#also to add: zendaya at least doesn't go for specifically black roles but amandla does

[jarritoswhore]

this ^^^^^ honestly such facts. 

i’m about to ramble my thoughts are very disorganized and repetitive and it sort of strays from the direct topic i’m sorry in advance, if you read all of this you deserve a reward cause it makes no sense, it’s basically just word vom:

it’s so sus to me that people are like “omg i love the obx cast/characters” and then don’t support jd or deion. they’re two of my favorite people in the cast (even though i’m a simp for drew) and so underrated and the lack of content they have is so upsetting. whenever i go to their tags, pictures of the other cast members always come up first. i’ve sent in a lot of fic requests (both anon and with my account) for pope and kelce fics to authors that have never gotten fulfilled. i understand that sometimes requests get lost and that it might just be taking someone a while to get to it, but i’m gonna start to get suspicious when i send in a req for a white character and it gets fulfilled within the next hour but the multiple requests i sent in for pope and kelce months ago went unanswered. i saw someone fulfilling a req say they “don’t know how to write for pope” so they decided to change the character to jj. i also saw someone change the character from kelce to topper because they “like topper better and besides he deserves more stories about him” as if topper doesn’t already have so many stories and kelce has maybe one. tell me why either of those were okay things to do because i can’t come up with a single reason. 

also have seen people over the years saying about mixed people that if you say they’re mixed you’re erasing their other identities. that is entirely untrue (and makes no sense). i had an awful history teacher who claimed this not knowing i was biracial and kept saying “how do you think biracial people would feel about you saying that?” (he also wasn’t even biracial himself) he thought he was really making points until i shut him down. in fact you’re acknowledging that they aren’t just one race. as a biracial person who looks very black and has been labelled as black most of my life by other people, i’m so glad when people refer to me as mixed. it doesn’t make me hate my black side; i’m more connected to my black side than my white side (cause my white side is mostly trump supporters and racists, how wonderful-- one of them even took to facebook to say that trayvon martin deserved to die while he was fb friends with my black mother; my dad has completely cut off our ties with them); my black mom made sure growing up that i always appreciated and claimed my black side but knew of my privilege and my white dad has never had any problem with that. that is why i have zero problem with people saying i’m mixed, because it’s what i am (now i usually identify as biracial but sometimes when issues pertain to me looking black (such as getting followed around in the store) i’ll call myself black but always clarify that i’m biracial since there are other privileges that come with being so-- i also just have a fear of not telling the truth so i always try to be as transparent as possible with people). i don’t understand when some mixed people have such a defensive response when someone says they’re mixed (actually probably bc of dealing with erasure of identities in the past but that’s a convo for a different time and place, not at all right for now). it’s important that we don’t lump all poc into one category and call things as they are. nobody is saying zendaya or other b+w actresses aren’t black, they’re saying they aren’t just black (ie mixed/biracial); they’re black and something else (mixed for short). saying that someone is mixed doesn’t take away from the racism they may have experienced; there’s no reason anyone should be taking offense to it (unless they’re saying “fck you half-breed” then yes that’s a direct insult but that is def not the same as being called mixed/biracial in any way bc being called mixed is not derogatory). 

i cannot even begin to explain the confusion i experienced when i started to notice people/showrunners pass zendaya (on disney channel) and amandla (in all situations except one) and other obviously mixed actors off as fully black. i remember when the hunger games came out i looked up amandla stenberg and saw she was mixed, which i thought was cool because i’m mixed and i wasn’t aware of other mixed celebs aside from zendaya at the time. i loved her because she looked like me for the most part, just a lot lighter-skinned. when i heard they were adapting the hate u give into a movie i was really happy and excited that there was going to be a mainstream movie featuring a young black actress. black girls would finally get to experience the validity i felt seeing amandla in the hunger games. when amandla got cast as starr i was so confused. this was the perfect opportunity to really put a young fully black actress in the spotlight and they completely missed it. i was really disappointed. when i read the book i was picturing starr as one of my cousins who is a dark-skinned black girl (i like to visualize book characters as people i know). amandla did not fit my picture of starr at all (nor the pictures my other friends who read the book had). people would say “oh well there aren’t any young black girl actresses” to which i say 1) THEN GO LOOK FOR SOME THEY AREN’T HARD TO FIND 2) if you never cast a black girl actress nobody is going to because they’ll think they don’t exist/will just follow the crowd and “what works” and 3) THAT IS SUCH A LIE AND A LAZY EXCUSE. if we’re saying within the cast of the movie i actually think dominique fishback (the actress who played starr’s friend kenya) would’ve been an amazing starr. it’s so incredibly untrue that showrunners “can’t find” black actresses; they’re obviously out there, the showrunners are just lazy. if they had found a black actress to play starr i think the movie would’ve been so much better. she’s the face of the book which is about black people being victims of police brutality. starr should’ve had a fully black actress. the content/message of the story is great, the choice to cast amandla as starr in the movie adaptation was not. 

getting back on track....

there are aspects of reading x reader fics that i’ve struggled with, such as the author describing the reader as having light skin/blonde hair/blue eyes/small nose/the love interest running their hands through the reader’s hair, but there are others i haven’t. for example, i’ve come across x reader fics where the author claims they’ve written the reader as black and when i start reading i realize they’re definitely referencing a mixed person, fandoms’ “sanitized/acceptable” version of black people. it’s so disgusting and it needs to stop. you can’t pick and choose what type of black people you deem acceptable. this also led to some internalized problems when i was young and would write reader insert fics (which i want to start doing again-- i’m working on some stuff rn and it might not be great but you gotta start somewhere). i would write a fic and say “he ran his hands through your hair” when in reality that wouldn’t even be a possibility for someone to do to me; there’s no way someone could run their hands through my hair. it was just so engrained in me from reading over and over again that i included it in my own content even though it wasn’t relatable to me. that’s a problem. so when someone says “oh, just have some imagination” that’s so harmful. it’s not difficult to keep physical characteristics out of fics; or you can write “y/e/c” for “your eye color” or “y/h/c” for “your hair color.” you can still include aspects like that without being exclusionary. 

these fandoms have such a long way to go and it’s honestly really disappointing (but not surprising). if you have a problem with giving representation to people who lack it, you need to do some serious reflection. 

i could write a whole essay on this and how we need to stop passing mixed people off as black and how it leads to colorism and normalizing light-skinned people as the face of the black community and how calling us mixed isn’t an insult or erasing identities

i’m just tired of people being so fast to jump to the mixed community’s defense but then say that the black community is overreacting or is lacking imagination or being sanctimonious. nobody should have to imagine they look different than what’s being described. if the reader is being described as looking a specific way, that isn’t a reader insert anymore, that’s a whole story. you’ve created a non-universal reader. if you really want to describe your reader 1) label the fic as a character x OC fic (or as a character x white reader fic, we all know what you mean), not a character x reader fic and 2) make sure not all of your fics are like this, make sure most of them are enjoyable for anyone. if you really want your work to be able to be enjoyed by everyone who reads it, you’ll be willing to accept this. end of story.

i love all the black authors/fans here so much and i just want y’all to get recognized and have representation bc right now it sucks.

i’m sorry this reads like a journal entry written at 3 am

✌🏽🤟🏽

Be honest and tell me what it is

I just think it’s funny how there’s so many Jiara shippers but not enough representation for JJ being paired with a brown or dark skin girl. Some of you will give fics starring Jiara hundreds of notes but when writers represent black girls that are brown or dark skin, it’s crickets.

It doesn’t stop there. The same people shipping JJ and Kiara won’t hesitate in denying JJPope. What is that, homophobia? Colorism? A mixture of both? Hmm, answer me because you say Pope and JJ didn’t have chemistry but Kiara and JJ did. Believe me when I say I’ve watched the show twice and couldn’t find a lick of evidence supporting Jiara.

I’m going to also make another point and say that y’all only include Kelce in fics when he needs to be a dick alongside Rafe and Topper. Other than that, does he get his own fic with his love interest? Barely. But there’s a slew of Rafe and Topper fics where they’re redeemable.

All of this is giving me Film Twitter vibes when they say Zendaya or Tessa Thompson are their favorite black actresses, knowing damn well they’re biracial/mixed race. What is it, the further the reader is from being fully black, the more acceptable she is in the fandom? I’m asking the same for Pope and Kelce because some of y’all have some explaining to do.

You also need to explain to me what qualifies an ‘x reader’ because as far as I’m concerned, I’m a black reader who doesn’t have pale skin when reading an ‘x reader’ fic. Why throw that in when your writing doesn’t apply to all readers?

I expect honest answers and whatever you come up with will prompt feedback from me.☺️🤎

[pm-my-hubbies]

Your response deserves a round of applause because you basically said everything I’ve wanted to say in a simple Twitter thread but I’ve given up because I know people will look the other way. I read the whole thing and definitely responding to each point you made.

1. It’s not okay to exclude JD and Deion as actors and human beings from this fandom when they’ve had important roles in the show and they’re also extremely close with the rest of the cast, who happens to be white. Like you, I’m a simp for Rudy but I love JD and Deion as people. Through their social media, you can see that they’re genuine young men that love what they do. It upsets me that they don’t receive as much attention as the others and it breaks my heart even more that Deion notices this. I saw a similar situation happen with another request but the person wanted the reader to be a member of the Latinx community; the writer turned it down because they had the same idea for the Pope request you came across: they didn’t know how to write a Latina reader and continued on with their white washed ‘x reader’ fics. I was so upset that I exited out of the app (although I’m not a member of the Latinx community). As the day progressed, I just remember thinking, “Just ask.” The only way you would not know how to write about something is if you don’t do your research and that writer had the opportunity to do that. They could’ve asked the reader what they wanted and they could’ve Googled this information because that website is freaking free. If someone requests for Pope or Kelce, it shouldn’t be that hard to write for them because you have two options: go by what you see in the show or create a non-canon character. It’s not that hard and doesn’t give you the excuse to replace them with a white character because you “don’t know” or “because the other person deserves more love.” Nah, they get enough love by either having the same role in your fic or turning into someone better.

2. For a while, I was curious as to why people wanted mixed/biracial people to claim one side of their background. Now that you’ve explained this, I can see why. It also makes more sense on when people want mixed/biracial people to claim that one side and that’s because they hope to get something out of it. It’s usually women that are affected the most. You have Meghan Markle, Zendaya, Doja Cat, and other women that are mixed/biracial and people will completely forget their true background when they believe those women will somehow benefit them. Doja Cat may have caught so much flack for that chat she was in but it was mainly a lot of black men that wanted us to cancel her because for once, a biracial woman wasn’t interested in them. Same thing with Zendaya; she’s told us time and time again that she is biracial but black men will still run with, “She’s my black queen.” Yet, when she was rumored to be with Tom Holland and Jacob Elordi— two young white men— those black men started making fun of her size and “cancelling” her. When biracial/mixed race people claim all of their backgrounds, we shouldn’t force them to claim only one side because of what we get in the end. It’s damaging them as people and encourages them to hate the other parts of them. And those parts that they grow to hate will show up to members of that community.

3. I had the same thoughts about The Hate U Give. I loved the book so much and when I heard they were developing it into a movie, I was hesitant to be excited because something told me I wouldn’t be getting the black girl I pictured. And low and behold, Amandla was cast as Starr, a character that is described in the book to be dark skin. Show runners that cast Amandla and try to cast Zendaya as fully black characters are lazy and trying to white wash the film still. They’ll give you the diversity we want but make sure they give us enough of it to make them comfortable. Like you said, there are black girls out there willing to act for these roles but it’s still a matter of how comfortable the white audience and themselves will feel at the end of the day. Look at Netflix. We’ve got all of these Netflix Series for young adults where light skin girls play the black girl role. Sure, we can see their parents are of a different race from each other but notice how they’re the girl within the group that has African descent in them. Or the writers will try to pass them off as fully black in the show when they’re not.

4. Last night, I read a JJ fic that angered me so much, I remember taking my reblog back and unliking it. It was an ‘x reader’ fic but was being described as a white girl. The fic was good too. Point is, ‘x reader’ fics shouldn’t give you an excuse to write yourself in the fic because if that’s the case, you might as well turn the protagonist into an OC. All black people need to be accepted, not those somewhat closer to you or those you deem attractive. We’re a packaged deal. A lot of the fics I wrote back in 2013-2014 of 1D were so white washed because it was normalized and I actually got backlash for trying to write a black reader for once. I’m glad I accidentally deleted my blog back then to see the bigger picture because now, I’m working on doing better with including not only dark skinned readers but making sure to keep my space open to other minorities in this fandom. As a collective, we’re exhausted with the excuses white writers create for why we and the cast needs to be excluded.

5. When black people are responding to racism, people should not automatically describe us as “exaggerating” but have sympathy for mixed people. If they can have two different stances on sensitive topics like this, that says a lot about them as people and not us. And in moments like that, I won’t sugar coat anything. I’ll straight up ask, “Is that racism?” and list off all points where I felt like I was treated differently compared to my lighter counter parts.

Be honest and tell me what it is

I just think it’s funny how there’s so many Jiara shippers but not enough representation for JJ being paired with a brown or dark skin girl. Some of you will give fics starring Jiara hundreds of notes but when writers represent black girls that are brown or dark skin, it’s crickets.

It doesn’t stop there. The same people shipping JJ and Kiara won’t hesitate in denying JJPope. What is that, homophobia? Colorism? A mixture of both? Hmm, answer me because you say Pope and JJ didn’t have chemistry but Kiara and JJ did. Believe me when I say I’ve watched the show twice and couldn’t find a lick of evidence supporting Jiara.

I’m going to also make another point and say that y’all only include Kelce in fics when he needs to be a dick alongside Rafe and Topper. Other than that, does he get his own fic with his love interest? Barely. But there’s a slew of Rafe and Topper fics where they’re redeemable.

All of this is giving me Film Twitter vibes when they say Zendaya or Tessa Thompson are their favorite black actresses, knowing damn well they’re biracial/mixed race. What is it, the further the reader is from being fully black, the more acceptable she is in the fandom? I’m asking the same for Pope and Kelce because some of y’all have some explaining to do.

You also need to explain to me what qualifies an ‘x reader’ because as far as I’m concerned, I’m a black reader who doesn’t have pale skin when reading an ‘x reader’ fic. Why throw that in when your writing doesn’t apply to all readers?

I expect honest answers and whatever you come up with will prompt feedback from me.☺️🤎