On May 29th, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda released new qualitative research introducing Narrative Demand™, an emerging concept from its Narrative Power for Justice Initiative (NPJI), to understand better Black women’s perspectives on cultural and media representation. The qualitative research conducted reveals emerging insights about the gap between dominant narratives and the stories Black women want and need to see. Conducted in partnership with public opinion research firm PerryUndem, the research explored the gap between dominant cultural narratives about Black women and the stories Black women say are missing, distorted, or urgently needed. The study included five days of in-depth interviews with 36 diverse Black women and girls across the country and generated more than 2,300 responses over two weeks.
The research, Exploring Narrative Demand in Black Women’s Cultural and Media Representation, revealed a recurring theme across all interviews: Black women are not simply rejecting harmful portrayals; they are actively shaping them. They are naming a deeper gap between dominant narratives and the stories they want and need to see reflected in culture. Participants described a strong demand for stories rooted in care, emotional safety, dignity, joy, support, healing, stability, and full humanity. Many also expressed a desire for portrayals that reflect healthy relationships, rest, softness, sisterhood, and everyday life beyond struggle. The research also explored what positive representation in media should look like, with respondents noting a desire for authentic, multi-dimensional, and vulnerable characters that lead to positive storylines and portrayals of Black women and girls.
“This research helped us understand something larger than representation alone,” said Dr. Regina Davis Moss, President and CEO of In Our Own Voice. “Black women are identifying a gap between the stories that dominate culture and the stories they actually need to see for their realities, dignity, and experiences to be fully understood. Narrative Demand helps us name what feels absent and why that absence matters. Stories shape not only perception, but also what people believe should exist, what receives support, and whose humanity is recognized.”
With leading producers like Issa Rae raising the alarm on DEI becoming a “bad word” in Hollywood, this new research is especially timely as representation for Black actors in the industry decreased in 2025 despite diverse projects being the most profitable. In 2025, “Black (6.5%), Asian (3.7%), and multiracial (8.3%) persons were underrepresented among lead actors in the top theatrical films. In contrast, White actors increased their share of lead roles from 74.8% in 2024 to 76.9% in 2025.” According to UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report Presents: Streaming Television in 2024, over 90% of the top streaming shows were created by white creators, and white men created 78.9%.
Some toplines from the report:
- Overwhelmingly, respondents expressed urgency for “positive” portrayals and storylines, suggesting strong demand for new and diverse forms of representation.
- Respondents see many narrative gaps in storylines, characters, and emotions, with portrayals that too often convey harmful stereotypes.
- According to respondents, true representation would include new portrayals of Black women as “soft, loving, and protected,” where Black women are “seen and understood.”
From the 36 participants, when asked, “Are there television or streaming shows on right now that make you feel seen and respected as a Black woman,” 21 said yes and 15 said no. A little more than half say they feel seen and respected in shows like Abbott Elementary, Found, The Equalizer, The Upshaws, Forever, Ahsoka Tano, The Acolyte, Sistas, The Ms. Pat Show, Beyond the Gates, Reasonable Doubt, and All Rise. Others say they don’t see any shows right now that make them feel seen and respected.
In Our Own Voice has a long history of research, largely in national polling, and decided, six months into the new administration, to ask how their community is feeling. Moss noticed the erasure of Black women in particular: “We were seeing it with television, books, and important commentators and people being taken off the air, and I asked the question of, is it important to see black women portrayed positively in media and culture, Moss said during our Zoom interview about the report.
She continued, “When there’s a strong desire for full humanity, and when we need full humanity, we mean that we’re layered, we’re multi-dimensional. During the study the word complexity came up, but I always want to be careful with that, because what we’re saying is that we’re nuanced, which is not a negative; it’s just means want to see stories that are just not one-dimensional.”
Moss believes it’s important to critically examine media and culture as they relate to Black women throughout the current administration and beyond. “I think people should make no mistake that it’s only (erasure) happening to one community. It’s a test case for what we could all eventually see in our lives. I thought it was really important to begin to dig a little bit deeper about the notion of narratives, culture, how they have an impact on beliefs, and what we see in terms of who deserves humanity, who deserves protection, who deserves to live in a world where they can thrive essentially, and all of that is directly related to policies,” she stated.
