(no subject)
I was reading an LJ discussion somewhere about interracial relationships - probably something to do with the daily_deviant blowup (kudos to the mods there for fixing the problem). I've lost track of where it was, but the gist was a good point - that if "interracial" always means "White plus one", it risks becoming an image of White people indulging in the "exotic", mirroring the long, ugly history of White conquerors abusing women of colour. Anyway, someone made the intriguing remark that Captain Jack Harkness could be read as an example of this, and said they'd like to see a similarly "omnisexual" Black female character.
My first, rather unimaginative, thought was, "Wouldn't that be a Jezebel?" My second thought was, "Wait - surely Jack is a total stereotype of a bisexual man - utterly promiscuous and indiscriminate?" Which lead to the next thought: "But fans don't think of him that way - they see his omnisexuality as positive, and that's how it's presented in the show. Similarly, there's no reason a Black female 'Jack' must automatically fall into the stereotype of the oversexed, available Black woman." Which led to a final thought: "Must put her in one of my books, then."
My first, rather unimaginative, thought was, "Wouldn't that be a Jezebel?" My second thought was, "Wait - surely Jack is a total stereotype of a bisexual man - utterly promiscuous and indiscriminate?" Which lead to the next thought: "But fans don't think of him that way - they see his omnisexuality as positive, and that's how it's presented in the show. Similarly, there's no reason a Black female 'Jack' must automatically fall into the stereotype of the oversexed, available Black woman." Which led to a final thought: "Must put her in one of my books, then."