Viola Davis is Talented and Sexy
People of every color have sex lives, and that fact is usually portrayed to some degree with a fully dimensional lead character. I've seen love scenes for every conceivable version of white characters (of subjective degrees of attractiveness) you could come up with, and no one bats an eye because it's expected.
But black characters have been portrayed as one dimensional for so long (the best friend/doctor/neighbor/cop/thug) in mainstream media, that when they are portrayed as a complete character, those not used to it are taken aback (as evidenced by some threads). Sexuality seems to only be accepted when it's a main feature of the character (black: entertainer, mistress, hooker...); and that person has to be a deeply tanned version of the Euro standard of beauty (Beyonce, Halle, et al). Dark skinned, fully ethnic-featured women have rarely been portrayed as 3-dimensional, fully developed characters, with their sexuality and humanity shown as a given, in mainstream media.
White actors/actresses are not similarly treated, and the subjectively attractive are usually portrayed 3-dimensionally by default. Yes, looks, weight, height - all can contribute to whether whites will get lead roles and/or love scenes. But it's never their shade of white, or any negative connotations about having features that are "too white", that would ever trump their talent or their ability to portray their character as a complete person, with all the nuances intact.
Viola Davis is a beautiful, dark-skinned, middle aged, black woman, and women her age do indeed have sex. I applaud her courage to show that, and take on the criticism of those who prefer what they're used to seeing, and dislike anything that rocks their perception of "norm".
I'm also in awe of her courage to show herself without all the makeup. All women look different without all the makeup and persona we put on everyday; and as we age, this unfortunately intensifies. She showed her vulnerable side, a side we all have, and challenged us to expand our understanding of her character outside of the concept of "professional" wig and makeup. If we accept her beauty, intelligence, and character in wig and makeup, can we still associate those same qualities with no makeup and with natural hair? It's the same person. Beauty can be enhanced, but the foundation of it is already there. But the intelligence and character? It is there regardless of the outside appearance, and so, we must learn to accept that looking past the outside appearance, and past the social norms of "beauty" and "sexuality", to really see the person within.