sweet lion of zion!

[bossymarmalade]

So, ficbyzee sez it's International Blog Against Racism Week. And I say, 'cool'. Although I know to some people, stuff like this is ... well, it's like Black History Month. It's another excuse for people of colour to see racism and oppression in everything and blame white people en toto for their problems when really they could just pull themselves up by their bootstraps because there's affirmative action and reverse racism and stuff like that, right? And, like, WHY did the Academy give the Oscar to yet another movie about racism when they could've given it to the movie about homophobia?!? SO UNFAIR.

And now that I've totally devolved into silly sarcasm, let me confess something: there have been times when I wished I was white. Because then, I could have an option for eye/hair colour that wasn't brown/brown. Then, I could have one of those really nifty family backgrounds, like Scottish or German instead of some convoluted East Indian whatever. Then, when I have to fill in innocuous fun questions like 'what actress would play you in a movie?' or 'what comic book character looks most like you?' I'd have trouble choosing from a vast array, not trouble *finding one*.

I'm not saying this to make white people feel guilty. Hell, I don't want that -- but at the same time, *I* don't want to feel guilty about pointing out that I don't see myself in popular media. Considering that I am a)ethnically East Indian and b)of Caribbean descent you'd think that would double my chances of finding characters who are like me in tv/movies/comics. And while I've discussed before that East Indian people (outside of Bollywood, which I feel no connection to) are usually just store clerks, taxi drivers, or random nerds/weirdos, I haven't talked about Caribbean people.

Generally, if you're West Indian on the screen/in print, you are:
1) a voodoo practicioner of some sort
2) a spliff-smoking Rastafarian
3) a headscarf-wearing mammy or a trampy 'island girl' **

Throw in a fakey half-Jamaican, half-Buster Poindexter 'accent' and voila. I can think of exactly two characters who don't fit this stereotype: Sebastian the Crab (The Little Mermaid) and Hermes Conrad (Futurama) -- and Hermes just barely squeaks in.

That's my people, y'all.

So this can make being in fandom a little weird, because, let's face it -- fandom is primarily white. And I have to admit that part of what I like about the largely online nature of it is that unlike in real life, I don't have to be a POC 24/7. (I mean, of *course* I do, but it's not the first thing people see. You know what I'm getting at.) But I find that I assume that everybody I'm talking to online is white, unless I've met them or they've explicitly said they're not, and that bothers me. Because doing that is tantamount to making *myself* invisible, and if there's anything I'm tired of, it's not having a presence. I nearly cried when I went to see Superman Returns because there were Indian people all over in the background and Kal Penn was in it in a non-ethnicized role, and I was so grateful to Bryan Singer for normalizing my skin colour that it was almost *pathetic*.

Margaret Cho kind of sums it up in this article when she says, "I am so sick of not existing, that I would settle for following any white person around with an umbrella just so I could say I was there." She's talking about Asians of Chinese/Korean/Japanese descent, but I guess I can include myself there because we're all lumped together under "Asian", after all.

None of my posts about racialized issues ever end on a definitive note of closure, and this one probably ain't gonna be any different. But that's how these things go, I suppose.

... now, to get cracking on answering backlogged comments. Sorry, y'all -- I've been bad about it lately!



**i have, of course, expressed interest in voodoo, spliffs, and headscarves my own damn self, but that's hardly the totality of my personality or interests!

Comments

[buddleia.livejournal.com]

Although I know to some people, stuff like this is ...
Lord, there are some dickheads around. Cool post. I like the averages in fandom, allowing me to assume that most people I know on lj are female and queer or queer-friendly, but every so often I'm told that someone on my flist is not!white! and I realise I fell into the trap of making assumptions in ways I wish I didn't. It's very depressing. On the bright side, a lot of people do get very quickly that they can't assume everyone online is North American.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

assume that most people I know on lj are female and queer or queer-friendly

I definitely do that too!

a lot of people do get very quickly that they can't assume everyone online is North American

ahaahhahah! Yes indeed. Especially when somebody starts proclaiming, "in this country we have the FIFTH AMENDMENT!!" and and other people are all, "the internet is NOT AMERICA, stfu." Hee!

[prettypinkkitty.livejournal.com]

Kal Penn was in a non-ethnicized role?!

I mean, I got excited when Sendhil Ramamurthy was cast in that new weird-looking NBC pilot, where he hit both stereotypes as a taxi driver AND a scientist, because it was a brown dude on tv, but a non-ethnicized role? Shit, I need to find someone to watch this with!

And that may be one of the saddest comments I've had to make. Once I had a discussion with a Nigerian girl (I think I've told this story a trillion times, so stop me if you've heard this one) about how both of us wanted to be white when we were girls because of the magazines...

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

He was Lex Luthor's boyfriend right-hand-man!! And the only member of Lex's posse who was really competent, heh.

he hit both stereotypes as a taxi driver AND a scientist, because it was a brown dude on tv

omg yes, especially because it's a superhero show. The Wee Sister and I were talking about that, how the success of Lost has actually convinced TV execs that a diverse cast CAN mean a top-rated show!

how both of us wanted to be white when we were girls because of the magazines...,/i>

I was always in agonies over magazines when they did makeup tips, because while they might occasionally include tips for a lone black girl, they never had any for brown girls. Le sigh.

[gal-montag.livejournal.com]

*hugs you* I'm so glad to have you on my flist for this reason. I have other POC on my list, but you're really the only one as involved in fandom as I am.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

I have absolute spasms of cameraderie when I find other POC in fandom. Is that lame? Is that overreaction? I can't even tell! But I certainly know what you mean.

[glockgal.livejournal.com]

What's POC? ....am I POC?

poccy?

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

You are a POC! You have big, kissable lips.

[tammylee.livejournal.com]

I automatically assume people on LJ are their icon. It throws me for a loop when I see TWO people I know with the same icon. My brain shorts out because NOW THEY ARE THE SAME PERSON! AIEEE!

I tend to surprise people who have known me only from online when we meet in person because they expect me to be asian and I am, in fact, a huge, lumbering whitey of mostly Dutch, Icelandic and First Nations descent. (Seriously, I have a size twelve foot and my hands and head are equally large! I am unpetite.)

I've often wondered why we don't see more diversity in comics and media? I like visiting Vancouver because hey yo hey the news commentators aren't all white! Huzzah! Let's have some representation of the population! (Living in Alberta depresses me so much sometimes.) I'd like to see some more representation of First Nations people that have nothing to do with a.) mystiscm b.) reservations c.) substance abuse. Not all First Nations peeps are into that! (My mom isn't? Her mom wasn't? My great gran certainly isn't but as she's in her nineties that could be because she's more into breathing than anything else?) Corner Gas got my applause for the character of Davis. Hm, but come to think of it Davis is pretty much the only cast member not white. Now, is that stereotyping small town Saskatchewan?

The newest comic I've been working on has a main character who is Tamil. (He's also vain, bitchy, a total perfectionist at work and has a weak spot for dirty, dirrrrty punk boys but that's neither here nor there. ;p) There is so much out there to explore that I wonder if defaulting to 'white' is the lazy way out?

Total digression but I have this book called, 'Tokyo: A Certain Style' and it is a hundred or so pages of photos of the inside of regular people's apartments in Tokyo. If I could have a book like that for every part of the world I'd be a super happy camper. You learn so much from how a person keeps their home!

*babbles on*

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

omg, dude, I TOTALLY thought you were azn! Man almighty.

I'd like to see some more representation of First Nations people that have nothing to do with a.) mystiscm b.) reservations c.) substance abuse

Hear, hear. At my grad ceremony at college the alumni guest was a woman named Tamara Starblanket who spoke about her Aboriginal experiences and education, and her speech was just *brilliant* but I could see so many people in the audience getting agitated or bored by her. The only time they relaxed was when in the middle of all her achievements, she mentioned that most of her family had died due to substance abuse, because it was like *finally* she said something they could understand. It was so fucking sad.

There is so much out there to explore that I wonder if defaulting to 'white' is the lazy way out?

I think that's certainly part of it. I find the 'but i don't know how to write characters-of-colour and i don't want to be offensive!' excuse to be pretty poor, because I write white characters all the time. Hell, I write gay people and black people and murderers and angels, and I've never been any of those. The whole POINT of writing is to do it from the POV of other people!

I automatically assume people on LJ are their icon

ahahahaahha! Yeah, there are some people on my friendslist who I am CONVINCED look like Natalie Portman or Tim Drake or a smoking Peach Boy! *g*

[wintersweet.livejournal.com]

Haha, nifty background. *bitter* (American for 350 years = no background, no traditions, no overseas family, no weird foods, no cool names, no "group.") (Yes, yes, privilege too, got it, am mostly kidding about the *bitter*..mostly. ;))

Did you read _Anansi Boys_? Wondering what you thought of those Caribbean characters, voodoo aside...

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

no background, no traditions, no overseas family, no weird foods, no cool names, no "group."

Heh. It's true, it's kind of double-edged -- on the one hand I'm kind of happy to live in Vancouver with no relatives around or anything, and on the other hand I miss having Trinidadian stuff and people nearby.

I have not yet read Anansi Boys! I saw Gaiman read some of it at a talk he gave, and it sounded good but the bit he read didn't touch on the mythos much. I should rustle up a copy and see what it's like!

[lcsbanana.livejournal.com]

i am seriously digging this racism week, because it is a handy way to suss out over-entitled fuckwits by their whiiiining about it, and there's that many fewer people I have to pay attention to in the future! *so* convenient.

(aquaman is an ethnic minority, right? right??)

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

Aquaman is fo' sho' an ethnic minority! Otherwise that would make all his constant jawing on about Atlantean heritage an enormous FARCE. And Arthur wouldn't do *that*, oh no he wouldn't.

*giggle*

[violetisblue.livejournal.com]

"I'm not saying this to make white people feel guilty. Hell, I don't want that--but at the same time, I don't want to feel guilty about pointing out that I don't see myself in popular media."

It's easy, as a white person, to imagine oneself free of Pasty-Skinned Media Bias (tm) until you realize that while you may be able to pick out flagrant stereotyping when it happens, you just aren't really noticing the sheer absence of color in show after show after show at all (this is when one either gets defensive and starts throwing around terms like "color-blind ideal," or one acknowledges an instinctive Default to Whiteness). I sometimes have to remind myself of the invisibility of race on television in ways, for instance, that I don't have to remind myself of the invisibility of queers or older women. Also, when you don't have to rely on only three or four characters to carry your visibility burden, it takes the edge off other forms of media stereotyping--I roll my eyes, for instance, at the caricatures of Italian-Americans on The Sopranos, but it's not as though that's it for shows featuring white ethnic ensemble casts.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

you just aren't really noticing the sheer absence of color

Exactly! I didn't notice it myself for the longest time because I just *accepted* that this was 'the way it is'. And even after noticing, it took another long time before I started questioning it.

when you don't have to rely on only three or four characters to carry your visibility burden

Yes yes yes! I was saying exactly that to somebody re: the Pirates of the Caribbean (racist or not?) debate -- sure, everybody else in the movie looked as stereotypical as the Caribbean people, but there aren't any other portrayals of Caribbean people to balance it out!

[unholyglee.livejournal.com]

Times like this are what make my heart grow three sizes with love for you. I did not think it possible to adore you more than I already did. You have, once again, proven me wrong, my sister in Aunt Jemima.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

Keepin' that melanin-based sisterhood strong, dollface!

*snug*

[ficbyzee.livejournal.com]

*hugs* I know this stuff is probably hard for you to talk about (I say this only because I know it's hard for *me* to talk about), and I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate you posting about this stuff, because your posts are always insightful and thought-provoking and just... well, cool. Heh.

I wish I could honestly say that I know where you're coming from, but I don't. I may talk about my Brazlian side a lot, I may call my grandma my Vová and have my own crazy Brazlian extended family, but at the end of the day, to most people I appear white. I can pass as white. It's just one more thing to feel guilty about (for me), and while I certainly still pay attention to portrayals of hispanics in the media and wish *so much* that there were more hispanics in fandom for me to be fannish about (I am *so grateful* for Weevil Navarro from Veronica Mars, omg), it's never going to hit me as personally as it probably hits you because really: you could pick a brown-eyed, brown-haired Hollywood actress who tans well and say she looks like me.

Anyway. Sorry, I didn't mean to get my own weird emo crap all over your journal, just wanted to say that I really appreciate these posts and that you say smart stuff. :)

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

See, I find the whole phenomenon of being able to pass pretty fascinating -- there's apparently different slang in Trinidad for how light you are (I think you would be classified as 'red'; if you looked totally white you'd be 'clear' or something like that). My mom and I have lighter skin than my dad and sister, and when my dad sometimes refers to himself as 'black' my mom FLIPS HER SHIT and insists that he not say that b/c he's Indian. Even among POC there's all that crazy 'white-skin-is-better' stuff, and I'm curious -- does anybody assume that you're selling out your heritage b/c you have light skin?

I can pass as white. It's just one more thing to feel guilty about (for me)

I find it so unfair that you're made to feel guilty over something you have no control over ... and that's totally a societal thing, man. I never feel guilty about not being "Indian enough" unless other people make me feel that way.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_ducks/]

I'm finding a lot of what I'm reading very interesting (along with a couple of posts that make me go: you really think that? WTF?). I know this stuff gets rehashed every few months when fandom has a bit of guilt over under-representation of POCs, but talking about it is not a bad thing. I think it's the people who are able to completely forget about race issues unless it's actually brought up that go, "oh no, not this again. what's the point of talking about it?"

Cause the point of talking about it is to keep people thinking about it? I don't know.

Have you seen The Mystic Masseur (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0282771/)? I saw it a couple of weeks ago and meant to say something to you. It's not that great (Jimi Mistry is completely unable to lose his midlands accent and there was not nearly enough Ayesha Dharkar for my liking, but I would say that about any film) but it might be of interest for being set in Trinidad.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

I keep catching just the tail end of it! And let me tell you it is WEIRD hearing people with Trini accents in a movie. I should really rent it just to see what it's about -- I haven't read the book, either.

And I am totally with you about the people who think it's futile to talk about racialized issues. That's a real mark of privilige, and I doubt those people even realize it. Le sigh!

(also, your icon? ADORABLE!!)

[ex_halo669]

you are the smartest girl of any colour I know, Miss Maggie :) ♥

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

I confess: one of the shallow, shallow reasons I wanted to be white when I was a wee miss was so that I could have RED HAIR. omg! Such gloriousness! I tried having red hair when I was a teenager and discovered hair bleach, but it just ... looks *wrong*. hee!

*snugs*

[karabou.livejournal.com]

I'm totally here just to spam at you. I don't really have anything to add, because as you know I'm your general run of the mill white girl, but I just want to say *hugs* and you always make me read things I would probably otherwise skim. (Not that I'm saying it isn't an important issue, quite the opposite, just, I have the attention span of a gnat. *g*) Also I now work in Dearborn where I'M a minority. I work with people/kids who are all just about everything BUT white, so it's pretty neat. Somehow I learn new things about different cultures all the time. Like, there are about 42904 different languages in India, like a different one for each state which just...boggles my mind. [/babble]

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

That is totally one of the best ways to broaden your horizons when it comes to racialized issues -- just be *exposed* to them. When we lived in Illinois, it was a mostly white neighbourhood, and then Trinidad was black/Indian, and then Canada was all white/Chinese, and that has gone a HUGE ways towards teaching me about other cultures and stuff. I consider myself lucky that way, b/c I know for lots of people they have no choice but to grow up in a homogenous culture/area. I'm glad you're enjoying your work in Dearborn, sugarplum! You're a smart cookie and I'm certain you're taking away excellent experience from it. *mwah*

[cathybites.livejournal.com]

I always assume everyone in fandom is in reality a giant robot.

or a duck.

sometimes giant robotic ducks.

I've never wished to be white but when I was younger, I used to tell people that I was everything but Korean: Hispanic, Native American, Italian, Hawaiian, whatever. Although, really, that had more to do with nobody ever knowing where Korea actually was and not wanting people to think I was Chinese or (god forbid) Japanese.

[darlita.livejournal.com]

What, you aren't Japanese??








xD

[darlita.livejournal.com]

Nifty background, bleh. My German descent goes back to like 12th century and it's SO BORING. Nothing mixed in their WHATSOEVER (at least officially -- because, unofficially, why does half of my Dad's family look Italian, and my granny has slightly Asian eyes? MYSTERY.) Our name has always been the same, HELL even the first names in our family tend to reoccur all the time.

And I have all these friends who are like Mexican/German, Czech/Spanish/German, Romanian/German, etc. I'M SO BORING.

Also, TRINI ♥ JUST BECAUSE.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

ahahahah! And I am all envious because I have NO IDEA about my family background and what my ancestors were. *g*

Also, TRINI ♥ JUST BECAUSE

YOU = THE SWEETEST. *mwah*!!

[callmesandy.livejournal.com]

As always, you rock.

And really, I always picture as looking like Lisa Simpson (drawn, bright bright yellow, spiky hair) or possibly Bender. :)

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

I look like Lisa and Bender! I AM BLISA!!!

That is so sweet. And you rock right back, dumpling. *snuggle*

[xoverau.livejournal.com]

If there were any way of doing it without sounding like I was going "PROFILE YOURSELVES!" I would love to do a 'what ethnicity are you?' post for fandom. I remember thinking it was sad a couple years ago when a race issue came up and so many people I knew were saying "I know this fandom is all white, so I feel isolated". I think everyone might be surprised by the percentage of POCs.

PS. You just suggested up there that you were normal. *snicker*

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

I *am* normal, dammit!! *cries*

An ethnicity post would indeed be cool! Perhaps it would work only if it were anonymous, b/c I know not everybody is comfortable with revealing personal stuff about their real lives?

[kaffy-smaffy.livejournal.com]

Whilst I never wished I was white, I did resent the hell out of the meme's that asked the family background, 'person to play you in a movie' etc questions. I always felt so boring and unimaginative when it came to those types of questions.

And because I do't think I've ever said it, I really appreciate these posts. They are always so eloquent and smart. You truly are the rockingest thing that ever rocked.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

I would rack my brain for somebody suitable, and always came up with Sarita Choudhury purely because she spoke unaccented English. Sadly, I still can't think of anybody. Waaaah!

I really appreciate these posts

Thank you so much for saying that. I always have paroxysms of fear that I'm just blabbing out stuff that everybody knows, or that I'm doing it too often, or that I come off a pretentious/ignorant idiot. I am so grateful for my smart, kind friendslist and your willingness to discuss this stuff with me! *snug*

[heatherly.livejournal.com]

Cathy pointed me here, and, yay, because, kick-ass post, and thanks for saying it. It's exactly this and the other 'subtle' forms of racism and prejudice that are the hardest to fight against, because they're the hardest to recognize if they're not pointed out.

I'm not saying this to make white people feel guilty.

Guilt is not the same as responsibility. And it is important to be responsible for recognizing and changing behaviors that perpetuate stereotypes, etc. But you can't be responsible for changing something if you don't recognize that the problem exists in the first place, so--posts like this? I think they're wonderful. Because they remind us to keep thinking, to not make assumptions, and to remember that we (big, huge, collective humanity we) still have a ways to go.


Err...so. Um. Yeah--fantastic post, you rock, going to bed now? :)

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

It's exactly this and the other 'subtle' forms of racism and prejudice that are the hardest to fight against, because they're the hardest to recognize if they're not pointed out.

That is so utterly true. I mean, it's taken me *this long* to be able to recognize and understand them myself, and I'm directly affected by them; it's no wonder that many people never even consider these things!

Thank you so much for commenting, and for saying such wise and intelligent things. There's so much that can be painful or touchy or misconstrued when it comes to charged topics like racialized issues, and I am so glad that everybody who's commented has been so interested and giving. I really and truly appreciate it!!

[kitchendinah.livejournal.com]

::snugs::, hon.

[bossymarmalade.livejournal.com]

*tacklepouncesnugs*!!!

[marej.livejournal.com]

i loves you, maggie. yes i do. i gave up counting reasons, man. *clingstoyou*

you know, of all the shows i can think of dark angel had their shit together, relatively speaking, natch. of course the racial representation was about the only thing they had gotten right, BUT OH WELL.