So, because a bad idea just doesn't die like it should, Victoria
Foyt's racist Save the Pearls now has homophobic versions: for books:
and television. I hate
linking to them but they need to be seen. One is a book and the other movie with
the same premise: an all gay world that persecutes the straight minority
So that’s more appropriating the issues we live with, our
history, our suffering and then shitting on it all by making us the perpetrators
of the violations committed against us. How can they not see how offensive this
is? How can they not see how offensive taking the severe bigotry thrown at us
every day and throughout history, bigotry that has cost us so much and then making
our oppressors the victims and us the attackers, is? This is appropriative,
this is offensive, it’s disrespectful and it’s outright bigoted.
Y’know, if you actually want to talk about prejudice and
persecution and how they can affect people’s lives, why not use actual
marginalised people? You want to show how a person navigates a society that has
extreme prejudice against their skin colour? Why not make your protagonist a
POC? You want to show a society that persecutes people based on who they’re
attracted to and who they love? Why not make your protagonist gay?
Oh, but then that becomes a specialist subject, right? A “niche”,
dealing with marginalised issues. A POC book. A Gay/Lesbian book. Totally inappropriate
for mainstream audience – when we can take the same story and flip it to bizarre
bigot world and make the poor straight, white person the persecuted victim and
we’re back in mainstream land. Funny, that.
Is that what this is? This whole offensive, bullshit trend (I mean, apart from prejudiced arsehattery, which kind of goes without saying)? A desire to use prejudice as a plot point but not sully your main character by making them an actual minority?
And don’t tell me it will help straight/white people
understand oppression. Because if a privileged person will only hear about
prejudiced issues when it comes from a privileged mouth then what is the point?
I’ve said this before
when we’ve had similar bullshit, how are you going to encourage people to
address prejudice and marginalisation while at the same time training them that
it’s only worth listening to privileged people?
Because that’s what I hear when this excuse is trawled
out. Straight, white people can’t possibly empathise with a POC or GBLT
protagonist so we have to present these prejudiced issues through a privileged
lens, from a privileged mouth. Or
even from an elf or vampire – because that’s easier to swallow than
actually facing real life prejudice that hits real prejudiced people.
And don’t tell me it’s for marginalised people. Would I
like to read a book where marginalised people are the majority and in charge?
Sure – but not through the eyes of a poor, oppressed straight/white person who
is suffering so awfully at the hands of the big, mean, prejudiced gay/black
people. Because maginalised people being cast as evil villains? Been done and
it’s not fun.
Just stop. You want to include marginalised people, then
do it. But don’t make free with the severe issues that have shaped and attacked
us for generations and appropriate them for your own ends. And certainly don’t
do it while making our oppressor’s the victims and the persecuted the attackers
in these lazy, shallow, ridiculous worlds.