Creating Black Characters *with intent!: Image

Creating Black Characters *with intent! on Tumblr

Image ID: pdf of a word document that reads as follows:

“I just don’t see myself to be fair unless it’s media I make. It’s just a strange scenario where I don’t think it’d be represented unless I’m the one doing it. I feel like there isn’t really a mirror identity I could have with someone white, maybe something kind of close, but a lot of my experiences has to do with the hypermasculization.”

“I think I definitely get very skeptical of claims of good representation of gender noncomformity in media, bc like is it actually good or is it skinny white transmasc again? Imma let u guess what it is 99/100 times. It’s tired. It’s one note. Do smth else. Cuz at the moment it kinda seems like yall can’t even include all yourselves in your own definition of transness, let alone the complexity of Black transness.”

“kinda piggy backing off the precious one: I don’t ever really fit what a general “nonbinary” character looks or feels like in media and in fact its an odd thing to navigate while Black. Most the examples I do see on nonbinary culture is very white and even being in Black LGBT spaces sometimes it feels like there aren’t many of us… I think in general all nonbinary people tend to express ourselves differently with a general aim towards androgyny, but at least there’s more examples with white or nonblack characters because I can only think of…1. And that one was retroactively revoked by the creators so not even a 1.”

“don’t think I’ve ever met someone the same gender as me but there’s a lot of worship of (white skinny) androgyny in genderfluid spaces. Being a black fem is already somewhat of a genderfluid experience w the masculinization (I don’t get as much of it bc im lightskin). The nuances are hard to explain I just wish they’d be more open to learning yknow”

“very little representation for all black queer people and the few we have made by nonblacks use cringey tropes or stereotypes; not as much nuance or humanization given to black queers”

“Being transmasc AND Black means I have even less representation than trans men already get in media, and it gets frustrating trying to find that rep and getting either stuff with white trans men or cis Black men (or aliens/fantasy); either way the rep doesn’t quite fit for me.”

“a lot of trans media doesn’t feel like it’s made with me in mind even if it claims to be. Meanwhile world wise some supposed safe havens are antiblack so there’s that”

“Culture is still very tied to how I look. White people just seem to be free of being tied down like that. It feels important to me to know if other white trans people are self aware and not raised in a white echo chamber before I wanna be near them… a core aspect of how I built my identity is looking back at history. I call myself lavender. A dandy. It connects back on transmen on history before T n surgery. I vibe with that. Plus there’s the whole thing of being erased and not being considered men.”

“I think it affects everything. For me one of the things that always stopped me from socially transitioning is how people treat black folks they perceive as male. I also feel like I have different views on gender from other nonblack trans people. Things are very different for us.”

“I think a lot abt all the posts talking about how masculinity is safer and that men don’t have to worry about experiencing violence. I put off starting T for YEARS bc I was afraid of how I’d be seen and treated as a black man…I’m still scared a lot but eventually the benefits outweighed the risks I wanted to be happy but we are NOT the same.” End ID.

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