Excuse me while I get extremely emotional for a minute. Last night I was blown away how amazing The Doldrums was. Every single second was absolutely beautiful. But something that really astounded me, and has since his introduction in A. Malcolm, was how Yi Tien Cho’s character has been portrayed.
Representation matters. A lot. But what’s more important than simply having POC represented on in mainstream media is the production behind that understanding *why* it’s important. How it affects the people watching – both POC and non-POC alike. Because whether we like it or not, mainstream media – television in particular – shapes how people view the world and how they view cultures not their own. I was so moved by it I had to tweet this out to show my gratitude.
Maril + Caitriona liking this tweet is so much more than a simple like. It shows that the cast + crew alike understand that, yes there are people like me out there watching. People who were absolutely terrified that my culture was going to be reduced down to a caricature rendering of outdated stereotypical views. These likes were reassurance. These likes meant, “Yes, we see you. Yes, we understand. We see the value.” Simple statements that nearly moved me to tears.
This production not only understands these failings of an originally poorly and offensively drawn character, but they didn’t take the easy way out. Instead of taking out his character entirely, pushing him to the background with no lines or meaning to speak of, or whitewashing him to the point of unrecognizableness, they decide to go that extra mile. They gave his character depth, meaning, purpose – they gave him true life for the first time ever. And most importantly they gave him and all the viewers respect.
I will never not be grateful to the entire production for this change and never not applaud them for not caving to the pressures of a dominantly white Hollywood culture. All my praise and applause to you, Outlander. Thank you.
In honor of International Women’s Day, check out these young activists doing their part to make the world a more inclusive place.
Emma González
A survivor of the recent tragedies in Parkland, Emma is at the forefront of the #NeverAgain gun control movement taking the nation by storm. But don’t get it twisted … Emma is no newbie to social justice. She is vocal about her family’s immigrant identity and helps lead her school’s Gay-Straight Alliance. Repeat after me: “Emma González 2036, Emma González 2036, Emma Gonzá…”
Blair Imani
Blair is proud of her intersectional identity as a black, queer Muslim and is passionate about gender equity. When she isn’t running her education foundation for women and non-binary folks, Equality for HER, Blair can be found protesting racial injustice and police brutality. Who says you can’t do it all???
Lauren Jauregui
I mean, how could I not include her on this list??? From calling out politicians on inhumane policies like the Muslim Ban to demanding protections for young undocumented Americans, this Fifth Harmony star is not afraid to use her platform to help others. Lauren J is my favorite pop-queen-turned-social-activist and I want everyone to know it!!
Alice Brown Otter
When she was just 12 years old, Alice ran 1,519 miles from the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation to Washington, D.C. to protest the Dakota Access Pipeline. If this young activist doesn’t inspire us all to make impact in our communities then I don’t know what will!!
Eva Maria Lewis
Eva is a brave high school student who helped to lead a sit-in protest of over 1,000 activists in Chicago to protest gun violence and police brutality. Compelled to action by the death of Trayvon Martin in 2012, Eva helped found Youth for Black Lives, a Chicago youth-led racial justice organization. Do yourself a favor and watch the chilling TED Talk she gave … you’ll thank me later 🙂
Aly Raisman
Most know Aly as an Olympic gold-medalist and member of the “Fierce Five” 2012 U.S. gymnastics team. Today we are celebrating her for her bravery in the #MeToo movement. Aly continues to spread messages of body positivity and encourages fellow survivors to use their voices to empower each other. We can all be more like Aly!!
my femme girlfriend: [hour and a half later] ok I’m ready to leave the house
me: [throwing on shorts and a tank top] okay baby i love you and you look so pretty
My overdressed butch ass: [hour and a half later] ok I’m ready to leave the house
My femme girlfriend: [throwing on a sundress and head scarf] okay baby I love you and you look so handsome
Me: [after spending 6 hours on my hair and makeup] Babe I’m ready to head out now
My femme wife: [who has also taken 6 hours] Okay babe I love you I’m ready and your highlight is poppin severely but you need to blend that contour in a little bit
Me: [fixing her eyebrows] I love you
my overdressed butch ass: [hour and a half later] ok love im ready to leave the house
my equally overdressed femme girlfriend: [also hour and a half later] okay baby i love you we’re both so pretty
Me: [10 minutes and a tank top later] ok babe let’s go
My equally lazy butch girlfriend: [also 10 minutes and a tank top later] I love you honey but we gotta stop taking each other’s tank tops
I am running for President in that Texas primary, and those kids are gonna see me do that. That’s the only statement about my skin color that I intend to make in this campaign.
Joss Whedon’s Wonder Woman script is (deservedly) getting torn to pieces by tumblr at the moment for being very sexist and filtering Diana’s superhero journey through the lens of a male character, and more importantly, appealing almost entirely to a male audience as well.
Whedon’s script would still be a sexist mess even if it had been written by a fan as a fanfiction and posted on AO3. I mean, I doubt as many people would care about it, in that case, and there wouldn’t be the worry over how close it came to being the actual movie, but it would still be just as sexist.
So keeping that in mind, I don’t really see how so many people can be upset over Black Panther fans telling people to stop putting white-centric stuff in the Black Panther tag. If you can understand why having a Wonder Woman movie that prioritized Steve would have been an offensive disaster, you should have no problems understanding why having the Black Panther tag full of meta speculation on Bucky, or GIF’s of Martin Freeman, is also an offensive disaster.
Wonder Woman is for women. Black Panther is for black people. Everyone can enjoy them, but anybody who decides to enjoy them in ways that disregard the perspective of the people they are meant to be heroes for, is fucking up. Whether they are a paid professional or an unpaid amateur doesn’t make a difference in this regard. Diana does not exist for male consumption, and T’Challa and Wakanda do not exist for white consumption. If you can’t enjoy one or both of the movies while also respecting that, then I would sincerely consider taking a long moment of self-reflection to ask yourself why. There is no shortage of male heroes and no shortage of white heroes. If you want a hyper-advanced society for white male characters to play in, use Asgard.
Tumblr Exodus 