employees. However, unlike Brianna, she has no qualms about exposing her son to the harshness of street life. Brianna uses her closeness to Avon to negotiate for more safety and better working conditions for D'Angelo while De'Londa uses her tenuous ties to the Barksdale organization for her own self-interest. When we meet De'Londa, Wee-Bey has already been imprisoned for life, and she is being supported by a pension from the Barksdale organization. Like the other women, she is accustomed to certain material comforts, but unlike the other women, she depends upon her boyfriend's good name and on her son in order to maintain them.
The Wire utilizes character parallels extensively to convey the idea that the more things change the more they stay the same in inner-city Baltimore. Marshall highlights the parallels between the mother-son relationship of D’Angelo and Brainna and of Namond and De’Londa to bolster this notion. Furthermore, critics and viewers also often draw distinct parallels between D’Angelo and Namond as evidence of this notion. However, I feel as if drawing this parallel to convey “the more things change” notion that is pushed by The Wire is illegitimate. Although both characters face similar adversities and moral dilemmas, their outcomes are significantly different. While D’Angelo ends up incarcerated, and later dead, Namond ends with a bright future under the care of Colvin and his wife.
Are there additional character parallels in The Wire that, you feel, fails the “more things change..” stigma?
I feel like this parallel does accomplish one thing though. While Namond makes it out and D’Angelo doesn’t, I think the example at least shows the limited scope of choices these mothers can make in this position. While Namond ends up being saved by Colvin, it has nothing to do with his mother, who is happy to have him living the harsh street life. While the end is different for the two boys, I think this is the show’s way of saying that mothers on the streets bring their kids up a certain way for a reason and Namond was just lucky enough to get out through the actions of someone else. For the purpose of this parallel, I think they accurately portray that the conditions will always be the same and that mothers who live in harsh environments like inner city Baltimore have no choice but to bring up their children in this way, a point that goes back to Anderson who argues the same thing.
De'Londa is introduced in the show's fourth season, a season which revolves around the home and life of four boys, Namond Brice, Randy Wagstaff, Michael Lee, and Duquan Weems. Out of all these boys, Namond is the only one who has a biological mother who cares for him. Duquan's family consists of drug addicts who steal his clothes and abandon him; Michael's mother sells groceries for drugs; and Randy lives with .a foster mother. If we follow the conventional cultural logic, De'Londa is the most successful mother of the bunch. Unlike the other boys, Namond wears nice clothes and has all the latest video games and stereo equipment because his mother wants the best for him. With this comes the expectation that he should continue to live the life of a soldier's son. This
.. is in stark contrast to Michael's mother who, when detectives come by to look for him, only knows the he and his brother have found their own place to live. She tells them, "I popped him and Bug out my ass, and they forgot where they came from" (5.06). We can never forget where Namond
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comes from because De'Londa never has a scene without him or his father, and we rarely see her outside of a domestic setting.
Being the son of De'Londa Brice is not without its hardships. In a move that mirrors the first two seasons, Namond decides that he does not want to be in the family business. This is when the show deploys another conventional female role: keeper of traditions. It is De'Londas job to remind Namond of all the sacrifices she and his father have made for him; she does not appear fragile or dependent. Though Wee-Bey is in jail for life without parole, she uncritically holds him up as an example to follow. Their confrontation reaches new heights when she yells at him for not beating up Kenard, a younger boy who stole drugs Namond was to sell. Namond wants to use diplomacy to solve the problem, while his mother wants Kenard to "feel some pain for what he did":
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Apr 1I think this paragraph highlights how difficult it is for many characters in The Wire to get out of the game. De’Londa entered a relationship with Wee-Bey with the understanding that he would financially support her for the rest of her life. Once Wee-Bey is sentenced to prison De’Londa is a middle aged woman with no work experience or job prospects, so she realizes that the only way to guarantee her future economic well-being is by pushing Namond to begin selling drugs. The choices De’Londa made earlier in her life have put her in a position where she can no longer leave the game, even if she wanted to.
Because of the choices of his mother, Namond is in a position where he doesn’t even have the choice of whether he wants to enter the game or not, he is already a part of it. Namond clearly does not have the toughness required to be in the Barksdale organization, but is pushed to do so by his own mother, leaving him little choice other than to attempt to sell drugs in the street. While Namond is one of the few lucky characters in the show who manages to escape the game because he is rescued by Colvin, it is safe to say that had Colvin not come along Namond would have likely ended up dead before 25, or only ended up in jail if he was lucky.
Apr 1I want to highlight something interesting you said here, and relate it to one of the first comments that was made about the Wire during the first class. We were shown the clip in which Wallace is murdered by Poot and Bodie, and told how it demonstrated a very interesting aspect of the Wire – its ability to make us empathize with characters who would be one-dimensional villains in many other shows.
I would say De’Londa actually demonstrates this phenomenon very well, but in a more subtle way. I know on my first watching of the Wire that I despised her character – she was completely unlikable, and her actions were incredibly irresponsible. How could she not see that Namond had the potential for such success, even as she pushed him to a life where he expected to be dead by 30?
However, as always, the Wire forces viewers to empathize even with the most unlikable characters. De’Londa’s appearances in the latter parts of Season 4 demonstrate the incredibly difficult situation in which she finds herself, partly due to her own choices and partly due to the expectation that Wee-Bey will always support her (however shortsighted this might be).
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Apr 1This scene is a big turning point and foreshadows the paths that Namond and Michael Lee will take. In this scene, Namond is informed by Kenard, a young boy who is helping him to move the package, that the dope was stolen. Whereas Namond wants to “use diplomacy to solve the problem”, De’Londa tells Namond that Kenard should “feel some pain for what he did. ” When Namond confronts Kenard, he brings Michael with him, and it is Michael who ends up beating Kenard and when it is Namond’s turn to complete the job by shooting Kenard, Namond runs away.
I believe the ultimate factor that causes Namond and Michael to go in opposite directions is the influence of the “father figure” (or lack there of) rather than the mother. It is not that Namond has escaped the influence of his mother which allows him to change, yet it is the moment when Namond stays the night at Bunny Colvin’s that we see a change. Their interactions cause him to open his eyes to an alternative life. On the other hand, Michael Lee does not have a mother, and although Cutty tries to play a role in Michael’s life, he will not let him enter and ultimately remains without a way out of “the game”.
Apr 1I think the idea of “father” and “mother” figures in The Wire is an interesting topic. In season 4 Namond is able to take a different path than Michael because of his “father” figure, Bunny Colvin. Additionally, I would argue that Randy would have been able to make it off of the streets if his foster mom had not be burned in a fire.
I would argue that maybe then the gender of the parental figure is actually not as important as where that figure comes from. Both Randy’s foster mom and Bunny Colvin are not involved in the drug trade. They are well-respected, law-abiding citizens. Do you think this could be the main difference instead of whether or not the influencing parental figure is male or female?
De'Londa: This how you pay me back for all the love I showed? Shit, I been kept you in Nikes since you were in diapers.
Namond: What he done got him locked up.
De'Londa: That's right. Wee-Bey walked in Jessup a man, and he gonna walk out one. But you out here, wearing his name, acting a bitch! Aw, look at you, crying now. (4.12)
De'Londa transforms familial love into contractual obligation; Namond owes her loyalty and financial comfort because she has provided nice material things for him. However, Namond points out the inherent contradiction of the contract. Familial love is acted out by participating in illegal activities, but the punishment for those activities, in this case prison, breaks families apart. Wee-Bey was a good provider, but now he is in jail and is unable to do anything for them. The only way for Namond to show that he loves his mother is to take care of her in a way that will lead to his own imprisonment or death; he must sacrifice himself for her happiness. In pointing out that his tears are inappropriate, De'Londa polices the boundaries between the feminine and the masculine.' She has an obsessive fixation on teaching Namond how to be a man by forcing him to be like a man he rarely sees. It is only in her stories about him that Wee-Bey attains model status. Later, when the police call her after Namond runs away, she says, "Put that bitch in baby booking where he
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Apr 1This “contractual obligation” because of the fact that De’Londa has provided Namond with nice material things, although it seems unfair due to what De’Londa asks of Namond, is made more clear after having read the Anderson article.
In Anderson’s article, he discusses how dress in an important indicator of success and respect. On the first day of school, we see Namond immediately scolded by the school principal for wearing his new jersey, which his mother bought him, over his uniform. Namond wears this jersey because on the street, what one wears equates to how one is viewed and respected, and his jersey is seen as fresh and hip. I believe the “contractual obligation” has more to do with the importance of how dress and material goods symbolically allow him to gain a sense of “respect” from others rather than the actual physical material goods.
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belongs. Let him learn something" (4.10). In a season that revolves around education and the Baltimore public school system, we see a mother who believes that the penitentiary would serve as the best academy for her son. She does not talk to her son after this pronouncement, suggesting that prison will be the final shapeI' of his male identity. Eventually the show offers alternative caregivers for Namond as it attempts to separate familial ties from economic ones. Howard "Bunny" Colvin offers to take Namond into his home and show him a different way to live under a different type of masculine authority. Colvin's home represents a chance for Namond to have a present father figure, but more importantly for the show's argument, for him to have an appropriate mother figure.
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Apr 1I think the juxtaposition between Namond’s biological mom and Colvin’s wife is really interesting. The women in the The Wire that Marshall talks about may fit into the categories of the ‘fallen women’ who gets involved in ‘the game’ in some way or a form. Donette, De’Londa, and Brianna are the female characters that fit Marshall’s descriptions of the women in The Wire. However, I think the exceptions like Marla Daniels and Colvin’s wife must be mentioned as well. Marla Daniels is definitely not controlled by male dominance as an independent woman in the politics. So if the dependence of the females on the males is strongly defined by the economic benefits, then doesn’t the social class of the women have more effect on their portrayal in The Wire than their race?
Apr 1I find this comment to be very interesting and something that I had not yet thought about. I agree with mostly all of what Marshall claimed about the portrayal of women the Barksdale women in The Wire. Yet, what this article does not touch on is a good analysis of the women in The Wire who are not associated with the Barksdale administration.
Although all of these women, I would claim, are surviving just fine financially, I agree that there is a big difference in portrayals of women in The Wire, among the Barksdale Women and Marla Daniels and Colvin’s wife. Both Marla Daniels and Colvin’s wife are both financially sound but in a legal way and are less reliant on their husbands for financial support. Both Marla and Colvin’s wife are not indebted to their husbands and both of these women have an education. This makes it seem as though both of these two women grew up having the choice of an alternative path, and perhaps had the means to do so without getting into “the game”. On the other hand, it is not mentioned that any of the Barksdale women have worked normal jobs or have attended college. Therefore the level of independence on men is different and social status does have more of an effect on their portrayal than race.
Apr 1I agree with you on the idea that social class has more effect than just race. It is very obvious that the women in higher socio-economic standing are much more powerful and not as reliant on men as are lower socio-economic women. I think this is because when women are struggling with money and social standing, like Donnette, De’Londa and Brianna, they are more willing to do less appealing things to earn money. They turn to gangsters, drugs and prostitution as a means of surviving the abyss they are in, where as Marla Daniels has a well established career and her own influences and power that come with her great deal of money. Therefore, she is not as reliant on her husband for support as the other three are. The fact that they are all black would seem to me like race is not really the issue. White women in the same socio-economic standings would face the exact same problems.
De'Londa uses her son in order to stay connected to the Barksdale crew after it crumbles. She feels that she is teaching Namond to be an upstanding citizen in a criminal community. While they are not lawabiding citizens, she teaches him that to participate in the underground economy of drug selling, certain characteristics are desirable. There is intense sadness in her voice when she realizes that the change in her son's prospects also necessitates a separation from her. When Colvin visits Wee-Bey, he says, "Your boy is smart and funny and open-hearted ... He could go a lot of places and do a lot of things with his life. Be out there in the world in a way that, you know, didn't happen for you and me" (4.13). Colvin portrays the life he can give Namond as being vastly more expansive than the one De'Londa can offer. Namond is being given the chance for a legal life, a life where social class and material possessions are not jeopardized by police and incarceration. Colvin appeals to Wee- Bey using shared memories of the West Side and tells him that the game he ran is not the same one in which his son will participate. He differentiates the two of them from a new generation by saying that the new crews have "no code, no family." This generational shift is emphasized in the lack of female characters in Marlo Stanfield's crew. His crew is not bound by blood, and Felicia "Snoop" Pearson, its only woman, is conSistently masculinized. The show no longer portrays female counterparts to the male criminals fulfilling feminine roles. The new women are lulling machines.
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Mar 31I think that Marshall’s brief mention of Snoop towards the end of the article deserves more discussion. As a character, Snoop is entirely masculinized—when I first saw her in the series, I was actually unsure as to whether she was male or female. How does the masculinization of the only female character in the Stanfield organization affect the series? We have seen that, however small the role may be, the women of the Barksdale organization play some role in the crew’s operations. While Snoop has agency in the Stanfield organization, does her entire lack of femininity take away from the female role within the series?
Mar 31I know we talked a lot about the connection between reality and fiction within the series. Here’s an interesting news blurb I came across about the real-life actress that plays “Snoop”
http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2011/03/gang-member-from-the-wire-arrested-in-real-life-dr.html
She is the only woman in The Wire that doesn’t occupy a “traditional” female role within the gang world. But I think maybe she represents the small number of females who become “foot soldiers.” It’s not common that you have female foot soldiers within gangs, but it does happen. If her character was based on her real life, then you could explain Snoop’s involvement with the gang as a product of her starting to deal drugs at a young age. Usually girls are not brought up to be the foot soldiers, but in her individual case, that might have been the only option for her to survive.
You could explain her masculinization by examining the code of the street we talked about earlier. Because her role within the gang is a traditionally male one, she must also follow the code of the street. She can’t be on the streets dealing drugs and carrying out murders in high heels, a red dress, and a perm. In order for her to do her job, she must do exactly what her fellow male gang members do.
Mar 31I don’t think that Snoop’s lack of femininity takes away from the role of females in the series. On the contrary, I think that her characterization adds a great amount of diversity to our understanding of the female experience. Because there are so few women on The Wire, each is representative of markedly different women involved in the Baltimore drug trade. I agree with Rose; she is representative of a small number of women who are brought up as foot soldiers.
Snoop rises through the ranks of her organization to occupy a critical role in the Stanfield hierarchy. In contrast to Brianna Barksdale—who is key to her brother’s business but always removed from the violence—Snoop occupies a level of similar importance but is not shielded from the street. For all intents and purposes, she is treated by others like a man. This is a sign of strength of character that the Barksdale women do not exhibit. They occupy separate spheres from the men. Snoop not only occupies the same activities as men, but she is able to do them just as well as the men do.
The article above discusses how she was hired on the show and portrayed a character loosely based on some of her own experiences. I assume she was still involved in the drug trade after doing so, as she was then arrested again several years later. This is more evidence of the show’s incredibly close connection to Baltimore.
Apr 1I agree, I believe Snoop’s masculinity adds to the diversity of how females are presented in the series. As well as Snoop seems to be the first female character who does not depend on feminine tendencies to advance in the game or to accomplish goals. I wish the female characters associated with Omar had been discussed in depth in this article. Reflecting on their roles, I noticed many times when they performed their operations, the women portrayed themselves as either weak or hypersexaulized i.e. prostitutes. I found it interesting how the character of Omar would use women for his operations, because of women being perceived as less of a threat.
Apr 2I agree with the sentiments that have been expressed in this thread regarding the masculinity of Snoop. Simon’s portrayal of this character only further diversifies the role of women within criminal organizations. Whereas Donette or De’Londa serve in a more recognizable maternal capacity, Snoop is much different. Like Kristen, I too initially had a difficult time discerning the actual sex of Snoop.
Allen, you raise a very intriguing, additional questions regarding the accomplices of Omar. However, I wonder what Simon is attempting to convey about his accomplices. Is he suggesting that females can only become involved in the criminal organizations if they have a mutual relationship with a member, if they are a foot soldier (in the case of Snoop), or if they work free-lance? My initial response is that women are definitely perceived as less of a threat than man, but I am unsure if this is the comment that Simon is trying to capture.
Apr 2I think that Omar’s idea to use those women was more of a reflection on Omar’s disposition than any message the show itself was trying to portray. The fact that Omar is gay makes him seem less threatening to most gangsters who know nothing about him, but for those adversaries that have come in contact with Omar and have figured out how destructive he can be they have learned to respect his capabilities. Omar in turn does not underestimate the productivity of these women. They use their sex appeal and the seemly harmless exterior to trick gangsters into dropping their guards, that is their craft, and they have become very good at it. We don’t see many women using the patriarchal system to their advantage which is what I believe makes them characters worth looking at. They aren’t trying to change the system or make their own, they are merely navigating it.
Though the show portrays strong women who break the law, we are always reminded that their strength is a result of how well they perform
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Mar 31There is clearly a different set of rules that govern families associated with the Barksdale empire. For example, there’s an understanding that women who have husbands/boyfriends in jail must visit them and “keep them tied to the outside world.” Mothers must keep their “soldier” sons in line with the gang’s expectations. And although The Wire portrays some women as strong and powerful, Marshall rightly points out that “their strength is a result of how well they perform their assigned roles.” Maternal instinct is manipulated by the code of the Barksdale organization to work for the greater good of the gang, not against it. Mothers can “protect” their sons, but only in ways that help advance the gang’s/family’s goals. Brianna protects her son from possible retaliation by reminding him to stay loyal to the family and to the gang. She is somewhat powerful within the organization, but only because she does what she is expected to do and as a result, Avon and Stringer Bell trust her. In other words, loyalty and adherence to rules are what gives women the little power they can gain. Their power is always determined by the rules that males construct.
That being said, for women it seems like it is just as hard for them as males to escape the gang life. Though they may not be the foot soldiers, the males in their lives keep them tied to the organization. They may not be expected to kill and deal, but they are expected to help maintain the structure that allows their sons and boyfriends to do their jobs.
So even though Brianna comes off as a strong, powerful woman, she is actually just doing her job. And even though D’Angelo’s girlfriend seems like just a pawn, she is also just doing her job. Every woman within the gang seems to be way she is because they are simply fulfilling the individual roles that the men have established for them.
Apr 1I definitely agree with you Rose, women within the Wire are tied to the “game” and the men in the gang life based on the security of their own lives and well-being. For example Donette is able to switch from Dinangelo to Stringer in terms of who she has sexual relations with, however she is still financially tied to the entire Barksdale organization. If Donette did not follow the Barksdale rules, of ensuring Diangelo that he was still apart of the family, then most likely she would have been cut of all financial ties.
Apr 1Perhaps women are obligated to perform their assigned roles and remain subservient to the men in charge, but it is important to remember that many of the women involved in this organization likely find the lifestyle alluring and the best possible option given financial and living circumstances. If a woman is born into poverty and raised according the code of the street, why would she not scope out men who have both power and money? Of course, this might not be the ideal option for all women, but there will always be women who are attracted to this lifestyle. It’s not like all the women in a community are going to suddenly agree, “Wait a second, these men are using us, we must avoid them at all costs!” These men in power offer a taste of luxury, financial stability, and protection from external threats. What is to say that some women might not welcome this role and commitment to the game?
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their assigned roles. Black mothers do not hold all the cards. Colvin tells Wee-Bey that Namond's future is up to him, and does so without involving De'Londa. The later exchange between Namonds parents is fascinating for the way it maps gender and parental roles. Wee-Bey is depicted as wanting Namond to have a life full of opportunities, while De'Londas only concern seems to be how Namond ties her to Wee-Bey, and by extension, to the now fallen Barksdale organization:
Wee-Bey: You put him out, huh? De'Londa: He need to get hard. Wee- Bey: If he out, then he out.
De'Londa: Oh no you not. You ain't gonna take my son away from me, not for this-
Wee-Bey: Remember who the fuck you talking to right here.
Remember who I am. My word is still my word. In here, in Baltimore, and in any place you can think of calling home, it'll be my word. They'll find you.
De'Londa: So, did you cutting me off too?
Wee- Bey: You still got me. We'll get by. But you gonna let go of that boy. Bet that. (4.13)
Lest we believe that De'Londa is in control, Wee-Bey makes it IU10wn that even from jail he has the ability to send people out to hurt her if she does not do as he wishes. Like the other Barksdale women, De'Londa's freedom is tempered by the tremendous burden she carries and by an implicit threat of violence. Having a boyfriend and a son whose lives are shaped by their participation in crime shapes her understanding of womanhood. She is desperate after having been cut off by the Barksdale organization, and she has to rely on her son to fill the economic need that Wee-Bey cannot and the Barksdales will not.
Representations of crime in black popular culture have focused primarily on men and masculinity. When women are discussed, they often exist solely as wives or mothers who support the men in their lives. The Wire disrupts this narrative and suggests that womanhood, like all roles within capitalism, is not without a desire for self-preservation.lhe organization of crime depends upon the inherent gendered nature of domesticity, and women are just as invested in their own survival as
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Mar 31I think that Marshall’s claim that women in The Wire disrupt the typical female narrative in terms of self-preservation is overstated. In other words, is self-preservation for the women in The Wire even achievable? For each of the women discussed in the article, I do not think self-preservation exists because they are all dependent on the Barksdale- male dominated- organization. Although they are concerned about their well-being and survival, they cannot physically survive on their own. And even if they try, others intervene to make sure they do not wander too far. Ultimately, even though some women in The Wire are concerned with self-preservation and survival, they are not even capable of achieving it since they are helpless because they are controlled and dependent on the male decision makers of the Barksdale organization.
Apr 1While it is certainly true that most of the decision-makers in the Barksdale organization are men, I think it is a mistake to refer to the women as helpless. Brianna Barksdale actually seems to be a pretty major player in the business. Marshall makes a point of highlighting the scene in which she consoles Avon about his position in prison. She and Stringer will handle the business while he is gone; The Wire makes a point not to diminish Brianna’s role in this scene. She is a clear third actor in the organization.
When Brianna starts to suspect that her son has been wronged by the organization, she goes to great lengths to find out more information and pushes both Stringer and Avon for straight answers. A helpless woman would not display so much forcefulness. She is held back in some ways by the actions of men in the organization, but she is also surprisingly resilient in her ability to hold her own.
Apr 1I think you might be misrepresenting the claim which Marshall is making in this article. Marshall seems to be arguing that when the role of women is typically depicted in the media their only purpose is to “support the men in their lives”. In contrast, the women of The Wire act in a way which is more focused on advancing their own interests. Much like the men of The Wire enter the drug trade because it is their best economic opportunity due to their lack of education, the women in The Wire want to enter relationships with these men because it is their best economic opportunity. Women such as Donette willingly put themselves in subservient roles to men who are in the game if they will be provided with more money by their man than they would be able to make on their own. When women enter into these relationships they sacrifice their own autonomy in order to achieve better economic opportunities, which appears to be an act of self-preservation.
Apr 1I second many of Burt’s comments in response to this original post, which questions if self-preservation is too overstated of a term. While I hadn’t associated that phrase with The Wire’s women before reading this article, Marshall here articulates well what I could not myself. I knew that the female characters in this show were a little different from the stereotypes one might expect to see of in this type of show, but Marshall goes straight to the heart of this issue.
I understand self-preservation in this context to actually mean staying afloat in society. The actions of someone like Namond’s mother, for example, aren’t just to maintain her image; she must behave the way she does if she wants to maintain any semblance of the life she is used to. This may be a bit strong, but I imagine that in the case of Mrs. Brice (and others in the show as well), were she not such a vocal enforcer and advocate for continuing some of the family business, she would have an extremely difficult time adapting to any other lifestyle. Imagine this woman working a day job of her own and taking command from someone else… Seems a bit improbable.
In The Wire, we see women who are powerful and fierce, even if much of that stems from the successes of their drug-dealing family members. These women are capable and cunning enough to know how to manipulate many of their situations, which is not common among other crime shows.
Barksdale Women: Crime, Empire, and the Production of Gender
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men are. As a result, the show's black mothers symbolize both assets and liabilities in their attempts to assert themselves within the organization. These women are neither Madonna-like "angels of the hearth" nor the neglectful fallen women Collins and hooks describe. By using crime as a lens through which to understand more fully the nexus of women's work in depictions of familial networks, The Wire accepts and even embraces some stereotypical roles ascribed to black mothers and uses them to transform the horizons of the audience's expectations.
While it is interesting to examine the roles and motivations surrounding black women in The Wire, I wonder how much of this analysis translates to the white women in The Wire. For instance, where does Elena, McNulty’s wife, fit in among the women Marshall describes? Elena seems to function well, if not better, without McNulty around. She is adamant about getting payment from Jimmy on time, implying that she is still financially dependent on McNulty to support their children. This stems from the fact that she is fiercely independent when it comes to making sure her sons are well taken care of. The Wire makes it clear that she doesn’t think McNulty is capable of doing so, and that she is more or less correct in her thinking. Again, we return to the theme of women playing an essential role in supporting the system that allows the men to reap the economic gains. However, the overall sense of family seems much more legally defined in the white world of The Wire. How do you think other females and families of The Wire fit into this generalization?
You mentioned that the sense of family seems more legally defined in the white world of The Wire. I don’t think this has much to do with race. Instead, I think it’s about the fact that both women and men play the games with which they are most familiar. We don’t have a sense of the childhood of the Barksdale women discussed in this article, but it could be assumed that they come from inner-city neighborhoods and families closely tied with the drug trade. This is the society with which they are familiar and they have become accustomed to the rules of the game from an early age.
Because men who work in the drug trade get their money extra-legally, they also support their families in this way. Deangelo and Donette are not married, but he supports his child and the Barksdale organization continues to provide for her while he is in jail. In marked contrast to McNulty, Donette is not receiving child support as a legal obligation of Deangelo. But you could make the case that Donette gets more financial support, even though that support is coming from outside the legal system.
In contrast to Donette’s situation, De’Londa is cut off by the end of the series, no longer receiving financial support. She is shocked. In the culture of the drug trade, there is a certain expectation. This unwritten expectation has to be violated when the Barksdale organization falls on hard times. De’Londa is nonetheless upset, and perhaps rightfully so. But because her support is also coming through extra-legal means, she has no way of protecting herself when the Barksdales cut her off.
Danielle, you bring up an interesting point. I believe Ronda Pearlman’s character is interesting when paired alongside Donette. Pearlman has relations with both McNultey and Cedric, similarly Donette has relations with Deangelo and Stringer. Although both characters are in separate social/economic spheres, they both share the ability to pick and choose who to be romantic with. Is it fair to connect these two characters or is this connection to far-fetched?
Juxtaposition of black women and the white women in The Wire is interesting, because they are portrayed fairly differently. It could be related to the difference in the portrayal of “the white world of The Wire” as you have mentioned, as there are rarely a portrayal of poor whites in the show. But in terms of Rhonda Pearlman and Beadie Russell in comparison to Marla Daniels and Kima Greggs, the black women are more independent from men and simply stronger. So I agree with you that the ‘white world’ of The Wire carries over to its portrayal of women, but I don’t think the general consensus can be made about all the women in The Wire that they allow the men to benefit economically, because economically independent women are present in the show.
Black or white, affluent or living in poverty, marriage or relationships labeled as marriage are often in The Wire arranged, broken, or reconfigured to fit a set of external purposes, whether it be for financial gain, maneuvers in the drug trade, or political advancement. Therefore, while race is an interesting concept to consider when contrasting the families portrayed in The Wire, I find the more striking component to be the way in which both races embrace marriage as a tool for personal gain. In this sense, marriage has come to parallel the many other institutions that The Wire has portrayed as corrupted and eroding in modern society, in clear need of reform. While race may play a greater factor than I am giving it credit, the tactical maneuvers illustrated through marriage are numerous and noteworthy.
Notes
1. There is, of course, much to say about other forms of motherhood in the show, . notably in Kima Greggs and Cheryl's lesbian motherhood and Anna Jeffries's foster mothering of Randy. I do not want to imply that these other forms of motherhood are unimportant to my discussion. In fact, in opening up forms of male parenting, The Wire makes Significant interventions in discussions of black parenting on television. See, for example, Michael and Duquan's caring for Bug, Howard Colvin's fostering of Namond, and Bubbles's caring for Sherrod. The Wire declines to make caretaking strictly the role of women.
As Marshall notes, there wasn’t space in this particular article for this discussion, but I think this note raises a lot of questions about the portrayal of parenting in The Wire. Undoubtedly single parenting is commonplace in The Wire, but as noted, caretaking duties are shared between men, women, and families. I feel that as the bottom of the note suggests, this takes the burden off the role of motherhood as solely feminine, which seems to be a progressive view of parenting, (albeit one that exists out of circumstance rather than politics). I feel that the inclusion of Kima’s and Cheryl’s child, and unconventional venues like Colvin’s adoption and Randy’s foster mother Anna really diversify the landscape of caretaking, and contribute to The Wire’s rich of commentary of how family units operate, thrive, and struggle. Do the inclusions of Kima and Anna help to undermine the idea that Donette, Brianna and De’Londa perpetuate negative television stereotypes of black women? I believe this article argues that they do not fully perpetuate those stereotypes to begin with.
It’s very difficult, at least for me, to understand and relate to the challenges the mothers of The Wire face in raising kids in urban poverty and crime. Caretaking is not only shared by men, women and families, but also the schools, community and informal families or gangs (i.e. the Barksdale ‘family’). While this may be viewed as a ‘progressive’ form of parenting, it entirely contextual, and the actions these parents take are in the name of survival in inner-city Baltimore. De’Londa provides a great example of the circumstantial and mental constructs created by The Wire that would encourage a parent to actually force his or her son out onto the corner to deal when this is clearly a hazard to health (understatement).
I agree that The Wire strikes an interesting balance to De’Londa with the likes of Kima and Cheryl, but I wonder if this is to soften the blow of the cold and calculating Brianna and De’Londa, or to further draw into contrast their parenting to further show the challenges of raising an inner-city family?
2. I use the word empire deliberately both to suggest the control that Avon Barksdale has over broad areas of Baltimore and the ways that he uses family ties to sustain his operations.
3. Without overromanticizing the brutality of the Barksdale organization, they are depicted as family-oriented. By the end of Season Five, though, family structures break down. Michael Lee asks Chris Partlow to kill his stepfather, and Calvin "Cheese" Wagstaff conspires with Chris Partlow and Felicia "Snoop" Pearson to have his uncle, Proposition Joe Stewart, killed.
4. In Season One, Df\ngelo teaches chess to two other drug dealers, Wallace and Preston "Bodie" Broadus. They speak in metaphors which relate the chess game to drug game. In both settings, pawns "get capped quick" while "the king stay[ s J the king" (1.03).
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Mary J. Blige's "Sweet Thing" (1993) plays in the background during this scene.
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Wee-Bey also tells Namond to cut off his long hair, but because it makes him an . easier target for the police.
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I think the portrayal of Kima in The Wire provides interesting insight on Simon’s view of women. Of all the female characters I recall seeing in the show, Kima is clearly the most “tomboyish.” Even other female characters in difficult positions, like Brianna, remain far more feminine than Kima. It isn’t because she is a lesbian; her partner was far more feminine than her. I think it has more to do with the fact that she exists in a male dominated career, especially when she is introduced to McNaulty, who, for better or worse, becomes her de facto role model. It is interesting that Kima seemed to blend in with her environment.
You’re right for the most part, but I think Kima’s toughness and intensity caused her to gravitate towards such a dangerous/male dominated profession. We saw in season 2 (I think) the conflict between Kima and her partner when Kima wanted to rejoin the police force. I think Simon was pointing out the classically “feminine” characteristics of Kima’s partner by juxtaposing them with Kima’s reckless intent to return to work. In this way, Simon was showing us why females are often not found in homicide divisions.
I agree and would like to take this a little farther. We all know that Kima is a strong person but I don’t know if that is as much a reflection of her environment or of her own personality. IN the first episodes of season one we get a sense that Kima is a hard nose, take–no-crap from anyone character. She is good at her job and doesn’t spread her business out there. With the exception of her partners and a few people she works closely with no one really get’s in her business and I believe that isn’t because of job, its because of her. She likes the job. In season 2 she gave a montage about how she met this hero cop who inspired her when she was a rookie and how she just loved the job. I think she was attracted to the job and she hasn’t let the fact that it is heavily male occupied bother her. If anything she fits right in. Her personality didn’t exactly change that much over the course of the series regardless of transfers to different departments or her change in professional partners so I think it’s safe to say Kima’s actions and personality are from her and her alone.
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