Opinion

Meghan Markle is brave for speaking out

Meghan Markle is being brave and standing up to racism and an abusive monarchy. People have always criticized her for simply existing. | Juana Garcia/The Cougar

Meghan Markle is being brave and standing up to racism and an abusive monarchy. People have always criticized her for simply existing. | Juana Garcia/The Cougar

Meghan Markle recently had an interview with Oprah Winfrey where she exposed some concerning things about Britain’s royal family.

A member of the royal family expressed concern for her son’s skin color, Markle felt suicidal, her child was going to be denied Royal security and much more.

She has been met with a lot of compassion, but also a lot of criticism.

People have criticized her for complaining when she knew what she was getting into, and that she’s just complaining for attention. Markle is being brave and standing up to racism and an abusive monarchy.

The claim that Markle signed up for racism from the royal family is as ridiculous as it seems to excuse their treatment of her just because she may have been aware of their backward ideals.

There are plenty of cases where a person marries into a family that doesn’t like them. That doesn’t excuse their treatment of that person. Markle shouldn’t have to sacrifice being with the man she loves just because his family is racist. His family needs to do better. 

It’s important to realize how badly Markle was treated by the British media. Everything she said or did was bad according to the public. When she wrote about her miscarriage, people made fun of her, denied her struggle and claimed that she should’ve kept that to herself.

Whether someone wants to hear about her miscarriage or not is up to them, but there is nothing wrong with her sharing her experience. It’s absolutely cruel for people to make fun of her miscarriage as those are typically very traumatic. 

She has dealt with backlash ever since she was revealed to be Prince Harry’s girlfriend. Press made fun of her age, being only three years older than him, her previous divorce and, most of all, her race.

When her bra strap showed for half a second on camera at a wedding, the press freaked, questioning if she did it deliberately. She has been repeatedly dealt with slut-shaming and racism from the British press for a long time. That takes a toll on a person. 

People may say that Kate Middleton must deal with the same criticism since they are both married to British princes. While Middleton has dealt with criticism in the media, it’s nothing compared to what Markle has dealt with.

The insults thrown at her by the media were not racially motivated, which is the biggest difference. Middleton has also been implied to be the good one between the two women. 

There has been some discourse about how Markle is rich and is fairly removed from struggle. While she may be wealthy, this doesn’t change the fact that she is a victim of racism. No matter how wealthy a person is, racism can always affect them. She was still hurt by what happened.

This situation also goes to show that racism is still very prevalent in the U.K. If Markle is affected by racism, imagine how Black, low-income women in the U.K. are affected by racism. Just because this happened to a wealthy woman doesn’t make it OK.

It’s no surprise that a monarchy for a country that was the blueprint for western colonialism is racist. No one should be surprised by this.

Meghan Markle has clearly experienced horrible treatment in her time with the royal family, and she is brave for speaking out. With all the backlash she’s received, people need to show support for her.

Anna Baker is an English junior who can be reached at [email protected]

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