So there's a Mag7 Big Bang, huh.
M7 fandom and I are not friends. That is to say, while I know a few M7 fans (some on my flist, some not) who actually have a clue about white privilege, for the most part M7 fandom has made me desperately unhappy.
It's not that I have a problem with a particular fan or group of fans. I couldn't name more than two or three people in M7 fandom. It's nothing personal, for me. (And I barely interacted with other fans even when I was in the fandom.) But there is a decade of fanfic, a decade of meta, and a good percentage of it is rife with racist stereotypes.
The whole cowboy genre, the myth of the rugged Old West, is a big fat lie. This lie marginalises and even vilifies Native American, African-American, Mexican, Chinese individuals and cultures in favour of the white fairytale of white men who lived by a code and tamed the land.
I'll give the show-runners some credit: they tried. The show made mistakes, and the results were generally more tokenism than true diversity, but they at least made a gesture at tackling issues of race in a post-Civil War America.
Given the failures of canon, it's not shocking that M7 fanfic often indulges in white privilege. It's not shocking to discover authors who are unaware of racist stereotypes in their fic. In fact, I stopped being shocked by how badly Nathan is treated in stories and in meta. I stopped being shocked, and started being really, really pissed off.
That said, I don't think people are incapable of change. I've learned a lot from various racefail discussions. Just because I'm a POC doesn't mean I have it all figured out. And new people join fandoms all the time, and have little to do with the fanfic authors of a decade ago.
I left this comment for the mag7bigbang mod:
Possibly unpopular suggestion
I don't know if you are aware of the recent racefail discussions prompted by the SPN/J2 Big Bang story that exploited the Haiti earthquake for ~drama~, but may I make a suggestion?
Add a rule of "Don't exploit tragedies and/or people of color's cultures for the background of a 'romantic' fic between two white guys." Or if it's a gen/friendship story, to not turn use POCs and their cultures to prop up the stories of white heroes. (some context)
While I've had issues with some of the fic produced in M7 fandom, I really believe that everyone signing up for this Big Bang is capable of writing fic that shows respect and consideration for non-white cultures, non-white characters (Nathan in particular), and non-white fans like myself.
I'm not saying that a story that focuses on, say, Buck's friendship with Chris and JD needs to spend a lot of time on Nathan and other black or native Indian characters. But stories should avoid perpetuating racist stereotypes.
The show itself often failed in terms of race--it's sad, but true. And I realise this means writers have to pay more attention and ask themselves tough questions. But I hope you'll consider my suggestion, and that the writers signing up for Big Bang will do the same.
ETA: Or if not an official "rule", to at least make it clear that racist stereotypes will be frowned on. And hey, that misogyny will also be frowned on. And homophobia. Things like that. Just a suggestion for a minimum standard :)
I hope she responds.
ETA: I want to keep this post public, and so I've screened the comments in which I talk about specific M7 stories. The gist of my comment on DW was that "there's a huge difference between a character showing his white privilege and the author showing her white privilege. It's possible to write racist characters while critiquing their prejudiced beliefs. But if the racist beliefs are normalized, if the author writes unthinkingly, then that's when I start feeling like I've been punched in the face."
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comment(s)
It's not that I have a problem with a particular fan or group of fans. I couldn't name more than two or three people in M7 fandom. It's nothing personal, for me. (And I barely interacted with other fans even when I was in the fandom.) But there is a decade of fanfic, a decade of meta, and a good percentage of it is rife with racist stereotypes.
The whole cowboy genre, the myth of the rugged Old West, is a big fat lie. This lie marginalises and even vilifies Native American, African-American, Mexican, Chinese individuals and cultures in favour of the white fairytale of white men who lived by a code and tamed the land.
I'll give the show-runners some credit: they tried. The show made mistakes, and the results were generally more tokenism than true diversity, but they at least made a gesture at tackling issues of race in a post-Civil War America.
Given the failures of canon, it's not shocking that M7 fanfic often indulges in white privilege. It's not shocking to discover authors who are unaware of racist stereotypes in their fic. In fact, I stopped being shocked by how badly Nathan is treated in stories and in meta. I stopped being shocked, and started being really, really pissed off.
That said, I don't think people are incapable of change. I've learned a lot from various racefail discussions. Just because I'm a POC doesn't mean I have it all figured out. And new people join fandoms all the time, and have little to do with the fanfic authors of a decade ago.
I left this comment for the mag7bigbang mod:
Possibly unpopular suggestion
I don't know if you are aware of the recent racefail discussions prompted by the SPN/J2 Big Bang story that exploited the Haiti earthquake for ~drama~, but may I make a suggestion?
Add a rule of "Don't exploit tragedies and/or people of color's cultures for the background of a 'romantic' fic between two white guys." Or if it's a gen/friendship story, to not turn use POCs and their cultures to prop up the stories of white heroes. (some context)
While I've had issues with some of the fic produced in M7 fandom, I really believe that everyone signing up for this Big Bang is capable of writing fic that shows respect and consideration for non-white cultures, non-white characters (Nathan in particular), and non-white fans like myself.
I'm not saying that a story that focuses on, say, Buck's friendship with Chris and JD needs to spend a lot of time on Nathan and other black or native Indian characters. But stories should avoid perpetuating racist stereotypes.
The show itself often failed in terms of race--it's sad, but true. And I realise this means writers have to pay more attention and ask themselves tough questions. But I hope you'll consider my suggestion, and that the writers signing up for Big Bang will do the same.
ETA: Or if not an official "rule", to at least make it clear that racist stereotypes will be frowned on. And hey, that misogyny will also be frowned on. And homophobia. Things like that. Just a suggestion for a minimum standard :)
I hope she responds.
ETA: I want to keep this post public, and so I've screened the comments in which I talk about specific M7 stories. The gist of my comment on DW was that "there's a huge difference between a character showing his white privilege and the author showing her white privilege. It's possible to write racist characters while critiquing their prejudiced beliefs. But if the racist beliefs are normalized, if the author writes unthinkingly, then that's when I start feeling like I've been punched in the face."
I prefer comments on Dreamwidth |
comment(s)