#discussions of xenophobia and discrimination

[shoot-i-messed-up]

Summary: Clark needs some air after a disastrous Daily Planet newsroom meeting and to his horror, his coworker/rival/friend(?) Lois Lane walks in on him on the rooftop crying. However, she has some words of comfort and something of her own to reveal. Or, the one where the writer explores (or at least, attempts to explore) the theme of xenophobia through outwardly alien Superman and black!Lois Lane.

[vazaha-tya]

Can you elaborate on Stiles’ internalized xenophobia, genuinely curious bc I never noticed that at all in show. Is it only in fics? So curious

it's the way he talks about his first name that bothers me. i think it's less present in the show than in fanfics but there's this whole "my name is an unpronounceable monstrosity" thing that very clearly stems from xenophobia and is pushed over the top + reinforced over the fact that "what the hell is a stiles?" is literally a running gag in the show

it's probably not a huge deal, a lot of kids/teenagers are embarrassed by the names their parents have chosen for them, especially when it makes them stand out. but the emphasis on how horrible his name is doesn't sit well with me. because of how often the joke is repeated it feels like he's been taught to hate it and by extension taught to be ashamed of his foreign origins

don't get me wrong, stiles is perfectly allowed to choose his own name and i actually think that should be normalised

but his parents being of polish descent (no matter how far back) and choosing to name their child a polish name in america implies a strong cultural tie that could have been celebrated instead of making it a shameful thing.

the show could have kept stiles' chosen name without diminishing that for the sake of a joke that grew old really quickly imo

[racialdiscriminationday]

Debate on the urgency of combatting racism and racial discrimination 75 years after the adoption of the UDHR.

The panel discussion will gather speakers, who are known for their active role in the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and who are from diverse backgrounds. They will share their experience, expertise and recommendations on how to address some of the most pressing challenges and obstacles.

Debate on the urgency of combatting racism and racial discrimination 75 years after the adoption of the UDHR.

Wednesday, 29 March 2023, 4 - 6 pm CET. Palais des Nations, Geneva.

Watch live on UN WebTV.

[bonefall]

Better Bones: CW List

Can't believe I have to make this disclaimer, but here we are

Better Bones is not a project that aims to fix canon by making the Clans wholesome and unproblematic. Though there can be fun and kindness in it and my philosophy is an optimistic one, It's not an escapist fantasy. It is a story about semi-realistic cats of human intelligence in a violent, war-obsessed theocratic dictatorship, and how they attempt to change it over the years.

Clan Culture is flawed, that is on purpose. Addressing and changing this is what the story is about.

I am very disappointed I have to state this because it should be obvious from my main post where I explicitly say that my goal is to "Address (Canon's) Problematic Elements." Not remove.

If you cannot handle themes or depictions of;

Physical and emotional abuse; Domestic, authoritative, and familial

Child abuse and inter-generational trauma

Somewhat graphic medical discussion, such as abortion, wound infection, and the use of leeches and maggots

The killing and processing of small animals into food, including tanning and butchery

Semi-realistic cat behaviors, specifically marking things with urine

Ableism; both externalized and internalized, Clan culture treats disabled cats poorly and this is something several characters struggle with

Xenophobia; to a violent degree, including stochastic terrorism, hate crime, and discrimination

^^^ read that one again. Consider that on this list twice.

Politics; Authoritarianism, fascism, and liberalism as an enemy, discussion of dog whistles and ideology

"Redemption arcs" of people who did bad things

Cosmic horror and supernatural curses

Graphic violence, including against innocent bystanders, through assault, poisoning, drowning, falling, and even being eaten alive by large fish and demigods.

Animal abuse; Human beings harming cats on purpose and Clan cats generally being terrified of all humans, even kind and loving ones

Clan cats, both villainous and culturally mislead, glorifying these things in-universe, not immediately staring at the camera and breaking character to tell you "This Is A Bad Thing!"

Then Better Bones may not be for you. I would at minimum rate this project as PG-13, but PG-16 would be a more accurate bet.

I have sympathy for you if these are not topics you can handle. My project tackles very upsetting real-world issues and not everyone is looking for something challenging; that's understandable and there's no fault in that. I try to tag appropriately but can't promise to catch everything, so please keep yourself safe.

There are other, softer projects out there run by cool people if this is not for you, and you can add #Better Bones AU to your tag filters and this project will not show up!

But, I'm not responsible for your comfort with my art. If you followed me under the assumption that BB is "Warriors without any ableism/xenophobia/violence" you were mistaken. If you don't have the maturity to act responsibly when something upsets you, or DO have the malice to read a disabled person's work with the most bad faith interpretations you can muster, LEAVE.

[ck-17088]

OPINION: Why I think Transformers Earthspark will be remembered as one of the best Transformers shows of all time.

Long story short, Earthspark spoilers. Don't read if you don't want to be spoiled.

I'm delighted to say that Earthspark has again exceeded my expectations. Honestly, when the show was first announced, I expected it to be a TV show meant to pander to young children. It would either be silly or forgettable.

Nope.

The show has blown all expectations out of the water through its bold story-telling and animation. The characters all feel realistic- they have strengths and flaws, which are most apparent when they face difficult situations. Another strength is that this show is not afraid to tackle issues (war, moral issues- "how far are we willing to go for the sake of peace?", discrimination, etc) that have become a part of our society in the present and past several years.

In the new 8 episodes dropped, the central theme appears to be identity. Mainly about finding your identity (ex: finding an alt-mode), making up parts of your identity (ex: finding the right alt-mode that matches each character), and integrating new experiences into your identity (ex: Megatron's decision to gain an Earth-based alt-mode to earn the Autobots' trust)- those sort of topics. These are all important and wonderful topics to discuss and share in a show. However, what surprised me the most was that the writers were not afraid to show the ugly sides of identity-related topics.

The 17th and 18th episodes- "Home Part I" and "Home Part II"- subtly tackle racism and xenophobia. Robbie, Twitch, and Hashtag are visiting Robbie's friend in a skateboard park. While having fun, they stumble upon an anti-transformers graffiti- "Transformers go home". Twitch and Hashtags are shocked and upset over this. Twitch says "This just isn't okay" because they were born on Earth and have lived there for their entire existence. However, Robbie's friend insists that their existence on Earth isn't "okay" since "Invading the Earth wasn't okay either". He's essentially telling them that they exist because of the war, which was unwanted, so therefore, their existence "isn't okay".

That scene honestly emotionally destroyed me. Before I explain why let me say a few things.

I am Korean American. The experiences/feelings I will later talk about are my own and do not fully represent the Korean American and/or East Asian communities. Our community's experiences are varied; thus, one person’s is not enough to sum them all of them.

Throughout my life, especially in the past couple of years- during the COVID-19 pandemic, I have had all of these things happen to me:

- I have been called hateful slurs.

- People have made the slanted eyes gesture to me numerous times.

- A few people have greeted me with "ni hao". (This is offensive because they automatically assume I'm from China because I'm Asian. It supports the idea that AAPI communities are one monolith. Hint: They're not.)

- Many people have asked me if I eat dog meat… (I don't. Never have.)

- Too many times, I have been told to "go back home". (I don't even remember the exact number. That's an indicator of how many times it's happened)

- In college, I have had many academic and career advisors ask if I'm a foreign student. It doesn't appear be an offensive question, but if I were Caucasian, no one would have thought to ask me if I was a foreigner. But no, I am Asian, so there is a huge chance that I might not be American.

The fact that I am Asian, or Korean American, an ethnicity (Korean) not found in the Americas, is enough of an excuse to question my identity and my entire life - who I am, where I'm from, and my own habits. To many, it is an excellent excuse to ensure I feel like an outsider in my own home.

The "Transformers go home" scene destroyed me because it reminds me of the pain that comes from the fact that there will always be people who believe I do not belong in my own country- no matter how many experiences I have had and how ingrained they are in me.

These characters are experiencing that same pain, too, even when they shouldn't be. The insistence from Robbie's friend that their experiences aren't enough to explain their belonging to Earth because they are physically Cybertronian- or transformers- is especially heartbreaking.

However, Robbie stands up for his family and breaks ties with his friend. He refuses to accept the blatant discrimination his siblings are facing and leaves instead. This is significant because while the writers show the ugly side of human society, they also show how to combat it- by refusing to stand by and accept it.

This scene is likely why Earthspark will become and will be remembered as one of the best Transformers shows ever.

It's not just the animation or the stories/plots. It is the show's willingness to tackle issues that are difficult to discuss in real life.

In a world where Anti- Asian, Anti- Latino, Anti- LGBTQIA sentiments and (basically) any hate toward minority groups are on the rise, Earthspark is not afraid to go head-on with these issues. They are willing to show scenes to demonstrate the harm these ideas and beliefs can cause, as well as solutions on how to fight them.

The show embraces the beautiful sides of humanity- friendship, family, love, and hope- but is also not afraid to fight the ugly parts of it too.

Written by: CK17088

[ask-seimei]

You've found yourself here, now, haven't you?

But tread carefully ...

Is it your first time crawling to ask my assistance?

That's fine. I'll tell you how things work around here.

I reserve the right to refuse to discuss your problems with you or to help you. However, if your name is Minamoto no Hiromasa, I most likely will not be able to resist. Whether I'm pleased with that or not is my business and mine alone.

As I may be interpreted as being of a flirtatious nature, I do not associate with those under the age of 18.

For those who are 18 and older, you are free to make your attempts of flirting with me. I am a single man, after all. However, be aware that if I become bored or irritated with you, you may find yourselves speaking to a frog or a snake instead of to myself, and if you fall into my pond, I will not offer you spare dry clothing to make your experience more comfortable.

I believe that all energies on this Earth are equal and of value, regardless of the mortal form they take. That being said, I do not tolerate racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, or discrimination of any kind.

Contrary to popular belief, I am a busy man and do not sit around all day waiting for you to visit me and beg for my help. Do not rush me. I will get to your concerns when the stars tell me that the time is right. Impatience and spamming will result in my refusal to communicate with you on your issue.

And lastly,

Getting too attached to me may result in being cursed.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

[olderthannetfic]

https://www.tumblr.com/olderthannetfic/729067495715110912/been-wondering-why-the-racism-discussions-have

This might vary by country but while I don’t want to get into the whole argument about how to categorize discrimination against white people, it is still incorrect to say that race as a concept does not exist in Europe because it’s seen as racist to use the term openly in some places. Multiple European countries collect demographic data where they categorize people along the lines of white and black, not purely based on foreign vs non foreign born or country of origin as would be the case if xenophobia or nationality were truly the only factor here. I’ve spent a decent amount of time in Germany and have a good friend who is black and from Berlin and can speak specifically to that German xenophobia does treat darker skinned people (and not just immigrants, another clue that it’s not just xenophobia) differently from white immigrants, even if all of them experience prejudice. There is a particular kind that people from Asia and Africa experience.

So yeah, race as a concept very much exists in your culture. You guys just don’t talk about it as such.

--

[dramatic-dolphin]

Hi! So I'm neither American nor European, and I'm really not understanding the whole concept of "less white", "the wrong kind of white" and what it's meant to imply. Could you please explain?

if you're asking me to explain what "less white" and "the wrong kind of white" is supposed to mean, you're unlucky because i cannot understand it, as it makes no sense.

basically, i think what's happening is that discussion about racism is dominated by american perspectives (especially if it's happening in english). americans do not really have xenophobia in the way many other countries do (aka: we look the same but i hate you and you are inherently inferior to me). to them, xenophobia is always racism too (i hate you and you are inherently inferior to me, also we have very obvious physical differences), because that's how their ethnic makeup works

which means that when we get to the topic of xenophobia in european countries, sometimes the explanations try to make it a race thing, when it's really NOT a race thing at all. when you think of discrimination on the axis of ethnicity inherently being discrimination based on race, you end up with nonsense things like "well, the english hate the polish, but they are both white, so i guess it's because the english see the polish as Less White"

when that's not true! there is NO racial component to it - there is an ETHNIC component. being or not being white does not come into play. both english and polish people are white (and this is very obvious when you see that BOTH groups have about the same racism problem towards people who are not white) this is all happening between the same class from a race standpoint (white europeans)

whiteness as a construct just... does not come into play in this discrimination. when western europeans discriminate against eastern europeans they do not do it on an imaginary race metric - they are all white. it's all based on ethnicity.

[the-dixon-effect]

'•.¸♡ 𝖓𝖆𝖛𝖎𝖌𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓 ♡¸.•'

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[stillness-in-green]

On Riots and Resolutions (Part One)

So, I got, unsurprisingly, a lot of asks about the heteromorph riot mini-arc, both in terms of how it was presented in the story and how fandom (my own posts included) responded to it.  In turn, this gave me a lot to research before I started shooting my mouth off about either topic, hence this being as late as it is.  Thanks as always for your patience, everyone.

I had intended to make this one big ask round-up, but I ended up with a few offshoots that didn’t really fit as a response to anyone’s ask in particular, but nonetheless struck me as significant enough to share.  Therefore, rather than having this be an unwieldy ask post/meta mashup, I’m going to split it into two parts.

The first post will use one specific ask, the one that really sent me into the weeds research-wise, as a springboard to talk about what cultural factors might have influenced Horikoshi’s writing decisions about the hospital attack, as well as some discussion of how the Western fanbase talks about heteromorphobia.  I’ll be getting into that past the cut below; there will also be some links at the end for sources and further reading.

The second post—coming soon!—will contain all the rest of the asks, which are somewhat more scattershot in nature.

Both posts skew heavily towards meta analysis: they’ll be about Horikoshi’s context as a Japanese creator writing for Shonen Jump, and about how fans—myself included—have responded to the resulting material.   Obviously there will still be some references to the actual events in the manga, but it isn’t the main focus.  If you want my in-depth opinions on the sequence in question, you can find my very opinionated opinions in my chapter posts.

CONTENT WARNINGS: Discussion of real-life discrimination (racial and otherwise) both in Japan and elsewhere, the historical construction of race, and theoretical considerations about how the idea of race might have been impacted by the appearance of quirks in-universe.  Also, some brief allusions to overwork in Japanese office culture and its impact on people’s ability to engage in/with activism.

On that note, if you haven’t seen me say so before, I’m white as white gets, and obviously writing from a U.S. perspective as well.  I’ve done my best to do my reading and be respectful in my wording, and I did run everything past a non-white friend before posting, but please do let me know if you see anything offensive. Some of these topics are ones that I already know people of color have pretty divergent opinions on, though—I was following the fandom response to this arc quite closely!—so do be prepared to encounter some reads that may differ from your own.

Hit the jump!

So, this is the ask that I looked at and immediately thought, “Oh, I’m going to need to do significant reading before I even start thinking about a response to that.”  Most significantly, I wanted to research what Japan, a famously homogenous country, even thinks of the idea of race.  Do Japanese people conceptualize it the same way U.S. Americans do?  If they view it differently, how does that view color what they think about race-based discrimination?  How, in turn, might that have influenced Horikoshi’s writing, and how might a greater understanding of his (potential) lens affect our own interpretations?

Well, let’s take a look.

Horikoshi’s Context: Racism vs. Xenophobia, Protest Culture, and How To Fight Discrimination

Racism vs. Xenophobia

Having now done some reading, here’s a very key thing to keep in mind: the vast, vast majority of Japan does not actually think the country has an issue with race.  Even the people who do talk about the discrimination faced by the country’s various minority groups almost universally do so in terms of xenophobia rather than racism.

For my purposes here, xenophobia can be understood to mean the fear and/or hatred of foreigners and foreign influence/culture.  Racism, conversely, will be discussed mainly in the context of a) the belief in the idea of race as a fundamental determinant of human traits and capacities[1] and b) behaviors stemming from that belief, especially the notion of the inherent superiority or inferiority of races in comparison to one another.  Note that this definition is distinct from the idea of ethnicity and ethnic discrimination; I’ll get into what distinguishes race and ethnicity in the Western fandom portion of this post.

Now, of course, outside the realm of analytical essays, all these issues overlap hugely.  I’m going to be talking about them as relatively discrete issues for the purposes of considering the experiences of individual characters within Boku no Hero Academia, but certainly where you find one, you’re frequently likely to find the others.

That all said, let’s return to the idea that Japan doesn’t believe it has a racism problem.

The reason for that is complicated, and intensely historical, but what it boils down to is that there is a lot more to being viewed as “Japanese” than simply being born in Japan.  The majority opinion in Japan is that being Japanese means having Japanese ancestry,[2] speaking the language fluently, understanding the culture, being a citizen, and so on.  This very blurred view of race, ethnicity and nationality means that all sorts of things can “disqualify” someone from, as one researcher I read put it, “Japanese-ness.”  And if one isn’t Japanese (e.g. because they have Korean ancestry or Ainu ethnicity or an American parent or whathaveyou), then, voila!  Discrimination can’t be racism; it’s xenophobia.

Basically, the government’s official stance is that Japan is a homogenous country, so there are no racial minorities for them to be racially biased against.  All those hafu and Zainichi Koreans and Okinawans and so forth?  Well, they’re not really Japanese, so the discrimination they face is about nationality.  Poor Japan is just so insular; its people don’t always know how to deal with outsiders.  But it isn’t racism, because racism would mean Japanese people judging other Japanese people on the basis of race, like white Americans judge Black Americans on the basis of race!  And Japan only has the one race, Japanese, so it just isn’t possible for them to be racist.  Even people who go out of their way to study discrimination in Japan, writing academic papers and news articles, still tend to use this framing.

It took me a while to get my head around that fairly tortured logic, and I sometimes still lose the thread of it.  Now, I can’t read Horikoshi’s mind, so I have no idea what he would say if asked, but let me take Rock Lock as an example.  If he were a real dude living in real Japan, it wouldn’t matter that he has a perfectly standard Japanese name and was born in Tokushima Prefecture, nor that he speaks the language and understands the culture.  He has obviously Black features, which would lead most of the people around him to assume that he has non-Japanese ancestry, and therefore that he isn’t “really” Japanese.[3]  Ergo, the mistreatment would be considered xenophobia, not racism.

Consider, then, how that might impact Japanese heteromorphs.  They speak the language, they’re born in the country, they understand the culture, they have Japanese ancestry, they’re citizens of Japan—it seems like they should check all the boxes, right?  But they still don’t look “Japanese,” which makes it very probable that there are people who don’t think of them as really being Japanese.  Indeed, the real anti-heteromorph hardliners are very explicit in thinking heteromorphs have something wrong with them in their very blood (see the invective spat at Shouji about his “dirty blood”), and as I said above, the wrong kind of blood is one of those things that can easily disqualify one from proper Japanese-ness.

Sidebar: I said I’d talk about this back when it happened, knowing it was going to have to wait for exactly the kind of research this whole post needed, so I’ll address it here: “Folks with human faces just don’t get it!” Regarding the Spinner fans leveling this accusation at Rock Lock, those guys have clearly internalized the view that, despite them being human, their facial features are not human.  That’s a very obvious logical fallacy, but they wouldn’t believe it if they hadn’t been exposed to the view over a significant period of their lives, which in turn speaks to an ongoing issue with dehumanization of those with fully heteromorphic faces. I’ll point to characters that call heteromorphs by epithets like dog, lizard, frog-face, and so on as a clear demonstration of how that sort of rhetoric is widespread even among characters not otherwise portrayed as violent bigots.  Further, while the evidence points to such language being viewed as somewhat rude, it’s not so objectionable that most people raise a stink over it.  Of Shouji, Chief Tsuragamae, Spinner, Hawks, and every heteromorphic classmate that Bakugou has ever used an animal name on, only Spinner has ever protested.  Every other case has featured the heteromorph quietly letting the word pass by.[4] When even Certified Good Boys like Iida and Deku don’t think to say a thing about Shouto and Bakugou’s choices in phrasing, only to protest their surly attitudes, it’s a strong indicator that this kind of language is well entrenched. All that said, is, “Human-faced people wouldn’t understand what it’s like to be judged by their appearances!” a fair thing to yell at a Black guy?  Surely not.  But that kind of intra-minority shortsightedness (however misguided it might be) can be a real thing, especially when peoples’ own circumstances have gotten so dire, so I don’t think it’s an unrealistic accusation for them to be written as making. That, of course, brings us to the matter of Horikoshi’s own intentions in said writing.  Was he consciously writing the Spinner fans (and the rest of the mob by extension) as being blinkered by their own pain and lashing out at someone who probably does understand, better than a great many in his field would?  Or did he think the Spinner fans were right (at least in that specific accusation, if not in the broader act of rioting)? Further, if he did think they were right, did he put Rock Lock in that position to be intentionally ironic, some sort of, “Oh, look, even minorities can discriminate against other minorities, wow, isn’t that such a profound observation?” gotcha?  Or was having the target of the Spinner fans’ ire be Black entirely coincidental, the wince-worthy result of Horikoshi only having so many named Pro Heroes to spread around and Rock Lock being the one whose personality+power fit the needs of the scene best? Those questions come down to a) how aware Horikoshi is of what Takagi Ken would experience in real-life Japan, and b) whether he thinks that kind of racism(/xenophobia) still exists in his fantasy alternate future Japan.  Unfortunately, we just don’t spend enough time with Rock Lock, Mirko, Class B’s Rin, and so forth to be able to gauge that with any accuracy.  Like so much else about this plot, it feels much too specific to be accidental, but so tone-deaf that it’s hard to believe a thoughtful writer would do it on purpose.

Protest Culture in Japan

Something that struck me as I was researching this post and rereading the relevant chapters was that I never seem to hear very much about large-scale protests in Japan.  There were certainly historical ones!  I’ve touched on some examples of those before in my writing for this fandom, and I’ve seen enough anime to be aware of the infamous student protests of the late 60s.  But I don’t see much about protests in modern-day Japan.

That’s not to say they don’t happen—they absolutely do, and I’m sure there are things I miss because it’s not like I have The Mainichi in a daily news feed or anything—but my image of Japan was that it’s not a country that has a very strong “protest culture,” if you will.  I thought I should dig into that some, both to see if the impression was broadly correct, and for how the answers would reflect on this whole plotline.

Lo and behold, what I found was extremely telling.

To give a very brief summary, organized protests—by which I mean people with signs, mass gatherings outside government buildings, marches, that kind of thing—were indeed a bigger thing historically in Japan.  However, a combination of factors meant that they fell drastically out of use and have only started to rebound within the last fifteen years or so.

Specifically, protest in the 60s and 70s had become very specifically associated in the public eye with the New Left, a radical group inspired by the New Left movement in the West to break away from the “Old Left” represented by Japan’s Communist and Socialist parties.  Always prone to factionalism, the New Left eventually suffered several very public, very lethal, internal schisms and splashy scandals, all as they were also moving into terrorism—groups associated with the New Left were responsible for, among other incidents, two airplane hijackings and an airport attack that killed 26 people.[5]

One result of all this was that the people who had deeply believed in the cause were left very disillusioned, and those who had not supported it were left feeling even more justified in not having done so.  In both cases, the idea of protest—which had not even been successful at achieving its aims, on top of everything else!—was left marred by this association.

Add onto that, the Bubble Economy was coming into full swing, so by most metrics, Japan was doing pretty well—there wasn’t much widespread push to change anything when people at large were thriving.  And, yes, there was a measure of good old-fashioned government crackdown on the legality of the kinds of protest the New Left had been doing.

That was pretty much the state of affairs until the early aughts, when counter-culture movements started redefining what organized protest could look like, development that was pushed even farther along after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011.  Since then, protests have been gradually becoming more common; it’s still very much a movement in progress, though, and for a lot of people in Japan, old associations die hard.[6]

Notably, however, there are some places where organized protests never went away.  To this day, Okinawa has strong movements calling for the return of Okinawan land that’s currently being used for U.S. military bases.[7]  There was also considerable opposition from rural communities to a number of dam projects through the late 70s and on through the 90s.  The classic anime using those dam protests as plot fodder is, of course, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, though so far as I can tell from some cursory research, the dam opposition group in Higurashi’s backstory was rather more successful than any real-life equivalent.

I trust it’s not difficult to draw the lines between those perceptions and Horikoshi’s depiction of the attack on the hospital: overly violent, led by extremists with suspect motives, and concerned with an issue that’s very pressing to people in rural communities while being largely invisible to people in big cities.

“Let sleeping dogs lie.”

In the course of my research, aside from all my findings detailed above, I did come across a quote that I wonder if influenced the resolution Horikoshi chose to write.  It’s the Japanese proverb Neta ko wo okosuna, which translates to, “Don’t wake a sleeping baby.”  Colloquially, the meaning is that if a problem is not currently being a problem, you shouldn’t stir it up by poking at it—our English equivalent would be, as the subheader says, “Let sleeping dogs lie.”

Other deployments as an adage aside, the context I’m most concerned with here is the way that it’s applied to burakumin discrimination (and how that, in turn, might reflect what Horikoshi thinks is the “right” way for characters to address heteromorphobia).

Basically, the idea is that if a discriminatory belief/set of practices is dying out, the best way to deal with what problems remain is to just—not talk about them.  Because it’s no longer an everyday fact of life, children today aren’t going to know anything about burakumin or anti-burakumin discrimination unless they’re specifically taught.  And so, the reasoning goes, if you simply don’t teach them, they will never learn.

Thus can discrimination be starved out of existence, or so people hope.  Obviously, it is wildly flawed rhetoric to apply that adage to discrimination, because people who discriminate will teach discrimination to their children.  Nonetheless, it’s a popular view in the mainstream, even one that was long endorsed by one of the biggest burakumin rights organizations, the Zenkairen.[8]

In that light, I wonder if we might consider it a possible influence in Horikoshi’s offered solution of, “Just be a Model Minority until all the problems go away.”  We can see this attitude reflected not only in Shouji’s resolve and his final words to the crowd in Chapter 373, but also in his decision to constantly wear a mask to cover up the proof of his assault.

Shouji knows what people will think if they see a heteromorph covered in scars; the fear he wants to prevent is not only that of small children who might think his face is scary, but also that of adults who would see his wounds and fear that his experience made him vengeful.  And so, it’s a conversation he just chooses to avoid instead.  If people don’t know about it, they won’t believe they need to fear it.

Of course, one can’t help but suspect that the reason, “Don’t wake a sleeping baby,” is popular in the mainstream view is because it conveniently lets the majority culture avoid talking about uncomfortable topics.  Japan notably has a huge cultural stigma about making people uncomfortable, so it’s easy for people who bristle when confronted with discrimination to point to the minority raising a stink as being the ones in the wrong.  That, too, is reflected in Shouji’s horrible accusation that the heteromorphs’ own actions will put their movement back thirty years.

I don’t have a lot of neat conclusions to draw from all this.  After all, you can’t just look at a bunch of polls of what any given group’s majority believes and then immediately assume that all members of the group are equally likely to believe the same.  I do think it speaks well of Horikoshi that he seems to be at least enough aware of discrimination issues in Japan to include a new but eminently predictable form of discrimination in his work.  If he, like many people in Japan, just believed that Japan didn’t have a discrimination problem at all, presumably he just wouldn’t have included heteromorphobia!  The kegare bit in particular feels way too specific for Horikoshi to have tripped his way into it.

That said, all of the ways that he chose to address the problem speak to a woefully outdated viewpoint—that protest is ineffective and prone to violence, and that the best way to deal with discrimination is to starve it with silence.  It’s incredibly striking that at no point in any of those chapters does anyone on the “right” side say that they’ll do anything about the problems facing heteromorphs.  The onus is, apparently, entirely on the oppressed minority to present themselves as such paragons of humanity that the bigots will be too ashamed to try to hurt them—heteromorphs can neither fight back nor count on their government to do anything for them.

Even having read and relayed everything that I now have, I’m still hard-pressed to say that knowing all that context makes me feel any better about BNHA’s “answer” to the characters involved in the hospital attack.

Meanwhile...

The Fandom’s View: Well, Is It Racism?

As far as the wording the Western fanbase uses, I agree that people shouldn’t just call it racism, straight out.  Heteromorphobia is a fictional construct that, for reasons of clarity and sensitivity, should not be conflated with an evil that people in real life, many of them readers of this very comic, suffer today.

That said, my experience is that most people who use the word racism in talking about heteromorphobia tend to add a qualifying adjective: “quirk racism,” “fantasy racism,” things like that.  It’s following the broad TV Tropes-style short-handing of plot elements like heteromorphobia as Fantastic Racism.  And that, unlike just calling it racism without further qualification, doesn’t bother me.  Let me pose a thought exercise to get at why.

Race is a debunked concept insomuch as it refers to the scientific categorization of humans into neat little boxes based on their physical traits.  In actuality, it’s a social construct, changeable based on the needs or biases of the people defining it.[9]

That said, people obviously still mean things when they use the word, particularly when the topic being discussed is racial discrimination.  In that context, race as distinct from ethnicity or nationality refers to the observable, physical qualities a person has—the color of their skin, the color and texture of their hair, the expected range of their eye color, their facial structure, and so on—and what category (codified to justify imperialism and slavery) those traits would lead that person to be sorted into.  A Black guy might be from the U.S. or France or Senegal—or Japan!—but he’s a Black guy, regardless, and any discrimination he faces based on those Black features is likewise going to be racism, regardless.

Conversely, nationality is obviously based in matters of nation—what country was one born in; what country is one a citizen of?  Ethnicity is a much broader term that covers culture, socialization, language, the values one is taught, sometimes things like religion and traditional modes of dress—basically all intangible or, in the case of clothes or language/accent, adoptable things.

Obviously, bigots aren’t always drawing clean lines like that, and society, too, has been moving away from the idea of race as a valid categorizational tool.  Insomuch as the concept still has a distinct meaning, however, that is the distinction: inborn, observable physical commonalities between different peoples that are distinct from other peoples; racism in this context is stereotyping and discrimination based on the belief in those traits.

That all said, how does that conception of race reconcile itself with heteromorphs?  In the understood sense of what is denoted by “Asian,” would someone like Gang Orca be considered Asian?  If he were vacationing in BNHA’s New York City, would anyone there assume he was Asian just by looking at him in a crowd?  Someone like the Sludge Villain, who doesn’t even have a bipedal body arrangement, is an even more extreme case.  Conversely, someone like Iida would still be easy to categorize.[10]

This gets you into questions that mirror discussion about racial discrimination in real life, like the idea of heteromorphs “passing” (the differences between a heteromorph like the Sludge Villain and one like Iida) or the ways in which some racial traits might be viewed as attractively “exotic”—especially in combination with other traits that more resemble those of the majority culture—while others are viewed as “ugly” (like how Hawks’ cool red angel wings have a far broader appeal than Spinner’s full-body scales).

Of course, the problem with saying people like the Sludge Villain and Gang Orca can’t be categorized as Asian because they don’t look Asian is that it begs the question of what race they would be considered.  They don’t look like any existing human race, but they don’t much resemble each other, either: they both have recognizable eyes and teeth, and that’s about it.  So if race is determined by one’s physical features and how much they align with those of a broader group, then how does one go about assigning that to a heteromorph?

Are heteromorphs considered a race entirely of their own, a sort of broad catch-all for anyone in quirk society who has permanent non-baseline[11]-human features?  Or has the idea of “race” been largely cast aside because it’s too difficult to make fit the new humanity?[12]  It’s a pertinent question in determining whether we could rightly call heteromorphobia a form of racism in and of itself, as opposed to a discrimination more like anti-burakumin sentiment (which, as I’ve discussed elsewhere, heteromorphobia also has markers of).

It is a pertinent question, but I don’t think Horikoshi will ever answer it.  Indeed, thanks to the previously described way that Japan tends to conflate race, nationality, and ethnicity, I’d be surprised if he ever thought to raise the question to begin with!

That doesn’t mean that we can’t ask it, though!  Given that race as a social tool stems from the need to justify discrimination and subjugation, how might the idea of race have changed in the BNHA setting as both quirks in general and heteromorphs specifically became more common?  Would such obvious Others have sharpened the lines of division or blurred them?  Is there a checkbox for Heteromorph on official forms that ask about Race/Ethnicity?[13]  How much of a group identity do heteromorphs have, even ones who look very different from one another or hail from different countries?  If it exists, how would that group identity be meaningfully distinguished from the idea of, say, a global Black community?

BNHA depicts a world that is still, over a hundred years later, trying to pick up the pieces from the advent of quirks, and heteromorphic discrimination is simply another aspect of that same ongoing development, so it would be no surprise to find all sorts of different answers to these questions.  They would likely vary depending on a given culture’s view on how race differs or overlaps with ethnicity and nationality.  Even heteromorphs who share a community might disagree; minority groups aren’t monoliths, after all!

Anyway, that’s all deeply suppositional and well beyond the level most readers of the series are likely thinking about re: heteromorphobia, so to reiterate, I don’t think the evidence is there to just call it racism without any further qualifications, so fans should probably not do that—be respectful of the shared community space and all!

Neither do I think the idea is entirely groundless, however, so I don’t begrudge people their “quirk racism”s and “fantasy racism”s.  Plenty of people want to talk about the ways in which heteromorphobia resembles their own experiences with discrimination, so using shorthand that relates to those experiences rather than a made-up word that doesn’t express anything real, feels like a valid choice to me.

Look for Part 2 hopefully within the next 24 hours!

----------------- FOOTNOTES -----------------

1:  Phrasing taken from the Merriam-Webster definition of racism.

2:  When Japan incorporated Western ideas of race into its own understanding of the concept in the back half of the 19th century, it was largely interpreted to mean sharing a common blood, hence the huge importance of family line I have written about elsewhere when talking about e.g. the family registry (koseki) and the country’s chilly view on orphans.  In that period, the concepts of race and nationality were both being refined in order to justify Western imperialism, a threat to which Japan responded by rapidly modernizing into an imperial power in its own right, complete with its own ugly cocktail of ethnonationalism.

3:  And lest anyone think Japan is uniquely awful in this way, think about the way that people ask Asian minorities in the U.S. first where they’re from, and then where they’re “really from.”

4:  There’s also a discussion to be had about Hawks using that language for himself, as well as looping the highly unamused-looking Tokoyami into it.  It’s off-topic for this post, but suffice it to say that I don’t think we can ignore the glaring difference between Hawks’ upbringing and those of the other characters.

5:  The Lod Airport massacre.

6:  Oddly enough, it seems to be young people who are least likely to approve.  Overworked, unable to risk their livelihoods in the current cutthroat job market, and deeply jaded by both of those facts, the younger end of Japan’s adult population seems to be more likely to express their issues online, rather than in person.  One survey I read about suggested that belief in both the effectiveness and acceptability of organized protest increased with every age category, though in no cases was there a commanding majority in favor.

7:  The numbers are telling: the islands of Okinawa Prefecture make up 0.6% of the nation’s landmass, yet 75% of the U.S. bases in Japan are located there.

8:  It’s also fairly in line with a practice you sometimes see talked about in relation to media and big business in Japan when accused of using discriminatory language: word hunts, where the offending language is put on a list of forbidden verbiage so that people will stop complaining, but no further action is taken to address the offensive attitudes behind the words.  Thus, the underlying problems continue to exist, setting the stage for future word hunts.

9:  As, indeed, you saw when a bunch of people in Meiji-era Japan were figuring it out.  They got the idea from Western trade partners, decided they didn’t like what those Western trade partners assumed about “the Asian race, ” and so invented a narrative whereby their race was Japanese, which was like a unique and special kind of Asian, better than all other Asians.  Their Western trade partners, one assumes, went right on ahead with considering them as Asian.

10:  This analysis assumes that if you took Horikoshi’s stylistic “filter” off of the cast, and asked what they would look like in a more realistic depiction, characters like, say, Present Mic would still read as Japanese despite the fact that he’s depicted as blond.  There’s room for argument there, but that discussion is beyond the scope of this post.

11:  “Baseline” is a term you will see me use a lot when I finally get that big Heteromorphobia In BNHA (No, It Didn’t Come Out of Nowhere) essay turned out.

12:  If you think Re-Destro has any kind of point—and obviously I do—then it’d be a fair guess that humanity hasn’t gotten rid of the idea of race just yet. See that bit in Chapter 227 about society conforming to old ways of thinking even as humanity as a species has transcended that idea of normalcy.

13:  Or Origins or Categories or whatever kind of language the local census/tax department/medical facilities/etc. are currently using. Japan does not actually ask this question on its official paperwork, for what it's worth.

------------------ REFERENCES ------------------

1: Sociology Compass, Volume 7 – The Social Construction of Race and Minorities in Japan

2: Vox.com – Japan's blackface problem: the country's bizarre, troubled relationship with race

3: Kana Yamamoto – The myth of “Nihonjinron”, homogeneity of Japan and its influence on the society

4: Hastings Constitutional Law Quarterly, Volume 45 – The History of Japanese Racism, Japanese American Redress, and the Dangers Associated with Government Regulation of Hate Speech

5: Carl Cassegård, Social Movement Studies – The recovery of protest in Japan: from the ‘ice age’ to the post-2011 movements

6: Nippon.com – Why Are Japanese Youth Distancing Themselves from Social Activism?

7: Thisjapaneselife.org – On Living In the Wrong Neighborhood in Japan

[valiumvenus]

disappointed and furious that mainstream news will discuss the rise of fascism in europe in terms of how the left has failed, how the middle class is suffering economically, how the fascists will not (?) restrict women's or LGBT rights (lmfao)

but NEVER mentions how non-white, non-christian families (many of them refugee or immigrant families) are literally already living in fear of racial, political, interpersonal, and religious discrimination, which TODAY already goes beyond micro-aggressions. TODAY these are affecting people gravely and causing long-term consequences. TODAY we already suffer from western racism and xenophobia.

then what does the future hold for US when the right is thriving? no one wants to talk about that very real danger to US. because we're supposed to be 2nd class citizens. because our suffering is part of the plan

[vazaha-tya]

blood supremacy in harry potter is at a crossroads between xenophobia/racism (not as we understand it), ableism and classism but with jkr having no in depth of understanding of these issues, it really ends up in a sort of twilight zones where power dynamics are incomprehensible. and considering power dynamics have everything to do with discrimination, it's really frustrating

(i'd mention speciesism for the way centaurs, house elves etc are treated but that's a common problem in fantasy. besides, the parallels between centaurs and secluded indigenous communities + house elves and chattel slavery are so fucked up i think analysing it is just gonna make me mad. she should have never touched that with a ten foot pole)

wizard-raised magicals are both the minority according to the subtext (witch burnings, smaller population, inability to blend in, need for their locations to remain hidden) with muggles being their dominant counterpart and the majority because they essentially hold the power to fight back on a higher level than muggles do. hence the xenophobia/racism parallel, which is incomprehensible because of the way the lines between oppressor and oppressed are blurred. she also tried to make it a parallel to antisemitism but talking about that is not my place i think. from what i said before i'd imagine the problem with that is kind of obvious, i mean, the subtext alone, yikes.

the pureblood-muggleborn relationship looks more like a classism thing, especially with the subtext of purebloods being wealthy and having status (+the whole blue blood idea is kinda obvious) and this idea of muggleborns being sort of upstarts encroaching on this "higher society" and introducing their commoner ways. more straight-forward than the former but even there lines are weirded out by the way muggle things really do seem to replace stuff that could be read as parts of wizard culture. muggle holidays are fic writers' favourite example of that and for good reason. how does celebrating halloween make sense? and christmas? the yule ball kind of indicates some awareness of pagan holidays and everyone swears by merlin, i doubt wizards are christian. it mostly stems from jkr thinking of worldbuilding as aesthetic rather than foundation but it really implies weird stuff about how all of those muggle things came to be introduced

the ableism discussion is the only one that has clear and delimited power dynamics but it's pretty obvious it's not done on purpose. here, squibs and muggles are clearly considered less than wizards. i'll admitmy first thought about it was like "duh? i'd rather have magic than not" then i kinda slapped myself because that is not the issue there. of course it's better to be able to do something than not. i wish i didn't have worms for brains and a high chance to inherit my mom's chronic illness. the problem is that not being abled doesn't make you less and yet, that's pretty much never argued in HP. just look at the way filch is treated. at best he is pitied, at worst mocked and scorned. it's really nasty

anyways, listing everything that's wrong in the books would take hours but i have a google docs titled "unhinged ramblings on the nature of blood supremacy in harry potter" so i thought i'd at least share the sparksnotes before deleting it

[iamanemotionaltimebomb]

There's nothing wrong with critisising a show you enjoy. That's honestly normal. There's going to be times when a show does something that needs to be discussed, ya know? Keeping that stuff bottled up or silencing those worries because you were praising it so much, and need to keep praising it instead, isn't a healthy way of interacting with things. I know people have a negative view on critisicm, because of bigots and horrible people hiding their hate behind the term(and mis-using it in the process), but it's a necessary thing to have because it allows people to connect, see things that normally goes unnoticed, and learn something new.

Like, I came across an anon who pointed out that this episode could have used Bee's return to hiding, and Hashtag's unlimited access to the internet, as the reason for them being in Philly. They also brought up Nightshade's part with helping Tarantulas's work could have been used to disguised the Terrans as human kids to help with the hiding issue. I never really thought about it until I came across this, and I now wish the show kinda did that(along with having Mo, Robbie, Twitch and Thrash being responsible siblings).

Don't feel bad about voicing your concerns. This isn't out of malice, but you wanting a discussing and that is a crucial part of what fandoms are about: discussing the things the community is passionate about. Do take that time to recover though. I had to do so with the discrimination part of the episode(it is my least favorite part along with episode 3). Oh, I'mma different anon by the way. I saw your recent post and had to say something(sorry ^^;).

Oh that's really sweet to hear you say that, so thanks.

I actually 100% agree with you. I love a lot of media and think certain parts of media are extremely well done, I am going to be the first person in line to voice all the things I thought weren't well done as well.

Honestly, I genuinely love this show. IMO, it's a great mix of gritty and realistic (in the sense of talking about the cost of war, racism, xenophobia, etc.) but also really just cute and funny adventures as well.

Even episode 17 had some AMAZING important talking points about xenophobia and racism that I'm actually very excited to talk about (especially as a mixed kid/kid of migrants) and very happy to have seen brought up (painful as they may be).

The show hits SO many good points. So episode 17 was just very bad whiplash imo because it seemingly throws a lot of previous characterisation and their experiences out the window.

For me, it's not that the episode premise of "the kids disobey their parents and go to Philly and end up in underground cybertronian fight club" isn't a bad one. It was just VERY poorly executed imo.

[deusvervewrites]

Given that IRL Japan still has a problem with discrimination against students who don’t look like the norm,(I.e. hair color and general xenophobia) and that the Japanese are like 90% homogeneous, there’s still some sort of conformity that does exist in the dystopian MHA, despite it being in the future. While something like hair and eye color aren’t qualities to discriminate in MHA now, mutant Quirks are the new orange that’s easy to discriminate, especially if the mutation Quirk isn’t a traditional cute thing that the Japanese like.

The Japanese does have different taste and they are and insulated island country compared the US and those countries on the Euroasian continent. They probably will give a pass to those mutants who looks like cat girls and bunnies because what common animal traits are used again to draw fictional characters in and in maid cafes? But for something that completely abnormal and makes the uncanny valley like Shoji and Asui would have them face more discrimination because they don’t look like a normal Japanese human.

I have no doubts that Asui’s quote prior to Kamino “If you do it you’ll won’t be better than villain” is actually a double standard quote the hints that mutants aren’t treated fairly in their society. The 5 students(Izuku, Tenya, Shoto, Momo and Kirishima) all look like normal but colorful Japanese people. Had Asui came, she actually had a chance to be called out by society and be expelled due via societal pressure to her looks not being human enough. We all thought that the quote is about students shouldn’t help Bakugo because it’s against the rules that civilians should help. It’s actually about that Quirk usage is restricted to only heroes and that mutation Quirks don’t really count unless they have a license. If I recall, the only civilian Quirk usage license is that if Mitsuki Bakugo having such a license because her Glycerin Quirk is a mutation that she can’t turn off. However, because she looks like a hot, sexy and normal Japanese woman, she gets a lot more leeway than someone like Asui Senior.

I'm not actually sure it was established that Mitsuki has any kind of license for her Quirk. As far as I can recall the only inication that any kind of Quirk Use otuside of Heroics was allowed are notes about Quirk Use Permits for certain jobs, like Uraraka and Midoriya discuss regarding her parents' construction company

[reasoningdaily]

Listen to this article hereIt may come as no surprise to Black people in North America that the United States’ closest European ally, the United Kingdom, has been accused of widespread, systemic discrimination against people of African descent.

After wrapping up a 10-day fact-finding mission on the treatment and experiences of Black people in the UK, a United Nations committee expressed “extreme concern” in a letter to the British government last week about its failure to address “structural, institutional, and systemic racism” against people of African descent.

“We have serious concerns about impunity and the failure to address racial disparities in the criminal justice system, deaths in police custody, ‘joint enterprise’ convictions and the dehumanising nature of the stop and (strip) search,” the working group said in a statement.

UN working group on people of African descent finds continued systemic racism in UK

Established a year after the 2001 World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, the UN Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent (WGEPAD) is composed of five independent experts appointed on the basis of equatable geographic representation.

The group sent a 19-page summary of recommendations to the British government on Friday after speaking to hundreds of citizens throughout the country during a 10-day fact-finding mission.

Among the findings, the UN body discovered many Black elderly populations were made to feel like they don’t belong, school police officers regularly intimidated Black children, and the criminal justice system’s practices disproportionately targeted Black people.

What is the Windrush scandal?

Windrush refers to the people who arrived in the UK from Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean islands between 1948 and 1971. The ship they sailed on was called the MV Empire Windrush, according to the BBC.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday in London, Dominique Day, one of the five members of the UN working group, said: “I’ve never visited a country before where there is a culture of fear pervading Black communities – relating to a range of asylum, residency, policing issues. An entire community experiences constant and ongoing human rights violations as a routine and normalized part of daily life.”

It’s unclear whether Day had ever visited the United States. 

British government denies systemic racism

For its part, the British government pushed back against the report’s findings.

“We strongly reject most of these findings,” a British government spokesperson said, per the Guardian.

“The report wrongly views people of African descent as a single homogeneous group and presents a superficial analysis of complex issues that fails to look at all possible causes of disparities, not just race. We are proud that the UK is an open, tolerant and welcoming country but this hard-earned global reputation is not properly reflected in this report.”

The denial of racism comes just eight years after the UK finished forcing taxpayers to pay the descendants of slave owners as a bribe for abolishing slavery nearly two centuries ago.

Meanwhile, officials said they had a “robust” discussion about the report with the UK equalities minister Kemi Badenoch.

As part of its fact-finding mission, the UN working group visited London, Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol. It spoke with senior government officials, local city council representatives, Metropolitan police and members of the Human Rights Commission.

The UN working group will present their full findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2023.

[farfarahleeya]

As we simultaneously stroll around the physical world and scroll around the virtual world, our activities in either world are being woven into each other... like a multi-coloured (or multi-realm) basket. Going with this analogy that popped in my head, let's look at the weaving of activism and protest in this basket. Specifically, I'd like to explore the question, "how digital is digital activism and protest?"

Trigger Warning --- please proceed with utmost care and caution if the topics below are sensitive to you --- (mentions of harassment, racism, xenophobia, ableism)

Introduction

In 2023, Fuentes observed that digital activism and protest began as a response to the internet's borderless nature. The power of the internet provided a global stage for activists, overcoming the limitations of physical boundaries. Similar to how political figures seek international support, ordinary citizens harnessed the internet to amplify their voices and causes. One standout example was witnessed during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when people turned to digital platforms to initiate movements and lend a helping hand. As the pandemic confined us behind closed doors, digital activism emerged as a potent force. Citizens recognized that their physical efforts alone couldn't suffice, and the internet became their ally. They transitioned from storming the streets with signs to storming the digital timeline with impactful hashtags. This shift exemplified the transformative potential of digital activism and protest, demonstrating that individuals could break free from geographical constraints to effect change on a global scale.

Case Studies

Let's look at two examples, Ain Husniza and #StopAsianHate, to see how digital activism can turn into something even bigger.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── #MakeSchoolASaferPlace ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

Ain Husniza, a courageous student in Malaysia, harnessed the power of the internet to confront a significant issue plaguing her country's education system: the silent acceptance of sexual harassment within schools. Ain began her journey by sharing her personal story, a story that struck a chord with many others who had suffered in silence. Through the rallying cry of #MakeSchoolASaferPlace, she and her peers aimed to illuminate the extent of this pervasive issue on a global stage.

Initially, Ain and her friends turned to social media as their platform to discuss this problem. Their goal was to raise awareness about the distressingly common nature of sexual harassment in educational institutions. However, something far more profound emerged from this digital dialogue. As students began sharing their own stories, it became abundantly clear that the issue was not isolated but systemic, affecting a much larger population than initially presumed. What had begun as an online conversation soon evolved into a powerful protest, exemplifying the transformative potential of digital activism.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── #StopAsianHate ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

#StopAsianHate gained momentum as a grassroots movement in response to the alarming increase in hate crimes targeting Asian communities. It all began with people sharing their experiences and frustrations on social media. They utilised the hashtag to declare that the injustices inflicted upon Asian individuals were unacceptable. Many recounted their own encounters with discrimination, while others offered messages of support and solidarity.

However, this movement's impact extended far beyond the realm of online conversations. People were driven to transform their outrage into meaningful action. They initiated online petitions and fundraising efforts to address the issue head-on. Notably, individuals like Alex Qi embarked on projects to enrich libraries with books detailing Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) history and culture. This educational initiative was aimed at countering stereotypes and promoting a deeper understanding of AAPI communities. It exemplified how digital activism can seamlessly transition into a digital protest, symbolising a collective move from voicing concerns online to creating tangible, real-world change.

︾ ︾ ︾ ︾ ︾

These examples teach us that when people come together on the internet and start talking about important issues, it can lead to even bigger things. Digital activism can turn into a powerful force for change.

Challenges and Critiques

Digital activism and protests, while powerful, are not immune to challenges and criticisms, including the issues of slacktivism and performative activism. Slacktivism involves superficial engagement, like merely liking or sharing posts, creating an illusion of progress without tangible results. Performative activism, on the other hand, often entails more visible actions but may be perceived as insincere or self-serving, lacking true commitment to a cause.

These challenges can hinder the effectiveness of online movements. To address them, it is crucial for activists and their supporters to transition from superficial engagement to concrete actions, like signing petitions, attending physical protests, volunteering, or educating themselves about the causes they support. Online platforms should create safe spaces and regulate harmful content, while media literacy efforts can combat the spread of misinformation.

Recognising and mitigating the challenges of digital activism and protests can result in meaningful real-world change, ensuring that the online energy translates into a genuine impact.

~ TLDR ~

slacktivism -> an organisation posting #PrayForLocation, but not donating, volunteering, or helping in any way

performative activism -> vlogging yourself giving KFC to beggars so you could monetise the video

proper activism -> researching #ableism, deleting slurs and offensive terms from your vocabulary, calling out people who use them

Conclusion

In our exploration of digital activism and protest, we've seen how the digital world can help people connect and make a difference on a global scale. But remember, these movements are closely tied to real-world problems. So, when asked, "How digital is digital activism and protest?" we found that while the internet is a powerful tool, the heart of these movements lies in the actual challenges people face. True activism, whether online or in the real world, requires real action and a commitment to change. In the end, these movements connect the online and offline worlds and are all about making a real difference in people's lives.

︵‿︵‿ References ‿︵‿︵

Fuentes, MA 2023, digital activism, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 January, viewed 19 October 2023, <https://www.britannica.com/topic/digital-activism>.