#im thinking??? just for toddlers but maybe ill throw some kid stuff if i have room

[sojutrait]

okay i caved im making the daycare

[avintagekiss24]

1/? I always get so disheartened when everything in media and fanfics cater towards white women. God, I remember being a toddler, and wishing I was white. I hated my brown eyes, black hair, tan skin and asian features, hell, I was ashamed. Jesus christ, even now, there are times where I do still feel like "wow... I hate being asian, i want to be a pretty white girl so who blushes a pretty pink color and can give birth to other white babies"

2/? im sorry, I just have a lot of pent up frustration with xReader stories where you're being described as a white girl, and maybe its cause im on my period, but now i wanna cry and smack some racist ass hoes... I always want to point it out though, but I'm scared of being attacked by a bunch of karens, ya know?

3/? Racially ambiguous readers are what we should strive for, but I feel like so many people just assume that being white is a 'default' or the 'norm' in fanfics, so when someone is finally like "you know what? Imma make a fic for specifically poc" so many people who are blissfully ignorant about what we woc struggle with, will cry and complain 

4/ Like... Come on, I think people can handle a few fanfics directed towards black women, especially when woc as a whole has been forgotten and tossed aside with these "reader" inserts and mainstream media...

5/ ok wow, im sorry, im annoying, i just have a lot of things i want to get off my chest.. And i do want to ask some authors about their choice of wording, or the pictures they use, but I feel like I can't, and that I don't have a voice.. i dont know where im going with this, but i just needed to air out my feelings before i go tumbling down the same hole i went down as a kid.. m sorry, ily and ill stop clogging up ur inbox with my dumbass rambling            

Don’t ever apologize for stating how you feel, babe. It’s good to let it out and I’m always here to listen.

I think every person of color has struggled with these feelings - namely, wanting to be white. My brothers and I went to predominately white elementary and high schools and my parents have said that all three of us at some point came home one day, down in the dumps, and said that we wished we were white. Being “white” has become the norm. It’s been shoved in our faces since we were babies that being light/white skinned and having blonde hair and blue eyes is what beauty is and anything outside of that is undesirable.

I understand what the original intent of reader inserts was - but it’s not what it’s supposed to be. WOC are different than white women. We have different struggles. We have different coping mechanisms. For instance, for black women, having short hair is not revolutionary like it is for white women. I remember when the chick from Harry Potter got that pixie cut and all the hoopla that surrounded it. How brave she was for cutting, how freeing it was for her... it’s not that for us. Also, having natural long hair as a black woman is not as easy as it is for white women. We can’t just wash that shit and go, lol, it’s a three hour process from getting in the shower to wash it to finally being ready to go out for the day/night. A lot of us can’t just throw it up in a messy bun.

By reading those things, it instantly excludes me, so, I can no longer view myself as reader. I wanted to change that. I try to not add specifics into my stories - hair length or texture, wig, weave, skin tone, eye color - because we all vary, but I just wanted my fellow black girls to know instantly that this piece is for you. Feel free to finally be able to read something that is geared towards you. Feel free to finally be able to immerse yourself in this world without wondering when the “whiteness” is going to creep up on you.

I just find it odd that people can suspend their beliefs for the MCU as a whole - I mean, there are two 100+ year old men, one with a metal arm, who were both frozen for a good period of their lives and then sudden de-thawed like pieces of chicken,  a guy who turns green when he’s angry, another guy who eats a purple flower to make himself stronger - but they can’t relate to a black!reader insert. It’s insane. It’s small minded. It’s racist.

I’m not going anywhere. I’m not changing how I write or what I write. They can send me all the anon messages they want about it. I’m. not. budging.

You’re not annoying! You can always come here and get this stuff off of your chest. I’m actually really glad that this has happened, it’s opened up so many meaningful conversations for readers and writers of all shades. Don’t be afraid to speak up, either. There is a polite way to message a writer and let them know how you feel without being rude. Maybe they don’t realize that they’re words are exclusionary. Maybe you could be the one that helps them improve/be more aware of how they come across and how they sculpt their words. Most writers will understand and will do their best to try and be as inclusive as possible. The MCU fandom is incredibly lucky to have as many passionate, loving, talented, compassionate writers and artists as it does, and most of them want to know how they can be and do better.

I love you, darling. Thank you for trusting me enough to vent your frustrations to me. You are always welcome here.