Grey’s Anatomy – Racially progressive television drama

On many levels, the hit ABC television series Grey’s Anatomy might be argued as socially progressive. It includes heterosexual, homosexual and inter-racial romantic relationships and features a racially diverse cast in every episode. For this blog, I obviously will put the focus on the show’s portrayal of race relations. Grey’s Anatomy promotes a colorblind stance on the issue of race and I believe its diversity serves to progress racial dynamics, not masking them. Far too many times in popular media, race is depicted as a problem. This show works against that framework by developing the personalities and issues of the characters instead of highlighting their race.

                Inter-racial relationships have been sprinkled in throughout the seasons. There have been romantic relationships between an Asian woman and white man, a Latina and a white woman, a Black man and a white woman, a Black man and an Asian woman… really, when it couples to couples on Grey’s, the racial possibilities are endless.

The relationships themselves are well-developed. Instead of making their central existence dependent on the race of the couple, the script focuses on other emotional strains characteristic of any romantic relationship. This helps to make inter-racial couples less stigmatized and more normative (in a good way) so as to alleviate some of the discrimination against them. The show gives a positive image of these relationships. By not drawing attention to their racial identities, it serves to foster a more welcoming opinion of inter-racial relationships in mainstream society. “Race must be viewed as social construction” (Lopez 55). With positive and plentiful examples of inter-racial couples in mainstream programs such as Grey’s, viewers could subconsciously see these relations as common and normal, or at least as non-problematic. In this way, Grey’s is ‘performing an ideological work’ to produce a new common sense – that inter-racial couples are okay, good, happy, common, and accepted.

Another positive aspect of Grey’s is its depiction of minorities as successful professionals. Below are images of the diverse cast that make up the main characters. Each is an intelligent and successful medical school resident, doctor or surgeon - a profession that is held in high regard in the United States. The main cast (though it has changed over the seasons as actors come and go) has Latina/o, African American, and White characters as well as a multitude of other minorities with temporary roles on the show. Of course the show does not account for all of the races or ethnicities in the American population; that task would be daunting and nearly impossible. Something can be said, though, to its incorporation of the largest U.S. racial groups in developed, dominant roles throughout the seasons.

Colorblindness can be defined as a perspective on race which emphasizes individual rights and promotes meritocracy – a ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ attitude that holds to it that anyone can be successful if they work hard enough. This perspective is becoming more prominent the further we move from the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s, however it is a dangerous one. It can overlook, or downplay, instances of racism still very relevant now and is argued to be the ‘new racism’ (Bonilla-Silva). Grey’s is not colorblind in the sense of upholding race as unimportant or a non-issue, but it is colorblind in creating multi-racial and multi-ethnic diversity as a normative reality of this society’s demographic. It upholds this perspective most prominently through promoting meritocracy and individualism – it rarely addresses any racial obstacles that the minorities may have faced but promotes that they were able to become successful doctors regardless of the race (instead of despite it, for example).

                Although Grey’s Anatomy may be argued to be dangerous in that through its colorblind approach, and thus lacking acknowledgment of race issues, it could serve to perpetuate the false notion that racism no longer exists in our society. Although this is a very valid stance to take on the show’s depictions, I hold to it that this show’s approach is productive in progressing race-relations. Because there is either a severe lack of inter-racial relationships in other television media or portrayals of inter-racial relationships are problematic, Grey’s gives a much needed positive portrayal. I think the producers and writers of the show are very aware of the influential position they are in and have done good to give a much needed optimistic image of inter-racial couples and successful minorities in the diverse society we (should) live in.

Works Cited

Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. "The Central Frames of Color-Blind Racism." Racism without Racists:
      Color-blind  Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States. Vol.
      3. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006. 25-52. Print.

Haney Lopez, Ian F. "The Social Construction of Race." An Introduction to Women's
      Studies: Gender in a Transnational World. By Inderpal Grewal and Caren Kaplan.
      Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2006. 54-58. Print.