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redemptari — representation IS important
Published: 2015-02-10 02:50:37 +0000 UTC; Views: 757; Favourites: 9; Downloads: 0
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I'm gonna go all social justice on yo ass.
Nah, I'm kidding. Sorta. No, for real though, this is important to me. Why am I talking about this on deviantART? I don't know, perhaps because art is a vital part of media. Perhaps it's full of media consumers.
Everyone knows representation in media is very important yes? If you don't think so, then you're lucky. Me? Not so lucky LOL. As some of you know, I'm deaf. I was born deaf and I grew up signing. Yeah that's right, I can not hear and I do not speak either (I don't want to, in case you're wondering why I don't). I'm also asexual and non-binary too. I'm a minority. My "disability" (never call my deafness a disability okay? - I'm only using this word because I can't think of any appropriate word), gender identity, and sexual orientation (or rather the lack thereof LOL) are utterly underrepresented (or badly represented) in media and it IS harmful.
I'm gonna just talk about my deafness because it's going to be with me for my whole life. It is the thing that affects me the most.
ALRIGHT SO. Ever since I was born, I've been dismissed, avoided, and told that I'll never amount to anything. I've never had hearing friends outside of the internet. Every books I read, tv shows and movies I watch, there are always hearing protagonists, antagonists, side characters, whatever you can think of. While they're normally good stories (I don't do sucky stories, my tastes are superior ok), it is rather... depressing when I think about it. Sometimes whenever I close a book, I'm transported back to the real world and is brutally reminded that I'm deaf and that today's world is mostly inaccessible to me. You see, characters in stories are able to speak to each other and hear stuff normally without any problems. That's totally opposite to what I experience in real life. Of course, I get depressed a lot because of that. Much more recently; since I started university tbh.
Okay I'm blabbing on and lemme get to my point now. A couple of days ago my mum suggested that I should watch a tv show, Switched at Birth. I thought hey why not, because I've heard that it has a deaf character. It is a really good show (I'm not done yet so if you watch it, please no spoilers LOL), and you guys should watch it because I'm super hooked. ANYWAY. I'm really surprised to see that this deaf character is actually one of few protagonists. What?! I know right?! And that the actress is an ACTUAL deaf person, not a hearing person pretending that they know what it's like to be deaf. Other than a good storyline, I'm gripped because of this character, because I finally have SOMEONE I can relate to. Ever since I started watching this show, I feel much less dispirited, more... empowered. I can't remember ever feeling like this about myself. I can't remember if I've ever felt good about being deaf until now. I'm honestly happy now, for the first time in a long, long time.
THIS is why good representation in media matters.
Way too many people with disabilities, sexual orientations other than heterosexual, etc are so often dismissed because they do not conform to today's social "norms". And many people escape from the real world by reading, watching, listening, or playing, but even then they feel like they do not fit in right. I should know. I'm one of them and lemme tell ya it really hurts and uncomfortable. But when you finally see someone you're able to identify with, the feeling's good, so good.
If you still think this, even after reading all of this, I just have the thing to say to you. FUCK YOU.
That's all. I just want you guys to be aware of this issue. And perhaps if you're creating something, think about including something other than the "normal white guy" |D /shot/
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Comments: 22
I'm going to sound terrible when I say this but... I did NOT know you were deaf Soarly D8888 Oh my god. It makes so much more sense now though. It doesn't change things between us though, I love you the way you are <33
I should re-add you on skype. I feel terrible not being able to talk to you outside of DA lately. I'm glad you're feeling better than you have been. I hope it all works out for you in the end.
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Yeah, well, though I still feel uncomfortable about telling people this sometimes, it's never been a secret. I just don't like how people make it a big deal whenever they find out, because it is not.
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Agreed. You're still just as amazing and awesome regardless <33
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Oh and you said "it makes so much more sense now though". What do you mean by that? LOL, just curious ;D
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Cause when you played Tor I thought you were really good at playing a deaf character xDDD I guess this proves why.
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Until recently (one of your polls I believe) I was in fact unaware that so many people other than me were also asexual. I was convinced that there was something wrong with me to be honest. Still am.
When lack of representation leads to things like your story, something needs to be changed.
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Mhm, yeah, yes, I feel the same but know this, it's not true. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you.
And I'm really glad that my poll makes you feel a bit better, I hope?
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The problem isn't that people don't want it to be represented. A large part of the issue is the older generation that still controls things, mostly 40+ generation. Many of them aren't even open to the idea of LGBT existing or being able to come out. To them it is still a taboo matter, so it's not something they are used to being exposed to, and so they don't want to stir pots and piss people off. It's simply politics and since politics are still led by a LGBT-phobic generation, it'll be hard to change now.
However once our generation gets into power, things WILL change.
Another issue is the church/any religion. Church and State are not very well separated and the church lobbyists hold a lot of power still. Granted not all religious folk are against it, but those who have the power in terms of govt are, and that's causing some issues in getting politicians on our sides.
I'm all for equal representation and I try to keep a large variety in my own story. I've got deaf, mute, blind, even some characters with unusual fears or problems that most people have never heard of trying to keep them unique. I can't really have wheelchair since tribal natives don't really have an option for that and ti isn't something they'd make. I'm still doing research on such things. Many of these things I'm able to work into the storyline also to make it matter, not just there to be "different".
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Yess, that's true, but many of us consume things they create. Despite what they might say, we do have a say in what we want to see, and what we don't. That's why you hear some shows being cancelled because oh, they have LGBT characters making out, or even appearing. Yeah it's true that we can wait until they die off so that we can take over LOL, but instead perhaps we can make loud noises and force them to accept that "abnormal/deviant" people do exist. I say force them because for so long they have forced us to stay hidden or to fix ourselves, and now we want something good from them for once.
Oohhh really? Oh man, are you talking about your Naor comic? I've been following it for a while ahhh. Not recently though, I'm not on dA that much now because of I'm busy with other things, both online and offline >>
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You miss my point. We can be as noisy as we want, but no change is promised. Often money wins over opinions, and tgat is what is happening with th lobbyists. No matter how much we do, tgere are plenty of people who will side with money.
However as you mentioned, we should not stop, only get louder and more adamant. More firm than before. Eventually it will change in our favor.
Yes, Naor, I have not posted really any pages. I am doing the first 16 or so for my senior thesis. However my script is very far ahead and contains all kinds of creatures and people.
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Oh! Yeah, that's true, most of times. But if they start to lose money, they most likely would sway in our favour if we're louder enough. EH, it sucks that this is how the world works and well, hopefully this change will come sooner rather than later.
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To this day I still love the show Malcolm in the Middle because one of his best friends was a black kid with asthma and a wheelchair. Black people with disabilities often get shunned from any form of limelight, because deep in the black urban communities here it's still a common belief that any black person with autism, downs syndrome, in a wheelchair, or god forbid mental illness, 'succumbs to white people problems'. I can go on and on about how whites are basically responsible for the state of black communities, but I can also go on about how black communities refuse to stop being a crab bucket, dragging each other down from doing anything 'white', like dressing nice, having a job, going to school, paying bills, taking care of kids, shit that you're supposed to do anyway.
Systematic racism needs to go, and blaming white people for every problem ever needs to go.
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Thank you!! Yes, yes, this is very important!
Also honestly I had no idea that black people say shit about other black people for doing those things, oh gosh. It's so frustrating that people feel the need to shame/vilify others just because they do something different. There is way too much shit going on in this world and it's exhausting.
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Switched at Birth is a damn good, show. How far have you gotten? I think I can understand how you feel, granted for different reasons, but ABC family is actually doing a rather good job with their shows right now. Besides Switched at Birth they also have a show The Fosters which, as it sounds, is a show about a family whose kids are all from the foster system. They also have a show called Chasing Life about a young woman who finds out she has cancer. Honestly I think they're all good shows because they're unique. They're not about the same old stuff that's plastered on the media every day, and that's probably why I try to keep up with them as much as I can. They feature honest struggles that the main protagonists go through, which probably hit very close to home for the viewers who can relate. I know that when any kind of movie or show that I watch really touches base with depression I finally feel like somebody gets it, which I can imagine is how you must feel.
Anyway, long winded response aside, I understand. You speak words of truth.
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Oohhh, I'm still on series 1 and about to watch episode 14 LOL.
Mhm, though there are some iffy stuff that make me go ..hmmm, but in general it does really well. Not just because of things I mentioned in this journal, but also because they educate people, instead of feeding them harmful stereotypes. That is as important and ahhhh I'm just so happy hahah. You don't see much shows that cover sensitive or "taboo" topics, like those you mentioned without belittling people.
I gotta ask because I don't live in the US, are those shows successful? Because if they are, well, there is absolutely no reason why people cannot create shows with more diverse characters.
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Ah, I think you'll really like the episode "Uprising" from the second season when you get to it! It was one of my favourite episodes from that season.
You're exactly right though, there aren't that many shows that hit on socially... uncomfortable? topics such as that. Switched at Birth is doing really well, and I believe The Fosters is too. It's unfortunate that other television channels aren't focusing more on their subject matter like ABC Family seems to be right now, and honestly other than these ABC Family shows, the only other tv show I watch religiously is Criminal Minds. They more identifiable and quite frankly, a lot more interesting. On top of their main subject matter (deaf characters, foster families) they actually manage to work in other taboo media topics like mental illness which, in my opinion, only makes them better. They always have a minute at the end of episodes like that where they list help numbers people can call, and with the number of people who probably tune into these shows, they're probably reaching a fair number of people who could use someone.
I guess like you, it makes me happy that these shows exist. They have real substance.
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