#hispanic representation in media

[outsidethebeautybox]

Boys Need Better Representation Too

If we stop and think about it, most of the content trying to help people work through their insecurities and build confidence is catered toward women. 

Sure, there’s self-improvement content catered toward more general audiences, but when it comes to helping people celebrate the physical features they were born with, most of us prioritize women’s insecurities over male insecurities.

Whether you’re self-conscious about curly hair, dark skin, a few extra pounds or acne, there’s an encouraging artwork or inspirational video out there to remind you you’re beautiful. But once again, most of this content is by women, for women.

I’m guilty of this too.

The artists I follow (and love) who do ‘drawing insecurities’ videos are all drawing women. The fashion brands I watch videos for (and love) which feature inclusive sizing are all made for or marketing to women.

But boys have insecurities too, and they are also seriously lacking representation.

Those of us who really care about encouraging diversity-positivity and self love are pouring our hearts and souls into creating content to help women across the world realize that they are beautiful.. We make dark skinned female leads. We make drawings of beautiful plus-sized queens.

But there aren’t a whole lot of relevant dark-skinned or plus-sized guys in the media either. Or skinny superheroes. Or short male leads. The list goes on.

There are a LOT of male beauty standards that many guys still feel frustrated and depressed by being unable to fit, whether they’re “not muscular enough” or they can’t grow a beard.

In countries where colorism is an ongoing issue, it often affects boys as well as girls, and yet, when I read webcomics like “Your Smile Is a Trap” and “Love Love Fighting” (again, stories that I love) the female leads stray outside the beauty box, while the male leads still fit the cultural beauty standard.

How many Black superheroes can you think of who have TV shows currently airing? 

How many male superheroes can you think of who don’t have the quintessential square jaw and perfect hair?

I know of a few Asian romance webcomics with brown skinned female leads but I’ve not seen any with brown skinned male leads.

Part of what it means to work outside the beauty box is to prioritize people other than ourselves. We work to help more people feel seen. I spend a lot of time promoting diversity positivity for women, hispanics and members of the black diaspora, but with the world the way it is now, there is almost always some demographic or another being ignored or overlooked, and that means we need to keep widening our perspectives.

The media needs more male leads who are shorter than the female lead. We need male characters who are plus-sized or disabled or dark skinned but aren’t deemed second rate or stuck playing second fiddle to the guys who fit the beauty standard.

I’m not sure why, but working outside the beauty box actually seems to be even harder to manage with male characters than it is with female characters. I think it’s because of a subconscious global bias. We know girls are sensitive about their looks and so anyone who wants to diss a girl for not fitting the beauty standard is labeled a monster. Yet people constantly dismiss guys coldly and carelessly and they’re just expected to suck it up.

I had to cancel a comic project I was working on because the artist didn’t want to give the male lead dark skin, and I still haven’t found a new artist to work with. The project before that, the artist didn’t mind the female lead being black but was bigoted against the male lead for being Korean.

People of every ethnicity, shape, and size deserve to see themselves in the media.

Our bodies are beautiful. Individuality is beautiful, and men’s mental health and self-esteem matters every bit as much as women’s mental health and self-esteem.

Guys deserve to live in a world that accepts and loves them. They shouldn’t have to quietly deal with being bullied for their physical appearances while being expected to ‘suck it up’ or ‘be a man’ and get over it.

Beauty standards are hurtful. Period. Everyone needs to hear the words ‘you’re beautiful’ sometimes.

So I’ll be the first one to say it.

You’re beautiful.

[smallblueandloud]

rewatching this ending scene from fast and furious: tokyo drift and. okay i know the MCU has well and killed this kind of ending. but please just remember that this movie is from 2006. and you've been outside LA for two whole movies, okay -- yeah, the second movie was in miami, but not the miami part of miami, you know? and the entirety of this third movie has been so fucking far from anything else we've seen in this series. it's been fun, it's been great... but then we hit the end. and you're wondering how this movie ties into the others. and the random kid who's starring in this movie drives over, and we're hearing the same music we've been hearing all movie, and then very suddenly the music very visibly switches over into reggaetón, and there's spanish in the lyrics. and you know even before the camera pans to the other car who's going to be sitting there.

[varianwinchester]

I make it clear I do not care for the Disney live-action remakes and my sentiments expressed in my previous post on The Little Mermaid still remain.

I mentioned there that I don’t mind a POC casting as long as it is done with purpose and to not claim it as “representation” if they are representing a story that is not their culture. I mentioned there- more briefly- living in my corner of America, I never noticed my brown skin. Growing up watching white-centric media I never noticed there was a difference between me and who I saw on screen. Not consciously at least. I loved dressing up at all the Disney princesses and felt like a princess each time- not a specific princess usually, just me. My friend, Latina as well, told me she didn’t care for Snow White’s casting because “she is too dark skinned.” Now I love this friend, she says her favorite princess was Snow White, and I just listened, but I’d be lying if I said that didn’t hurt. Suddenly that connection between me and the new character has entered my consciousness when she said this.

Something I forgot in the last post was that fairytales aren’t set in the real world though, no matter how much we want them to be, that’s one of their defining characteristics. No this isn’t Latina representation. And even after saying the aforementioned, they gave her a reason for her being a POC! She survived a snowstorm as a baby and named her for that endurance. In that case her having brown skin is incredible fitting for that story. That soaks up the suns rays and lets it become a part of the person, as if braving the winter was just to see the sun again. The sun which often represents positivity and gives life. They made it work. Good job.

[haveacupofjohanny]

Why Representation in Media Still Matters in 2025

Representation in media is more than a trend—it’s a necessity. Let’s champion authentic stories and celebrate voices like John Leguizamo calling for real change in Hollywood. 🌟 #LatinxRepresentation #DiversityInMedia #HaveACupOfJohanny

As we step into 2025, the conversation around representation in media remains as crucial as ever. Despite progress, significant gaps persist, particularly concerning Hispanic and Latinx communities. Understanding the history and current state of this representation sheds light on why it continues to matter. A Brief History of Hispanic & Latinx Representation Historically, Hispanic and Latinx…

[writingwithcolor]

Is my Character a Latino Mechanic Stereotype?

@engineering-a-better-world asks:

I often see media of Hispanic people being mechanics and am wondering if I am playing into this stereotype with one of my secondary characters. I did not find anything on your blog about this particular trope and do not know how harmful it is/why. The main five characters are all scientists specializing in different fields. My mc’s best friend is mostly Argentinian with some Nicaraguan ancestry. She is a mechanical engineer with a specialty in prosthetics and makes her own above knee prosthetic legs. There is a Mexican character shown later who is a captain of the city guard and very much a leader and not handy. Are there pitfalls to avoid in this representation? Does her specialty fit negative stereotypes and why?

Hi, thanks for asking. #rubber stamp approved (per Masterpost rules, I cannot give these out any more. This is sort of a joke, but really, this is a great ask to explore ideas of Latino-Americans and Labor stereotypes.) 

It sounds like you have a variety of Latino representation planned for your story. That’s fantastic (and the make or break for me.) You plan to showcase Latinos in different professionalized fields, which is positive. The “ethnic menial labor” trope or “Latino mechanic” trope become problematic when it’s the only representation given for Latino characters, or they’re showcased as one dimensional side-notes to non-Latino MCs. Having variety will offset the heavy (and often negative) overuse of Menial Labor and Hard Labor jobs.

I’m also not trying to reinvent the wheel, so you can check out more about the trope on this TVTropes page on “Ethnic Menial Labor”, and more about Latino representation in media in this Writeinclusion.org factsheet.

Important Note On Latinos and Menial Labor

Many of my Latino family members and friends are trades workers or do ‘hard-labor’ or ‘menial-labor’ jobs. My father was a roofer before he changed careers. My grandfather worked the racetracks. My best friend’s dad managed a restaurant. These jobs, whether ‘hard-labor’ or ‘menial,’ put food on the table and are not indigent. They take care of our families.

As long as Latinos in these jobs are not framed as less-than, I have no problem with the range of experiences being displayed. The fact that your characters fit into jobs across the socioeconomic spectrum mitigates your concern about stereotyping.

Seeing more professionalized Latino characters is great, and I can’t wait to read it.

Melanie 🌻

Notes:

Meet Melanie, our newest WWC mod (as of this post)!

[this rubber stamp ask was submitted before the Masterpost rules took effect in 2023. We have chosen to publish it to prime our readers on Latine topics and tropes.]

[angelicassassinations]

...

Why do lesbians always get some of the WORST representation of almost all the sexualities?

(

Like, the first lesbians I think of in media I've watched are Tenko Chabashira, from Danganronpa V3, Killing Harmony (Not canon confirmed, but heavily implied), Vaggie, from Hazbin Hotel, and Catra, from She-Ra, Princesses of Power. And all three of them, are really shitty representation.

Tenko is very sexist towards men, constantly calling them degenerate males, discriminating against them (calling them all perverted, evil, etc), and quite literally, abusive (verbally).

This is a very tired, and harmful lesbian stereotype, where a lesbian is 'only attracted to women because of her distaste towards men.' She's also just... Really damn gross towards the female cast, especially Himiko. Like, she's literally obsessed. Don't believe me? Play the game yourself, or watch a playthrough. Himiko is very obviously uncomfortable with Tenko goddamn stalking her, in the first chapter. It's also mildly infuriating how in the second chapter, Tenko repeatedly talks badly about Angie (Himiko's friend), saying she's (A) manipulating her (H), and all sorts of other stuff. And the Himiko growing to like Tenko thing just seems very clunky and forced. Like... I get that Tenko didn't live long, so there wasn't enough time for them to play it naturally, but it always came off as too soon for me? That's just my opinion though.

Vaggie is another harmful stereotype, for lesbians, and people in relationships in general. She's kind of similar to Tenko, in which she's extremely feisty towards men, and women. Just very aggressive in general (Which is also a harmful Hispanic stereotype, so.. triple threat/neg)

But.. that's basically it. I'm not saying that's the only thing wrong with her, I'm saying that's basically all of her character. She's a butch, warrior woman who's constantly angry and aggressive. She's, quite literally, NOTHING without her girlfriend, Charlie. She has no real likes, nor interests, her 'major plot twist' only affects her and Charlie, so it's not really impactful. She's just there to be Charlie's girlfriend, nothing else. Even during 'her song', it's just about fighting for what she loves, her girlfriend. Not fighting against the very people who betrayed her, who kill hundreds, of not millions of demons every day. Nope! Fight for your girlfriend! It's just aggravating.

Catra is literally abusive towards Adora. She made it her ENTIRE lifes purpose, just to get back at Adora. Now, excuse me for possibly being inaccurate, but I stopped watching SRPOP at around the beginning of season three. But Catra has (according to research);

Went out of her way to keep a cycle of abuse spinning around

Beaten Adora up (multiple times!?!?)

Murdered Adora's best friends mother

Trying to force Adora to meet her needs and expectations regardless of Adora’s owns

Similar to Vaggie, bases her ENTIRE existence on Adora.

And DO NOT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON THE FACT THAT THEY ARE DAMN SIBLINGS (Both consider Shadow Weaver their mother, were raised together, are literally called siblings in canon posts. Just because they aren't blood, doesn't mean they aren't family)

Not gonna mention Amity Blight (The Owl House). Just too tired rn

TLDR: Stop making all lesbian/WLW ships toxic. I beg of you

[bixels]

Hey, big fan of your art, especially your Grand Galloping 20s AU! I’m sorry if this is kind of a weird question, but I’ve been trying to figure it out and I just can’t place what GGG Applejack and fluttershy’s ethnicity is. Sorry if this is weird I just adore headcanons about a character’s ethnicities and languages bc I’m a child of immigrants and love seeing diversity in media. Anyways, keep up the great work!

Ok, but in all seriousness.

In this AU, AJ is White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (but she has one branch in the family tree who're Hispanic. Rosita is technically a very distant cousin). Félicie's parents are white French immigrants, which is why she speaks both English and French.

I bold the first phrase because I know this is not a common head canon for these two (I really love Arab Fluttershy). I hope people don't interpret this as some sorta head canon or representation erasure.

[damnfandomproblems]

Response to 5474

"All art is political"

No the fuck it's not. Art for the sake of art/decoration/love of subject, has always been the majority. Fanartists aren't drawing political cartoons. They're drawing they're favorites doing beach episodes and riding go-carts and getting fucked stupid and everything in between. Nothing about that is freaking political. Nor should it be. Fandom is an escape, not activism.

As far as representation goes: this is the most America/west centric view, istg

the things mentioned are shown, but by dint of proportionality will always be in the minority. Because people with X handicap or LGBT, are the minority in the US and EU.

Asians are 6% of the country, and less if you split it by east/west/south Asian communities. 13% of the population is Black, just under 20% Hispanic, and about 2% Native. Of course there's going to be less of them in media.

It wasn't political until people politicized it. Some of the top earning actors and comedians in the 90s were black. Some of the most popular shows had 50-90% Black casts. Children's shows with real and animated casts were diverse as all hell with race and ability differences just accepted and spoken about normally and explained in ways kids easily understood and accepted and Literally No On questioned it outside of people that were rightfully considered crazy fundies.

Then the 2010s happened and someone decided it had to be freaking highlighted and made into a big deal and all of a sudden it's an issue when before it never was.

There is a ton of media out there with Latinos and Asians and every other group you can think of. They're just in different languages. Because the world doesn't stop at American/European TV. Branch out. Show the execs you don't want an empty check box character, but actual stories like They're doing overseas. Because that's what will get things shifted, not just demanding X media needs Y type of person just because, especially not when changing the race or sex or ability of a character would actively change the character and the story because they're a whole different person and will have different history and perceptions that will by default change the narrative.

Posting as a response to a previous problem.

[blood-red-hummingbee]

Y'know.

Japanese media has never been the best with representation, but Twst is severely missing out! Coco is literally right there and would make such a cool event??? Like, I'm Cuban, not Mexican, but Dia de los Muertos is such a vibe! Not to mention the fact that it would confirm the existence of Hispanic culture in Twisted Wonderland!

Also, all the Asian and Pacific Islander cultures too (does the Stitch event count towards that?).

And, yes, I think Savanaclaw should've gotten more African names and darker skin tones. Istg, everyone in that game is a pale, skinny twink XD

[tumble-tv]

I really want to see more representation of chubby trans people. As a chubby and curvy trans guy, I don't see much representation for my demographic, and it's pretty upsetting. The majority of media shows trans people as being skinny and perfect with their transition, but that's not how it is for so many people, including myself. I'm curvy (thanks to being a raging hispanic) but have a lot of body hair (also due to being hispanic), and I never see any representation for that. I never see any trans women who are tomboys or who are chubby, either. Gender is such a huge spectrum, and I think people forget about that fact.

[kinardsevan]

FYI, I'm crowdfunding a retirement plan for Tim and a place for you on the 911 writers team. I'm sure you can help them sort out the rest of the plots too!

I don’t know if this is genuine or sarcastic, so I’m just going to say this:

I don’t claim to know anything about media literacy. What I do understand is intricate plot and telling a compelling story. I also understand that from the end of 806, I said almost immediately “I feel manipulated”. This has deep personal connotations for me, but the point remains, and because of those personal relations, I get an actual “ick” about feeling manipulated. Now again, I have zero clarity one way or the other as to whether the manipulation is based out of them actually fucking this storyline up or if it’s because of the way they’re trying to pitch it to us as an “exit” and “ending”. Either way, that hasn’t left me.

All I know at the end of the day is that if these people don’t understand how to recover from this decision, they don’t belong in writing television. There’s also the point that I’ve made this week, that this is not the first time TM & Co have done something like this. They’ve done it with Madney. They’ve done it with Tarlos. We’ve even seen it to some degree with Bathena. What set us all off was the interviews, which we’ve all stated from day one were …odd. The thing that stays with me though, is the fact that not once has any one of these interviews stated “Tommy Kinard is gone for good”. I’ve read dozens of exit interviews (said this too earlier this week), and the only people CALLING it an exit interview, are the interviewers. Lou said the arc was over. By the very definition of what needs to be shared and said between BuckTommy for the reconciliation, he’s right. They’ve spanned the first arc of their relationship. Further, another thing that sticks out in my mind is his statement towards how he wouldn’t turn down playing Tommy again because, to his knowledge, there’s nothing else similar to their relationship happening on television. Which is SO important for representation. I also keep thinking about his tweet “keep the hope alive”. Obviously that can be read as he just wants more work… or it can be read as, there’s more coming, don’t give up on them yet.

Above all else, it’s the crowd reaction. We know the “other team” thinks this is all to tee them up into their pairing, and here’s my response to that:

One, it’s not. Because we know that’s now what TPTB want. But two, if it is, I hope they’re prepared for the mass exodus that takes place when all the people who DON’T want that pairing stop watching. And of course, those who do but don’t get the version of it that they want because RG and OS don’t want to play it the way the fandom thinks it should.

I’m not above saying that if they made them canon, I don’t think I’d stick around. It doesn’t serve the story, it spits in the face of what RG has been trying to communicate for years about himself and Hispanic men in general, and especially on the heels of this, it would feel dirty.

Anyway, I rambled on on this far longer than I meant to. Oops!

[celaenaeiln]

it’s a me a 12 am anon . my girlfriend and i had a discussion abt how odd it is that the fandom views and stereotypes the batfam like

dick is romanian and has more fem related traits and somehow it translates into him being a dumb womanizer or just an annoying mother hen?

jason grew up in the streets, i think its popular to hc him as hispanic? idk but jts odd how ppl do that and also think hes an angry heartless brute

cass gets that “badass asian dragon lady” archetype (tbh im not sure what it is but my gf is passionate abt it so like im confident she’s right)

tim?? somehow ive seen wasian hcs for him but the boy is autistic right? somehow a stereotype i see for him is like “weird and socially awkward but super smart” which . i dont think thats right .

steph is adhd right? i think? also falls into the dumb “waffles r my only personality trait” stereotype and uts just a tiny bit odd dyou see it?

damian (and by extension talia) gets done dirty a lot i think i dont .yeah

nyways sorry its been a while <3 would llve to hear ur thoughts n opinions

hey again!!

Batfam fanon is...not great. And it's things like this that remind me why I kinda avoided this fandom until I couldn't.

Dick

Dick is Romani and is canonically more feminized but the dumb womanizer thing is really getting on my nerves. First of all, he's one of the smartest characters, ever. The comforting thing about Dick is that he never loses.

The reason I love reading Dick Grayson runs is because I can read about his thought process, the way he analyzes, how he single-handedly solves crime like it's nothing.

Batman (1940) Issue #703

Secondly he's not a womanizer. He literally has a mental break down at the thought of dating or even kissing someone he isn't in love with. He's never, ever, ever going to sleep with someone he doesn't have atleast some level of romantic attraction to because he feels it's inherently wrong and canonically frowns upon that behavior when others do it.

The mother hen thing - I gotta admit is kinda accurate. He really loves his family and friends and takes care of them really well. He always makes time to sit and listen to all of them with all their problems and helps them solve it so that's fine.

Jason

The hispanic thing - what the actual heck. Literally why? Jason's "hispanic" fanon background along with Tim's "asian" background comes from a wider problem where society has become disillusioned by the same ethnicity for all characters and wants for diversity and representation in the media. I actually do believe in greater representation but not here. When people make Jason hispanic due to his street backstory, they're attempting to diversify canonically white characters but accidentally reinforcing and perpetrating damaging stereotypes about particular ethnicities. Because his background has drugs, poverty, and crime - you want Jason to be Latino? Can you possibly make things worse? And Jason being an angry heartless brute. Not even adding to the stereotype, Jason was not like that. Jason originally started off as troubled but excited kid. He was happy about fighting criminals and having a home and getting food. As he grew older, the more criminals he fought, he came to a realization that people weren't going to change which is when he started getting more violent and angry with them. He didn't do it because he was some sort of psychopath, it's because he cared a lot about the effects these criminals were having on innocent people. Because he can relate. His anger has nothing to do with his supposed "hispanic" background which is still - ?!?!? Why is this even a thing.

Cass

I don't really have anything to say about Cass being that archetype because tbh I kinda think of her like that too. She's exceptionally good at fighting, she's chinese, and she's the strong and silent type. I'd love to hear more about what your gf thinks about it though.

Tim

Again about Tim being Asian. No where near as damaging as Jason being classified Hispanic but also why? He's asian because he's smart? Because he's good at computers? C'mon the stereotype is boring. Isn't it exciting when you watch a movie or show and the Indian guy isn't an IT specialist? Or when the Chinese girl has neon highlights and loves partying? Or when the Japanese girl is rocking combat boots? The best way to appreciate diversity is actually letting ethnic characters have diverse personalities and talents. On a side note, there is not nearly enough celebration of already canonically diverse characters like Roy's navajo heritage or Jessica Cruz's latina one. Isn't it ironic how we're making racialized characters based on stereotypes because we believe there should be more diversity but ignoring canonically ethnic ones. Literally noone talks about Cass connecting to her Chinese side or the fact that she has dyslexia but we're readily jumping on the Asian Tim Drake train.

Autistic Tim Drake I can see where they're coming from because Tim sometimes has a hard time connecting to people. Like he sometimes misses social cues. And to be fair this theory actually has more credibility than some other ones because I don't know if I'd pass that off as awkwardness. But it also may be due to lack of human interaction. Tim's parents left him alone for long periods of time which he gleefully used to track robin and batman at night. I don't have a problem with this one because Tim may actually be inadvertently written as autistic at times so I guess it wouldn't be that far off canon.

Steph

People with ADHD are typically impulsive, don't focus on one thing for too long, and have a lot of energy which is very much like Steph.

Batgirl (2009) Issue #10

But mostly she just has a sense of humor. Which - like the case with Dick - because of course people can't be multifaceted, fandom generally takes for stupidity.

She's not dumb, she's just fun. I guess the waffle thing is because of human beings' pathological need to classify everything into categories and fanon likes to run with dumb blonde for Stephanie which really ticks me off. People can not be a gloomy avenger and still be smart. She solves her crimes and has a laugh while doing it and still pulling off the -

Batgirl (2009) Issue #12

Damian

Where do I start. What is even happening to him? Not in fandom necessarily but canon. What is DC doing???

[robinaltieri]

I'm not saying a foreigner can't make a good movie based in Mexico. Nacho libre was made by an american director, it is a positive representation of mexican culture and lucha libre and has this typical mexican film feeling. It's also a tribute to a popular mexican character and even though it clearly has some flaws and stereotypes, mexicans loved that movie sm for the good hearted nature of the perspective and respect towards our country to the point that we adopted that film as ours.

Meanwhile, making a story about the narcotraffic is a sensitive topic for a lot of reasons and it's going to cause controversy either way from the fact that has been the cause of many losses in the country and that we are already dealing with the mexicans themselves romanticizing these groups in current media.

I'm not saying you can't enjoy the movie, I'm 100% pro of liking anything you want as long as you take it as fictional and have your feet on the ground. I know nobody is exempt of being guilty for liking a movie, tv show, etc with poorly done representation.

The thing is, I wish people understood the problems around this movie starting with a foreign director who didn't want to make at least a little of research, the main cast that is not really mexican except for one actress because 'they were the best we found' (which implied we don't have good mexican actors), the main actress overreacting on twitter and calling us transphobic for doing a call out on the flaws the movie has and the disconnected representation of mexicans.

We can even say it is something similar to what happened with the first adaptation of WSS, and that says a lot of the progress we have made if here we are committing the same mistakes (funny enough that I am comparing two musical movies about hispanic representation) .

To not make this longer, if mexicans are complaining and backlashing this film is because what we perceived is a foreign person turning the trauma and the cause of the loss of many families as a joke. If the point of this story was to raise awareness, they did it in the worst possible way.

I lived in a state that is popular for the quantity of people involved in these practices and it was a constant state of panic due to the fact that security and the law in Mexico are a joke, sometimes you never know if the person you interacted with even casually in a convenience store is related or has a relative involved in narcotraffic and it sucks to feel so insecure.

I know Mexico is not perfect and obviously not everything is as bad and we constantly do the take me out of latam jokes, but if we are proud of something is of our identity and this movie is not a reflection of that identity.

[starrixle]

What are your opinions on blackwashing and whitewashing?

short answer?

if you can hc a cishet character as lgbtq, then i dont see an issue with hc white characters as poc. obv lgbtq identities and race are different things, but i dont see any harm with adding any sort of representation to fictional characters.

long answer?

whitewashing is bad because you're taking away that racial/cultural representation from a character who's canonically a poc. however, "blackwashing" is ok bc its not like you're taking away "white representation," as white people aren't a minority group. a huge amount of characters in media are white, but more characters who are portrayed as poc have been appearing more over time. this helps cultures be seen more thru popular media and helps to overpower negative stereotypes.

if a character is canonically black, i'm not going to draw them as white because that's racist, as you're taking away their canon culture. if a character is white, you're free to have some creative liberties and add racial/cultural representation, as long as you are not including racist stereotypes. this applies to other races as well, such as hispanic people, asian people, etc.

you can use this same logic with with other headcanons, such as neurodiversity, disabilities, gender, sexual orientation, and more. just make sure that you are mindful of how you represent characters and avoid offensive portrayals/stereotypes.

hopefully this makes sense!

[starmurdock]

ddba episode 3: thoughts

spoilers under the cut

• this episode immediately hooked me from the first scene. as a hispanic, seeing puerto rican representation in media means everything. all i had to hear was “Luquillo” and i was sold. when matt told hector he’ll see that beach again and after his death we hear the sound of the ocean with the coquis over the end credits…tears. instant tears. as hector said, “to us boricuas, it’s a magical sound.”

• hector’s character was great, i really liked him. in just 3 episodes, i was convinced of his good nature and authenticity. i’m eager to see how they’ll continue with White Tiger, knowing that his sister and niece take over in the comics.

• the focus on matt in the courtroom was chefs kiss. of course i love seeing him in action, but a focus on his lawyer work was exactly what i was hoping for at least once this season. it gave crime drama in the best way possible

• the small details like matt fiddling with his kitchen tools in front of heather, feigning incoordination while whipping up a 3 star michelin meal LOL obsessed

• matt talking about foggy???? heather saying, “i was kinda wondering when you would” ohhh that hurt. matt admitting to the challenges of grief, acknowledging that by speaking of a passed loved one it’s almost like cementing the reality. not in reality itself but to yourself—that’s the hardest part.

• the second scene of matt and hector in the jail cell resembling a season 3 sister maggie trying to convince daredevil that there is more to him. hector saying “i didn’t choose it, it chose me. might as well ask me to stop breathing” and matt preaching about finding other ways to give back to your community, your purpose…it was obvious he wasn’t convincing himself of the argument, not fully

• that shot of matt standing in the vacant courtroom !!! looking eerily close to his visits to father Lantom at the Clinton church, searching for clarity in the very place that gives him concrete answers during sentencing. all the while holding a physical reminder of the past he once lived, his truth. he continues to grapple with that battle and it’s only a matter of time until matt admits to himself: daredevil never really left. the masked vigilante who isn’t welcome under fisk’s reign; the courtroom in which he stands taunts him of that very principle.

overall, i’m in love with the tone on this one and i’m so excited to continue. they definitely made some bold choices to start us off with, but after this episode and re-watching the first two i’m hooked. look out for a shorter, less analytical post about horny levels bc … he looks scrumptious & that’s a whole other discussion by itself byeee . ̫ .

[dccomicsnews]

Is DC Comics Sending Fans an "All In" Ultimatum?

In entertainment today, there's a lot of discourse on "messaging" from creators/ entertainment companies to fans.  There's no need to belabor or prove this point, we know it's happening either intentionally or unintentionally.  You will see phrases like "SJW," "DEI," and "Virtue Signaling."  There's always been a social/ political consciousness to entertainment  It's not new, it usually just depends on how it's done as to whether it's actually good or not.  However, this type of messaging is not the subject today.   Shazam! #20

As DC Comics continues to publish under the All In initiative, something may have become apparent with the publication of Shazam! #20.  This issue features a de-aged Jon Kent who is desperate to get back to his adult self.  The official synopsis reads: JONATHAN KENT, son of Superman, is in Philly when something funny happens in the Rock of Eternity. Jon is caught in the lightning and transforms...back into a little boy?! While Jon gets a second chance at childhood, Billy better figure out how to get the grown super son back before the world misses him!

The issue ends up feeling like a purposeful message on DC's part to tell fans of young Jon Kent that the aged up Jon Kent is better, and to sort of...get over it.  It's not hard to find dissatisfaction with the seeming  message of this issue when looking on social media or  site like League of Comic Geeks.  My own impressions showed up in this week's DC Comics Quick Takes: "Jon Kent hasn’t been relevant since Brian Michael Bendis aged him up in Superman #6 (2018).  He’s unable to carry his own series, and has become a tag-a-long character with the Super-family.  With that move, Bendis eliminated all the potential for stories of Superman and Lois raising their biological son, an idea that was unique, different and fresh for the Superman franchise.  In addition, he had Jon unbelievably pass through puberty and those important formative years without any guidance and produced a Jon Kent with perfect morality and a social conscience.  Shazam! #20 serves both in story and in a meta way to reinforce the fact that not only will we never get a young Jon Kent, but that the sole reason for his existence is LGBTQ+ representation, and token representation at that.  Real representation comes from characters care about because they are great characters and just HAPPEN to also be inclusive.  Michael Holt Mr. Terrific and Kate Kane Batwoman jump immediately to mind.  After the reader is drawn in by the compelling aspects of these characters the reader realizes, “oh, this really awesome character is black/lesbian/hispanic/asian…whatever.”  Jon Kent’s appearances have devolved into niche romance fiction.  He has no purpose any longer. He’s not Superman and he’s not Superboy, he’s just redundant and useless.  This is obviously a fill in issue and an issue designed to stick it to fans of Jon Kent and the Super-Sons." Is this really what DC is telling the fans?  Are they telling fans of a young Jon Kent and the Super-Sons that it's over and to just suck it up?  Damian Wayne even echoes the sentiment IN the issue as seen in the image below:

It all has a strong feeling of messaging the audience, a story intended to be more about the fans' opinion than anything else.   Maybe I'm Crazy It's easy to think that maybe I'm just taking it too seriously that it's just supposed to be a fun story.  However, when one takes it in conjunction with the April Solicit for Power Girl #20, it begins to look like DC is trying to create "in story" messages to shut down fans who are critical of unpopular directions for characters.  DC launched the All In initiative back in the Fall with the notion that creators are giving their all- “ALL IN is designed as a line-wide jumping-on point,” says Snyder, returning to DC for the first time in four years to join the initiative. “Every book will start a new epic story over the course of the fall: all the books in the main DC Universe, and a whole new line of daring reinventions called the Absolute Universe. DC will have every kind of superhero story you could want: blockbuster, wild, personal, daring, everything, all of it connected by a mega-story that starts in DC All In Special #1.” This definitely makes it sound like DC is wholly behind the initiative and they are really going for it come hell or highwater, because they are putting all their eggs in the All In basket.  Not surprising that DC would feel that way, but for it to work, fans have to be "All In" as well, right?  So what does a company do when there are takes on characters that receive highly critical and negative reaction?  Push back even harder...with stories designed to cement the "All In" mindset of the company and the direction for these characters they're determined to push...no matter what. Power Girl #20 From the first appearance of Power Girl under the pen of Leah Williams, there's been negative reaction.  Check out Reddit, League of Comics Geeks (again).  If there were any title that needed a new writer with the All In initiative it was Power Girl.  Williams took a character who was confident, competent, independent, strong willed and focused into a character who is unsure of herself, insecure, DEPENDENT, weak willed and directionless.  Now why would Power Girl fans not like that?  Seems pretty straight forward.  The writing is inconsistent, doesn't acknowledge the substance of her established history and even presented a character who was depicted completely differently in the contemporary Justice Society series.  You'd get Williams' Power Girl in her solo title, and the traditionally established Power Girl in Justice Society of America.  Editorial was clearly asleep in coordinating these books, outside the costume change.  She was still Karen Starr in Justice Society of America despite being the awful, "Paige Stetler" in Williams' Power Girl.  Power Girl needs some help!

It's not like Power Girl under Leah Williams is selling exceedingly well, ICv2 has Power Girl #15 (November issue) at 179 in sales ranking and #16 (December issue) outside the top 200.  This is a drop from the already low ranking of issue #14 at 124, the first All In issue which was up from September's issue #13 which was unranked.  It didn't take the book long to drop out of the top 200 again.  What's the point of continuing to publish a title that sells this low?  It only really makes sense if DC is trying to get this version of the character over and make her THE version.  Power Girl #20 seems poised to do that in story.  April's solicit reads: “Karen Starr has triumphantly returned to Metropolis.  But there’s a problem…the person using that alias isn’t Power Girl!  Paige can’t just stand by as this new Karen gets involved in ventures and schemes she would never dream of.  It’s up to her to expose this imposter before they ruin her reputation for good!”

Sure sounds like DC wants to solidify "Paige Stetler" and this characterization of Power Girl as the "one, true, Power Girl," and get fans to stop talking about Karen Starr as the real Power Girl.  I could be wrong, but I don't think I am. All In or "All Out" If this is what's happening, then it's another example of creators/ entertainment companies not listening to fans and actually being combative with them to show them how the are wrong.  It gives the impression that DC doesn't need these fans, or that they think fans will keep buying just because....  If this were just a single comic that were doing such a story, I'd think that I was probably overthinking things.  However, since there are two so far it really feels like DC is telling fans they need to be "All In" on what's being published and the iterations of characters that fans like just don't exist anymore.  Oh, and why issue #20?     Read the full article