#MissRepresentation

[just-an-enby-lemon]

Gotham being a bad docuseries on my head works perfectly because I can make this stupid dialogue:

Iceberg Lounge, Oswald's office

Edward: *angry* They gave me DID!!!

Oswald: While this is a rather odd diagnosis, Arkham doesn't give you condicions, my dear friend, they merely find it.

Edward: The real mental disorders were inside you the whole time. Soo beatifull *clears a fake tear* Alas I'm not talking about Arkham, I'm refering to that phony little docuseries.

Oswald: Ah. I find it quite accurate and enjoyable in my parts.

Edward: Good for you! They made me almost twenty years older and a total creep! Not only that but somehow they found the stupid missdiagnosis I got thanks to an intern in my first stay on Arkham who was disproven in less than a week and sold it as true. Do you know how many people asked me if they were talking to Edward or to Riddler?

Oswald: *jokingly* Am I talking to Edward or to Riddler ?

Edward: I'm gonna kill you.

Oswald: Oh, but didn't you try that one on the docuseries?

Edward: I hate you. *pouts*

Oswald: I'm the one whose time is being wasted here!

Edward: Is not an waste. It's serius. Not only that but they misspresent DID really bad. I'm pretty sure they implied Riddler doesn't need glasses while Edward does? How that works?

Oswald: On their defense you seldom uses the glasses on the job.

Edward: Yeah, but that is thanks to the power of contanct lenses and not dissociative identity disorder! And it gets worse! There is videos from "body analists" or disgraced pseudoscientistis if you want to be exact trying to identify in what moments I'm Riddler and when I'm Edwadd and how to see the switch. Well good luck with that, because THERE IS NONE! The only difference between Edward Nygma and Riddler is the stage.

Oswald: *unimpressed* That's all?

Edward: Just one more thing: I also need to coment that their missrepresentation of DID is so bad that it actually turns around into a semi-realistic representation of the time I was possed by a demon.

Oswald: YOU WERE WHAT?

Edward: That's all. Now I must leave, I don't want to bore you any longer.

Oswald: WAIT... I need to know about this demon thing! It's dangerous? Can we either catch or banish it? How did it feel? Can I be sure I'm not also possed?

Edward: *already closing the door* *evil smile* Bye, Oswie, till our next weekly conversation.

[geekendlegion-blog]

Amazons’ newest ep will be out next week but they’re doing something a little different! The Amazons will be discussing the documentary “Miss Representation” - available on Netflix if you want to watch before the release! They won’t be holding back!

[ilopesart]

A base de toda violência é colocar a vida do outro ser - seja pobre, negro, ladrão, artista, mulher, animal, árvore, rio - como menos humana, menos digna de direitos. Isto começa lá no livro de ciência onde o ser humano é sempre um homem branco. Esta é uma ilustra que fiz uns anos atrás, sobre a mulher e sobrr a negritude, quando postei com o seguinte texto: Representatividade é algo simples. Sem cabelo comprido, sem salto, sem bebê no colo. Ser humano. Ser humana. Na linguagem, nos livros de biologia e história, na mídia, no planeta Terra. #todavidaéimportante #vidasnegrasimportam #vidaspobresimportam #vidasdemulheresimportam #blacklivesmatter #mulher #serhumana #mulhernegra #representatividade #igualdade #feminismo #serhumano #históriahumana #evoluçãohumana #evoluçãodamulher #humanevolution #missrepresentation #womenevolution (at Curitiba, Brazil) https://www.instagram.com/p/CA-QZCOFNj4/?igshid=1exsszw0utxgm

[chasing---foxes-blog]

Sexism: The Ageless Wonder

Today’s post will reflect on sexism which is discussed throughout the film Miss Representation. The United States is built on the idea of equality for all. And even some of the most patriotic and conservative of Americans can admit that our history is dark and jaded. They can admit that not all people have been treated fairly and with respect. But, they’ll argue, things have gotten better. They’ll say things are certainly better than pre civil war, pre women’s voting rights, pre Jim Crow, etc. But what most people won’t reflect on is how and why things “got better”

I argue that social issues, in particular sexism, are still highly prevalent in our society. One of which being that women of a certain age have little to no value. In the entertainment industry, it is no secret that women are expected to conform to a youthful, fit image. It’s not just enough to meet the male standard of having almost impossibly slim figures, as actress Margaret Cho was expected to do. Actresses like Daphne Zuniga recalls subjecting herself to botox. This traumatic experience left her scarred emotionally and may very well mean the end of her career. This is such a widely known phenomenon that there was a sketch featured on Inside Amy Schumer that revolved around Julia Louis Dreyfuss celebrating her “last f**kable day”. Age is just one factor in this equation that the media uses to determine what roles an actress is allowed to portray.

I argue that women in positions of power, which includes famous actresses, but in particular politicians face unfair standards and expectations. Hillary Clinton, political ideologies aside, has faced sexist and bigoted opposition at every turn in her career including in her most recent presidential bid. Political pundits from Fox and MSNBC are shown in Miss Represenation saying that Hillary reminds them of a nagging wife, that Hillary is too emotional, that she was a bitch. These sexist attacks, aside from their inherent untruthfulness and visciousness, also prevent intelligent political dicsussions about possible candidates. Many people opposed Hillary Clinton over policy or over her personal beliefs. Many of these people were young women.

Progressive voters who supported women’s rights found Hillary’s policies and establishment connections to be troubling. However, I argue that these criticisms are tainted by the baseless misogynistic drivel of those who refuse to vote for women on the basis of gender stereotypes and sexism. Her policies no longer become the point of discussion, it becomes about her credentials, about her husband’s affair, about her appearance and tone. And these aren’t right wing outsiders, the men featured calling her bitchy or emotional are either major news network show hosts like Tucker Carlson or celebrities and historians like Penn Jilette and the late Christopher Hitchens. Instead of doing the same type of logical and mental work that they’d do when arguing for or against a man, they result to appearance and tone and her sexual value.

 Representation matters, but what kind of representation do we want? Because women who meet the aesthetic standards and have the “right” attitude will be given plenty of air time depending on who runs the network or movie studio. But what about women who are considered too old or too fat or too gay or too brown or too opinionated? What about those women? This film reminds us that women face those type of double standards not just in politics or in media but in their workplaces and even in their home lives. True representation comes when every member of our society is treated with the same base respect and fairness that privileged straight white men are given every day.

[mayannahspeaks-blog]

Miss Representation and White Feminism

The 2011 documentary, Miss Representation, explores the realm of media representation in film, television, politics and the professional world. While this documentary does a stellar job of explaining the limiting and derogatory images of women in television and its impact of young women, it fails in its discourse to give a voice to women of color. I argue that overarching concepts of women’s activism need the necessary intersections of race and class for any progress to be made.

The film used a montage of “women’s history”  in order to display agency over the years that holds true today as a counter argument to why women do not deserve the positions of power, prestige and authority that they now inhabit. Unfortunately, the producers erred in beginning women’s history with the rights that only applied to white women. Majority of the images were of white, middle class women with some level of power and biographic availability that enabled participation in such movements. The  “Feminist” movement has and does not generally feature the interests of Black, Chicana, Asian, Native American and Third World Women. These women were forced to assemble into their own distinct spheres of feminism in order for an agenda to be reached. The film failed to identify the individual and intersectional struggle that face women of color in comparison to white women. In order to show real progress, it should not be limited to the contributions and victories of an inclusive representation of women in this country. 

Primarily, these intersections are necessary for any progress to be made that is multicultural and expansive in practice. The mission of Miss Representation as both a film and a cultural object is to inspire and cultivate change among young women by ushering in a new era of representation. This film counteracts this by leaving out Black and Brown women's history. What I hope to see in the future, is a more accurate display. The imagery for women in different groups is varied. Indeed, each do face subliminal messages that perpetuate negative stereotypes and tropes, but the film focused on those of white women.

Even the Miss Representation website features more white female faces than any other race. In my opinion, films in the future that aspire to inspire, must include a realistic vision of the future. It spoke about the need for feminism in Disney films, and didn't mention that there is only one Black princess, one Asian princess and no Hispanic princesses. This is a representation issue: So why isn't it addressed? The agenda is focused on issues that face predominantly white people for a white audience.

Secondly, using terminology such as "all women" is in need of lexical refinement. The word, woman, encompasses women of all classes, races and sexual orientation. Without regard for how these different identifies dace different forms and layers of oppression, there is no progress. Without this, we rely on "universal" and "default" which of course is white. Events such as the "Women's March on Washington" symbolize how his universality operates. The goal of the march was to address the needs of women as a whole. The issue was that an outstanding amount of white women were present, overpowering the mass amount of people. Without necessary intersections, women's rights are limited to problems that only face white, perhaps middle class women. Moreover, marches such as these exemplify the use of women of color as tokens for faux solidarity. In nationwide events such as this march, women of color must choose whether to support an often exclusionary call to action, when their own issues have gone underserved by white people in this country.

Lastly, privilege is not acknowledged when we have these conversations concerning women's representation. Without doing so, we are left with an imbalanced argument that reverts back to the default of white feminism. While women are underrepresented on television, their Black and Brown counterparts are nearly invisible. This is not to say that white women should not have their platform to voice their opinions on the lack of representation, but they should use it to spread awareness of its immensity among other women as well.

Overall, films and projects such as Miss Representation should take an intersectional perspective when analyzing the issues that face women in this country so that a more truthful understanding of the realities they face can be reached.

[intersectionalfeminism1-blog]

I created these two text dense infographics as part of the final for my class! These two graphics focused on ecofeminism and how gender binary is detrimental to the advancement of women, especially mothers. I also focused on how violence portrayed in the form of media can misrepresent women and is related to the underrepresentation of women in politics. 

[geekendlegion-blog]

Geekend Amazons discuss the loss of strong female characters in media via the “redomestication” of women after WW2. Check out their episode Docu Like A Hurricane: Miss Representation to learn more!

https://soundcloud.com/geekendamazons/episode-29-miss-representation

Vintage women being badass. You’re welcome.

[aprilwashko]

💭 #missrepresentation

[kznway]

my wishes for the new ac are

1. playable protagonist is a woman/can choose to play as a woman

2. can be gay

[nb-fe-nerd]

We Need to Level Up

Miss Representation is a documentary film about popular culture and mainstream media’s influence on women in America and the under-representation or misrepresentation they face. Women seem to be facing a heavier amount of criticism online about their bodies and actions then men do. As the film talks about, the media and advertising portrays women as submissive to men while men are taught through these portrayals that they should be violent, in control, unemotional, and that women should be treated like objects and as lesser. This translates to real life and to the workplace as women in gaming, for example, face a harsh reality that being a woman in a male-dominated industry and culture means facing constant harassment and invalidation. The International Game Developers Association (IGDA)’s 2014 Game Developer Satisfaction Survey says that men make up 76% of game developers while women make up 22%. According to the Pew Research Center’s 2015 study on Gaming and Gamers, 48% of women surveyed report ever playing video games. This is a stark difference that leads to a misrepresentation in both the producers and developers of video games and the amount of strong female representation in video games. I argue that the game industry is male-dominated and should change itself to include other voices, such as the voices of women and those who don’t identify as men.

TRIGGER WARNING: mentions of rape and death threats

The video above has female game developers and women in gaming talk about their experiences in the industry. As we can see easily from the video, the culture of gaming rejects women, and if there is a strong culture that does this, then it only makes sense that the industry does the same. Women such as Zoe Quinn are sent rape and death threats everyday and continually have a glass ceiling put over them. With an industry that doesn’t want to hire you or promote your work, how can women succeed in its current state? Men continue to dominate and male developers and producers continue to only hire men and only create well-made male characters. The game industry is rampant with a toxic culture of only supporting men and demonizing and dehumanizing women.

The first ever video game census in 2009 found that minorities were disproportionately underrepresented in video games. 89.5% of the characters in the top 150 selling video games (console and computer) were male and 85 percent of them were white.  In 2009 in the United States, men took up 49% of the population while white men took up about 39-40% of the population. This is a major overrepresentation of men and white men in video games. The gaming industry has evolved over the years to slowly reduce this number, but it’s not likely that a huge overrepresentation like this can be fixed in the matter of a few years. Video games are filled with predominately male characters, often white, and this is a problem.

[boombitxh]

*Eeeeeeeeeeeppppp* Thank you for the shout-out. This piece of yours is so thoughtful that it’s prompted a reflection of my own, about something that has long bothered me about the format of this show. The constant dualistic competition between the feminine versus feminism on this show has been an eternal bone to pick for me.

The feminine-skewed positions as dictated by society and sometimes biology, like teaching which you just mentioned, or the treatment of the concept of First Lady on this show, even motherhood, have been abysmally represented. For a show that praises its feminism core I find it tremendously irresponsible to take this route even if its intentions are to juxtapose the gender roles while reversing them. It does this poorly and I’ll explain why.

The concept of feminism doesn’t state that you need to usurp masculine traits in order to be successful. It isn’t to shun or shame or even taint with negative connotations what are considered to be “traditional” feminine gender roles. The point is that women should have the choice to be conventional or unconventional, or both should they choose to be and not risk ridicule or condescension. The representation of this notion on the show has been done a disservice time and time again.

A fantastic guideline which I often refer to while analyzing gender roles in media is the documentary “Miss Representation”.

Fitz and Olivia are placeholders for reversed gender roles. The emotional, which is often a trait established for the female in heterosexual romantic depictions in media is in this turn attributed to Fitz. Nothing is wrong with that characterization, media that we consume should be working adamantly to give their male characters emotions that aren’t rooted in anger and aggression. I thought this was the show’s intention until we see how other characters in the show shun him for this, and how the show undermines its message about male toxicity when it apparently reinforces it via the ridicule of other characters towards Fitz. Mellie labels him idealistic, romantic, and she doesn’t mean it in a positive way. Cyrus regularly implies that loving Olivia weakens his professional effectiveness. Wearing his heart on his sleeve is seen as negative by almost every character directly in his surroundings. This is when switching gender roles goes wrong. The show can't choose to reverse a gender role and then subsequently ridicule the character for the very same thing - an exercise in futility to me.

Then we have the theme of motherhood, which biologically can only be a feminine trait, and which is constantly scorned by Mellie. She had kids FOR Fitz, to advance his career and in turn hers, but she explicitly states she doesn’t have a motherly bone in her body. Her children are portrayed as a burden for her, not entirely positive is it?

The show also plays around a lot with the normal (in this case read romantic, family & family life) versus the professional (in this case read as power) life of its female characters. It sticks them into this binary turbine that makes it impossible to have this aspect of the show resonate with its viewers. Women’s very real lives can and do contain both elements, there’s no shame in it. Millions of women get up and go to high-powered jobs like the ones depicted on this show, and still choose to have children and families. And many women also don’t, and it is perfectly fine, but what is imperfect is the show’s insistence that you must choose one or the other. Life for women doesn’t happen in this either-or spectrum anymore, and it feels like an old iteration of feminism of yore where women’s rise in society was directly rooted in the idea that they had to be more like men.

And last but not least the role of First Lady. Continuously depicted as subservient to the President and entirely rooted in the domestic aspect, which we all know is a lie. It is offensive to relegate the role of First Lady to the role of a mere party hostess. First ladies go above and beyond this as we have learned from history, however the show rarely if ever touches on the social causes they champion etc. And when anyone is shown in their role as First Lady, or First Lady proxy as Olivia was in her different White house tenures both as First Girlfriend and Chief of Staff to unwed Mellie, they are shown to have a consistent condescending attitude towards their role and only shown in the domestic aspect of it. It is both intentional AND disingenuous.

This depiction of feminism via a masculine approach of aggressive power-seeking is narrow and does not aid in the true representation of modern women. I would’ve liked the show to tackle these things seeing as to how adamant they’ve been with their depiction of the binary context of womanhood for the most recent seasons, especially when it pertains to Olivia. I wanted more for her than the trappings of her own head than a binary battle of love vs power. Feminism doesn’t have to be classically and or conventionally feminine, but it does have to be inclusive and broad, and that entails not shunning femininity.

How To Get Away With Scandal Crossover Thoughts

Just like with the majority, the How To Get Away With Scandal crossover was done really well and will go down as a must watch episode for both series. Between the two I am more invested in Scandal and I haven’t been up to date with HTGAWM since season one except on times I would sporadically watch some eps. Watching these two iconic female characters be in the same space and seeing their dynamics was amazing and a treat. I was really impressed that it had me wishing for a quick sec that my other account (tied-knots) was still alive to share these thoughts in its once respective space but anyways. What’s great as well about the crossover was that it still manage to capture each series signature element. We saw Annalise and Michaela keeping up with Scandal’s fast paced environment while we watch Olivia and Marcus downshift in HTGAWM quiet and understated style. 

Keep reading

[wariofranchisefanblog]

Hey, so I think you said in that Why does Wario fart response video that you weren't a fan of how Wario was portrayed in Smash. Would you be able to go into more detail if that's okay? I actually find the subject of how characters are portrayed in Smash to be an interesting one and I'd love to hear your thoughts on it (And also I just really wanna get a better understanding of Wario's character lmao)

There are a lot of things to it, but this is the gist of it:

Wario's moveset is largely made up and takes very little from either Wario Land OR WarioWare, Smash 4 took it to the next level by even removing his signature. That one goes without saying on why I would take issue with that point.

Wario's proportions are off. He's smaller than Mario and his arms are shrimpy.

Smash emphasizes Farting as the main attraction of Wario's character and brings it up in several places, on top of dedicating a move slot to it. It's annoying and a missrepresentation of Wario's character.

In general, Smash really likes to ignore the strong tough guy aspects of Wario's character, which show up plenty everywhere else. You see him flex all the time in say, Mario spin-offs and renders and here is Smash where he doesn't do it once, because fart references get more priority.

Wario's role in SSE is really off and so is the official explaination that Wario joined with the villains because he enjoyed causing havoc. Wario is driven by goals and desires, him putting his head on the line with no benefit for himself, makes no sense for him.

There are also other small quirks, primarily his Game & Watch-like animations in Brawl, but those at least got tossed out in future.

Smash Wario is just all around baffling to me, I genuinely don't understand where this interpretation of him comes from.

[ultimate-marysue]

So, about Bi Caleb

Warning: very long post, discussing bi representation and biphobia.

*Sorry for spelling errors, English ain’t my firts language.

I can’t believe I have to tell you guys, but anyways: Caleb is bi whether he ends with a male character, a female character on a non binary character. That’s what bi people do, you know? they experience atraction for all genders. Saying that a bi character that ends with someone of the opposite gender is straight and queerbaiting is incredibly biphobic.

Yes, Vax was bisexual. Yes, he ended up with Kiki. Get fucking over it.

Now, I can understand why LGBT+ fans may feel disappointed when they tease a “gay couple” but the “straigth” couple ends up being endgame. Notice the quotation marks because there’s not such thing as a straight or gay couple for a bi person. They are bisexual in both situations, but I can see where the problem comes from. I’ve been queerbaited to hell and back by a lot of shows and it really hurts. It feels like they are laughting at you for caring. But I want those fans (whose feelings are totally valid, don’t get me wrong) to consider a few things when it comes to Critical Role, the first one being: it’s a D&D game.

Let me explain, because I know a lot of CR fans haven’t experienced what D&D is like in real life (and that’s absolutely valid, you don’t need to play D&D to enjoy CR). This is an improvisation game, not an scripted TV show. In a Tv show you can plan ahead of time what ship is going to be endgame, what themes are gonna come up for each character and it’s easier to deeply explore sexuality and gender as different planned arcs. In D&D you character’s sexuality may or may not come up depending on how you play it. Take for instance how other CR character’s have stated their sexuality:

Beau: overtly. Very *In your face* kind of lesbian. Marisha said “fuck it, I really just want to romance girls and be bad ass”

Yasha: openly, but not as in your face. Ashley Jhonson wanted to drink from that WLW cup while also being a shy disaster. Seafood market is her favored terrain.

Caduceus: Our Ace king has never hidden his sexuality, and yet he didn’t mention anything about it until chapter 114. He didn’t had the need to either hide it or state it. He was simply vibing.

I think Liam is going that route with Caleb. He’s flustered by Essek and Edwulf (Come on you guys, he always asks Matthew if he’s still hot). He also had/has a thing for Astrid and a think he might have feels for our favorite Tiefling gal. I know we are all too used to characters being teased as gay/bi only to have execs pull a “haha jk they be straight”. But this is not Sherlock or Supernatural. This is a show that not only has queer rep, but also supports queer organizations and creators. Hell, I’m sure some of the cast members are LGBT (but I’m not here to speculate on real people’s sexuality). If Caleb shows attraction to men he is not just queerbaiting, doing it for fanservicing or tricking the fans in any way shape or form: he’s just portraying a bi character. The thing is, since this is not a TV show, he is not doing it por woke points or to send a message. He’s doing it because he wants to play a bi wizard with depression.

So maybe there will be a point in which he can explores his sexuality more deeply, but remember he is playing a game. And his character is one that has a lot of trouble opening up to his feelings. Caleb is not someone that makes sexual jokes or flirty remarks. He is shy, awkward and has developed a really fucked up sense of love that he is now slowly fixing. Hell, in the same Talks episode Liam explained that Caleb was trained on Honey-pot tactics. Which, for those of you who can’t stand Bond films, means seducing your enemy/target to get information, manipulate them or assassinate them. WHICH IS A REALLY FUCKED UP THING! Let’s remember how he was the one to push Fjord to sleep with Advantica so they could spy on her. That boy has Issues when it comes to relationships. So if we don’t see him being as overtly gay as Beau, Molly or Yasha, well maybe it’s because that’s the way Caleb is. Bi people don’t owe you flamboyance, or dating both guys and gals for your approval. I wouldn’t make a post if it was only that, because I do feel the people who are aching for good bi rep and would love some more explicit confirmation. But Vax exists, so I know we can’t have good things down here.

VAX EXPLICITELY SHOWED ATTRACTION TO GILMORE. AS EXPLICIT AS IT GETS. HE FUCKING KISSED HIM. THEY WERE PRACTICALLY DATING. AND YET SOME OF YOU FUCKERS CALL HIM QUEERBAITING. AND I SAY: NOT ON MY WATCH! NOT ON MY FUCKING WATCH!!

How come a character can have canonically kissed another character in a romantic/sensual context and still be called straight? I know fucking Sherlock traumaticed y’all into having trust issues but believe me when I tell you: I’ts not that deep. This is not a “Haha I love u but in a no homo way bro”. It’s a “full homo darling, but also we’re gonna break up because I like someone else”. This is the opposite of queerbaiting. Instead of keeping a charade he was honest with Gilmore because he valued his feelings and realized that he couldn’t reciprocate them at that moment. And if you try to tell me that Vaxleth was forced and didn’t have a reason to exist except queerbaiting, let me tell you: you are wrong.

Vax saw Gilmore once or twice monthly while he spent a heck ton of time with Kiki. Sure, they didn’t had the kind of camera chemistry Gilmore and Vax had because Keyleth is not charismatic. She’s really awkward, and her relationship with Vax was more on the adorable and dorky side of things. I bring this up because I’m predicting something similar may happen to Shadowgast.

Trust me, I ship the hot wizards as much as any other critter (even though I’m a multishipper). But they haven’t talked to Essek in centuries. I think it may have been almost a month in rol and quite a few outside. And you have to take into account out-rol time to because they are humans (except Tal) playing a game and they forget about stuff (except Marisha and Matt). So Shadowgast may not happen because sure, they had really good chemistry for a month a month ago. People have crushes that die down over time All The Time. So maybe don’t be so butthurt about your ship not being canon that you accuse an ally of homophobia. 

The cast of CR put forward such an amazing representation for the LGBT+ community and it really hurts me that you gets stuck on the one thing that isn’t canon. Matt has created a world in which coming out is not necessary because no one assumes your sexuality. A world in which people respect pronouns and orientations (except Tary’s father, who is a villain). A world in which Cad or Caleb don’t need to explicitly say “I’m ace/bi” unless it comes up in conversation. A world in which his friends can be whatever they want to be without pressure or reprecusions. A world in which they get to explore different gender identities and sexual orientations with full freedom. Let’s not interfere with that (unless there’s missrepresentation), and let them play their game. If you really need mlm or wlw canon couples or more outwardly LGBT+ people you have plenty examples among NPCs and other cast members (Allura and kima, Yasha, Beau, Dairon, Keg, Reani, Tary, Molly and Vax among others).

There’s way worst shows taking LGBT+ cred for barely doing nothing. Fucking Supernatural is the most recent example! Critical Role works towards showing an honest portrayal of LGBT+ folk and accepts valid criticism from their fans on the subject (when they changed J’Mon Sa Ord pronouns from it to they/them). They don’t owe you making your ship canon or portraying their characters the way you want them to (again, unless when it’s constructive criticism). Stop being so Fucking entitled and enjoy the show for what it is

,Respectfully~

*Edit: I´m tagging Caleb’s ships into the post because most hate comes from shipping wars. Most Shadowgast fans are respectful of the cast’s decisions, even if it disappoints them. But since I’ve already seen people accusing Liam of biphobia in that tag and since I’ve already seen this shit with Vaxmore I’m tagging the ship. If you want to read my long ass post do it, if not, ignore it. I’m not forcing you to read it. I’ve also tagged it with biphobia so people can avoid it if it’s triggering. I’m sorry if it makes you mad that your ship is not canon, but that’s not an excuse to be toxic to the cast. Those of you getting mad are the ones that need to read this the most. Like I’ve said in the post: you’re allowed to be disappointed, you are allowed to want more, but you can’t force the cast to give you exactly what you want. And most certainly, you can’t accuse them of  some very serious stuff like biphobia and queerbaiting when it’s not the case..  

[god-of-my-own-universe]

I love the irony that hoo fans allways complains about missrepresentation in Hoo, but in Toa a lot of characters finally brake up with the sterioptes (like piper ending with a white man) and some of them get better character development, but they refuse to read or like Toa cuz there's no Percy or Jason and the pattern here is that apparently pjo fandom only feels sad when white people are affected by something, like I felt ten thousand times worst than when Jason died, when I fought Frank died. I said what I said.

[all-the-heart-you-cannot-see]

Rick Riordan and representation in media

I just realized this shit show was happening and im honestly surprised it didnt happen before. Now i'll clarify some things, im not american, im Colombian so i never read Ricks books looking for representation cause i think majority if not every born and raised latino/hispanic can agree that being raised in the US is different than being raised in South/Central america or Mexico. Second, i read majority of Ricks books while i was still between the ages of 12/14, i've revisited them now but i honestly dont remember them with that much detail.

On to the issue at hand: Samirah. Ill admit i havent read Magnus Chase however ive read Ricks apology and people's complains about Samirah and as a religious person myself this is what i have to say:

Im a christian girl, and i mean hardcore christian, dont drink christian, no sex before marriage christian, no secular music christian, thats how i grew up and around the time i read Ricks books i was still firm in many of my christian beliefs (i used to be a homophobe, surprise! Im now bisexual) so i understand why many muslims feel like Samirah is bad representation, after all neither Christianity nor Islam leave room for worship to any other gods, it is a sin actually so i understand the inmense contradiction that it is to have a devoted muslim also be somewhat a devoted pagan, it may not sit right with you, and it is a completely understandable thing to be mad about.

Rick doesnt really adress this in his apology, he just says he has gotten many questions about it and honestly, it is a place he cannot writte himself out of, it is just misrepresentation.

As for the issue of arranged marriages i actually like his explanation, i live in a part of Colombia that has a big arabic population and as a result we are a bit more exposed to Islam than other parts of the country, one of the girls i went to school with was muslim, her mother wore a hijab (she didnt) and her older sister was married in an arranged marriage. Naturally we were very concerned at first for her and the posibility of Amina being married off to an old, dissgusting dude, but it turns out althought it wasnt a husband her sister had chosen, they had been promised since they were children and they grew to love each other, this is my personal outsider experience with the islamic religion and the arabic culture, one that happens to alling with what Rick tried to depict.

However, this is not the experience of everyone who goes throught a similar situation. Child marriages are huge problem and arranged marriages can lead to abuse, if you feel this is a harmful thing to represent because you have been afected by it (or just because the notion in general is baffling to you) the you are in all your right to be angry at Rick but the thing is....what he wrote might be missrepresentation of your lifestyle and your experiences, but it is validating for the experiences of others.

And that is my next point. Just because im a bisexual cis latin woman doesnt mean my experience and those of the millions of other bisexual cis latin women are the same, they may be conpletely different or oddly similar, but when you write a character with specifical characteristics, the expiriences of that character will never englobe the experiences of all the people who share those characteristics.

This is not to say harmful stereotypes or bad representation dont exist, in my personal opinion having a muslim girl who also believes in norse gods is terrible representation of the religion, but Samirah being engaged is just representation of a particular experience (considering he said she would not marry until it was age apropiate, child marriage would be totally unexcusable).

My last point is about Ricks character. I see a lot of people saying he is racist and i just cant agree. Intentionaly misrepresenting a culture, religion or etnicithy because of your personal biggoted believes is being racist and i wholeheartedly dont think that Ricks mistakes are a result of that.

Like i said, i never read Rick because i wanted representation, but in reading his books i learned a lot about things i would otherwised not had learned about. Now, Percy Jackson is a children story so if you are pulling put the enterity of your understandment of a culture/religion/etnicity from it the problem is yours, however the books are a start and i believe a positive start.

His books are not without critiscim, cause he is a white man writing about things he hasnt experience first hand, but i dont think there is any ill intend behind the missrepresentation in his books, they are just honest mistakes that in some cases he has fixed, and in others he has apologized for.

Someone being "problematic" doesnt mean that they are the devil, nobody is perfect or will live to an impossible standard of inmaculate wokeness, what is important is differenciating between facist, racist, homophobic little pices of shit and people who are learning and make genuine mistakes.

Quick note, a few people have been mocking him saying he wasnt getting bullied, in his apology he states that the people he blocked said themselves they were bullying him, and i havent seen anyone in his replies calling him out for lying about that so im going to asume he was telling the truth and honeslty no matter how old you are if you dont want that kind of negativity on your page, you are in all your right to block it, Rick isnt someone who blocks people who disagree or critize him, he has admitted his mistakes many times before so idk why some people are trying to make it sound like he is blocking anyone with valid criticism.

[teachermisery]

One of the largest peaceful protests in Nashville's history! 👏✌ @missrepresentation https://www.instagram.com/p/CBOQb5MnGGLGiZ97WLk78Y4Ox5a-kEgEfsAgFk0/?igshid=514kxia4fque