#White people have never been oppressed like poc/bipoc.

[goldenlol]

please

please

PLEASE

On twitter, please can we stop with the subtle white hate..and also, calling the cookies white? It is kind of disrespectful to the asian and korean community. Also..what is so bad with voting for a cookie with a lighter dough? Is it immediately racist? If i like a character with lighter skin because of their personality am i now racist? Its ridiculous. I love blasian and black characters just as much Im saying with utmost respect. Please, even though it may seem as a joke, stop slandering and villainising people for liking ‘white’ characters and saying ‘you’re better than that’ for what? Enjoying a cookie more than the other?

especially when they are not even white.

THEY ARE COOKIES AND ASIAN

CRK IS VERY OBVIOUSLY SET IN KOREA

This was a surprise,

I just wanted to say, when I make jokes about white characters, it’s about white white, like American Europe type white. Not Asians or Koreans cause bro that’d be racist 😭?? Also Asians n Koreans are not white, they’re apart of the poc community?

I am not saying it was bad to vote for a white character, I was joking around with my friend, I always have. They said clotted cream cause they know I dislike him and then my love for choco. (They haven’t replied to me yet but that was most likely why they said clotted)

No it’s not racist if you like a lighter character, like who you want. I just like slandering and making fun of characters all the time, i do it to my favs. 

For the last part (in my opinion 🙏!) Some seem to resemble/based on somewhere else? (Like hollyberry/pure vanilla/white lily/golden cheese, they don’t seem to be based in Korea at all) I don’t think all of crk is set in Korea? The game is made there but i don’t think every cookie is based and made to be Asian n Korean? Not saying they can’t be Asian tho, hc what you want but that’s just what I see

here is some examples that I could find that they are set in different environments/cultures, yk???

Theyre not aimed at poc, theyre aimed at WHITE PEOPLE. I won’t stop making them, I think it’s funny. Sorry 🙏

[dykedvonte]

If Ulysses has a million haters, then I'm one of them. If Ulysses has one hater, then I'm THAT ONE. If Ulysses has no haters, that means I'm dead. If the world is with Ulysses than I’m against the world.

[gascon-en-exil]

Ngl this other person is trying their absolute hardest to dismiss your entire cultural and racial identity just so they can keep insulting you for being white is kind of funny. Also the "you can't identify as [x] because you have never been to [x country]" is sending me - I have an aunt who was born here but her parents are greek immigrants. My aunt considers herself greek, as do my cousins, but none of them have ever been to Greece so I guess I have to tell them their identity is invalid. 🤷

Likely they'd consider your family white colonial oppressors and therefore functionally identical to Anglo(-Americans I presume?). As I said this line of thought is remarkably similar to typical US conservative rhetoric surrounding race and ethnicity, with the only difference being whether the designation "white American" is intended as a good thing or not.

I'm not bothered by it though, not when this crowd is somewhat notorious for - among other things - moving goalposts to win whatever arguments they're having at the moment. These are some of the same people who selectively consider East Asians to be essentially white people whenever they want to criticize racism in Japanese (or Chinese or Korean) media, because the only framework for racial, ethnic, or cultural oppression they're willing to use is "white" oppressors vs. "POC*" victims.

*Although I do sometimes see them use the more specific term "BIPOC" (Black and Indigenous People of Color), as even they acknowledge on some level that sweeping generalizations can be less useful, or even harmful, given the context.

[pulptv]

◦  diversity is an important aspect in this group. in saying such, for every white character you apply for must be equally matched with a bipoc fc. for every two cis characters you have, one must be a non cis character. I'm confused, are you guys treating bipoc as fcoc? that's what it seems like? Do you mind clarifying thank you! Also there seems to be already a few people with three cis characters? Thanks have a good night!

⠀⠀ ◜ ★ ⠀ I WANT TO clarify a few things since this is a second anon i've received within an hour, and i wanted to take time to respond.

my understanding of the term bipoc (black, indigenous, person of colour) is used as a way to reclaim oppressive labels and a way to encompass, in a sense, those who are not white. the term poc has been adapted into bipoc as the 'i' is often forgotten. this comes with doing some research online and through what i've seen spoken around the rp community. i stand by the fact that diversity is important to us as a group, as an admin myself, and as a writer and person who wants to encourage a safe and diverse place for both non-white characters and writers. we'd never use such terms interchangeably and i hope that clarifies things.

as for those with three characters, i've reached out to the two writers to let them know - with one already in the process of adjusting and another i'm awaiting a response to. i'll own up to the fact that it did slip me by and for future applicants i will be more attentive. as a non - cis person myself, this is important and valued, however, it is just me who's updating the pages / running the main, besides being a full time student and worker. i do apologise, but i also ask you to understand that mistakes do happen sometimes and i appreciate you pointing it out.

if there's anything else to discuss, please do feel free to come off anon so we can have a conversation together. the ims are always open.

[writingwithcolor]

Subverting tropes: Black woman protector with happy ending

@allianceblue asked:

Hi there! I’m writing a dragons-and-magic fantasy story, and am concerned my Black protagonist falls into the Strong Black Woman / Mammy stereotype. She was bullied and excluded as a child for her “weird” interests (alchemy, engineering) and as an effect of that undealt-with trauma, felt pushed to protect other outcast kids from that same fate; essentially trying to “save” the young girl inside her who was never protected through protecting others.

She was also forced into even more of a “protector” role by her family. She was burdened with the role of caring for her mother and siblings when their father passed away. All this has lead to my character repressing things like her hobbies, her scared/sad side, small stuff like her use of a sword and shield when she would rather use a bow & arrow—she feels like the shield is more useful to keep others safe, etc.

I try to show how much this role of “Independent, Unfeeling Protector” she’s been forced into has hurt and worn her down, and how it isn’t a good thing. Her overall arc is about learning to be cared for by her family, expressing her emotions, reconnecting with her buried interests, and letting herself fall in love. Her love interest is a kind, emotionally open Black woman, and she has friends who are PoC that are varied and aren’t protector/independent types.

My concern is that I’m still perpetuating that stereotype of the Strong Black Woman who takes care of everyone—even if it’s caused by trauma and loss. I don’t know what the line is between dismantling a trope or perpetuating it and what my role is as a white writer is, and was wondering if you had any thoughts on this. Thank you so much!

Research and feedback are key

I do appreciate that the narrative is addressing these stereotypes to subvert, as opposed to “Embracing” the Strong Black Woman and Mammy roles as acceptable characterization. Allowing her to break free from this role and have her happy ending is great as well. 

However, this seems like a deep undertaking of trauma that you absolutely need to be equipped to write. Your subject matter goes beyond just stereotypes, but forced parenting. 

Mod Norma adds “Definitely agree that parentification is a real form of abuse.”

So, as always, please do your research on such subject matter and have the appropriate sensitivity readers take a look at your story. 

Cue your audience on what’s to come

Something to also note is that, while you are subverting the tropes, some BIPOC readers just 

aren’t interested in subverting as representation

would prefer to read such stories from those who are of that identity and/or have direct experience with the topic(s)

To quote Mod Elaney from the mod representation wishlist

“Lastly, I personally do not want these tropes to be explored and subverted by people, I want them to be avoided entirely because I feel that normalizing positive representation rather than commenting on negative representation is far more beneficial and validating to the people these works are supposed to help and represent. We don’t need sympathy, we need empathy!”

With an extra layer of abuse as a subject matter, that could also make things less palpable to some. 

That isn’t to say you “Can’t” write these subjects of course. Simply check your motivations. Write this because this is a topic you want to address and will heavily research and gather proper feedback on.

I (personally) have to be in the right mood for novels that address Black women going through abuse and oppression. Knowing it isn’t all about that and there’s a bright future for her does soften the blow, though. If there’s any way you can clarify to readers that this isn’t a book simply about “The struggle” and there is a hearty balance of hope and happiness for her, then that makes all the difference.

~Mod Colette

Additional advice

This sounds like a story that could potentially deconstruct the Strong Black Woman and/or Mammy Tropes. If your intention is to show how harmful these roles can play out and how your character is much much more than those roles, showing how she may first seem that way due to suppression of herself, then I think it will be a hard book to write, but a very good read when you succeed.

That said, this story needs to be written by someone who really knows what they’re doing in regards to these tropes, the portrayed identities/representation, and the mentioned trauma and abuse. These are incredibly complicated and hard to do respectfully and properly and even when you’re able to use your own experiences, you’ll need to do a lot of deep research. Especially given the amount of trauma here, this can easily become trauma-porn as well.

~ Mod Alice

More reading

Tragedy exploitation

White Authors and Topics to Avoid/Tread Carefully

[crazycatsiren]

Hey, so I'm sure this is kind of dumb, but I keep seeing all this content on Tumblr and TikTok (mostly TikTok) about how white witches aessentially just the worst out there because we are naturally oppressive and things like that. I know that it's probably dumb of me to care so much, but it honestly hurts me feelings a lot. It's obviously good that POC are getting some positive attention and feeling more proud of themselves and accepted for their race (as they should be), but I feel like shaming white witches is the wrong way to spread this kind of message.

Maybe it's just some kind of white guilt or something, but I feel as thought I'm often blamed for things I didn't do when I see that kind of content. It makes me feel shitty about being white, which probably sounds dramatic, but some of the people can be really aggressive about their messages. I feel unwelcome in this community. I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm trying to take away from the experience of POCs, I promise that's not my intention. I'm just trying to speak honestly about this issue because it's just the way it's been making me feel...

You obviously don't shame anyone on your account, but I wanted to bring this up to you to hear your thoughts, since you're actually a POC. I figure you would probably be able to comment on this better than I can, since I'm white. I feel like I'm just being entitled or something by being bothered by people shaming white witches. I'm sorry if I am. Honestly, if you think I'm just being kind of dramatic or something, I'd prefer you to just delete this ask. I'd genuinely rather not cause any trouble.

Thank you for your time.

I want you to think for a moment, why you're feeling this way.

Because if you are not one of those "white witches" who cultural appropriate, exclude witches of color, refuse to listen to BIPOC's voices, and get defensive when it gets pointed out to them that they're doing something racist/oppressive, then none of what you perceive to be "shaming" even applies to you to begin with.

And I want you to think hard for a moment, why you believe it is a problem that white witches are being "shamed". Why you should think that anyone, for that matter, getting "shamed" when they're being racist/exclusionary toward people of color is "not the way to spread this kind of message". And why you even think, to begin with, when it comes to us witches of color, pointing out acts of racism and calling people out for them is "shaming". Because you clearly imply it is us who are in the wrong here.

"It's obviously good that POC are getting some positive attention and feeling more proud of themselves and accepted for their race (as they should be)". I want you to think about what you just said here for a minute, what you're implying here. Let's not even mention how you just lumped us all into one race, one monolith. The very fact that you're saying "POC are getting some positive attention" and that we are "feeling more proud of ourselves and accepted for our race (as we should be)". I want you to think about how I, an ethnic minority, should feel about being told that, hey, good thing I'm finally getting some "positive attention" from white people at last, as if this is not something I am entitled to from my fellow human beings to begin with regardless of my race, and feeling "proud" of myself and "accepted" for my "race" (as I should be). The very fact that you felt the need to remind me, that you know perfectly well that POCs have not always been getting "positive attention" and treated with equality and respect from white people, and then have the nerve to tell me it's good that I'm feeling more proud of myself these days, as if this is not something I have done all along, regardless of whether I have been "accepted for my race" by white people, who, as you clearly have expressed here, have never accepted us or treated us accordingly.

And I want you to think about the "some of the people can be really aggressive about their messages" part. Our people are getting gunned down at their jobs, assaulted in their neighborhoods, killed unarmed by law enforcement personnel, and shot in their beds. Clearly we have all the luxury in the world to take our time and be nice and sweet about our "messages", because white people's feelings are what matter, while our people are getting beaten and murdered for living their lives because of what they look like. Is that right?

You feel "unwelcome" in this community? This community full of white gentiles who have again and again pushed us to the margins? Who disrespect our traditions, fetishize our cultures, steal our practices, and never listen to us when we repeatedly tell them so? You, a white person from a predominantly white society in a Eurocentric Western environment, are telling me, a woman of color and an immigrant, that you feel "unwelcome"?

I think you have some self reflection work to do here.

[ivyglow]

ABOUT NOLAN PATRICK AND SLURS

As someone who's always talking about the issues trailing hockey culture, I feel like pointing some things out, considering this is about acknowledging issues and actively working on them.

After speaking up on the Vince Dunn issue it came to my knowledge that Nolan Patrick also used slurs on Twitter during the same time Vince did, and since we don't use two sets of standards here I couldn't simply ignore it.

As human beings, we grow up in a society that bases itself on forces like racism, homophobia, a set of other equally problematic issues, that means with fourteen to fifteen years old you may not know the implications of a slur in a whole oppressive system, but you do know the slur is wrong! You can't tell me that a fourteen years old was too young or too innocent because at fourteen years old I was months away from traveling all alone to a different country to study, at fourteen years old as a poc I do remember how it hurt to see people using slurs, I was well aware because I was at the receiving side of that violence, we cannot pretend as if age excused us of answering for what we did/said. Age does influence our understandings, yes, but it does not excuse you, you do know it is wrong, you may not be well aware of the bigger picture or educated enough, but you know it's not right.

What we have to consider while thinking about those players' backgrounds? Most of them are white, male, and rich, which means the chances they were exposed to social debates like racism, homophobia, etc are very low, but when they become a public figure, they are now dealing with the bigger picture, and not educating themselves on important topics is a choice. Not speaking up on issues that are constant in their leagues is also a choice, but choosing to do it when there is old stuff about you being brought up is even more problematic. How can we be sure you changed if you choose to sweep the dirt under the rug?!

The second thing I want you to consider is that at age fourteen/fifteen these guys were already playing hockey in a minor league that is also very violent when it comes to homophobia, racism, and social issues. They are part of hockey culture, a culture that has been building itself since a long time ago, and it still in the building process when we choose not to acknowledge this stuff. And I'm well aware that the way we openly debate things nowadays is different than how we used to do five years ago, but we still hurt people in this process and we need to recognize this and speak about it in order to change. If we keep choosing to ignore what happened and "move forward" we'll never really move.

The environment these guys grow up in is problematic and they shape the stuff they said/thought while young, but what are they openly doing nowadays out of that environment?? are they really out of it??

Vince Dunn not only tweeted slurs when he was sixteen, but he also used the N-word during a live stream and proceeded to pretend as if he didn't, and he chose not to speak up on racial issues until he was pressured to. Everything coming up about Vince is proof that he hasn't really changed -at least not how people thought he did, while in Nolan's case there's nothing and this non-existence is a problem as well because it brings uncertainty, therefore you can't neither defend nor accuse him, but you can recognize that what he did was still wrong. His friends using it around shows that it wasn't a one-time thing, that it was a common vocabulary and this common vocabulary harmed idk-how-many queer people inside and outside his bubble.

While you may think this is calling someone homophobic based on an old tweet, this isn't! This is about pointing an issue and seeing the way it reflects on hockey culture nowadays. This is about recognizing our roles in oppression systems and working to change them. I'm not walking along with canceling culture, but I think people need to be held accountable for what they do (this goes from Vince to favs like Nolan). As Robin would say the key to moving forward is what we do with our discomfort.

That being said, me >>>melinda<<< as a bisexual woc am not comfortable talking about Nolan like I used to, I won't be writing about him anymore. I'm still comprehending the whole thing, but this just turned me off.

We can choose to discuss this openly and agree that white supremacy/straight cis structures are violent and use this debate as a door to change not only hockey culture but also the culture of our little bubble, or we can choose to sweep the dirt under the rug -as we always do, and the NHL does- and keep watching these aggressions making the league and this community even less safe and more harm to bipoc/queer.

You can see about the Vince issue here and here

[harpersplay]

Genuine non-troll white woman here - you wrote "So I already knew that Good Girls was a white feminism phantasmagoria...But, jesus fucking christ, y'all are just showing your true colours lately. The way you talk about a MOC in relation to a white woman is disgusting." Not asking you to call out specific people or posts or start any kind of flame war but what would be a general example of what you are talking about? I follow a good chunk of people and I'm not seeing this maybe b/c I'm not following the same people, maybe out of willful blindness, maybe I'm not recognizing it - again, b/c of ignorance, etc. Just trying to understand what you mean - and not do it obviously, if I am doing it.

I apologise for taking a longish time to answer this. Honestly, I wasn't sure I wanted to get into it. Anyway, I'd first like to say that this is all my opinion. What bothers me might not bother someone else. BIPOC are not a monolith. Even subsections aren't. Not all Mexican trans men are a monolith. Neither are all Japanese lesbians. You get the idea. And that's not even including people like Ben Carson or Caitlyn Jenner—people who support and work for policies that actively harm the marginalised group of which they are a part. Secondly, I know this isn't your intention, but asking POC to tell you what is ok to do and what is not is a slippery slope to "my [blank] friend said this was ok." Finally, the fandom is quite small so it is pretty hard to give general examples. I don't know if it's more trouble to quote specific posts or not, because some will think it is about them anyway. Anything I'm going to mention I've seen on Tumblr, Instagram, Reddit and/or Twitter. But there are definitely popular Tumblr blogs that all push the same narrative. Oh, and one last thing, I haven't seen any of what I'm referring to from people I follow.

Ok, let's go. For a very long time, mainly WOC have pointed out the racial problems within the show and the extremely dismissive attitude about those problems from mainly white women. And while these same women have written thousands (even tens of thousands) or words about Beth (it's always Beth) and her struggles and the amazingness of such a complex female character (ymmv), they brush aside commentary about racism as either nitpicking, not understanding the show is about the 3 women (tell that to all the white men with fleshed-out storylines), or misogyny. The last is especially hostile because they are often talking over Black women and misogynoir is a very real fucking thing that couples the fun of being hated for being a woman with the delight of good old-fashioned racism. They espouse the idea that people having a problem with Beth are all covert & overt misogynists. But talk out the other side of their mouths that they can't possibly be racist even when they support racism in the show or ignore concerns brought up by fans of colour. And that is just the absolute height of hypocrisy. Because by the former they acknowledge that people in a marginalised group (women) can still be anti- that group (a phenomenon with which I agree). But in the latter, suddenly they don't understand that concept.

Specific to the post you are responding to, fans that purport to like Brio write about the relationship in ways that reveal how much of their enjoyment comes from Rio being inferior to Beth. It's all about what he can do for her, how he acts against his best interests for her, how he literally denies himself sexual pleasure for her. Those are all meant to show how in love he is with her. But the show never bothers to tell us why. And, no, this is not because the show is so deep. Other romantic relationships they have scenes that are explicit about the characters' feelings. But Rio, after being shot, after being betrayed, after being mocked, is just so in love with Beth....because. (MYSTERIOUS!) And the Beth stans are more than fine with this because they think everyone should be as obsessed with Beth as they are. But it's bad storytelling. And, in this particular case, it gets into very dicey racist tropes. A white women treating her Latino lover like an afterthought is not the same as a white women treating her white lover like an afterthought. It just isn't. And if some of these fans are as smart as they pretend to be, they know that. They just don't care. Much like the showrunners.

There was so much talk defending the drawn-out Boland marriage because why can't we understand how hard it is for Beth—who is, at various times, claimed to be emotionally abused by Dean or staying with him because it is safe and comfortable—and we don't appreciate how difficult it is for her (I may be one of the few divorced people talking about this show on Tumblr, so this has always made me laugh). Yet there was nothing but glee when Rio flipped on his brousin (who was written as both abusive and safe) for Beth. Where was the empathy for Rio and how hard it was for him? Especially because, unlike Beth, he didn't even have one parent? Hadn't the Beth stans used her very tragical history™️ to explain away her every shitty act? idk, not having any parents and going to jail (as a minor?) and being betrayed by your family seems pretty tragic. But I didn't see them all of a sudden excusing Rio's bad behaviour. Because, feminism or something?

What about Beth's feelings? Last season she spent trying to have him killed. This season she spent looking annoyed by him. Throughout both she talked down to him in a specific white woman way that every BIPOC has experienced, even if some of them are cool with it. There were multiple opportunites for Beth to talk about her feelings with Ruby and/or Annie, but the writers made the deliberate choice to always make it about sex (and god, the immature way they had these three grown women talk was fucking obnoxious). She spent the last 2 seasons also wanting him out of her life to the point that a majority of her actions in S4 were motivated by getting to Nevada with her husband and kids. Beth doesn't care about Rio but Rio needs to put Beth above everything because he's just so in love like he's never been before (which is blatant Marcus & Rhea erasure). And anyone who doesn't think Beth would have just as happily been sitting on that bench plotting how to "run the city" (hahahahaha!) with Nick if the situation worked out differently hasn't been paying attention.

So, what do we have? A white woman who is constantly excused (by the loudest portion of the fandom) for all her ill treatment to her Black BFF & her Black husband, her Asian coworker, her Latina "friend," and Rio (among others) because her life is hard and who is not required to even be nice to her supposed "endgame". And a MOC who is expected to accept being treated poorly by the white woman because he loves her.

And, a last thing, this attitude grossly crossed over into talk about real people when the fans—who self-righteously claimed to be above anon sources or talking about the actors—latched on to the narrative and enjoyed blaming the MOC actor for the cancellation of the show, even dragging his insignificant (in terms of influence) Black wife into it. All while conveniently ignoring that the creator/showrunner is a white woman. The star & producer is a white woman. The people making the decisions at NBCU & Netflix were white women. All white women with so much more power than the Latino actor.

Shit, did I answer your question? I know this is a lot. But I could honestly make mulitple posts on each issue I touched on here. Basically, white people ain't slick, be they content creators or fans. We see how & what y'all talk about. We see that Rio not having a last name is not a big deal to you and we know why that is. So we're fucking tired. And we're over a show that had so much potential crapping all over their POC characters to prop up a white woman. And we're repulsed by the white women in the fandom who use their tears to seem oppressed and who toss around the word misogynist because POC dare call a Karen a Karen.

[incorrectzutaraquotes]

let’s talk racial micro aggressions, because i’ve been seeing a lot of them being used online toward people speaking out about racism and even in fandoms unfortunately, so i think it’s time we have a talk. this is gonna be a semi long one, so buckle up.

just for reference, im asian american. because of that i’ve gone my entire life experiencing racism and discrimination simple because im not white. of course, i have definitely had it better than a lot of people, but that doesn’t take away from my experiences at all. i grew up hating the way i looked, trying to fix myself because i genuinely thought something was wrong with me. this led to years and years of insecurity and self hatred. something i had to go through alone, because my family was white and i was too afraid to tell them how i felt. i was afraid they wouldn’t understand. it’s still something i struggle with, though it’s gotten better.

growing up, as stated before, i was around white people. growing up in a very white town, i unfortunately wasn’t formally educated on racism or what micro aggressions were, i just knew that certain comments made me uneasy and uncomfortable, and hurt my feelings. it wasn’t until i was older, when i started using social media that i really came to understand what all of this was. 

a lot of you who have white privilege are using it to uplift bipoc voices, and i think that’s great. however it’s also important to acknowledge that many people who are actively anti racist still have implicit biases, which can lead to microaggressions.

first of all, what are microaggressions? you may or may not be familiar with the term. if you’re not, that’s okay! you can use this post to educate yourself and make sure you don’t make these mistakes in the future. microaggressions are defined as brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioural, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative prejudicial slights and insults toward any group, particularly culturally marginalized groups.

basically, intentional or unintentional derogatory and prejudice behaviors directed towards marginalized groups.

these are very harmful to marginalized groups, mostly because they’re not as blatant as outright racism, misogyny, homophobia, etc. this makes it often hard to detect, and you may have found yourself using micro aggressions at some point in your life. that’s not important though, what’s important is that, if you have used them in the past, you understand what you said or did was wrong, and that you learn from it.

now, what are specific racial micro aggressions? i’ve compiled a list of them under the cut, and explained why these are insulting and harmful to poc.

“where are you really from” – this insinuates that we will always be seen as foreigners, and not citizens to our own country. it brings on a feeling of not being good enough and that we will not be accepted. 

“not everything’s about race” – if you’re white stop telling bipoc how to feel about race. we are tired of it. please don’t speak over us when we are expressing our discomfort. if poc people are telling you something is racist, it’s racist. stop trying to argue with us, as you are not the ones being affected by it. 

“your food is so weird” – it’s only weird to you because it hasn’t been westernized or americanized. insisting that foreign foods are weird or gross because you aren’t used to it, is hurtful. it’s insulting. 

“all asians look the same” – by saying this, you’re taking away our individuality. asia is a huge continent, not all of us follow the same traditions and not all of us look the same. it’s not a funny joke, and it never has been. 

“you’re pretty for a *insert any race here*” – this is just such a backhanded compliment. it implies that we are not typically or conventionally pretty. it has the same negative connotations as saying “you’re really good...for a girl”. that’s misogynistic for the same reasons saying this is racist. 

“i don’t see color” – again, you’re basically erasing our individuality and culture and telling us we shouldn’t embrace it. many pocs even completely distance themselves from their cultures to seek white validation, which is in every sense of the word, upsetting. people want to fit in so bad that they’re willing to leave behind their entire culture. something that sucks about being adopted at such a young age from a white family, is that i have never had a connection with my culture. i know nothing about it, and that hurts. i rationalized in my head that the reason i didn’t learn about it sooner was because i was happy, but that was a lie i told myself for years. the sad thing is, is that because i wasn’t connected to my culture at all, i fit in better and had an easier time making friends then other pocs in my school. 

assuming all asian people are smart or good at math – stop. it’s not funny. never has been. the stereotype that all asians are smart is not a compliment, and puts a lot of pressure on us as individuals. it objectifies us, assuming we are more like machines and not actual people. long story short, it’s dehumanizing. 

“im not/cant be racist i have black friends” – contrary to popular belief, yes you can be. you can still have a racial bias while being friends with bipoc people. being associated with poc people doesn’t suddenly mean you’re not racist. you may even make racist jokes and think it’s okay because they don’t tell you to stop. just because they are seemingly unbothered does not mean it’s not still racist. a lot of times we are uncomfortable in situations like that, but are too afraid to speak up in fear of our feelings being invalidated or being told to lighten up because it’s just a joke. saying we’re too sensitive when it comes to making mockeries of our races and cultures, is also a micro aggression. 

saying “you people” or “y’all” when talking, usually negatively, about a person of a specific race – you’re generalizing an entire group because of one bad experience which is just contributing to the stereotypes and racism we face daily. one or a few bad interactions with a person of a different race does not speak for an entire population.

clutching your bag tight when a poc person, usually black or latinx, stands next to you or following them in the store – the way i still have to explain this one in 2020. they are not criminals, but by doing this, you’re contributing to the stereotype that they are all criminals and thugs, which simply isn’t true. this stereotype is very damaging and harmful, as it also contributes to the systematic oppression of those people. 

assuming someone only got a certain job or position because they’re bipoc – this insinuates that we did not work hard to get where we are, and that we did not deserve what we got. we simply got it because we aren’t white. affirmative action comes up a lot in this conversation. all affirmative action does is help decide between equally qualified people by favoring the ones who suffer from discrimination in society, but it does not reserve spots for them.

assuming someone knows how to speak mandarin because they’re asian – asia is a large continent with A LOT of languages and cultures. not everyone is chinese. not everyone speaks the same language. it’s insulting and adds to the already hurtful stereotype that all asians look the same.

“you speak english really well” or “how did you learn to speak english so well” – it’s called practicing because people have been making fun of those with accents for years, simply because they are not used to it. being surprised when a poc speaks english well implies that you may think because they’re not white, they are less educated. we’ve simply assimilated because our cultures are constantly rejected and mocked by white people and even other pocs. this also contributes to the notion that westerners are more “civilized” or that they are better, because they(generally speaking this obviously doesn’t apply to everyone)make no effort to learn our cultures, but we have to learn theirs in order to be seen as “acceptable”.

“but *insert race* are racist too” or pointing out immoral things other countries do when people of that race speak up about racism - you’re redirecting the conversation to avoid responsibility. you don’t actually care about those issues, you just want to invalidate our struggles by pointing out that a place many of us have not been to in a long time, or ever, is very flawed. we have no say in what that government chooses to do. not all places are a democracy, and many democracies around the world are flawed.

something important to remember is that anyone can be guilty of implicit bias and micro aggressions. this is not selective to one race. 

if you have anymore of these, please feel free to add on. also, if you’re a poc and something i wrote made you uncomfortable, please tell me. i want to make sure im being truthful with what i said. i did do research for some of these, and some were based on personal experiences, but if you want to add to something or you want me to change or delete something do not hesitate to call me out. 

unfortunately they and other racial stereotypes are very prevalent in american media, which has normalized it in our society. this post is solely meant to educate if you weren’t previously aware of the dangers micro aggressions have on minorities. i started the list because i was tired of seeing so much normalized racism online, but i hope you learned something useful with this. if you stuck around this long, thank you for listening. i appreciate it a lot. 

as for my zutara fans, i apologize for making so many rant posts rather than posting incorrect quotes. i just feel like im able to reach a larger audience with the platform i have on this account than any other one. 

anyway, that’s all. thank you again for listening :) 

[anyanat]

ok so fatws spoilers

but i really have to talk about this. obviously we've established that John Walker is no where near Steve Rogers in terms of being Captain America, but the stuff he says and how he acts is a perfect example of white privilege. Notice how, even though his wife is black, he went to an HBCU (historically black college or university), and his best friend is black (who he might actually think of as a sidekick?? considering the way he talked about sam), he still lacks the necessary empathy to recognise his white privilege.

In episode 2, we see him struggle, he went through the military work, he served like a soldier. But he still holds this air of righteousness that other BIPOC can't because they aren't America's golden boy. We also know he's never had this challenged because when he says 'Do you know who I am' he's spat at and told 'Yes I do, and I don't care.' (Steve Rogers differs in this way because he understood that being Captain America was a privilege, not a right, and that being a good man was more important than being a good soldier. Walker is a good soldier, but not necessarily a good man.)

America puts him on a pedestal, but the people he's fighting, Karli, Sam, and anyone who's been abused by the system, only sees him as an extension of the system that oppressed them. That's why Walker can't empathise with Karli's reasoning, (why she's a revolutionary), but Sam can. He's been on the receiving end of that injustice and he isn't going after her cause, he's going after the threat more super soldiers bring. Walker is attacking not only the threat of super soldiers, but also the idea that the system is not equal, because that would threaten the American way of life.

Then when they go to see that Zemo's broken out and that Sam and Bucky were the last ones to see him, Lamar looks at the situation in a very clear cut manner. 'you know damn well we can't accuse 'em of something without evidence.' He rationalises the situation as a POC, who needs an overwhelming amount of proof to even be considered. And then Walker says the defining words. 'If we get the job done, you really think they're gonna sweat us on the how?' Walker has the privilege to say that, to not be challenged, whereas Sam couldn't even walk on the street and barely raise his voice without risking arrest.

Walker, as a white man, exercises that privilege whether he's aware of it or not, to do as he pleases and not be questioned on the means it took to reach the end. The same rationale that Zemo used.

[clonehub]

Maybe one day I'll snap and truly stop being nice because what @milfcommandercody said on my lil essay is very true and YES I do want to go apeshit and start calling people bitches but the second any person of color anywhere says anything that's not nice we get called a bully. Folks keep accusing me of bullying and also of being white, for some reason. And they use both of those reasons to be like "see now I have no choice but to be racist and just sit here and not do anything about the racism I pretend to care about because those nasty ethnics the ~milfcrowd~ weren't super nice and holding my hand and wiping my ass >:(((((" Soon enough I'll fully lose it and we'll just see what happens from there.

But like the bizarreness in being fully rude and expecting nothing but civility in response. For several months now I've been getting nothing but racist responses to a post I made about antiBlackness and the fetishization of Black death on AO3. Someone said I didn't really care about Floyd's death and that I was just using it to coverup up my real goal, which was splitting everyone over support for AO3. Basically they called me a psyop. People accused me of just wanting censorship. Folks spread lies about who the real author of the fucked up fic I was referencing was. And then people kept making it about purity culture (a vicious form of oppression women in religious fundamentalist societies have to suffer under where their value as a human being is tied to their sexual purity for their husbands--not about fucking fanfiction) and THEN they started talking about """antis""" mind you, I'd come in saying "you people need to fucking do something about racist fanfictions. Something. Anything. Because as much as it's a community, clearly most of the members don't care."

And I think the funniest part of it all was when someone sarcastically said "you can't expect all your media to be pure". You know. Speaking down to a Black person about what I can and can't expect for Black people in media. I said the world will end before y'all start respecting Black people and they went to the lengths of changing their URL. Which is funny because two posts down they had reblogged something about listening to BIPOC.

And another person made a comment about antis just wanting this and that, and naturally I snapped and they started getting anons about how they should stay safe and "I hope nothing comes of this I hope it doesn't blow up" I'm sure y'all have seen my responses to those. I'm not nice. It's antiBlackness. my Black ass is not obligated to be nice to folks who just straight up disrespect Black people. Chew on it.

But then I remember those people who say "hmmm they're right but they're rude about it so ultimately I won't do anything :/" and it's like woooow you really really don't care then. You never cared! Youve centered your ego in your "activism" and I stg if you check these people pages they hardly say or do anything in support of PoC. Or even worse when they talk about supporting PoC but then they just reblog racist shit anyways dnsknsks "performative activist" the call is coming from inside the house! Accusing me and my friends and my friends friends' of being performative activists because of tone. Because our tone made you uncomfortable. Because you're assuming that we're not doing tangible work to support the groups that we're trying to defend on here--which is clown behavior through and through lmao.

I don't know where im going with this. I guess I'm mad. This shits tiring. Its exhausting. it's anxiety inducing for me and all my friends. I know for a fact that if me and my friends all shut up right now about racism in the fandom, racism in star wars, and racism in general, those that criticize us wouldn't change their behavior at all. They'd continue to not reblog PSAs about racism. They'd continue to not bother educating themselves or others about racism. They're not in the notes of even the basically informational posts about these things. These posts hardly even exist on their blogs. They prefer to reblog and write essays about bullying and fandom drama and antis and all the other things (mostly white) fandom mom types like to latch onto. They don't care and they never cared and they have the nerve to say we're defending ourselves wrong.

(please do not reblog 🤗 I'm just ranting and there's hardly cohesion to this post. But feel free to comment if you like)

[sephiroths-stuff]

Something I relearned today

Cishet, able bodied, white, well off, educated, neurotypical, christian/a-religious* men, and this goes for cis/het/NT/able-bodied/white christian/a-religious, well off, and educated women** too, will never understand the pain that those who are different from them go through, and they will generally think your claims of bigotry, persecution, and attacks being leveled against you are being exaggerated, because they have never been attacked for existing the way you have.

Never let that dissuade you from speaking out, calling out injustice, taking action when it needs to happen, and being unrelenting in standing up for yourself when at all possible. When people call you a liar for exposing injustice, hold your head high, and cut them from your life with no regrets.

To my siblings of color and other minorities: are not obligated to tell anyone anything to prove your experience as a minority is valid. You should not have to defend your voice in spaces when it belongs there.***

Those with privilege who do not actively try to embetter those who suffer are part of an oppressive system. If you have privilege, you are obligated to help others, because having great power comes great responsibility and having the ability to help and choosing not to and that inaction leading to suffering puts the blame in your court.****

EXTRA THINGS TO NOTE BELOW:

* a-religious just means the general deist/agnostic/atheist etc.

**People who are some subset of the privileged I listed above obviously have different amounts of privilege than someone who is all of the above types of prigileged, and women are generally less privileged than men of the same race who have the same other categories of privilege, meanwhile, a white cis woman inherently is generally more privileged than a black cis man etc.

I am in none of these categories of privilege outside of education, and I only have that because I got scholarship haha and I might not even get to finish college due to illness and money. I'm a trans, asian/pacific islander, bisexual, Neurodivergent (autistic/schizophrenic), disabled, poor, and Sikh but also looking into Jewishness as an exploration of my adopted family's ethnicity and religious background (I personally don't feel like any one religion holds all answers for me, plz don't start discourse with me abt that on this post this isn't the place)

*** this is in reference to gatekeeping people, not, for instance, people claiming to be things they aren't for clout. For instance, people (mainly goyim) have attacked me for saying I'm of jewish descent because my adopted family is Jewish. (Which would imply that they don't see me as actually related to my own family) Jewish beliefs through the ages have mixed opinions on adoption, but MY JEWISH FAMILY had me take their last name (which did but no longer sounds jewish because it was anglicized for... Well they immigrated in the early 1900s so take a guess), and I have been told by multiple people of my family as well as other members of the Jewish community that especially as I'm exploring the religion and have Jewish parentage, I have the right to say I am Jewish. I shouldn't even have to say that but this is Tumblr and someone's gonna take this out of context someday on my resume lmao. But anyhow. Don't gatekeep. This goes for white passing poc, closeted people, ace inclusion, people with invisible disabilities and illnesses who want accommodations, etc. They are all valid and members of their communities.

**** If that was worded weirdly, basically, if let's say someone knew someone was dying and was the only one who could save them, and knew this, and still actively chose to let them die, they would be responsible for their death. Same concept.

~ being poor/uneducated/disabled is a weird issue because it's something that could happen to anyone, even white, able bodied and or educated people, especially with our medical system, but it disproportionately effects bipoc/poor/disabled people and often intersects them and is because of one or both things. White people can be poor and be an oppressed group due to it, but their poverty is NOT due to their race, which is an important factor. It's the poorness that's oppressed not the race.

~ if you are white or otherwise privileged and feel that this post is calling you out for treating your bipoc/disabled/lgbtq+/etc friends poorly, it probably is, and you should step back and rethink your internalized prejudices~

There is no TLDR. Because people need to read and fucking understand this. To be a good ally you don't just reblog posts that say "fuck terfs" and "I hate nazis" and "eat the rich" you amplify minority voices, you aid people when you can materially or even by giving time or emotional support if that's your capability (EMPHASIS ON IF YOU CAN. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO DUE TO A VALID ISSUE I'M NOT GUILTING YOU). And above all, you let the people in your life know that you are there not as someone who will silence them when they say uncomfortable truths or call out injustice, but boost them up and help them and defend them as they make the best of a world determined to tamp out the lesser privileged.

[maryibgarry102]

Okay I need to rant for a second.

Steven Universe may have been very progressive as a series in regards to representation, especially for the LGBT community, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have issues as a series and that it is somehow wrong to critique it

Like they took Peridot, a smart, well-developed autistic-coded character and then later dumbed down her character a ton, having her and Lapis become nothing but comic relief. To see Peridot's character get diminished so heavily was super upsetting, and I should be able to say that without someone being like "but..the gay wedding? good?" Like to have the most neurodivergent character be put into the "stupid, comedic relief" stereotype of autistic people is horribly upsetting and annoying.

And then they handled the topic of abuse poorly in the case of Jasper and Lapis; they were both abusive to each other and it was awful, but they made out Lapis to be this poor victim despite her also abusing Jasper. Not to mention she's a dick later on; like she literally stole the barn, which was not only her home but Peridot's too, and then abandoned them, only to magically come back later when it was convenient to the plot. But like is this really addressed? No because "oh but she's sad so it's okay" like no bitch being upset doesn't ever justify being a bad person

Oh and the diamonds! Remember when Blue Diamond was a metaphor for homophobia and literally wanted to kill Ruby and Sapphire just for accidentally fusing? And then they reintroduced her as sad and depressed over Pink, just an innocent sad lady DESPITE HER BEING AN INTERGALACTIC DICTATOR? Remember how the Diamonds are literally intergalactic dictators that destroy planets, subjugate and oppress gems, have all of the Pearls be "fancy servants" (essentially slaves, like we had the whole "i don't belong to anyone!" with Pearl like come on), murder gems for breaking status quo, took the shattered remains of millions of gems murdered BY THEM in the war on Earth and then fused them together to make a super weapon like a horrific, cruel experiment? Oh and this is all brushed off! They literally said "but intergalactic fascist dictators are people too!!!" Like yes, they are, but they're intergalactic fascist dictators. The fact that their characters were redeemed, and redeemed so quickly too, was absolute bullshit. And they literally make jokes?? Like there was a joke with Steven and Yellow Diamond like "what did we say yellow? What did we say to do? uwu" then yellow's like "ugh, not be all militaristic.." or something along those lines like HOW DOES THAT NOT BOTHER MORE PEOPLE

Also, the handling of the characters who are coded as POC sometimes displays racist stereotypes! My biggest issue with this is in how the show handled Sugilite, and this was within the first season, even. They displayed the fusion of Amethyst and Garnet, the two characters coded as POC, as monstrous, violent, aggressive, and out of control, only for Pearl, the white-coded character, to have the ~grace and mind~ to stop them from wreaking havoc. The fact that more people weren't upset or bothered by that always stressed me the fuck out. Even if it wasn't intended in that way, it's still problematic as it can have harmful implications about women of color, especially considering one of the biggest, most harmful stereotypes against them is that they're violent and out of control. Not to mention that they had a HUMAN ZOO in the show; I know this was a big, BIG issue for people of color because human zoos were A REAL THING; BIPOC were literally put into zoos and treated like animals in history for white people's entertainment. To have this show make a human zoo and then in the creation of it think "we tried to include as many hot people as possible" (yes that was legitimately something a creator said, though i don't think it was Sugar), how can you not be upset by the lack of nuance or care in handling a topic that has such a grave history for people of color? And then you have Bismuth, coded as a POC; she literally said "I want to fight back against the diamonds, intergalactic dictators who have oppressed myself and others for years and years" only for Steven and the show to say "but fighting back against the oppressors makes you just as bad as them" and you know how fucking stupid and awful that statement is. Then, they literally bubbled her and forgot about her for a while. Like, what the hell.

I do digress, SU does have a lot of diversity and positive representation, but these kinds of bad things should NOT be brushed over and justified because there is some good representation. And the amount of times I've seen POC be upset about the racism in the show and then have to deal with white people telling them "but the show has done so much for representation. Especially for the lgbt community! We shouldn't criticize media that's done so much for us" is absolutely ridiculous!!!

Us white people should NEVER brush off the concerns or upset that BIPOC have over media and it's negative representation/messages; BIPOC should be listened to, and when they say there's an issue, do NOT ignore them, do NOT imply they're in the wrong or shouldn't be calling creators out on their bullshit. A show might have good qualities, it might have some good representation, but marginalized communities calling out issues in media that hurt them and spread harmful messages shouldn't be ignored or silenced. EVER. STOP DOING THAT

anyways thanks for coming to my TEDtalk

[beetlemancy]

god I'm tired of CR fandom twitter today. People just always seem to have to find something to criticise, even right now when there's so many better targets for their anger. Tell me this, if I block the person who was being a particularly big headache under the tweet about CR not broadcasting this week (I think you know who I mean?), would I be doing myself a favour for avoiding this kind of shit in the future? I.e. are they always Like This?

I realize what I say under the cut could possibly be misconstrued as personal attacks against this person, and thus I am putting it under a readmore and as I said in my tags, I will NOT be naming names or showing screenshots. Everything is easily find-able if you really want to research. As always, you never have to take my word for anything. Twitter has a search function.

ALSO. NONE of what I say here in context of what this person does or said today specifically has anything at all to do with any POC and specifically Black people who have the valid opinion that CR can and should do better. Nobody will agree on how best white creators can help a situation at any given time and it is not my place as a white person to police that shit. 

This person is a white dude, and I will absolutely police his shit.

He is literally always like this. He hijacks and abuses real world problems for his vendetta against CR and the individuals who made it. He seems to think they are multimillionaire corporate shills (likely because of the Kickstarter, though people have told him over and over how that money actually works). He is constantly talking over POC, like today when he spoke over a Black person underneath the CR schedule update. 

Other POC in his mentions have also subtweeted about how he’s been suspiciously racist before, but I don’t have the details on that. I’m inclined to believe them, though. He had no problem abusing the very real concern about colorism in this fandom in order to pivot the conversation back to how CR itself (and not the individuals in the fandom that were actually responsible) is somehow oppressing him and his friends specifically. 

This is not the first important movement he’s tried to corrupt and it will not be the last - though, I have to say, this is the first time I’ve seen him get shut up so quickly and without any of his buddies to back him up. 

As a note, however, I would like to point out that a lot of his hatred comes from a very real place. Gay men specifically were traumatized, and one (probably more than one lets be real) harassed endlessly, by what went down in the Fjorester discord. He absolutely will always land on this if you manage to get past all his other ammunition, and you will lose here because what happened was truly reprehensible.

However, and I say this as a member of the queer community, he is WRONG about how he continues to steal clout from other movements he clearly doesn’t give two shits about and he is WRONG for not holding the actual people accountable and he is WRONG for speaking over Black people - not especially right now, I mean always. White queers NEVER have the ‘go ahead’ to speak over BiPOC just because we’re queer.

Yes, sometimes he speaks with Black people who call for CR to do better. Nobody who calls this guy out is saying that all of his tweets are Wrong or Bad. He paints himself as a good ally and he does it well most of the time. But - he tipped his hand tonight and I think it might take him awhile to recover before we see it happen again.

[everydayanth]

Question re: cultural appropriation: I am Vampirically WhiteTM (I combust/evaporate if exposed to sunlight over 5 seconds), but I sometimes do *all* my hair in tiny, uneven plaits that don't hug my scalp. Answers on various forums seem to only distinguish between big/sparse braids & Black hairstyles, so there isn't a nuanced answer for, "This style isn't Cornrows but I *do* use all my hair." [1/2]

The intention *isn't* to cuddle up as closely to traditionally African styles as possible, but rather so I can take the braids out 3 days later to poof up like a lion/Princess Merida. Humans are a braiding, weaving species, I really do like doing this thing, & I'm not always of the mindset that just b/c something *might* be problematic, I should just bend to my anxieties/White Guilt. Am I still sending the wrong message with my style? [2/2]

Honestly, I have to start by saying I’m a white female, so the action/consequence of this process holds no harm over me and therefore my answer cannot speak for the people (black, specifically women) being potentially appropriated. I can only speak of my own development and understanding of appropriating black culture, specifically with hair.

I grew up in a “black neighborhood” (a problematic concept in itself) and in school, we sat in a train-line of girls during read-aloud and braided each others’ hair. I learned to braid black hair by 2nd grade. We were kids, we saw the differences in our phenotypic traits, but we adapted and didn’t mind much. One time a friend tried oiling my hair and it did not end well, lol, I was a greasy mop the whole day. Braiding was culturally relevant to us as friends, but also to me as an individual: my mom would braid my hair on her good days. In the summer, she would put my hair in many tiny loose braids, similar to what you described, not cornrows, but small braids because it was hot and we didn’t have ac and it was an easy solution. We were judged accordingly based on uniform and size and I distinctly remember the day I learned about the use of a long pinky nail, lol. I didn’t think about it much until I got to high school, then college and studied social science and talked to POC friends there and really began to understand the problems. 

It’s not the act of wearing your hair in a particular style, we humans learn from each other, we copy, we reproduce, we recreate, and we do it for decoration and efficiency or usefulness. Every culture plays with hair and braids and for every example of appropriation, someone has a counter example perceived to be “their ancestors” or some sort of genetic heritage (”I’m 1/32 Native”) giving them rights to partake in a specific kind of decoration or practice. But that’s not the issue. The issue is that when black people, specifically black women, wear their hair in braids, they are treated disrespectfully by our society, while when white people, specifically women, wear locs or braids, they are often rewarded for being worldly or exotic or interesting. 

There is not a common consensus; “black people” are not made of a uniform opinion, and whether something is problematic or offensive varies from one person to another. Appropriation, however, is a little easier to spot because it comes with a reward to some but with a punishment to the people who owned, initiated, or historically created or utilized a thing in the same way.

Black hair and hairstyles have been historically degraded, and its easy to think we live in a better world, but when Kim Kardashian wears “boxer braids” it becomes a trend, while Sasha Obama’s braids were criticized or attributed to past trends rather than her own rich ancestry. When Zendaya shows up in beautiful dreads and dressed to the nines, she is met with racist remarks, while Christina Aguilera’s were considered an “urban” phase.

Appropriation comes from capitalizing off something that isn’t yours, or that you can remove from your identity should the oppressor challenge you (thus why “white-passing” is often part of the conversation). Actively fighting against it means educating yourself on histories of oppression and abuse, modern social perspectives of white privilege, and what we do with all those pieces. 

Black girls are sent home from school or suspended all the time for wearing their hair naturally, in traditional styles, or in styles like weaves that make black hair easier to manage in a non-African climate. Loose braids worn by black girls are still condemned in schools today, while white girls back from Jamaica go unpunished and their braids and beads remain a symbol of money, experience, and privilege. Black men, as well as black LGBTQ+ individuals, are also judged harshly by different (often white-dominated) groups for their own styles and are definitely part of the conversation. 

Understanding the role of hair in culture and seeing the ongoing inequality is the most important thing we can do. Ideally, someday, we live in a world where we can all do what we want so long as it doesn’t harm another person, but we do not live there, and BIPOC are much more subjected to policing of their images, bodies, and especially hair than white people. 

Hair dressers learn white hair by default, not both, most kids never learn about different hair textures or the evolutionary purpose for the differences, they simply learn that one majority group can do whatever they like without negative reinforcement, while the other must adhere to strict rules to emulate the look of the majority with chemicals, expensive tools, and treatments, or be mocked, judged, degraded, and not able to participate in society without fear or ridicule of their personhood, their bodies, their natural selves, as well as the potential loss of job security, violence, or harsher social punishments, like ostracization, being jailed, or murdered by police without consequence. How a majority identifies an “other” has historically included hair texture and style as well as skin color.

Personally, I think intent matters. I don’t braid my hair anymore as a public style. Sure, I braid clumps of it while watching TV or hanging out around the house if I want something of a uniform wave (my mom has type 3 and my dad has type 2 and I got a franken-head of both lol), but I don’t wear many braids as a style out in public. Wearing braids as a young kid made me look like the girls in my class, it connected me to the people around me, and I was subjected to judgement by the black moms based on quality (at least those who spoke up, again, I was a child). I was blending, but when I got to high school, I realized that wearing braids brought an attention with it - oh, you’re interesting, or pretentious, but for my POC friends, employers made them remove braids. They heard condescending things like “your hair is too ghetto” while I began to hear that I was the “ghetto friend, wow so cool and cultured and street smart.” It was always insulting, but one is shittier (you know which one) because it is only condescending, and seeks to erase culture and judges based on racist biases.

If we normalize black hairstyles through popular trends, that seems like a good thing, right? But if white people are the ones normalizing it, then the agency of black people has been taken away from the black communities and restored through a white-savior complex. Not free will or choice, but through the appropriation of their own culture which then replaces the act of demonstrating culture (like wearing braids) as an act of the oppressor mocking and being praised. 

I know or plenty of white girls who wore braids or dreads or black hairstyles as a counter-culture identifier, in the way of popular artists and celebrities, but also activists and stoners appropriating Rastafarian culture. This makes black culture a counter-culture instead of an aspect of American culture or black culture within America that is respected and valued inherently. It otherizes, fetishizes, and tokenizes black culture, takes advantage of the current racist system and white privilege/bias, and gains an aesthetic. That is an intent to appropriate for social gains, and it’s all over the music industry and Hollywood. 

At the end of the day, I don’t think my opinion here can matter, I’m not harmed by your action. Braids are braids and I have a... not-normal history of exposure and love of black hair that most white girls don’t, but even then, I had to grow and listen and understand the nuances of my environment and the society around it. Is it different wearing styles in the middle of nowhere with no social interactions vs. posting on social media or interacting in society? Yeah, I think it is.

So I suppose the sum of the parts is:

Are you benefitting socially from wearing your hair this way? If so, then yeah, that’s sucky for the BIPOC people being pushed down for doing the same and is harmful appropriation. How you measure that seems to depend on intent, so the bias of wanting to keep doing something you like has to be accounted for. 

Is your intent to fit an aesthetic? If so, yeah, definitely a problem. 

Reflect on why you like doing this, what is it you gain or feel or imbibe or get out of the experience in the first place? I’d say at the end of the day, know the history of oppression that exists in America and around the world. Being aware and able to identify appropriation in media, pop culture, and everyday life, as well as the history of it, allows you to be an ally.

And finally, do you listen to what people are saying?

If/when people say things about your hair, understand that you are a social exception to the style and address it. I do think there is a responsibility to engage in these conversations when we ride the line of these grey areas, like when culture is shared with us, to what extent we participate and own it is 100% dependent on that relationship. Be willing to hear black people if they say it is uncomfortable, listen to what they mean, have a conversation about it and be willing to let go of a thing you want if that is the feedback you get.

I think a lot of appropriation comes from the denial of history and the ignorance of oppression. If Kim K made a statement that said “these aren’t boxer braids, they are cornrows, worn by African American women for centuries, mocked and ridiculed by white culture, but have been an efficient way to manage African textured hair in the new climate environment of the Americas when forced here as slaves. Many were forcibly shaven, but for those who were allowed to express themselves in small subtle ways as slaves, through jim crow, and even today, the decoration and design of cornrows was and is incredibly meaningful.” That’s a different conversation about appropriation, that’s using privilege and platform without placating or denying the experiences of others to educate and address appropriation, rather than solely profiting off the attention and claiming to create a “trend.” Black hair is beautiful and should be appreciated and allowed to be as bold or big as an individual wants it to be. 

Hair is one of the coolest, most useful phenotypic traits of thermoregulation in humans/primates, and science still has a few questions yet to research regarding the evolution of different textures and colors. Your own hair texture can change over time, as you grow, especially in women, depending on hormones, especially through pregnancy, nutrition, and chemical treatments like chemotherapy, as well as genetics, and even environmental changes in water hardness, haircare routine and treatment materials. 

With slavery, migrations, immigrations, and other historic and contemporary movements of humans comes the issues of adaption and change to fit the new environment, fighting forced assimilation, colonization, denial of cultural expression, and active racism. We need to be able to talk about these aspects of race in society and listen if and when people say what we are doing is harmful. I think the most important thing to do is educate ourselves on the purpose, history, and meaning of a thing, particularly if we are gaining positive attention from it while others suffer for it. Talk to people of color around you who are willing to offer an opinion, and listen to them. Research the history and speak up when you see the double standard in practice. 

My line is here: if I can find evidence of a POC being criticized for a style (and it’s not my natural hair), I’m not going to wear that style in public or on social media, but I am going to praise it, and criticize those racist comments degrading or demeaning it, I will champion it and demand schools do away with discriminating hair policies, and ask my library to spend money on children’s books about black hair, and do the work of finding black people voicing their opinions, or having a vulnerable and authentic conversation with a friend, then listen and make a judgement from there. If the consensus is that the style is harmful and you continue to wear it, then yeah I’d say that’s a pretty bad message that says: I just don’t care, I want to do this so I will. 

This follows a moral judgement for me: if you love someone and they tell you a thing you do is actively harming them and show you evidence of the harm (as in: it’s not just annoying, but actually harmful to them), but you continue to participate in the thing, that’s not love. I can’t fully picture the specific style, and I don’t know your intent or if/how you gain from the style, so I’m having a hard time forming a full opinion. Is this a style that has been addressed by black communities as harmful? Is it a few different styles put together? Are you in a diverse place, are you criticized for the look, is it even a look to you? 

Personally, I’d say it rides too close to the line for my own comfort and I wouldn’t be wearing a multi-braid style in public (as in more than two, I rock the french-braid pigtails while hiking because its easier to find ticks), but again, I’m not someone who would be being harmed by it. I often try to resist judgement of strangers’ hair unless I know them and their background or platform, because I don’t know their culture, ancestry, or heritage, so I don’t hold others in society to the same standard as myself.

I’d love to hear other peoples’, particularly POC, opinions and experiences with hair and appropriation. 

If there are a few un-uniform braids, is it different than many uniform loose braids, what about compared to cornrows, where is your personal line? Is it different from your social line? How would you judge or hold people accountable in society?

P.s. Thanks for asking and trying to learn more about the potential social impact you are having. I think that’s a great step toward a more equal world that can appreciate culture without taking advantage of others. It sounds like you’re trying to do your research to learn more about whether your action is having a negative consequence, and I appreciate you taking the time to be vulnerable and research and question yourself. I think that also has to be rewarded.

[mikmaqs]

so i took the plunge and watched promare (2019)

this morning i set out on something i have intended to for some time now, ever since seeing the very mixed opinions on the film. here's my take as an indigenous person, viewing indigenous/minority representation in this movie.

i will add that i am not jewish, which seems to be what most parallels get drawn to. this is just my view as an indigenous person w a long history of myself and my people dealing with oppression, so if jewish people have anything to add, absolutely feel free to do so, because i could have very well missed some things. that being said, let me compile my thoughts.

so, to begin with, i'll state my positive feelings on the movie to get out of the way the things that i did find enjoyable. then, i'll touch what i thought was...eh. less good, or downright bad.

first of all, the animation and color scheme of this movie really was beautiful, and a pleasure to look at (i.e. lio's volcano rage sequence, the promare itself, etc). interesting stylistic choices and enjoyable animation are, i hear, relatively intrinsic to the studio trigger brand. i can't verify, because i haven't ever viewed a studio trigger film before this to my knowledge, but that's what i get through the grapevine. the use of vibrant colors is very pleasing to look at, though it could probably be used as a murder weapon for anyone with color sensitivity or epilepsy, which is...less good, but the appeal was there. just know that it's very bright and a little flashy before viewing.

secondly, i enjoyed the character design more or less...except for, uh, a few things i'll mention later. generally, it was nice, and not an eyesore.

thirdly, the soundtrack was pretty good. i did find a few songs got reused a lot, but that's not exactly a this specific movie problem anyway, and generally not even much of an issue. it didn't unground me or anything, just was noticable enough to make me note it during viewing.

basically, as a whole, the aesthetic value of this movie is very good! credit is given where credit is due, so, yeah, i can say i did enjoy that part.

now, there's...a fair plethora of issues with this movie.

what i gather from this is i can, like...kind of see what they were prooobably trying to do here. like, i doubt they FULLY intended to make such a horrible approach at issues of social justice and racial equality, but, uh. yeah. it wasn't good. and i hear they've done similarly distasteful things, so who knows what the inner workings were with this. at best, it reads as insensitive and uneducated, which is not really what you want in a movie. the aesthetic value is not much if the storyline is sort of trash.

first thing i notice is that the minority group (the burnish, for those who have not viewed) is given a destructive ability and, apparently, an innate urge to........burn things down.......because........the promare......speak to them. like maybe that was just poor thinking, but the first thing you should not do is make the minority group inherently violent and destructive with the whole "the flames talk to us and tell us to burn shit so that's what we do" thing. personally, it reads to me as "oh these poor people inherently violent and horrible" and it's. um. unsettling. of course, the burnish hold pride in never killing for no reason, which makes this a bit more salvageable, but not good.

especially when part of the next scenes of the movie include lio (the leader of the burnish) losing his shit and having to be stopped by the white savior trope. like. well. this is unfortunate now isn't it. of course, i can't be positive galo is white, but i'm referring more to the "majority saves minority from...being a minority" thing that plays out here. like. imagine john smith stopping pocahontas from going into a rage and spearing people or whatever white people think we do. yeah that's basically what happens here and it's................yeah!

the only truly enjoyable characters were the burnish honestly. like. my dear fellow indigenous/minority i'm so sorry you have been subjected to this badly written movie. lio fotia i'm so sorry. you were the only character i liked.

and theeeen the parallels to the holocaust come in, and this is where it gets, uh, uncomfortable. more than before.

so this guy named kray foresight (what a name, huh) has an insane little superiority complex and thinks he's jesus or something. come to find out, he's a burnish — way to villainize the minority but without the "but they're people too" redeeming part, studio trigger — who is...doing experiments, human experiments, on the burnish to power his spaceship.

it's as weird as it sounds.

but the point right now isn't mr foresight's silly little spaceship adventure, it's the parallels to the human experiments conducted at concentration camps (promare has those too, by the way, but they're more of jail cells here) by doctors working under the nazi regime. most know by now about the horrific experiments conducted on people during the holocaust, majorly jewish people among other smaller percentages of other groups (poles, yugoslavs, actually mostly any minority the nazis could find and didn't like). the parallels to jewish oppression are staggering and impossible to ignore or not notice, for me anyway, and this is from someone who isn't even jewish. i'm sure watchers who are notice it even more starkly.

did i mention the whole symbol surrounding the burnish is a pink triangle?

gee. i wonder where we've seen triangles to identify a minority group before.

oh yeah. the identification tags used to separate jewish people from non-jewish people the nazis created.

funny how that works out.

there's also the way the star of david appears throughout the movie. or the several other parallels that exist within the film.

and the "genocide cultivation beam", whatever the fuck that means.

and the way the movie ends with the burnish just...not being burnish. identity: gone, white: savior, hotel: trivago.

yeah. the whole conflict of "the burnish keep setting shit on fire" gets solved by "well, we'll get rid of what makes them burnish as if we couldn't just settle it in another way anyone with a brain could think of". but, you know, plot is apparently more important than respect..

and all that aside? there's still more issues.

like the incredibly racist caricatures of Black people, y'know? the whole "big bulky deep voiced animalistic" racist rhetoric? yeah. yeah, they got that too. it takes about half a brain cell to notice it, and it's so hard to stomach, as a bipoc. i'm a poc, and even when it's not my race, it's so difficult to watch these poor, distasteful portrayals of real life oppression and real life people.

tl;dr, promare is a very well animated movie with a nice soundtrack, but that does nothing to wipe away the VERY large issues within it. if you are going to be interested in the characters and media, i IMPLORE you to remain VERY critical of every flaw and never excuse it. be sensible about your interests. i enjoyed lio as a character, but do i condone the issues in this film? fuck no, and i feel bad the poor guy had to be part of it. fork over the rights to lio fotia to me i'll treat him better than studio trigger ever did.

as always, be critical of your interests and listen to people affected when they bring something to your awareness. you can like characters without excusing the grossly evident issues of a piece of media. none of it is okay or excusable, regardless of what the intent may have been.

like i said, if anyone has anything to add, please do feel free to do so, and let me know — i'm always ready to listen and look at different viewpoints, especially of those affected by this media. ❤️