Introvert Linkage

Here’s a roundup of posts and articles about being an introvert. I foind most of these to be hilarious, and for the most part kind of true about how I think, most especially about people.

There’s  also a  the idea that the Myers Briggs personality tests are  a bunch of bunk’em but I’m okay with that. Even if these personality assessments aren’t any more real than horoscopes, its still a lot of fun, and I enjoyed reading these articles.

General Introversion: I found a lot more articles about genral introversion than articles specific to women. Keep in mind that most of these are probably written to the standard of White males,  because female introverts are so rare, and most people who study this sort of thing, use White men as the default.

http://www.humanmetrics.com/personality/intj-learning-style

How Not To Be Hated By An INTJ

http://www.intjvision.com/

http://personalitygrowth.com/an-in-depth-look-behind-the-intj-stare/

 

On Women Introverts: It was a lot easier this time finding posts and articles about female introverts this time.

http://livingunabridged.com/31-realities-life-intj-woman/

http://www.quietrev.com/introverted-black-girl/

http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2012/05/the-angry-black-introvert/

https://oddblackgirl.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-black-introvert.html

http://www.gradientlair.com/post/30536301997/the-black-introvert-struggle

https://getpocket.com/a/read/1096932327

https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/INTJ-women-A-rare-Myers-Briggs-Category

http://introvertdear.com/news/what-its-like-being-an-intj-woman/

http://www.intjvision.com/intj-female/

Oh, and here’s a link to a page full of links:

http://www.candiddiversions.com/2014/05/life-as-intj-woman.html

 

On Black Introverts: It was hard finding posts on this topic, that weren’t racially insulting, so I just left those out. I’m not surprised to find that most of them were on Yahoo Answers. I don’t fuck with Yahoo as a source for anything other than my email, as it’s quite possibly one of the most racist, and least informative, of all the search engines. It’s like Fox News for the internet.

http://verysmartbrothas.com/on-successfully-navigating-life-as-a-black-male-introvert/

http://black-introvert-confessions.tumblr.com/

 

 

 

Black; Female; INTJ

I Googled this topic about a year ago and then again this week. There’s very little on the topic of Black women, who are also INTJ, according to the Myers-Briggs Personality Assessments.

From Owlcation

https://owlcation.com/social-sciences/INTJ-women-A-rare-Myers-Briggs-Category

Introversion: The I stands for introverted which means she obtains her energy and personal satisfaction from her thoughts, imagination, and/or creativity rather from external factors like other people, status, and/or possessions.

Intuition: The N stands for Intuition. It means that she draws from stored unconscious knowledge accrued through the years from books, movies, other people, experience, and reflection. Generally, the INTJ has top-notch information stored.

Thinker: The T stands for thinker (as opposed to feeler), and this means that decisions are based on a process of deduction and analysis rather than what she feels. Bear in mind that feeling is related to emotions and is not the same as intuition.

Judgement: The J stands for Judgement, and it means that closure is preferred. Open-ended and unresolved problems and issues are not welcome to the lady INTJ.

I only really understood this description about a year ago, and yeah, I’m most definitely in the INTJ column. I tried to find as much information as possible about being INTJ but found almost nothing at all that addresses my specific issue. There’s information about being a woman and an INTJ,something I understand is extremely rare, but not much on being a WoC and INTJ., which must be even rarer still. (It seems no matter what part of my life I examine I always seem to be contrary.)

1.Yep! I often find myself exhausted after family or business events. I love my family, and love spending time with them, as long as I know ahead of time.  When we have events at my job, I usually get notification months in advance, with an exact date. Introverts like people, we just don’t like surprise events (with people).

2. When I was a kid, I always learned what not to do based on whatever shit my peers, cousins, and siblings, got in trouble for, and this made perfect sense to me. When I figured out that  I needed to learn to speak slang, (in an effort to make myself seem less like a robot to my classmates), I studied that shit like I was learning a second language. Introverts love to make plans. We have plans within plans, and then contingency plans for those. We like for everyone else to have plans too. We generally dislike spontaneity, as it does not involve planning.

3. Yeah, I’d say this is true. For the record though, Introverts do have feelings. We just sublimate them in public, and they generally have no greater priority over our decisions than actual facts. INTJs have feelings. They don’t rule us, though.

4. I would say this is mostly true for me, but I’ve gotten very used to be situations, people, events, and things not being complete sometimes. I don’t like it, but I can lump it.

So, what I’d like to do is reach out to all the INTJ WoC, who get this message. Holla at me, about your lives and experiences. How do you get along with your family, and friends? What’s is it like at your job? How do you approach life? How do people treat you, in general? Lemme know you’re out there. In the meantime, I will try to amass as much information as I can on the topic of being an INTJ and a WoC. I guess I’m just gonna have to do this myself since no one else is doing this. Those of you who really have something to say can do a guest post here, or we can post to a new website, if necessary.

I also found one other resource on this topic. It’s someone’s personal blog and it’s fun and informative.

https://blackintjwoman.wordpress.com/

For example, this paragraph on how the INTJ mind works when we encounter friends and acquaintances:

Imagine an INTJ’s brain like files on your desktop, or an old-fashioned rolodex.  Our “desktop” or “rolodex,” are labeled and categorized. Each time we encounter an acquaintance, we “search” or “thumb” through our “files” for relevant information.  When we find said relevant information, we pull from that storehouse of knowledge.

I’ll post topics about INTJs in Pop Culture, Why we get a bad rap, how are we misunderstood, and coping with other personality types. (These will be largely based on my own personal experiences, but I can get receipts if I have to.)

Black men who are INTJs have their own unique issues and, not being a guy, I can’t really address those. So guys, this is strictly for that rarest of the rare, the Black Woman who happens to be an INTJ. But if you want to chime in about your unique circumstances and experiences, then please do. I’d love to know what life is like for you, too.

I can be reached at :

lkeke35@yahoo.com

 

There are set rules to having an INTJ in your life. (We’re kinda like Gremlins.) So, how do you feed, water, and care for your INTJ:

This is mostly funny but also mostly true. I do spend a hell of a lot of time in my head. I prefer it there, really. The parking is always free and its always entertaining.

 

This is a perfect example of captain Holt from Brooklyn 99 who, ironically, happens to also be one of my favorite characters, on the show. Brooklyn 99 has been on the air for about four years, and in that time we’ve seen Holt display  more emotions, and become more relaxed in the presence of his team. This is a perfect example of me, btw. If I’m very comfortable with you you will be shocked at the sheer levels of silliness. If I don’t know you, it’s impossible to tell if I’m feeling anything at all.

 

 

 

Luke Cage Ep. 1: Moment of Truth

I’m not going to go too far into what Luke Cage means to me as a Black woman, but I grew up reading Power Man/Iron Fist, and I am a child of the seventies, so I remember the whole Blaxploitation era, on which Luke is based, and have a special fondness for him. He was the first Black superhero I ever read about. Before Storm, Red Falcon and Captain Marvel.

I’m not sure if people understand just how important it is for PoC to have power fantasies too, but I’ve mentioned this before. White men’s lives are full of such fantasies, in fact, almost the entire comic book/superhero industry is predicated on it, and PoC, most especially WoC, have precious few of these. So, if you can, imagine how emotional this must be for quite a few of us, especially in these turbulent racial times, to see a bulletproof Black man in a TV show, being heroic, or in some cases, just being.

I wasn’t going to do a play by play of each episode of the series but I’ve enjoyed what I’m seeing so much, that I just can’t help myself, and this is just the first episode. I enjoyed meeting all the different characters and watching them establish relationships with each other, but more importantly we get to understand Luke Cage’s relationship to his neighborhood, Harlem. Where he lives is fairly close knit. Everyone sort of knows each other. They’ve all seen each other around, even if they don’t know  each other’s names.

I grew up in a more rural Midwestern version of this environment, and its fascinating for me to see all the neighborhood nuances, speech, and body language, in a mainstream big budget TV show, that I see everyday. This show isn’t just Black because it has Black people in it. Its Black because it has BLACK people in it. Black people not filtered through a White creator’s lens.(Mostly)

Since the show’s creator is a Black man, there is a minimum of racist stereotypes in the plot. Only the usual stereotypes to be found in such an environment,  resentful fatherless teens, the barbershop banter, hanging out at the club, but done in such a way that the viewer doesn’t dwell on these things as stereotypes.

Luke, played by Mike Colter,  is one of those quiet, mystery people you always see around the ‘hood. They don’t make waves, and you don’t see them out and about too much. He just wants to live a quiet life with Pop, played by Frankie Faison. You might remember him as Barney, from Silence of the Lambs, but I remember him mostly from The Wire.

Luke works two jobs, can barely makes his rent, and is unwilling to get involved with women who give him their phone numbers, because he’s still mourning the death of his wife, which we saw in Jessica Jones. Earlier in the episode, a gorgeous, and smart, young sistah tries to invite him out for coffee, but he turns her down. Pop is the person who urges him to be more involved in living, to find a girlfriend, protect people, that sort of thing.

Eventually he does do these things. He meets Misty Knight in the Harlem Paradise, where he works part-time, as a cook or bartender. Its interesting watching the two of them flirt without giving anything away. These are two carefully guarded people trying to establish a connection, and feels almost antagonistic. Misty gives him a hard time, but he’s smart enough to keep up with her. Luke is persistent and  manages to make his interest in her evident, and she eventually responds. And yeah, this show  proves it is not PG-13, as there is a hot, sweaty love scene, between the two.

The next morning Misty lies to him about being a cop. (What is it with Luke Cage and duplicitous women?) I don’t know where the show creator is going to take this relationship but, in the comic books, Misty ends up with Iron Fist. I liked Misty, played by the lovely Simone Cook, who has just the right amount of snark ,so she doesn’t come across as the Angry Black Woman, or Sassy Black Sister.

The owner of the club (called Paradise) is similar to Daredevil’s Kingpin, only slightly less powerful, named Cottonmouth, and played by Mahershala Ali, who is every bit as badass as the snake after which he’s named. He’s so frightening that even his own female employees don’t like being alone with him. He’s engaged in some nebulous illegal activities, which I didn’t fully understand, even though I thought I was paying attention. Cottonmouth’s cousin is played by Alfre Woodard, aka Black Mariah. She’s a powerful woman in Harlem politics. In the comic books, she’s one of Luke Cage’s primary nemeses. So there are echoes of the Daredevil/Kingpin plot in this show.

Luke becomes more involved in Cottonmouth’s affairs after a young man he knows, who worked for Cottonmouth, dies when one of his co-workers steals several million dollars from his boss.  Now Cottonmouth is looking for the last remaining thief, after killing one of them. Misty, and her partner, Rafael Scarfe, (the only White guy I saw in this episode) are investigating the deaths of the two accomplices, and eyeing Luke as being involved, because he works at Cottonmouth’s club. All  of these characters are aimed right towards each other.

In the meantime, Luke gets in “game mode” by protecting his angry, loud Korean landlady, (another stereotype, which I understand why it was added, but did not appreciate in a show that’s about bucking stereotypes), from some neighborhood thugs. It’s heavily implied that Mariah has something to do with these guys little protection racket.

Its one of only three  action scenes the viewer gets in this episode, as Luke stops a bullet, fired point blank, with his hand. We often forget that Luke Cage is also prodigiously strong, as he easily tosses grown men around, like dolls. (In the comic books Luke is a direct descendant of the same Super Soldier experiments that created Captain America.)

Contrast that with the earlier scene where Luke’s friend gets shot by the thieves, which is horrifying, sad, and graphic. Luke’s scene is also very graphic, as we see bones breaking, and some small amount of gore. But the worst violence is when Cottonmouth beats a hostage to death with his bare fists,splattering blood over his own face and clothes. So yeah, this isn’t a show for young kids, really.

So, this first episode played kind of low-key for me. My minimal expectations that it be interesting were at least met and is  a typical MCU episodic formula, where the primary characters and their relationships are introduced. Its not a standout episode, nevertheless I enjoyed it very much, and I would like to go back and watch it again, catching all the cookies and eggs that I didn’t catch the first time, like Pop referring to Luke as Power Man, Raphael Saadiq singing in the club. (I love Saadiq’s music) and Cottonmouth’s painting of Biggie Smalls hanging in his office, but I need to get to the next episode.

There are comic book, and musical references, all over this episode, which can be a little distracting. I’ll discuss those in my next review.

*Edited for corrections.

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*This post is going to be long and pretty heavy. Its  about Fandom Racism reproducing  media tropes. The reason why you’ve been hearing so much lately about racism in fandom is because marginalized “others” have become much more vocal about how they wish to be depicted, not just onscreen, but within the fandoms, as well. And what they have been saying is Fandom needs to start  examining why/how…

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*This post is going to be long and pretty heavy. Its  about Fandom Racism reproducing  media tropes. The reason why you’ve been hearing so much lately about racism in fandom is because marginalized “others” have become much more vocal about how they wish to be depicted, not just onscreen, but within the fandoms, as well. And what they have been saying is Fandom needs to start  examining why/how it responds to the media it consumes. 

Fandom seems to be undergoing  growing pains as people begin to realize that geekfandom isn’t as welcoming, nor as progressive,  as everyone has been claiming. As I said, in a previous post, this is not an indictment of all fandom. The bigotries on display are simply reiterations of the wider culture, and fandom does not exist in a vacuum.

For example:

jawnbaeyegaqueerhawkeye

feministe.us

How media clearly reflects the sexism and the racism we cannot see in ourselves.

letthetruthlaugh:

I wanted my first-year film students to understand what happens to a story when actual human beings inhabit your characters, and the way they can inspire storytelling. And I wanted to teach them how to look at headshots and what you might be able to tell from a headshot. So for the past few years I’ve done a small experiment with them.

Some troubling shit always occurs.It works like this: I bring in my giant file of head shots, which include actors of all races, sizes, shapes, ages, and experience levels. Each student picks a head shot from the stack and gets a few minutes to sit with the person’s face and then make up a little story about them.

Namely, for white men, they have no trouble coming up with an entire history, job, role, genre, time, place, and costume. They will often identify him without prompting as “the main character.” The only exception? “He would play the gay guy.” For white women, they mostly do not come up with a job (even though it was specifically asked for), and they will identify her by her relationships. “She would play the mom/wife/love interest/best friend.” I’ve heard “She would play the slut” or “She would play the hot girl.” A lot more than once.

For nonwhite men, it can be equally depressing. “He’s in a buddy cop movie, but he’s not the main guy, he’s the partner.” “He’d play a terrorist.” “He’d play a drug dealer.” “A thug.” “A hustler.” “Homeless guy.” One Asian actor was promoted to “villain.”

For nonwhite women (grab onto something sturdy, like a big glass of strong liquor), sometimes they are “lucky” enough to be classified as the girlfriend/love interest/mom, but I have also heard things like “Well, she’d be in a romantic comedy, but as the friend, you know?” “Maid.” “Prostitute.” “Drug addict.”

I should point out that the responses are similar whether the group is all or mostly-white or extremely racially mixed, and all the groups I’ve tried this with have been about equally balanced between men and women, though individual responses vary. Women do a little better with women, and people of color do a little better with people of color, but female students sometimes forget to come up with a job for female actors and black male students sometimes tell the class that their black male actor wouldn’t be the main guy.

Once the students have made their pitches, we interrogate their opinions. “You seem really sure that he’s not the main character – why? What made you automatically say that?” “You said she was a mom. Was she born a mom, or did she maybe do something else with her life before her magic womb opened up and gave her an identity? Who is she as a person?” In the case of the “thug“, it turns out that the student was just reading off his film resume. This brilliant African American actor who regularly brings houses down doing Shakespeare on the stage and more than once made me weep at the beauty and subtlety of his performances, had a list of film credits that just said “Thug #4.” “Gang member.” “Muscle.” Because that’s the film work he can get. Because it puts food on his table.

So, the first time I did this exercise, I didn’t know that it would turn into a lesson on racism, sexism, and every other kind of -ism. I thought it was just about casting. But now I know that casting is never just about casting, and this day is a real teachable opportunity. Because if we do this right, we get to the really awkward silence, where the (now mortified) students try to sink into their chairs. Because, hey, most of them are proud Obama voters! They have been raised by feminist moms! They don’t want to be or see themselves as being racist or sexist. But their own racism and sexism is running amok in the room, and it’s awkward.

Source: letthetruthlaughthis is iti’ve seen and reblogged this beforebut this is truly ity’all don’t even know how racist sexist etc you are but will INSIST that you aren’tstop thataccept that you are and work to learn to be betteryou are not specialyou’re just as indoctrinated as the rest of us and pretending  you’re not is a big part of the problemracismmedia sexismmedia racismsave

31,365 notes

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*About how WoC are often treated in media:

Anonymous asked:

i was telling my sister to watch preacher and I explained it as “It kinda gives me early supernatural vibes except they acknowledge black people exist and the black woman doesn’t die at the end of the episode.” thats pretty mucha ll it took to get her to watch it

yeah that’s pretty much why I got into it

a supernatural show where the black woman doesn’t die???? and isn’t treated like shit??? LET’S FUCKIN’ GO. plus the southern church aesthetics are alright, makes me feel nostalgic.

dom loves her anons they’re so nice

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 *How PoC in interracial relationships are required to do all the emotional labor for that relationship.

Speaking of which:

little-house-of-kurian:

little-house-of-kurian:

 Something I can’t help but hate is this idea that in an interracial relationship between a White person and a PoC:

• the PoC is always heavy on being the caretaker.
• The PoC is always shouldering and sloughing through someone else’s hurts and baggage not because they want/need to in the context of the relationship, but because of White person bringing their own racial and personal baggage that they never would’ve unpacked otherwise if it wasn’t for them dating a PoC.
• The fact that it’s mostly the PoC that’s doing most of this unpacking, while White person is mostly oblivious.
• The former is almost always written as White person being naive, innocent, or spun off as enlightened, but stops right before White person begins to consider the implications of the environment around them and how that could contribute to their partner’s problem.
• The fact that the PoC gets harsher scrutiny and loads less support in dealing in whichever/whatever multiple traumas they may have.
• The PoC may or may not talk about these traumas, but if they do, they ultimately get glossed over and undermined.
• It’s the fact that dating a PoC is seen as “progressive points” (ugh)
• The fact that “progressive points” (ugh) are a pass to say slightly microagressive slick shit.
• It’s not even all that big. Sometimes it can be a comment about how huge their genitals are. Sometimes it’s comments on how their Brown/Black skin is somehow “dark”, “scary”, “mysterious”, or “bad-boy material”.
• Sometimes it’s the fact that even though Brown and Black skin rarely gets compared to Zircon, Diaspore, Amber, the smoky wood finish of a loved pine chair, the smell of the sweet, soft, pure victory that is Coca Butter, or Shea, we constantly get words like cinnamon or chocolate.(Ironically enough, we never get Adobo, Goya, rich Palm Oil or Maggie cubes.) Spice is nice and it’s our fucking game, but we can go farther!
• Sometimes it the fact that the PoC may not get much elaborated on them (maybe one or two features) but the fact that White person can be endlessly praised, even worshiped/glorified endlessly for having conventionally attractive features.
• Sometimes it’s everything.
•  Sometimes it’s nothing. And-and-&-&-
• Sometimes it is what it motherfucking is.

But sometimes, when it comes to writing, life, and the world around us, I wish we could give PoC more room. More room to be cuddled. More room to be delicate. More room to be docile, and loving, and even care taking, but on even footing and less fetishistic and uneven ground.

I want to see PoC fervently in love with each other. I want them to revere each other, choose each other, fall in love and then choose to stay together with each other. I want them to be active agents and participants in their love; I don’t want them to accept passivity because it’s superimposed on them. I don’t want them to accept hypersexuality because it’s superimposed on them. I don’t want them to accept being a fuck for “progressive points” because it’s superimposed on them. Their wants and needs and should come as easily and wanting to consideration; especially when it comes to matters outside of sex. Sex doesn’t even have to be in the picture at all!

When I wrote this post, I was talking in a context of LGBTQ couples. That applied throughout this entire post. It all started because I was thinking about porn, and fandom, and life, and how it all got mixed up in my head and how all of this vomited out. But I have exhausted my words. All I can say is that I want everything, everything this world can give to us, that it SHOULD return to us after roots were deliberately yanked from this ground and scattered all over in the name of a love that places us as secondary. Exceptional. An openly taboo measure for ‘progress’. I want nothing but everything. I want everything for us.

I want everything for us and more.

Cc: @russianspacegeckosexparty and @fandomshatepeopleofcolor I wrote this quite a while ago, but now that I know I’m not alone, it resonate better, tbh.

Source: little-house-of-kurian

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*As I’ve said, racism is insidious , and if you do not examine the media you consume, or your motives and responses to it, then all you will do is end up reproducing the same stereotypes for WoC, and other marginalized people, in the media you end up creating.

The following  conversation is a perfect example of how  people who believe themselves to be the most progressive, are the ones who let down their guard, and don’t examine their media enough, thereby allowing things they don’t intend, to creep into their work. I don’t believe this writer meant, or intended,  to do harm, but intention is not magic. Such tropes and stereotypes will occur even when the person is not actually trying to be racist. This is an indication of the insidiousness of white supremacy, not the evil of the writer:

Winter Soldier in Wakanda

abbiehollowdays:

eshusplayground:

sourcedumal:

audio-sexual:

shuttersmiley:

tierry-leoine:

shuttersmiley:

tierry-leoine:

milkdromeduh:

eazzy–pink:

shuttersmiley:

tierry-leoine:

I need a fic where the Dora Milaje adopt Bucky.

Imagine him being safe for the first time. He cannot really hurt them, he is SAFE with them. And they can help him heal, protest him as they know how and he would give them his respect, his help and his experience.

The Dora Milaje would never let anyone take him, would not let anyone take one of their own and he would be one of their own. They would spar and teach him the language and get him an arm with a vibranium alloy and armatur with vibranium mesh.

He would be theirs to protect, because their king asked them to, but also because Bucky would deserze to have someone in his corner, because this would be the right thing to do.

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What do they get out of this or is this just gonna be Black people taking care of some white person for no reason?

This person is literally taking the Dora Milaje and turning them into an entire Mammy squad for Bucky Barnes. Bucky is not one of their own and he never will be. Their own are the 11 Wakandans that were blown up because of Wanda Maximoff’s incompetence. Their own was the beloved king they lost to the Avengers’ negligence to account for civilians while they go about literally destroying entire cities. Their own is T’Challa, who violently lost his father and, despite that, brought Bucky into Wakanda because he refused to allow his vengeance to consume him.

Bucky is not their own and he never will be. You can miss the Dora Milaje with this Mammy glorification.

I cannot fucking believe…

You know what? LMFAOOO

I CANNOT BELIEVEEEEE

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Yes, i understand the difference between doing the right thing and going out of Your way to provide emotional support, that is a very valid point of course. And my wording might have been a little unfortunate.

Still, is that not what the grief council ours are doing? I can see the Dora Milaje being horrified at what happened. Also willing to help. That is the proper human instinct, be the person black or white.

Why are we talking about servitude however? The first post was never meant to sound like they would be his servants. More like his teachers. Is that not what you would do, if you had a stranger come into your country completely clueless? Teach him some language, help him out? Become their friend? A little bit of topic: if I offended anyone, it was clearly not my intention. For that please accept my apologies. The idea for the fic was half-baked and possibly inconsiderate, however it was never meant to offend. The makes of the film make Wakanda a place, where Bucky found refuge. I merely wanted to see a version of a follow up on that idea.

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But you still haven’t answered any of the questions presented to you. What you described is a mammy trope. Black women being reduced to caretakers of non black people. Also, you imply that nothing would take Bucky from them (lmao), but he will never be their priority over actual Wakandans. If his presence ever puts one of their own in danger, his ass is out. No questions asked. No hesitation. He is not one of them. But you have not once made any effort to show Bucky being their friend or him helping them with anything. You literally only talked about what they could do for him as if their worth was entirely dependent on their usefulness to a white man. Do you not understand how fucked up that is? At all?

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I understand perfectly what you are trying to say, yes. I understand how you see this post. As I have previously written, it was never supposed to seem like I was endorsing any kind of servitude or neo-colonial attitudes. Because I don’t. Apparently I just don’t think things through sometimes and write before I think.

I find the idea of them being Bucky’s mommies insulting to both Dora Milaje and Bucky. They would definitely not coddle him or mammy him as some of you put it. That I definitely do not see.

However I do not think they would give him up. Of course politics would demand they hand him over, but I rather think, that they
It king’s word, who promised to keep him safe matters.

I could of course talk about what he could do for them, but should he be brought back up, the relationship would be mostly one sided for a while, because that is what happens with a person recovering. They need help and people helping out rarely get much in return.

I could write about what he has to offer to them back, but they don’t really need anything he could offer. Except maybe train with them. But the Dora Milaje are already one of the most formidable forces in the Marvel universe, so I doubt he could offer them much in this area. Similar with the ideas, that he could own them a favour, be willing to help defend the country. Wakandans do not need him for that.

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You have yet to tell why they would be so protective of him. What is so special about this random white boy that his life should be placed over Wakandans. He is not one of them. And you say it’s insulting to make them into his mammies, but that’s literally what you’re doing. Whether you did so intentionally or not is immaterial. You admitted that he has nothing to bring to this relationship and that it would be entirely one sided in his favor, but then insist that they would be totally equal. Why does always happen when it comes to Black women dealing with whites?

I legitimately hope that Bucky Barnes remains on ice for the entirely of the Black Panther movie because otherwise we’re going to see so much more of this awful meta reducing Black people to 2D cutouts meant to cater to white characters. The movie ain’t even out yet and I’m sick of reading about how good the Black characters would be at providing for someone’s white fave. It’s sickening.

The Dora Miljae would sooner kick Bucky into a predator infested lake than arrange their lives around him.

Stop trying to write narratives centering white men being catered to and coddled by black women!

Bucky is a slab of ice. Dassit.

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Dear white fandom:

Wakanda is not a daycare for troubled white men.

*Black people do not exist to take care of white people.

Your penance is watching all 4 parts of the new Roots back to back.

Trying to think of a situation where a black or brown skinned character could kill anyone from a western or European nation LET ALONE a king or president and fandom would headcanon or write them as a precious cinnamon roll who the secret service should coddle befriend and protect.

Hell… We can barely even get that for black and brown people who are kind, respectful, loving and canonically romantically linked to a white character.

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*Its interesting to me that Orci needs to have this explained to him. This is an example of the general cluelessness of white owned media. If he missed this trope, then, as a straight, white, middle-class, cis-gender man, he has probably missed all of them, having had no incentive to learn any of them, and  this is one of the more well known Black stereotypes.

This is another reason why representation behind the scenes is important, too. Had there been a PoC behind the scenes at Sleepy Hollow, the showrunners could have been warned about what they were about to do. (Although, I still feel like that wouldn’t have stopped them from doing it, though.)

If the fans themselves have to be vigilant in guarding against offensive stereotypes, then this is even more true of those who create the content in the first place. How can they guard against stereotypes that they are wholly ignorant of? It certainly explains the decision making process behind Sleepy Hollow. How can you be a writer and not know some of these tropes?

sleepywitness:

fangirl-utopia:

I usually just ignore their ridiculousness, but I couldn’t let this pass. This kind of ignorance in Hollywood is exactly why the Magic Negro Trope keeps being trotted out again and again. This type of thinking explains exactly why S2 happened and why Abbie sacrificed herself over and over again until it eventually killed her.

They don’t realize that this is just as trite and predictable as “black guy dies first” in horror movies. Instead they classify this as dramatic. The two tropes have the same  motivation–let the black guy die first, let the black woman sacrifice herself because nobody cares and the white audience will continue watching without major discomfort. I think the green light for SH Season 4 confirms that..

Source: fangirl-utopia

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*And just to let you know, I have been paying attention, I have noticed the gradual whitewashing of Teen Wolf, or just never developing any of its characters of color, like Boyd:

Boyd has no family, no story, no background, no home, and when he even makes his brief cameos in the show, he’s usually somebody’s backup or lackey. He has no human complexity, and his one moment of individuality comes when he says he wants to be like Scott (i.e. the lead character on Teen Wolf). Which is then promptly ignored and never covered again. Erica gets a storyline. Isaac gets a storyline. Matt the photographer gets a storyline. So where’s Boyd’s?“

The showrunners answer to this argument seems to be: “Hey I’m just a boring, self centered white person with a very limited view of life and the world so what do you want from me?” (Read here)

 http://www.indiewire.com/2012/08/so-how-come-the-black-guy-on-teen-wolf-doesnt-have-a-life-143471/

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*See, post above for: This is not an excuse to not write non-white characters.

wilsontoyourhousemisstakenbk

‘just write the fic anyway’

skywalkerapologist:

luminousfinn:

therearenobadships:

here’s the tl;dr on my post about white fandom choosing white cis m/m fanworks to write over poc m/m fanworks:

this post is americentric and for fellow whitey mcwhite fans.

potential consequences for writing something kinky and fucked up for white m/m ship:

–none
–someone might say your kinks are gross
–nobody noticing you wrote anything at all in the sea of fandom

consequences for writing something kinky and fucked up for poc m/m ship:

–someone calling your kinks racist
–getting called a racist
–your fic getting plastered on tumblr for being racist
–getting dogpiled for being racist
–getting chased out of fandom for being racist

‘but the person is totally racist!’ how do you know that from reading their fic? maybe they’re just a shitty writer

‘but there were racist stereotypes in the fic!’ are you totally sure you’re not just reading too much into it?

‘i’m totally sure’ call them out privately

‘but–’ PRIVATELY

‘b–’ PRIVATELY!!!

‘but what if they’re a meanie head when i call them out privately?’ i dunno man, figure it out

the end

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Once again we see a white fan being more worried about being called out for racism and white fandom’s delicate sensibilities, than with actually being racist. No wonder fandom is still so horrible on this matter.

But to tackle your points

–someone calling your kinks racist 

Newsflash, some kinks are racist when applied to a character of color because they play directly into a racist stereotype. (E.g. hypersexualised Latinx person, Black man witha  big dick.)

Stop treating these stereotypes as some sort of esoteric knowlegde that is impossible to obtain. Google exists and have for over a decade, use it! You’d be surprised what how many problems a quick search and 30 minutes of reading could fix, but white fandom refuse to do even this little.

–getting called a racist

Newflash, if you write something racist people are going to call you racist because you arebeing racist. Whether you want to A) stop being racist and fix it, or B) if you choose to perpetuate your racism is entirely up to you.

–your fic getting plastered on tumblr for being racist

If you go with option B) or write something that is so horribly racist that even 5 seconds Googling shit would have prevented you doing it, yeah this can happen. Otherwise it’s unlikely.

–getting dogpiled for being racist

If you go with option B) then this will happen, but only if you go with option B). Apologizing and fixing what you did will prevent this from occurring, it’s really that easy fellow white people.

–getting chased out of fandom for being racist

See above.

‘but the person is totally racist!’ how do you know that from reading their fic? maybe they’re just a shitty writer

A racist trope does not stop being a racist trope just because you’re a good or bad writer. Inserting whiteness where it shouldn’t occur (e.g. Wakanda) doesn’t stop being racist just because you’re a good a bad writer. Level of writing ability has literally nothing to do with it.

‘but there were racist stereotypes in the fic!’ are you totally sure you’re not just reading too much into it?

No. Just no. You’re reading too much into it is the go to argument by bigots to get away with their shit, be it racism, misogyny, homophobia or whatever. Chances are the answer is a loud resounding, NO!.

‘i’m totally sure’ call them out privately

AO3 does not allow for PMs and on tumblr, if you put racist shit in the character or ship tags I will point it out. I won’t scream at you, or mock you, or anything, but I will tell you. If you then choose to double down on you racism or start whitesplaining, that’s entirely up to you.

‘but–’ PRIVATELY

No!

‘b–’ PRIVATELY!!!

I. Said. No! They decide to be racist in public, so they get told in public.

You keep treating being called out for racist behavior as being worse somehow than actually being racist. The feelings and sensibilities of white fans should not be more or better protected than that those of fans of color, yet that is what you demand here. That we protect the tender sensibilities of white fans over the real hamr and pain their racism causes to fans of color.

‘but what if they’re a meanie head when i call them out privately?’ i dunno man, figure it out

You mean what to do if they insist on keeping on being racist despite being called out? I would say I would drag their ass over hot coal, but chances are that my followers – many of whom are fans of color – would have got to them before I did.

White fandom’s feelings are not sacrosanct. Being called out for racist behavior or for using racist tropes is not worse than actually being racist or using those tropes.

Learning to treat characters of color with respect and as fully human and not play into racist stereotypes is not that hard, stop using it as some lame ass excuse for your own racism.

Will you f*ck up? Yes. The key is not to double down on your racism or start whitesplaining. Apologize and fix it. That’s all. And ffs learn to you Google people.

This post by a white woman who writes a lot of kinky Stormpilot fic (gasp!) is always relevant when this particular load of BS pops up.

I am cautious at times, but I’m never afraid. I’m not so selfish that I’m worried about how me hurting someone might lead to negative results for myself. I just don’t want to hurt other people. This preemptive fear business that sets you up as the victim if you potentially hurt other people before you’ve even hurt them is the rotten core at each argument like this I see.

… If someone decides not to write FinnPoe because you don’t like that people get offended by a, b, or c that’s entirely on them. There have been over 2,000 FinnPoe fics, and the vast vast majority of them haven’t been called out or criticized in any way. Calm down. There are no crowd of pitchfork wielding sjws storming the castle doors and attacking everyone.

fandom racism

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Racism in the fandom of videogames, although this  shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone.

stitchmediamixmilkdromeduh

Racists in DA Fandom (Dragon Age)

giwatafiya:

zora-zen:

cassandrashipsit:

zora-zen:

So, I’ve noticed that there’s two types of toxic fans.

Type A is the blatant racist. They’re the ones that tell People of Color to shut up. They’re the ones writing blatant and harmful tropes. They’re the ones who cry bullying and send anon hate. They can usually be spotted by their blog headers, “Anti-SJW,” or “Free Speech Advocate” or reblogs of “don’t like don’t read” posts. They’re easy to block because they fly their hate flags.

Type B is a bit different. The False Ally. Type B is someone like Renmiri who reblogs a ton of social justice stuff, and then turns around and supports racist creators, citing “free speech” or “it’s just fiction” or “art.” They’re the type that I really hate. Because when you glance over someone’s blog, you think “sure, seems alright, lots of feminist and social justice stuff here!” and then the come out with some flaccid excuse to defend some racist creator, just when you’re really hoping for some reinforcement. You want your fellow white people to stand next to the creators of color and say they will not stand for this behavior, but they don’t.

And little by little, people like Renmiri chip away at the trust that POC have in their white friends. Little by little they dig, until black women feel alone, like their works are going to be plagiarized, like their bodies don’t matter, like their experiences don’t matter.

Until nothing is left but loneliness and anxiety.

I’m not great with words, but I won’t stand by and watch my black friends get torn down again and again.

And to those who fall into the type B category:

IS THIS YOUR LEGACY? IS THIS THE KIND OF FAN SPACE YOU WANT TO BE A PART OF? IS THIS WHAT MAKES YOU PROUD?

There’s a third type. A type even more painful and insidious than the first:

Type C – The Friend

You’re friends with a white fan (or if you’re black, any non-black fan) and you’re firmly convinced they Get It, that they’re on your side, that they truly understand what you’re dealing with and sympathize.

And then little things start to pop up. Like why are they liking/reblogging posts of known racists, especially someone who has been EXTREMELY hateful toward you? Why don’t they ever comment on your content anymore? Would it kill them to step in and say “oh hey this isn’t cool” on occasion? If you confront them on it, suddenly you realize that they were never your friend at all, not really.

And low and behold apparently you’ve been too loud, too negative, or they prefer the white racist to you. They unfollow you because “all the drama you post, I don’t want it ruining the game or the fandom for me!” As if YOU were the one to produce racist (or homophobic or transphobic) content, instead of the ones railing against it.

They’ll quietly cheer when someone tries to “take you down a peg” because you had the gall to point out their racist behavior. When you ask them why, what happened, the answers will be luke warm and uncomfortable, leaving you at sea as to how to respond.

I’ve unfollowed and blocked more of a few of the Type C category, or had them do the same to me. People I thought I was actually friends with, people I emailed, and skyped with and interacted with outside the confines of mobile.

I have white friends in the fandom still, but you can believe, in the back of my head? I’m just waiting for them to drop me like a hot rock the day I say something too controversial, or take a stab at their white fave. Hell, it doesn’t even have to be a white FAN, I once called a white actor ugly and had someone flounce on me.

I keep telling myself not to get invested in friendships On Here, but I can’t. I love connecting with people, I love the feeling of comradery and kinship. I just stopped making the mistake of believing it’s anything but temporary.

Eventually that knife in the back is coming, but at least now I’m prepared for it.

And honestly all of you white folks out there who decry these people who are so blatant? The ones who read Zora’s post and noded along? Trust me, you’re friends with the quiet ones already. And maybe when you find out who they are, that’s when you’ll join the ranks. How long before your white faves become more important than your black ones?

Just something to consider.

Type C will crawl under your skin and gaslight the fuck out of you.

For example: I was once bullied off a website based on my gender. All my male buddies? The ones who I stayed up late talking to? The ones who I exchanged Christmas cards with?

They didn’t do a fucking thing to stop the bullying. They told me to ignore it. That the bullies were just assholes. I got harassed out of a paying job because when it came right down to it, I stood alone.

“How long before your white faves become more important than your black ones?”

Keep asking yourself that question.

I will never let anyone feel alone the way I did.

(As a side note, I named Remiri because of her support of the bi Dorian and Sera mods, the straight ones too, and when she called people who talked about Alistair’s whitewashing “idiots.” She has not, to my knowledge, participated in today’s fuckery. I’m simply using her as an example, because she was one of the first people in the DA fandom that I followed, and the first person that I blocked.)

@theprettynerdie it got better.

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*Jessica Jones and its PoC characters. I didn’t finish watching this show as I became increasingly uncomfortable with its depictions of the lead, and supporting characters and its basic storyline. Here’s only  part of the reason I can’t finish watching this show. This discussion outlines the good as well, as the bad.

steadfastclaraDeactivated

Jessica Jones is a racist show, especially anti-black.

Not only did they kill Clemmons in a very graphic way, they also made Malcolm an addict because of course they did. But not even that gross, racist storyline was his. Kilgrave made him so, to get at Jessica and she, in turn, used him. She put him in danger, she mocked his sufferings and made his addiction about herself. Frankly, it was. We were never shown him actually fighting, resisting to it. He was an addict and then, he was fine. Eventually, he became the support system of Ruben’s sister, another white girl willing to step on him if needs be. From beginning to end, Malcolm was a pawn and a liability, his efforts to insert himself on the narrative dismissed with a patronizing pat on the back.

Luke Cage got off worse. This show was supposed to lead the way to his own show, premiering in  2016. Luke Cage, that historical hero, impervious to bullets, whose story matters so much as of now. We were introduced with is character through Jessica’s binoculars, as she stalked him.

He is shown having sex with a black woman. Said black woman, it turned out, was cheating on her husband with him, allowing us to understand a bit more about Luke as he declines her advances. A straight-up guy, he “doesn’t do drama”. Never once is that woman shamed for her choices, however. She’s confident and upfront and challenges Jessica, calling her out on her obsession with Luke. Nevertheless, she is soon forgotten, set aside to let Jessica and Luke’s story begin. She was the only black woman with a speaking role in the whole series and her potential was already conveniently abandoned before the end of the pilot.

From that moment onward, Luke is surrounded by white people. His colleague is a white guy and all his scenes are with Jessica. He has no world, no friends, no relations. He is utterly othered, rarely if ever sharing the camera with another POC and linked solely to Jessica.

Their relationship is physical, leading to many sexual scenes between the two. The spectator watches as a blooming fondness is born, a trust shared. Luke helps Jessica in many ways, his moral support giving her a drive and a new-found confidence in her abilities. That, in itself, is already symptomatic of a lack of balance in their interactions. Never once is Jessica here for him, to propel his story. So far, there is none to tell. He has no ties but her.

The truth comes out, eventually. Jessica killed his wife, a black woman once again set aside by the narrative to propel their romance. She killed her and never told him, even though she knew who he was. She tricked him, abused of his trust and only came clean because she had to. Luke doesn’t shy from stating how violated he feels, how betrayed. He is completely disgusted with the very though of having slept with his wife’s murderer, showing to the spectator how wrong Jessica’s actions were. Jessica raped him and there is nothing more painful to watch than his face as he realises what she’s done. Mike Colter plays it with such intensity and raw pain, it’s unbearable.

His plight doesn’t end here, however. Kilgrave finds him and learns about is relationship with Jessica. Because they could, the writers didn’t refrain from showing the former bewildered with the very idea of their  interracial entanglement, referring to it as a “pity shag”. He proceeds to take control of Luke, unbeknownst to the spectator. Throughout a whole episode, Luke is literally forced by the narrative to forgive Jessica, to stay near her and to offer his moral support, once more. He has no choice, no say in this. Yet, we are never showed that. His turmoil remains silent, the focus staying on Jessica and her relief at being once again the receptacle of Luke’s affection. His story and feelings are of little consequence. He is pushed back in the arms of his aggressor, by Kilgrave but also by the narrative. That state of helplessness, which is so often described as traumatizing and painful, holds only emotional weight when Jessica learns that him forgiving her wasn’t real. The consequences on his mental well-being aren’t worth dwelling into because, as per usual, only Jessica and their ship matter.

Knocked unconscious for the entirety of the finale (!!!!), Luke is powerless as Jessica holds him, kisses him and professes her love. Once again, he is but a silent witness, a barely consenting participant in that poor excuse for romance.

This show is racist and romanticizes the abuse of black people. And that’s not right in the slightest.

sensei-aishitemasu

I concur. Everyone should read this piece about the racial undertones in Jessica Jones:

https://modelviewculture.com/pieces/netflix-uncovering-cycles-of-abuse-and-chill-jessica-jones-and-domestic-violence

Essentially a white woman has to kill a Black woman for her own liberation (very white feminism), then she rapes & violates the Black widower left behind. Fuck Jessica Jones.

bana05

This probably explains why I haven’t really been bothered I haven’t gotten around to watching the rest of this series. And I thought Daredevil was problematic enough (even though I still enjoyed the show), but there wasn’t enough compelling things about JJ to keep me interested. *shrugs*

nabyss

😮😮😮😠😠😠

sleepynegress

Okay, most of this is true, but some of it needlessly is embellished to fit the very true conclusion. It’s still problematic, but…

For example. NO, the black woman Luke slept with didn’t have any potential.

She was written as cheating on her hubby and her plotline would have drawn away from the main narrative. She was in the wrong. Luke did the right thing handling her. There was nothing to defend there.

Luke’s wife, however, SHOULD have been fleshed out. She should have been given personhood beyond the phantom of Luke’s memory, as she was the lynchpin to several important plots and something else that OP didn’t mention, but as is typical the one positive presentation of a black woman is light-skinned. All two other darker women were angry in their very fleeting scenes even if you include Rosario’s ‘too good for these series’, Night Nurse Claire.

Every single black woman in the narrative, including a postal carrier OP left out, was either angry or line-less (Luke’s wife).

It IS made explicitly clear that Luke and Jessica’s relationship is horribly disgusting for Luke’s well-being.

He leaves her and town in the end, rightfully so.

Also, Luke’s scene with Kilgrave? And important part was left out. It’s made quite clear that Luke is the better man. Part of Kilgrave’s power is to compel truth. He asks Luke what Luke did to get Jessica from him or something to that effect. And Luke replies that he did it himself, to which Kilgrave in all his disgusting sociopathy agrees.

OP is right. The show is racist, like a lot of programming and that’s not even touching the continuation of the dead lesbian trope nor presenting an abusive woman (the girl who lost her brother) sympathetically.

The biggest good about the series, however, was presenting redflag behavior honestly and not in any way sexually appealing (see:Twilight and 50 Shades). There were many different types of unhealthy relationship abusers, including a gay woman. In that respect, I thought it was not only compelling but useful.

I also, loved the fact that the only person, the only man in this show who was a gentleman who demonstrated what healthy mature treatment and respect of a partner is, is a black man. He was written beautifully in that respect.

I do think that was important in a show where pretty much every single person in a relationship was doing horrific shit to their partner.

Like I said, I agree with OP it is racist and chock full of misogynoir, but these are the two good qualities for me, making the black men (also Malcolm) the lawful good in the show, while the white guys were all gross and redflaggy as hell and explicitly treating scary unhealthy relationship qualities, typically romanticized in this rape culture, as gross and scary and toxic as it actually is.

Basically, if you want to know what redflag behavior is, many different kinds, from subtle to straight-forward and see it treated that way… That’s where Jessica Jones excels.

Source:autisticlynch

#jj#it is sooo problematic#but the good bits#I really#really liked.#it is supposed to be a tough watch at times#it’s basically noir

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*My Take: Jessica Jones

I started watching Jessica Jones in good faith, but as the episodes played out I became increasingly uncomfortable with the depiction of the black characters in the show, and the fact that there were no women of color of import, despite the fact that everyone had been hailing it as a feminist masterpiece of some kind.

In my opinion, we need to stop using the word feminist to describe shows that erase and/or stereotype WoC. The very first red flag for me though, was one of Jessica’s first internal monologues, where she expressed contempt for a fat woman in one of the scenes. She didn’t know this woman, and that character did not have a speaking role. In fact, the sole purpose of that character’s seemed to be there to be insulted by Jessica. If the show is willing to engage in size bigotry, right in the first episode, that’s not a good sign.

It wasn’t until the scene where Jessica killed Luke Cage’s wife that I realized that I mostly hated, hated, hated this character. After a while, the self pity, self loathing, paranoia, and general asshattery of this character, started to get on my nerves. Far be it from me to tell people how to manage their trauma, but I don’t want to watch twelve hours of someone being an asshole, and using their emotional trauma as a excuse to shit on the people around them, most especially PoC, (Malcolm and Luke)

And that is what this show was like for me. I do not begrudge that the show was handling some difficult themes that are rarely tackled in superhero series and that is to be applauded, but once again WoC got sidelined, so that the writers could focus exclusively on the trauma of white women, as if WoC don’t experience trauma too, or just like with Agent Carter, the stories of WoC might detract from the white women’s specialness. It is possible to tell Jessica’s story without shitting on the black characters, or excluding WoC from the discussion of such trauma, entirely.

Its as  if both their and our stories can’t be told, side by side, without what? Making white women look bad? I don’t understand why WoC always have to be separated out from stories told about women. Aren’t we women, too? Why does Hollywood keep dong this? Do they think that sympathy for WoC will detract from the sympathy of the white women in the narratives? I don’t know, but its something that has to stop.

 WoC are not asking for our own special store(although that would be nice). We are simply asking to be included in the genre alongside white women. This is not the trauma Olympics, where she who has experienced the worst trauma, wins. I’m getting tired of Hollywood only stating that the only women ‘s stories worth being told are those of white women.

The MCU, needs to do much, much, better.

This article calls Marvel out for what it is: Racist. No sugarcoating, no wankery, just straight up calling it as they see it.

 https://creators.co/posts/3936108

 And from Jamie Jeans:

https://youtu.be/JPw3b00qyks

https://youtu.be/ytnyJ5QhuyQ

Geeking Out About : WoC in SFF

 

 

Lately, geekdom has been having some interesting,  and contentious,  new discussions regarding diversity in some of our favorite shows and films. Women of Color have always been in it, because hey! we live on this planet, too, and I just want to give a shout out to some of my favorite WoC, who inspired my Pop Cultural geekiness.

At first, I was going to do a post just on Black women, but I decided I needed to put it up or shut it up, and include all women of color, who have brought and continue to bring their “A” to the  game and those who have and will always inspire me to be ” That Weird Black Girl”.

Nichelle Nichols As Uhura, on the Original Star Trek, she wasn’t just a secretary, she was also an engineer. There were plenty of times we watched her fixing her communications station. She was Boss! And been credited with influencing more Black women to go into the sciences,  than any other woman on this list, including this astronaut:

This is Dr. Mae Jemison and her flight gear handler. (Get your Google on!)

When I was ten years old, I thought Nichelle was everything a Black woman should be. Smart, elegant, graceful,  beautiful. She taught me that Black women, (that I), have a place in the future. Until Nichelle put her thing down, a lot of us had never been taught that we had a future.

Rinko Kikushi

I have it on good authority that little Asian girls look up to the character of Mako Mori, from Pacific Rim, but Rinko makes this list because I loved her character’s  backstory, and Mako’s show of character, in fighting for what she wanted, but still respecting her adoptive father’s wishes, played by Idris Elba. Also my niece is totally little girl-crushing on that defiantly, blue streak of hair.

Lucy Liu:

 I just like watching her.  She never seems to take any of her jobs too seriously, has a quirky sense of humor,  and always has a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

Rila Fukushima: Throw it up! for Rila’s exemplary sword work in the movie The Wolverine. I was impressed. She’s not my picture of Yukio from the comics, but she is perfectly acceptable.

Dichen Lachman:  Dichen has been in a number of genre TV shows, most recently Marvel Agents of Shield. She is, hands down, one of the most gorgeous Asian women on TV. And yeah, she kicks ass, too.

Saya: From Blood:The Last vampire. She’s got a sword and she’s hardcore. I will be  introducing my niece, a huge Hitgirl fan,  to Saya, this Summer.

Chun Li: From the Streetfighter video game. I always chose this character whenever I played any version of  this game. She had some sweet and fun moves. (The movie sucked, though. We try to ignore it.)

Devon Aoki: She starred in Sin City as the very lethal, and’ terrifyin’, Miho. Miho was all business.You do not fuck with Miho.

Eartha Kitt: She is, as far as I’m concerned, , the first, the one, the only,  and the  true, Catwoman.

Tina Turner As Aunty Entity, she ruled BarterTown,  in a dress made of chainmail. Seriously people! CHAINMAIL! She also had a misplaced British accent, a gang of football thugs as henchmen, and some monster trucks, so you can keep your Furiosa, because Tina got there first. (Just kiddin’! I love Furiosa.)

Rutina Wesley The  first time I saw Tara, on True Blood, she was giving a convenience store lurker, the very erudite backside of her tongue. Afterwards, she  beat up another lady, in the store.  I couldn’t help but love her, as I have fond memories, of giving  people the business end of my tongue, when I was younger and less diplomatic, (just without the beat downs, though.)

I made the mistake of introducing my Mom to the show, in its last season. Guess who she fell in love with, right off the beat? Guess!

Freema Ageyema:  The only Black female companion I’ve ever seen on the show, Dr. Martha Jones, also did a couple of stealth episodes of Torchwood. I’m not a huge fan of Dr. Who, but I’ve watched an episode here and there, and I enjoyed watching Martha and her family on the show.

Naomi Harris: The first time I saw Naomi, she was bludgeoning some  guy, with a machete, and getting high on pills and falling in love with Cillian Murphy, (and who wouldn’t?) in 28 Days Later. Then, in Skyfall,  she sniped James Bond with a high powered rifle. Naomi always brings it. She is  currently Ms. Moneypenny, James’ handler, which should give us plenty of opportunities to watch her snipe at him.)

Nichole Beharrie: I love how the writers gave Abbie Mills so much depth on Sleepy Hollow, without racializing all of her. Not everything about a Black person’s life involves race and the writers are very good to introduce the topic only when its necessary to the plot. She, her friends, and her family are all characters, who just  happen to be Black, while dealing with the Supernatural, making Sleepy Hollow unlike any other genre show on television.

Danai  Guirira: Michonne is a total badass. If I had to pick a dream team of women to ride out the apocalypse, she’d be my first choice.

Grace Jones: As a teenager, I admired the Hell out of this woman. It didn’t hurt that she dated or slept with every hot male celebrity you could think of, back in the day. From David Bowie and Adam Ant, to Dolph Lundgren. She also gets special merit for being one of the first Black female Egyptian vampires,  in the  80s movie, Vamp. She never spoke a word, and was still more terrifying than anybody in Twilight.

Jada Pinkett-Smith: Fish Mooney, Gotham. Penguin and Fish are the two best character interactions on the entire show and the only reason to have watched it.

Rosario Dawson: As Gail in Sin City, she liked to bite people. She is currently starring as The Night Nurse on Netflix’s Daredevil. I read a few issues of the Night Nurse when I was a little girl, so if my glee at seeing her finally depicted on the TV screen, is baffling to you, there you go.

Gina Torres:

I will always love Joss Whedon for this one thing. Zoe is totally in love with her husband,  tells him she will be the mother of his child one day, despite his doubts, and is a total badass, calmly tucking her Captain’s chopped off ear into her bra, while rescuing her husband from Russian Space Gangsters. Gina has always been The Queen! The Goddess! from Cleopatra 2525 to Hannibal.

Michelle Rodriguez: 

This is for every movie she’s ever starred in, even if she does die in all of them. Somebody get her role in a movie that she can survive, please.

Jeanette Goldstein:

A better movie would’ve had Vasquez team up with Ripley, to take down the Alien Queen, after all the male characters had been killed. But this is Hollywood,where only one bad ass woman, per movie, is some kind of law.

All these Women of Color are why I am, and always will be, a total Geekgirl, because like I said before, sometimes Women of Color  like to be  Heroes, too.