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Survivors and victims do not share our experiences out of vanity, neither for glory or vengeance — in telling the truth about what we’ve lived through, we’re standing up for our right to survive.
Read more at the Toronto Star here!
Trauma survivors deserve complex heroes that make us feel seen in our justifiable rage, and stories that encourage us to hold onto hope and love, even in our darkest moments. In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness chooses the entertainment value of writing the Scarlet Witch as a villain rather than honoring the character’s humanity as WandaVision did.
Read more of this piece over at Joysauce!
Between the infantile, submissive Lotus Blossom or the seductive, calculating Dragon Lady, Asian women have rarely been portrayed beyond these exotified, hypersexualized stereotypes for decades. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings intentionally challenges these gendered tropes, portraying compassionate, powerful, and above all, capable women. It’s possible to create a world where Asian femininity is a strength, and not something to fear or otherwise annihilate.
Don’t get me wrong: It’s important for people to speak their truth. But actions rooted in representation politics often end up centering one type of Asian-American experience while obscuring the realities of the most vulnerable. Claiming that the lack of robust Hollywood roles for Asians is the catalyst for violence suggests that the solution would be casting more actors with beautiful faces like hers.
This kind of shallow logic hinges on a fundamental misunderstanding of not just the model minority as a stereotype, but also as a myth. Ironically, this misreading endangers many of our own.
Read more at Refinery29.
In the aftermath of the mass violence in Atlanta on March 16, 2021, hearing a white American man use the words “sex addiction” and “temptation” to downplay horrific violence against marginalized Asian women struck a very specific nerve for me.
Wandavision affords Wanda the opportunity to move through the entire reality of her trauma, ultimately transmuting her loss to further her personal growth and sense of self.
In the middle of a depressive episode and writer’s block, Bitch Magazine commissioned me to write a piece on stan culture for their “Legacy” issue, marking the 25th anniversary of their first publication. The last thing I wanted to do was write about my experience getting harassed by Ariana Grande and her abusively obtuse and obsessed stanbase but I knew it was a story that needed to be told.
The modern retelling of Mulan seemingly sacrifices the humanity of its characters to establish itself as a war epic about filial piety.
Read more over at Bitch Media.
Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. demonstrates a shining example of how to depict women friendships, that of Daisy Johnson (Chloe Bennet) and bio-chemist Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge).
Read more over at The A.V. Club.
Amanda Rosenberg tells Wear Your Voice in a Skype interview, “The guilt and shame and repression got me institutionalized. So I figured that the opposite of that was actually better.” By that time in her life, she had come to terms with her mental illness, and understood that there was nothing she could do to change the minds of those who couldn’t accept that part of her, even her mother. The only thing she could do was help other people in the same situation by sharing her experiences.
The series makes it clear that it’s Elena Richardson’s white entitlement and massive, unchecked ego that spark the events leading up to the fire that ravages the Richardson family mansion. Through Elena’s relationships with her mother and her own daughters, we see how Little Fires Everywhere strikes at the oppressive cage of white matriarchy.
Emotions are a natural human instinct that help us engage with our environment. Yet for women, especially those who hold multiple marginalized identities, our emotions are often weaponized against us. Birds of Prey presents a world where women have agency and therefore humanity, where their emotions are normalized and not repressed.
Without the fear and shame of being punished and humiliated for his sensitivity, Jojo is afforded humanity and allowed to grow as a person. In turn, he recognizes and values Elsa’s humanity despite having been taught otherwise. Taika Waititi does a fabulous job with Jojo Rabbit, reminding the audience that we too are capable of change when we’re encouraged to love and not hate.
#JusticeForJohnnyDepp was a misinformation campaign designed to provoke intense reactions and guilt people into supporting him at the expense of Heard.
Author’s Note, January 2022: Wear Your Voice Magazine has since ceased operation and the website that originally published this piece is no longer available. An archived snapshot is available here.
The misplaced and normalized aggression and the constant popularity contest have given rise to a poisonous subculture of fandom where violence is acceptable if it’s done in the name of a celebrity you love. It’s tragic that what used to be a safe haven for so many has turned into something utterly alarming and sometimes traumatizing.
