fuckyeahfeminists:

I seriously loved watching Star Trek going up. The diversity of the characters really seemed natural.

“>Esoterica: hamburgerjack: DYSAETHESIA AETHIOPICA: atriptothemorg:…

hamburgerjack:

DYSAETHESIA AETHIOPICA: atriptothemorg: failedblackwoman: IDK how casting Bagels Cucumbers as…

atriptothemorg:

failedblackwoman:

IDK how casting Bagels Cucumbers as Khan isn’t disrespectful to Gene Roddenberry tbh. 

That man fought networks tooth and nail to have people of different races on his show. He fought long and hard to have an interracial kiss on TV. 

My grandmother does not like Sci-Fi, but you better believe her ass was watching Star Trek, you know why? Because it was one of the few places you could see a black woman on TV. And she had an important job! She was important! She wasn’t just in the background. 

Shit, as fake and hokey as Chekov’s accent was, he made sure there was a russian on the show, why? BECAUSE HIS VERSION OF THE FUTURE WAS ONE OF DIVERSITY AND PEOPLE GETTING ALONG KINDA SORTA. 

NOT LIKE THE OTHER TREKS TRIED TO PRESERVE THAT MESSAGE

OH

WAIT

THEY

DID

(No I don’t know about the dude doing the Blue Steel back there, I barely remember Enterprise it’s boring)

“It’s about the actors performance.”

MAAAN, fuck that noise.

No, it’s not, there are HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of actors out there of Indian descent. You’re telling me that Binglebangle Coochiebutt was better than all of them? Show me the tapes, I gotta see that. Show me them auditions that I’m pretty sure they didn’t even do because casting a white dude is easier than being not a bastard.

People of color already struggle when it comes to seeing ourselves in the media, and before you go “But he’s a baaaad guy.” No one is saying that PoC can’t be cast as bad guys. It’s that we’re cast as the same kind of bad guys each and every fucking time. Mindless, one note, stereotypical. 

Khan was different, he was smart, he was strong, he was cunning, he was layered. He garnered the respect of his enemies he was that fucking great. AND HE WAS BROWN. AWESOME SAUCE YEEEEEAAAAAH. 

But nope, let’s cast a white dude because who gives a shit about diversity. HAHAHAA WE HONOR U GENE RODDENBERRY BY WHITEWASHING. 

P.S I’m just gonna link this cause shut up I do what i want. 

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/01/showbiz/tv/tv-kids-self-esteem

fucking preach 

Quoting myself because it’s relevant to an argument going on on my dash…

moniquill:

Where is it that your piece is set that there just aren’t any POC there? I mean, I’m sure there are places like that. Wherever it is that white people fly to when they take white flight comes to mind. Maybe you’re writing a story set in a gated community in the suburbs of Portland (Ranked Whitest city in the US based on census data!) Maybe you’re writing a story with a very limited cast, like a family saga of a white family, or a Protagonists-vs.-nature survivalist story where there just aren’t very many people.

But even if that’s the case?

It is relevant to ask yourself why you chose to set it there.

Because this brings back the argument of ‘It wouldn’t be realistic to have POC there!’

I mean, it’s not TRUE that there were no POC in medieval Europe… But it’s a well-accepted cultural myth. And given that myth, the question still begs: Why are so many people so eager to choose to set their stories there? Why are people deliberately choosing places where the audience will accept ‘POC just don’t exist here’?

Why are the fairies in Ferngully white, when the movie is set in Australia?

Why is it that the only black people in Middle Earth are orcs?

Why are there Chinese words but no Chinese people in Firefly?

Why did Pixar make a movie set in (whitewashed) Medieval Scotland?

What’s the explanation for the overpowering whiteness of LA in Buffy The Vampire Slayer?

Why are white Disney Princesses from ahistorical fantasy-worlds, but POC princesses have to be from quasi-historical locations? Pocahontas is from Virginia. Mulan is from China. Tiana is from New Orleans. Meanwhile Cinderella, Rapunzel, Snow White, and Aurora are from unknown and untagged Kingdoms. Ariel lives in what appears to be a Caribbean reef, but all the humans and mermaids are white. Why do the POC princesses need scaffolding to explain why they’re there? Why are the POC Princesses -not actually Princesses- (unless they marry into it, in Tiana’s case)?

The answer to all of these is, of course, ‘creator choice’. Individual TOTALLY NOT RACIST (tm) people made individual choices.

But these choices aren’t made in a void.

So, yeah. If you don’t have POC characters in a piece with a sizable cast, it’s probably pretty racist. Even if you set it somewhere where GOSH, there just AREN’T any POC and that’s not your fault! They just aren’t there!

Because why are you setting it there?

Does the story REALLY demand that? I mean, some stories do; Downton Abbey is set in WWI Era England among a particular rich, landed family; the story is kind of about how awful that place and time was. The Secret of Roan Inish is set in a remote area of Ireland that hasn’t seen immigration since the vikings stopped showing up, which is relevant because some dude decides to fuck a sealfairy because she’s a slightly different shade of white and that’s kind of a crux of the story. Both of these are good and sense-making narratives where POC are thin on the ground.

They still don’t exist in a void.

The creators chose these stories about white people as the important ones to tell.

That’s worth looking at critically.

(via warpfactornope)

just a friendly reminder

mswyrr:

that when the vast majority of mass media narratives fail to represent marginalized people, they’re sending a clear message that this society is a place where, in our fantasies and dreams of better, more beautiful and interesting worlds, these people should not exist

they only exist in reality as a flaw that needs to be erased to make better, more beautiful, more interesting worlds

and misrepresentation sends the clear message that, in better, more beautiful more interesting worlds, these people are kept in their place (as our playthings, our jokes, the sacrifices that help us grow as people, the representations of our inner evil, etc)

media matters

(via warpfactornope)

iworryaboutyourachel:

queer friendly is such a hilarious term to me

because animorphs in text actually denounced people for harassing kids for being gay

but within the fifty four books and hand full of spin off novels(except the ellimist chronicles because i haven’t read that) there are no gay characters at all that i can remember

so you can have the text say “queer equality is great!”

but when you get to the meat of it

if there are no queer characters

if they’re stereotypes

if they’re all one dimensional villains

if they’re the butt of jokes and die for no reason

if only one character in a hundred and sixty episodes is treated half decently

then the text saying one thing but clearly demonstrating another

is not ‘queer friendly’

(Source: muhbones, via amorremanet)

Fuck these are some good stories (with queer characters in)

isozyme:

melanie-hope:

I’ve been meaning to do a science fiction/fantasy short fiction rec list for a while. I adore short stories and I don’t think they get the readership they deserve. So, reclist! Or, well, reclists. Themed reclists. Because self-control is for other people. This series will be called: fuck, these are some good stories (with a theme in). 

And, to begin with.

Fuck, these are some good stories (with queer characters in). More heavily slanted towards lesbians than other orientations for selfish, selfish reasons. Here be warned: some stories have sex. Trigger warnings are noted where appropriate. Enjoy!

29 Union Leaders Can’t be Wrong by Genevieve Valentine. Really sad, really gorgeous story about a full-body transplant.

A Silly Love Story by Nicole Cipri. Title about sums it up. A silly love story co-starring a ghost, cupcakes, and a bi-gender romantic interest.

Fungal Gardens by Ekaterina Sedia. A mycologist and his cop boyfriend work together to stop plague! A story for the microbiologist in your life.

Lily Glass by Veronica Schanoes. When the thing in the mirror isn’t you. tw: incest, but no blood relations, no long-standing familial relationship, and no significant age difference

Ms. Liberty Gets a Haircut by Cat Rambo. All-female superhero group feat. lesbians! If that doesn’t make you want to read this I don’t know if we can be friends any more.

Portrait of Lisane de Patagnia by Rachel Swirsky. If magic were a tool like a paintbrush, to be used to create. tw: non-graphic sex with a minor

Sex with Ghosts by Sarah Kanning. Asexual receptionist gets a sex robot twin. She is less than pleased.  

The Cage by Alyx Dellamonica. Every lesbian feel. All of them. Werewolves and found families.

The Flying Woman by Meghan McCarron. It’s hard being friends with a woman who can fly.

The Mermaids Singing Each to Each by Cat Rambo. Inhuman mermaids and gender neutrality. tw: past sexual abuse

The Peacock by Ted Infinity and Nabil Hijazi. Gay porn spambot gains intelligence and falls in love. Yep. 

Followers, with all this Ladystuck excitement going around, here are some pro-published lesbian etc stories for you, collected by my truly wonderful lady.  She has good taste!  Really good taste.

(Source: melaniehopes, via warpfactornope)

Portrayals of lesbian sexuality and why they’re fucked up

eshusplayground:

I don’t really have a coherent thought about this just yet, but I need some help unpacking what’s really fucked up about the ways that lesbian sexuality* is framed, especially in media and public discourse. With rare exception, lesbian sexuality falls into three patterns:

Completely desexualized.

For the pleasure and titillation of men.

Predatory and coercive.

Here are a few things I’ve been wondering:

1. What are the dynamics at play here?
2. How does this harm or hinder LGBTQ people?

* Note: When I say lesbian sexuality, I include everything from attraction to arousal to actual sex.

(via muninandhugin)

searchingforknowledge:

How media clearly reflects the sexism and the racism we cannot see in ourselves.

glamaphonic:

I wanted my first-year film students to understand what happens to a story when actual human beings inhabit your characters, and the way they can inspire storytelling. And I wanted to teach them how to look at headshots and what you might be able to tell from a headshot. So for the past few years I’ve done a small experiment with them.

Some troubling shit always occurs.

It works like this: I bring in my giant file of head shots, which include actors of all races, sizes, shapes, ages, and experience levels. Each student picks a head shot from the stack and gets a few minutes to sit with the person’s face and then make up a little story about them. 

Namely, for white men, they have no trouble coming up with an entire history, job, role, genre, time, place, and costume. They will often identify him without prompting as “the main character.” The only exception? “He would play the gay guy.” For white women, they mostly do not come up with a job (even though it was specifically asked for), and they will identify her by her relationships. “She would play the mom/wife/love interest/best friend.” I’ve heard “She would play the slut” or “She would play the hot girl.” A lot more than once.

For nonwhite men, it can be equally depressing. “He’s in a buddy cop movie, but he’s not the main guy, he’s the partner.” “He’d play a terrorist.” “He’d play a drug dealer.” “A thug.” “A hustler.” “Homeless guy.” One Asian actor was promoted to “villain.”

For nonwhite women (grab onto something sturdy, like a big glass of strong liquor), sometimes they are “lucky” enough to be classified as the girlfriend/love interest/mom, but I have also heard things like “Well, she’d be in a romantic comedy, but as the friend, you know?” “Maid.” “Prostitute.” “Drug addict.”

I should point out that the responses are similar whether the group is all or mostly-white or extremely racially mixed, and all the groups I’ve tried this with have been about equally balanced between men and women, though individual responses vary. Women do a little better with women, and people of color do a little better with people of color, but female students sometimes forget to come up with a job for female actors and black male students sometimes tell the class that their black male actor wouldn’t be the main guy.

Once the students have made their pitches, we interrogate their opinions. “You seem really sure that he’s not the main character – why? What made you automatically say that?” “You said she was a mom. Was she born a mom, or did she maybe do something else with her life before her magic womb opened up and gave her an identity? Who is she as a person?” In the case of the “thug“, it turns out that the student was just reading off his film resume. This brilliant African American actor who regularly brings houses down doing Shakespeare on the stage and more than once made me weep at the beauty and subtlety of his performances, had a list of film credits that just said “Thug #4.” “Gang member.” “Muscle.” Because that’s the film work he can get. Because it puts food on his table.

So, the first time I did this exercise, I didn’t know that it would turn into a lesson on racism, sexism, and every other kind of -ism. I thought it was just about casting. But now I know that casting is never just about casting, and this day is a real teachable opportunity. Because if we do this right, we get to the really awkward silence, where the (now mortified) students try to sink into their chairs. Because, hey, most of them are proud Obama voters! They have been raised by feminist moms! They don’t want to be or see themselves as being racist or sexist. But their own racism and sexism is running amok in the room, and it’s awkward.

This for every time someone criticizes how characters of color and female characters of color especially are treated in text and by subsequent fandoms.  It’s never “just a television/movie/book”. It’s never been ”just”.

(Source: letthetruthlaugh, via muninandhugin)

searchingforknowledge:

How media clearly reflects the sexism and the racism we cannot see in ourselves.

glamaphonic:

I wanted my first-year film students to understand what happens to a story when actual human beings inhabit your characters, and the way they can inspire storytelling. And I wanted to teach them how to look at headshots and what you might be able to tell from a headshot. So for the past few years I’ve done a small experiment with them.

Some troubling shit always occurs.

It works like this: I bring in my giant file of head shots, which include actors of all races, sizes, shapes, ages, and experience levels. Each student picks a head shot from the stack and gets a few minutes to sit with the person’s face and then make up a little story about them. 

Namely, for white men, they have no trouble coming up with an entire history, job, role, genre, time, place, and costume. They will often identify him without prompting as “the main character.” The only exception? “He would play the gay guy.” For white women, they mostly do not come up with a job (even though it was specifically asked for), and they will identify her by her relationships. “She would play the mom/wife/love interest/best friend.” I’ve heard “She would play the slut” or “She would play the hot girl.” A lot more than once.

For nonwhite men, it can be equally depressing. “He’s in a buddy cop movie, but he’s not the main guy, he’s the partner.” “He’d play a terrorist.” “He’d play a drug dealer.” “A thug.” “A hustler.” “Homeless guy.” One Asian actor was promoted to “villain.”

For nonwhite women (grab onto something sturdy, like a big glass of strong liquor), sometimes they are “lucky” enough to be classified as the girlfriend/love interest/mom, but I have also heard things like “Well, she’d be in a romantic comedy, but as the friend, you know?” “Maid.” “Prostitute.” “Drug addict.”

I should point out that the responses are similar whether the group is all or mostly-white or extremely racially mixed, and all the groups I’ve tried this with have been about equally balanced between men and women, though individual responses vary. Women do a little better with women, and people of color do a little better with people of color, but female students sometimes forget to come up with a job for female actors and black male students sometimes tell the class that their black male actor wouldn’t be the main guy.

Once the students have made their pitches, we interrogate their opinions. “You seem really sure that he’s not the main character – why? What made you automatically say that?” “You said she was a mom. Was she born a mom, or did she maybe do something else with her life before her magic womb opened up and gave her an identity? Who is she as a person?” In the case of the “thug“, it turns out that the student was just reading off his film resume. This brilliant African American actor who regularly brings houses down doing Shakespeare on the stage and more than once made me weep at the beauty and subtlety of his performances, had a list of film credits that just said “Thug #4.” “Gang member.” “Muscle.” Because that’s the film work he can get. Because it puts food on his table.

So, the first time I did this exercise, I didn’t know that it would turn into a lesson on racism, sexism, and every other kind of -ism. I thought it was just about casting. But now I know that casting is never just about casting, and this day is a real teachable opportunity. Because if we do this right, we get to the really awkward silence, where the (now mortified) students try to sink into their chairs. Because, hey, most of them are proud Obama voters! They have been raised by feminist moms! They don’t want to be or see themselves as being racist or sexist. But their own racism and sexism is running amok in the room, and it’s awkward.

This for every time someone criticizes how characters of color and female characters of color especially are treated in text and by subsequent fandoms.  It’s never “just a television/movie/book”. It’s never been ”just”.

(Source: letthetruthlaugh, via muninandhugin)

ladysansalannister:

So looking in a few tags trying to find this tweet.

Still haven’t but I did see someone say that shipping wasn’t important important and it wouldn’t change anyone’s life.

It changed mine.

It really truly did.

Because when I was discovering my sexuality what representations of bi/pansexuality did I have? It was women portrayed as crazy  sluts who were going through a phase.

Fan fiction is what taught me that  my sexuality is valid and I’m not a bad person because of it.

Because mainstream media doesn’t have that.

I had to go to fanfiction.net to find acceptance.

This shit is not a joke.

(Source: abigailxhobbs, via muninandhugin)