#being biracial

[fairymothe]

Being Biracial

This is a more serious topic for me so, please, feel free to add to the conversation if you're biracial. Now, my father is black, and my mother is white; and while I love being biracial, I can't help but feel isolated from both sides of my family. My mother is white, but ever since I was little I identified more with the POC experience. My mother began to resent me because of my little effort to learn German and my urge to learn languages of predominantly POC speakers (Spanish, Korean, Japanese). I always connected more with my dads side, but even then I couldn't fully be black. I have light brown skin, wavy hair, hooded eyes. People much more often would mistake me as Latina or even Hawaiian??? I always admire black women with protective hairstyles, but I can't even have that myself because I don't have the right hair for it. So many questions run through my head. Am I even really POC? Why can't I connect more with my mother? What even is the point of race at all? On a lighter note...I'm bisexual, biracial, and soon to be bilingual with my Spanish lessons. Anyways, thanks for listening to my racial existential crisis. If you have anything to add...then do!

[cablehaver]

man of my daydreams (or my fuckin nightmares)

[1960z]

how people go about interpreting dr bashir I presume? really frustrates me sometimes ngl especially the “jules bashir died” scene.

like that whole scene is about julian revealing the depth of how deeply his augmentations fractured his sense of identity and who he is - which feeds into the themes of the whole episode surrounding how disability and then by extension disabled people are often viewed as a problem to be solved and because of that are often denied the ability to have fulfilling lives because the able bodied people around them don’t believe that they can.

but… idk, when the fandom talks about it there’s always seems to be a push to read a trans allegory into it that I don’t think is really there? I keep mulling over this post in my mind and when I initially reblogged it I didn’t really want to talk about this because the post is about how stories about racism can be hijacked by white people to be made about their own transness and it felt like as a white person, using that post to complain about ableism would be missing the point. but it really helped me articulate in my mind why the trans reading of this episode feels off to me because the same general principle seems to apply and that is taking a story trying to discuss a specific type of marginalisation and putting a trans reading above it because you can relate more to it personally.

“jules bashir died in that hospital because you couldn't live with the shame of having a son who didn't measure up!” this scene is the culmination of julian expressing his pain about what was done to him as a disabled child by his parents due to how they viewed his disability. but often when I see it being discussed, people aren’t really interested in talking about that. instead supplanting it with a trans reading instead which, in my opinion is an allegory that doesn’t even really work when you think about what’s going on in the broader context of the scene.

julian didn’t stop going by jules because he came to the conclusion on his own that the identity didn’t suit him similar to the way a trans person questions or rejects the gender they were assigned at birth, he stopped going by jules because he felt like the identity attached to that name was taken from him because of what his parents did. it’s not julian affirming who he wants to be it’s grieving over who he can’t be and to me at least, it’s honestly kind of harrowing.

and as an aside: when people read transness into a story about parents who change their child’s body and mind at a very young age without consent, which is literally a narrative projected onto trans people by transphobes to justify the curtailing of trans rights, that also doesn’t sit well with me. I think people latch onto this reading because of the idea of “killing a name” but again in the context of the whole episode the trans reading really doesn’t feel appropriate.

I think it’s okay for people to have trans headcanons about julian of course or literally any character they want to really, but I think saying that specific episode codes him as trans isn’t all that great honestly.

[kenniex2]

it is so painfully obvious that white gays have never been oppressed or marginalized outside of their queerness. y’all see Mizu, a woman marginalized into hiding her gender for her own safety and you think it’s a story about you. You’ve never been discriminated against as a woman of color. All the people on this site that I have seen saying the same things as me are other women or people of color, with few outliers, who understand what Mizu is going through. I’m sorry that you’re starving for representation but so are we, if you want to project go watch Nimona or Our Flag Means Death. If you want to understand, you need to sit down and shut up.

if you think this is a story about a trans man you are missing the point

if you think this is a story about a man you are missing the point

[ohdirtyriver]

something that's really meaningful to me about dead boy detectives is seeing charles as representation of being a multiracial teen in the 80s. it's not a major plot point, but it feels like a relevant undercurrent all throughout his characterization. at least in the US, being mixed race at that time felt like something that no one talked about and that you had to navigate basically on your own. to the degree that it was ever acknowledged, it tended to be about the black/white mixed experience - but i mean, this was a time when i had to suffer through long duk dong as the most visible example of an asian kid in a teen movie, so maybe not getting asian/white rep was a blessing in disguise.

i imagine charles feeling similarly to how i did - that being mixed was something to downplay, a personal family struggle that went on behind the scenes, just one more thing that made you not quite fit in anywhere. i'm super glad that teens today have it different.

[stars-n-spice]

everyday I thank the Force that Tech's love interest is a black woman. god bless

[whirlwindsworld]

As a bi genderfluid mixed race asian, Blue Eye Samurai was made to forever change the chemicals in my brain. It’s like catnip.

Of course I know the feeling of being alienated from Japanese people. Of experiencing my culture on the sidelines. (Mizu’s experience of Kohama was very different than Taigen’s.)

Of feeling the shame of not looking more asian. Wishing I had different eyes.

Being gaijin is considered more cute than anything else now, but as much as I will cry that Japanese culture is my culture, I know I belonged more to the international community.

And I’m a lucky kind of mixed. I got the wealth and privilege side of it. I invite every BES fan to watch the documentary Hafu. My own father grew up without some of the privileges I have, and he will still attribute luck as the reason he was able to give me so many of the privileges he didn’t.

My dad looks very white. But Japanese is still his first language. He took me to my first Pride parade when I was 15. He still struggles with my pronouns but he is trying.

My mother, despite being 100% caucasian, somehow looks more asian my dad. I have her eyes. Its still not asian enough, is what I think when I feel low.

But my mother’s lived more overall years in Japan than I have. Her Japanese is better than mine too. She makes great Japanese food. She’s done so much to make sure it is a part of our family, no matter where we live.

If you’re like me, reach out and find other mixed Japanese people. It really does help. And keep talking about it.

[jennycalendar]

rick riordan was so real for saying “once you see leah as annabeth, she will become exactly the way you imagine annabeth” because that’s true and she is. i genuinely cannot imagine annabeth as white and blonde anymore!!! there is such a rich wonderful warmth in taking this universally beloved little girl, this absolutely treasured fandom presence, this incredible powerhouse who has always been loved by the narrative and seen as so strong and vulnerable at the same time, and giving that role of narrative importance to a little black girl. saying that she is the love of percy jackson’s life and the reason he keeps fighting. it makes me feel feelings

[awakefor48hours]

You guys ever think about the fact that some of the most influential sapphic ships in western animation are biracial ships?

[crepuscular-coyote]

I watch those in the dog park with envy

My ears twitch at the sounds of their happiness but I cannot join in

Coyotes are not welcome at the dog park.

I watch those in a pack with envy

Their howls and barks echo in the empty night and my heart pounds

Coyotes are not welcome in a wolf pack

I watch the other coyotes with envy

They tussle and groom each other like family does and I sigh

I am not welcome no matter where I go.

[funkytoesart]

concept for one of the main/central characters of a possible webcomic I wanna start soon :)

[cryptidinthetheatrecellar]

Somtimes life means you gotta just sit there and play through the entirety of Venba on your switch in one sitting and just. Feel the shrimp emotions

[hypaalicious]

Why I think Nocturne is way better than the OG Castlevania series

Sorry, when I try to shut up about this show I be like

so here’s my unsolicited, highly biased word vomit that will contain spoilers at the end (but those will be under a cut) so read at your own risk! Okay, leggo

It’s actually diverse.

One thing about high fantasy is that it’s almost always Eurocentric. Even if it’s not set in Europe, the characters are gonna inexplicably have British accents because we associate that with high fantasy. We’re gonna have European style “old” clothing choices. And if everyone isn’t white, they might as well be because they’ll only throw in a couple ambiguously brown side characters and call it a day. Or if they make a main character a POC then best believe everyone around them will be white.

Nocturne, tho? Oh, you can tell it’s made with more than just a sprinkle of representation. They didn’t just make Olrox indigenous, they tied his Aztec lineage in beautifully. Annette was a slave but it’s not flattening her character because of it. Drolta came to slay but even she has her authentic background. Which leads me to my next point!

The Black characters especially are done tastefully.

Like… don’t get me wrong. I love Isaac. He was the only reason I stayed tuned into Castlevania past season 1, LMAO! But his backstory felt like straight trauma porn cooked up by a non-Black person who wanted an excuse to see a Black man whipped for character development.

Zodwa Nyoni wrote some episodes for Nocturne and she put her FOOT in it. When it came to addressing Annette’s time as a slave, her connection to the Orisha through her bloodline… I was gobsmacked at how accurate everything was and now I know why LOL! Like, for me, it’s always gonna be hard to see slavery in fiction but I can’t say shit bad about how it was tied into everything in this show. Annette’s ancestors play such a huge part in her growth and it just warmed my heart to see a Black girl whoop some colonizer ass without it feeling hamfisted. 🥹

The token relationship is the cishet one, everyone else is gay asf

I love that trope flipped on it’s head, ngl LMAO! I, by default, HC everyone as bi anyway but MAN was it nice to see Olrox and Mizrak speedrun enemies to lovers and a hint of Drolta’s devotion/gayness to Erzsebet.

I know the majority of my fictional character thirsting leans male but don’t get it twisted; I jump for JOY for gay shit in media 😂 The only reason I don’t thirst as hard for female characters is because I prefer my men fictional but my women real.

That being said, this series sent me into bi panic and I’d like to be manhandled in a room by Drolta and Olrox.

Nocturne’s first season plays out neater than the OG’s first season.

Like… okay. My main beef with the OG series was that after they defeated Dracula, the rest of the show felt like a meandering fanfic. Sure, there were a few badass moments, but the energy kinda faltered for me and I was bored with a lot of it. I hope they don’t do the same with Nocturne; they left off at a nice cliffhanger which builds anticipation for the next season and… idk it feels more cohesive already? They coulda speedran kicking Erzsebet’s face in like the OG trio did to Dracula but I’m so glad they left us a lil something to look forward to.

Alucard’s glow up >>>>>

I’m chronically online but I’m so glad I went into this series blind because the way I GASPEDT when he showed up at the end

Like damn for the past fifty-leven years he was in that castle by himself going “do I wanna talk to Sypha and Trevor plushies again or do I wanna make myself even more of a bad bitch?” Then he chose the latter, went to the salon, got his hair bleached platinum along with some sew in extensions for volume, beat his face with Fenty, and said “sorry Drolta but there can be only one vampire baddie on this earth and hunny I’m TAKIN IT”

He looks more like his video game design this way too, which I love! I hate that he took out Cuntress McSlay tho 😔 Drolta I will always love you!!

Mmkay. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to start a cult to Olrox real quick. Erzsebet ain’t the only god walking the earth and I feel he just needs good marketing!

[itsaprescriptionsandwich]

Some recent looks that didn't make the cut

[susansontag]

uhm the japanese people who created this film aren't trying to coddle white people they're trying to display how a biracial girl in a country which is majority ethnically japanese might feel othered lmao. this isn't an uncommon experience for 'foreigners' who grew up in japan and isn't limited to european ones. quite frankly this itself is hugely patronising lol japanese people are allowed to write (very tame honestly) depictions of xenophobia even if you don't agree with it. and oh my god the blonde haired girl was her grandmother and a representation of her family's history that she was on the verge of forgetting sdjaskdjas

[punkeropercyjackson]

'[Insert feminine term/behavior/fashion/etc here] transcends gender!!!'Well,maybe i wanna be a girl anyway.How about that.Bitch