My Spidey-Sense Is Tingling: Why We Need Better Representation of Existing POC Superheroes More Than Established White Superheroes "Remixed" as POC

Happy Thorsday Friends,

In exactly one week from today I shall be in Atlanta at DragonCon. It will be my first time attending this convention. And let me tell you, I am as giddy as Cinderella in the 1997 remake of Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella. This remake was notable for its unapologetically diverse cast and themes about female agency and empowerment. Plus, it starred 90s Pop and R&B star (and gorgeous black woman) Brandy in the eponymous role. How's that for #Blackgirlmagic? Today, I am here to talk to you about the increasing trend of Marvel Comics reimagining long established superheroes such as Spider-man, The Incredible Hulk, Ms. Marvel and more recently, Iron Man as people of color.  At first I was excited. Heck yes (I promise not to swear in this post, Mom) ! Superhero mantles can taken up by anyone. Why can't Ms. Marvel be a smart, geeky, Muslim young woman from Jersey? Why can't Spiderman be an Afro-Latino teenage boy who, like Peter before him, has dealt with loss early on in life? And then, I started to wonder something. Aside from Black Panther and Luke Cage getting their long overdue time in the MCU/Netflix spotlight, what about the existing POC superheroes? Does anyone care about them? Does anyone know about them? Does anyone how many there are? (A quick search tells me the number for Marvel is 114 that includes characters who may not even possess superhuman ability. There so many more POC superheroes in the Marvel and DC universes than Static Shock, Storm,  Blue Marvel, Vixen, and Bumblebee. The sad, generalizable fact is POC characters are not celebrated with the same fervor as white superheroes. To break it down even further, female superheroes are not celebrated with the same fervor as white male superheroes. And female POC superheroes...? *crickets chirping*. And friends, this grinds my gears because tthe comicbook fandom is not exclusively comprised of middle class straight white guys. In fact, every year when I attend Free Comic Book Day (My favorite Saturday of the whole year), I see more little girls and or more kids of color attending the event. *gets on top of soapbox* I believe that superheroes are so important for kids. Superheroes teach kids about kindness, about integrity, and believing in themselves during the worst times of adversity. Some superheroes teach children about celebrating differences, building friendships and teamwork (e.g.:Xmen, The Justice League, Avengers, Defenders...etc). We need to get those already established POC superheroes into the spotlight. I won't be satisfied until they are as ubiquitous as Superman and Wonder-Woman. We need to do it for the little ones coming behind us. When I was a little black girl, I had a very negative self image of myself. And sure, I had low self-esteem and a crippling inferiority complex, but I think the other part of that was not believing there were positive Black role-models to look up to. Other than maybe Oprah. In actuality, they were always there, both real and fictionalized figures. The problem was,  they were not as easy to find. Other than Storm,  The Black Power Ranger, and Static Shock, I didn't see black superheroes in cartoons and on television. Heck, most of the YA I read did not feature the a black protagonist. At best, they were the wise-cracking/sassy sidekick. At worst, they were a background character with one line in one chapter never to seen again (Looking at you,  writers of Once Upon A Time..) Well, as the cosplay subculture has grown into a mainstream marketable industry, everyone and their mother can put on crazy tights and a mask. As a result, you have more people of color embracing cosplay even if only for a chance to pretend to take over the mantle of the superheroes they have known and loved since they were children. Some of the heroes they have chosen to cosplay look like them but most of them do not. Again, I think it is an issue of visibility. But most importantly, POC cosplayers are slaying the game.  I suspect their increased presence may driving be the comic-film industry to continue "remixing" originally white characters as POC. The most recent case being the multi-ethnic but black-identified actress  Zendaya Coleman possibly being cast as Spidey's main squeeze Mary Jane Watson in next year's Spiderman Homecoming film. And of course, controversy and butthurt ensued. Some white fanboys contend that casting an actress of color to portray Mary Jane is the same as casting a white man to portray The Blank Panther... Some people of color scoff at white people's indignation while shaking their heads saying "She's ambiguous and they will dye her hair. Only light skin black women get cast in these films. Talk to me when she's medium brown or darker in pigment". So, who is right? The answer is no one. People of color exist across a color spectrum and it is not up to white people or fellow people of color to tell a black woman how she should classify herself. Unlike Black Panther whose African heritage is the key to his mantle and his experience, there is nothing about Mary Jane Watson that makes her original whiteness integral to her character. Let's review, she's a pretty, popular girl from a dysfunctional family who lives in a poor Queens suburb who dreams of being a model and an actress. She also does not put up with her man's BS....In my estimation, Mary Jane can be played by any young actress. Dye her hair red, add some attitude and presto: "Go get em, Tiger"! However, it is unfortunate that light skinned black actresses get the most screen time and have the best chance at portray the hero's girl (after the white actresses of course..) . It would be swell if black actresses on the darker side of the spectrum get to be the "princess" for a change. Imagine what that could mean to little brown skin girls and dark skinned girls self-esteem? Alternatively, Marvel Studios could have created a whole new original awesome character for Zendaya to play. Sadly, I don't think the world is ready for that. After all, most of us don't know about and don't celebrate the people of color characters that already exist. So, there's that. No, I think remixing an originally beloved and white character as a POC does two things: 1) The new version of the character can rest on the long established popularity and adoration given to the original white character. 2) Comic book writers can claim they are celebrating diversity and giving their character nuance while not having to worry that a character of color will automatically flop in their comic sales. It is marketing genius, if you ask me. And remember, as the saying goes: "Progress is Slow" *winks*. Have a Great Weekend. From Your Friendly Neighborhood Weird White Friendly Black Girl

Through the Looking Glass: The Urgent Need for POC Perspective to be Reflected in Mainstream Disney Media

Salutations Fellow Earthlings. WWFBG here to take a moment to talk about being Black and the unfortunate dissonance we experience as POC consumers of Mainstream Media (particularly Disney and Marvel/DC products). I am a child of the 90s. I was raised on Saturday Morning Cartoons, PBS Kids, Tamogotchi Toys, Barbie Dolls and Disney Princess Films. My childhood bedroom was painted bright pink with a wall paper depicting majestic white unicorns and castles. To this day, my father calls me "Princess".  Years later, Disney is making more money than they know what to do with as they profit off of my generation's crippling nostalgia. Well, it is not just Disney. Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and hell even Lisa Frank has made quite a comeback with adult apparel and adult coloring books. My generation was taught "You are special, you are wonderful, and you can do anything you want when you grow up! You are the best! Be a Princess! Be an Astronaut! Be a Dinosaur!" So, why are people surprised when so many of my generation are visiting theme parks sans children, dressing up in costumes even when Halloween is months away and catching pocket monsters to and from their 9 to 5...?  Hmm... Let's put a pin in that for another post. What I am really here to discuss is POC representation in Childrens' popular media with a focus on Disney Enterprises. I also have a little bit to say on LGBTQAI representation, but as a heterosexual cisgendered woman,  my opinions are only based on observation and may be somewhat uninformed. Please take those with a grain of salt. My favorite Disney Princess of all time is Belle from Beauty and the Beast. I relate to Belle more than Princess Tiana, and Princess Kida and that is fact. I relate to Belle because like me, she is socially awkward, a bibliophile and a champion for embracing (not just tolerating) what is different in this world. Like Belle, I too have a french name, dark brown hair, and am mostly dressed in the color blue. Don't get me wrong, I admire Tiana's independence and ambition, and I admire Princess Kida's badassness and bluntness. However, even as a woman of color, I still do not relate to them. I relate more to a bookish white Frenchwoman and a mischievous red-headed pale-skinned mermaid who like all teenagers, loved to piss off their parents for the lulz. And did Disney really even give me a chance to love Tiana and Kida? The answer is, kind of, but not really. Tiana was only in princess garb for a grand total time of 5 mins. She was only seen in her human form for maybe 10 minutes. In short, she was really a lovable sassy talking animal character. Disney's marketing team are geniuses. They lead us to believe that we were finally getting a Black Princess (not an ambiguously ethnic warrior princess: Still love you, Kida!). A Black Disney Princess who was going to be beautiful and beloved by her prince and everyone in the land. In reality, we did get that for a mere ten percent out of the movie. The movie should have really been called "Two Adorable Talking Frogs Fall in Love and Have Adventures". Ehh, that would have probably cost them too much to print.. This is also the same reason why more currently I am already cynical toward "Elena of Avalor". I have but one beef with Elena. Disney chose to introduce Elena via a Disney Channel Series instead of via a Walt Disney Pictures Feature Film. And my question is why? From the couple of episodes I have watched with my little brothers, Elena is sharp, brilliant, strong, loves her family, and is more concerned with the well being of her kingdom than catching the eye of some prince. She is the first Latinx Princess who is visibly of color and the typical Disney Princess age! WHERE IS HER MOVIE, DISNEY? Oh, here it comes. But we're getting Moana....Geez can't you people ever be satisfied?  Friends, I am absolutely here for Moana and happy as hell that there is a strong Pacific Islander cast in front of and behind the camera. However, Elena got the shaft. Technically, though not a princess story. Disney has already featured Pacific Islander characters with Lilo and Sitch. I just feel like that it should have been Elena of Avalor and then Moana. And, my husband Lin Manuel Miranda  (heh, heh) could have collaborated with Alan Menken on both films and all would have been swell. The fact is, fellow Disney dorks, children of all races and ethnicities need to see positive reflections of themselves. I would even go out on a limb and say that seeing people who look like them doing positive things for themselves and  other could have a tremendous impact on the foundation of their self-esteem. Kids of all shapes and sizes need to see themselves as leaders and superheroes. Good on you Marvel, for finally starting to get your shit together when it comes to the representation of Black Women, but we're not even close to being done. This is why I thank the cosmos for a little cartoon called Steven Universe. This cartoon is quite possibly the most socially progressive, culturally sensitive and racially inclusive television program I have ever seen in my almost 30 revolutions around the sun. A tip of my hat to how the writers are choosing to depict characters who are coded as  LGBTQAI identified while never making them an afterthought, the butt of the joke or only featured in a "special episode" after school special. Although far from perfect, this cartoon really strives to be a positive influence for young children as well as their parents who are assumed to be watching with them. I hypothesize that exposure to different types of people, different family and relationship structures will condition children to develop open hearts and open minds. And considering how fucked up the adult world continues to get as I type this, we could really do with some more love and understanding. We have now come to the part of our program where we talk about the phenomenon of reimagining classic (read: white) Disney princesses as POC. Think Snow White as a beautiful Desi or Rapunzel as dark-skinned Latinx or Elsa herself as a gorgeous Black woman with a midnight skin tone rocking natural hair. Half of the internet reacted with "YASS QUEENS" and the other half reacted with "OMFG YOU HAVE TIANA, MULAN, JASMINE LEAVE OUR LILY WHITE PRINCESSES ALONE!" But has anyone ever questioned what motivated this trend besides instigate "a flood of white tears"? The answer is quite simple really. There are not enough characters of color let alone princesses of color to relate to. And until artists and creators at Disney and related properties produce more POC characters (No, I am not sorry. They are still not doing this fast enough) we can and will decide to reimagine the princesses we know and love to look like ourselves. Remember that little girl from "Hey Girl, Nice S.T.E.M. (S) post? Well, yesterday I attended her fifth birthday pool party. She is a huge fan of Ariel and Elsa. At the encouragement of my better half, I decided to show up to the party in a pool themed Ariel cosplay. The birthday princess, her friends, and her cousins lost their shit. I mean, for a quick second, I thought I was working at Disney. It was quite a head spin. And interestingly enough, all of the kids just immediately embraced me as Ariel. They all lined up to comb my hair with a fork and talked about how much they loved my star fish hair accessories. I just wanted to do something nice for the birthday girl but I did not realize how my presence and attire would positively impact the other kids. This exercise made me remember that prejudice is not innate, it is learned. Early exposure to different people in positive and relatable situations is immensely powerful. The kids just saw me as Ariel. The venue staff believed I was a hired princess. No one asked why my skin was not pale or why my eyes were not blue. The children just wanted to play with my (wig) hair and give me hugs. I am a grade punk when it comes to children. I feel that children are more brilliant than the most established and learned academics. There is no filter with children. They tell the truth exactly as they see it in the simplest of terms. I learn so much from even the shortest interactions with them. Lastly, with the permission of a friend of mine, I will recall the story she told me last night after she saw my Princess selfies posted on Facebook. I smiled when she commented "You are amazing and the most perfect Ariel". Later that night, she direct messaged me and said "You don't understand how much it means to see you portraying Ariel. When I was a little girl on the island, I had a disney princess coloring book. I would often get reprimanded for coloring Ariel with brown skin. They would tell me: No, Ariel is not dark skinned. She is white. But the thing is, even when I was a little girl, I chose to see Ariel and Megara (female lead in Hercules) as women of color. Ariel is from the Kingdom of Atlantica. As in the Caribbean as in part of the Atlantic Ocean. I always imagined Ariel to be a brown skinned Caribbean woman. So seeing you portraying Ariel is a realization and validation of my perspective of who she always was. Unlike Hans Christian Anderson's original Little Mermaid, this mermaid princess lived in the warm waters and even warmer weather. Doesn't it make sense that she be POC? I really had no words because I was crying as I read the words she typed. Here I was thinking I would be shamed by young children for being a black woman  impersonating a character who everyone deems as white. But then I considered the logic of Ariel looking like me: A brown skinned Caribbean woman who loves to wear bright colors like the tropical fish she befriends. Not only does this logic makes sense but it will resonate with me forever. This ladies and germs is why Representation Matters. Because every little girl deserves to see herself as a princess: A girl who is loved and cherished and made feel to powerful and special. It is not so much the pretty dresses or the shiny tiaras or even the love of a handsome prince/princess,  but rather the internalization of the notion that she is female and that she will be embraced no matter what path she chooses in this life or the next.

Pokemon Go..And Get Street Harassed

Greetings Friends. WWFBG here to talk to you about my very favorite subject in the whole wide world: Street Harassment! Excited? You bet I am. Let me tell you about the first time I got ever street harassed. I was twelve years old.  I had been hanging out with my cousins in their apartment playing video-games and reading manga. You know, the usual nerdy shit. Anyway,  my mother had come to pick me up to go home. "It's time to leave, daughter of mine. Your sister has Girl Scouts in the morning". I immediately proceeded outside to get to the car. I believed my mother was right behind me so I continued onwards. What I didn't realize was that it had become very dark. On the other side of where my mother's car was parked, I noticed three large looming figures coming towards me. After adjusting my glasses, I realized it was a group of older teenage boys about 15 feet in front of me. I felt the hairs on my back stick up immediately. "Here Kitty-Kitty. Bark! Bark! Woof Woof".  Were these assholes seriously barking at me? My eyes darted to and fro praying they were trying to get someone else's attention. Alas, no one else was around. And now, they were coming closer to me. I didn't know what to do. All I knew was that in this moment I was not safe and for some reason my feet wouldn't move to run. Just then, my mother appeared at my side while on her cell phone "Okay, Talk to you soon.  Bye!".  The door opened to our red minivan and I jumped inside. I turned to look in the direction of where those boys were coming from to see that they had magically disappeared.  They say that a girl's menarche marks her entrance into womanhood,  but I disagree. I believe it is the first time, you have to deal with  a snide comment about your appearance, a lecherous leer or someone calling out to you to tell you what they would like to do to you while walking down the street. Twelve years old! I could barely fit into the size AA training bra that I finally convinced my mother to let me wear. I was a little girl, not at all ready to deal with the libidos of older boys and grown ass men. Fast forward to September of 2012 in San Francisco California. I was on my way to meet my colleagues for dancing and drinking at a queer friendly gathering called "Mango". I rode the 14 Muni Bus from Downtown to the Outer Mission. It is a long but always entertaining ride. Anyway, I get let out about 2-3 blocks from the club. I am walking down the sidewalk when I see what looks to be an old grandfather and a small boy (He couldn't be more than five years old) . I didn't  have my sunglasses or my headphones because I want to be fully aware of my surroundings. In those days, I didn't have a smartphone with oh so handy GPS.  Boy, did I regret that. I walked past the grandfather who looked me right in the eyes, licks his lips and made smacking sounds at me. He then began to whistle at me like I am some house pet who needs coaxing to come back home. I am growing hot with anger but I remain silent and begin to walk quickly. As I past them, I turn my head only to see that same small boy whistle at me and make smacking sounds at me. I am almost to the club but then I decide to stop around the corner. My body is shaking and my glasses are fogging up with the tears that have welled up in my eyes. I am so livid and frightened, I feel like I am on the verge of a panic attack. What upset and scared me the most was the horrifying sight of a little boy assimilating rape culture and machismo right before my very eyes. To that little boy, if his grandfather called out nasty things to women and girls on the street, that was perfectly okay. In fact, I am sure he thought it was a game. I bet the next time a woman walked by their post on the sidewalk in front of the bodega  and the little boy wolf whistled, that his grandfather gave him a high-five and ruffled his hair. Rape Culture, Misogyny and Sexism do not just appear in the minds of males, they are learned behaviors. I like to joke that I am an equal opportunity target for street harassment. I have been cat-called, wolf whistled, grabbed at, and "fuck you then, bitch (ed)" by every ethnicity of man and literally everywhere I have ever lived.  And by the way, when you are a woman of color, you not only get to be harassed for your physical appearance but also objectified for your skin color "Hey chocolate bunny, you look delicious.  Can I have a bite?. Or, Mmm. Hey spicy Mami! Bring that caramel ass over here!" Once again, let me set the record straight. Street harassment is not a behavior that is solely practiced by "urban ethnic men". Therefore,  I am calling out all men. Including the men who do nothing when their fellow men are assholes and creeps to females who made the simple mistake of venturing out in public. I am calling out all men who tell me "Well, I do not parrot that shitty behavior and neither do my friends. What can I do? Why should we talk when we are not the ones who do it?" Well fellas, you should be talking about it with your buddies. It doesn't matter if none of you are participating in that behavior, there is bound to be one of you who knows some other man that does. So yes, you do need to talk about it. And you need to talk about it now. Your female friends, your partners, your-co-workers, your own fucking mother are at risk for being scared shitless from the very first second a man tells them to smile. Street harassment like rape is not about sexual desire, compliments or flirting. IT IS AN ASSERTION OF POWER! That is all it is. Pokemon Go is a bad-ass game for encouraging people of all shapes and sizes to go forth and catch em all! It is promoting social interaction and improving mental health (especially as it relates to social anxiety). However as a woman who plays PokemonGo, I have the simultaneous task of staying hyper vigilant to catch that CP 1350 Blastoise who suddenly popped up while trying to avoid catching the eye of those creeps who hang out on the corner of 18th & University while also  trying to pretend I didn't hear "NICE LEGS, SUCK MY DICK" OR "HEY BEAUTIFUL, SMILE FOR ME".  Bruh, I am just trying to hatch this 10 kilometer egg. I swear to god it is going to be a high level Lapras. Bitches love Lapras.

"Hey Girl, Nice S.T.E.M. (S)"

Greetings, friends! Last year, I had the pleasure of attending a Little Mermaid Themed 4th Birthday Party. We shall call the birthday girl Cindy. Cindy's mother is a doctoral student who has been awarded prestigious research fellowships and grants. Her work has been published in the leading journals in her field. Cindy's mother loves to bake cookies and get her nails done with her mini-me when she's not kicking major ass in Science. Science is the S in the acronym S.T.E.M (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). From her mother, Cindy is learning that it is okay to be a cisgendered femme-presenting young girl AND that it is also okay to be a girl interested in the pursuit of traditionally male-dominated fields. Now, let's talk about Cindy's father. Cindy's father is tall, broad-shouldered, and extremely physically fit. From the limited interactions I have had with him, he presents as a very hyper-masculine man. I am not sure what he does for a living, but I do know that physical fitness is very important to him.  And, he is working hard to pass that passion and discipline onto his offspring. Returning to the scene of the party, my fiance and I were sitting down at the kid's table enjoying Capri-Sun Coolers and birthday cake when Cindy's father appears with two different types of gift bags. One gift bag has Ariel's face on it and contains pastel colored favors containing a sea-shell compact, clip on earrings, and a noise maker. The other gift bag boasts a photo of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee containing a noise maker, yo-yo, and something else I forgot. The birthday princess magically appears at her father's side to distribute the gift bags. She looks at me and holds up one of each. "Which one do you want?" But before I could choose the Transformer's bag (I was not interested in clip on jewelry that would probably turn my ears green) Cindy's father said "Cindy, please hand her the Little Mermaid bag. That one is for the girls. Now, please hand him the Transformer's bag since he is a boy".  I pasted on a grateful smile, but on the inside I was wincing. I suspected if Cindy's father had not intervened, Cindy would have let me choose the Transformers gift bag. Instead, her father's direction has introduced her to gender socialization and gender typing. Basically, the belief that girls and boys are supposed to play with different toys, wear different clothes, and grow up to pursue careers most appropriate to their assigned gender at birth. This socialization begins around Cindy's age (3-5 years old). Others argue that the prep work actually begins when parents find out that the baby is going to be a girl (Think Pink! Think Frills!) or a boy (Cars! Blue Paint! Chip off the Old Block). According to the antiquated sexist doctrine of "Separate Spheres of Influence", women were expected to be the nurturers and men were expected to be the providers. When it became apparent that two incomes were needed to sustain a household, (Note, I am writing in the context of the history of the nuclear, presumably White-American middle class family. We will talk about women of color as head of households in a later post) women went to work. Women went to work as teachers, secretaries, and nurses. And friends, what do these occupations have in common? Their primary output is nurturing and subservience. Teachers nurture and care for their students while under the supervision and authority of the principals. Nurses nurture and care for their patients while under the supervision of the physicians. See how the separate spheres of influence were reinforced even while the working mom was away from home?  Go ahead, have your Oprah-Aha moment. I'll wait. Welcome back. Today, women outnumber men in college enrollment. There are women behind the camera in the entertainment and fashion industry.  There are women who are succeeding as physicians, attorneys, university professors, scientists, C.E.Os, and accountants. And, whether you like her or not, there is a woman who is a candidate for the highest office in the land: The President of the United States. Oh and many of these examples include Women of Color! But before we go yelling "Finally! Sexism is Over! Let Our Plans for the Neo-Amazonian Race Commence!!, let's address a few elephants in the room. 1) Women are still being paid less than their male counterparts for doing the exact same work. 2) Women are pressured to get married, bear children AND have a kick-ass career before they are..I dunno age 30. 3) Women are continually subject to gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment. Here are a few couple of examplars. Exemplar A: A young woman is employed at a retail grocery store as a cashier and a bagger. Woman goes out to parking lot to return carts left by customers to the front of the store for future use. A man in his car passes by the woman and shouts "What's a little girl like you doing handling all those carts by yourself? Where are the men who are supposed to do that?" Exemplar B: A young female holds down a work study job in a downtown office to subsidize the high cost of living while completing her graduate coursework. She decides to put on some makeup, curl her hair and don stockings because she has been inspired from marathoning too many episodes of Mad Men. Her fellow work study employee arrives just minutes after she does and greets her by saying "Wow, you look really nice. Are you all dressed up today for me? Heh. Heh". Exemplar C: A younger woman is engaging in conversation with an older woman about her career pursuit of psychology. "Psychology, huh? I was a psychology student until I met my husband (gestures towards luxury vehicle parked directly behind her). You're too pretty to be going to school this long." Let me know if you want more, I have plenty. As a black woman in STEM, I am damn proud to represent. Many of my fellow sisters in science are receiving their doctorates this year. And once I find out, I tag them in a facebook post and publicly congratulate them as Dr. (insert last name here). I do this for a few reasons. 1) To let them know that becoming a woman of science or excelling in any traditionally male dominated field is no easy feat. 2) To let younger women, older women, little girls, and anyone who identifies as female know that we are capable of so much more. 3) To exemplify how we as women can lift each other up in solidarity. 4) To send a subtle reminder to the men and boys out there, that they need to take down their outdated "No Girls Allowed Sign" taped to their treehouses built on benevolent sexism, rape culture, and gatekeeping. Girls can do anything we damn well please. We can strap on sexy Louboutins while we create advanced programming codes for NASA rocket launches. We can wear oversize flannel tee-shirts and Dickey's pants while we grab beers with our male friends and complain to them about our husbands/wives and the obviously thrown game playing on tv.  We can wear vintage dresses complete with petticoats and Granny's pearls while spending two hours in a comic book shop arguing with the owner on why Captain America is a more suitable leader of the Avengers than Iron Man. So, the next time I am walking down the street in my favorite fire-engine red pencil skirt and a man calls out to me from his car "Hey girl, nice stems!" I will pray that for once, he is complimenting me on my science genius. And finally, for all of you nurses, teachers, and administrative assistants out there: I am not disparaging you for pursuing those careers. In fact, allow me to personally thank you for all that you do. You all are under-appreciated, overworked, and underpaid....AND IT PISSES ME THE FUCK OFF that it continues to be this way. Best Regards, The White-Friendly Blerd Girl

Obligatory Housekeeping Post

It's me again. Wow. Thank you to those friends who gave me feedback on my intro post. I want to take a moment to invite you all to the following privileges you have as my readers. They are as follows: 1) You are welcome to challenge any opinion I discuss on this blog. I encourage discussion! I lap that shit up like buttercream frosting. I feel that as tech-addicted twenty somethings, we don't spend enough time talking to one another about our ideas and our beliefs. 2) You are also welcome to send me any suggestions for future blog posts. I am a slave (bad joke, sorry) to knowledge and research. I don't have a lot to say about any one thing, but I can have a little bit to say about a lot of things. And, I am always open to learning about a new perspective or theory. The bigger my brain gets, the wider my toothy toad grin. :) 3) My space is a safe space so long as we all play nice. That means, be respectful to me and to your fellow readers.  Everyone has a right to their own opinion. Go troll somewhere else. If you troll here,  I will ban you and then write your name in my notebook. And if you're an anime fan, you know what comes next. That pretty much covers all of the rules. I look forward to making this a regular thing for you guys. Actually, its mostly for me, because writing keeps me sane and hopefully off the 11 o lock news. I will do my very best to blog once a week. I think Wednesdays will be best, if not for the alliterative title potential. With that said, I bid thee a Happy Friday-Eve in advance. Next week, I'll be back with a post called: "Hey Girl, Nice S.T.E.M (S). " Best Regards, The Weird White-Friendly Blerd Girl

Wide-Awoke: The Beginning

Hi friends! I'm the Weird White-Friendly Blerd Girl!  Just yesterday,  I decided yesterday to create this blog. Why do you ask? I created this blog to create a separate space from my very public Facebook where I can rant, rave, and be unapologetically black and nerdy (i.e, blerdy) without having to post the disclaimer TLDR.  Fuck that! My posts will be longer than the length of your favorite male pornstar's junk but a lot less hairy, I promise! Basically, I am tired of friends I haven't talked to since middle school and distant family members I haven't seen since I was an infant direct messaging me while asking the following series of questions: Are you okay? Wow, I didn't realize you were so angry about everything!  Could you please explain to me what you mean by colorblind racism? I thought we were supposed to be colorblind? As a black person, how do you feel about.....WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE! As a black woman who has gone to predominantly white institutions since Catholic Pre-K circa 1994 and was raised in the alabaster suburbs of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, I consider myself an expert on navigating white spaces. I have almost thirty years of experience in "speaking white, acting white, and eating white" In fact, a lot of old white people often feel moved to praise my very existence and frequently express the following sentiments : "You speak so well!" "You're exceptionally pretty and well-mannered"! My goodness, you remind me of a young Michelle Obama!" The fact is comrades and home-skillet biscuits, I have been cursed with the title of "White-Friendly Black Person. In the 1990s,  I was simply called the Oreo, but they have similar connotations. I have become so good at being around white families that I am already promised to marry into one! Haha! *evil laughter* (Darling, if you're reading this, you know I love you and your family. The people need to laugh, okay?) . It is 2016, and it is time the world know that I am black and have always been black. I may wear my hair relaxed or under an uber feminine cosplay wig,  I may get excited about eating grilled cheese sandwiches while reading first editions of Amazing Fantasy/Spider-Man comics, but I will always be black *pokes skin for effect*.  You got that, rich old ladies at the neighborhood grocery store? I am black, I am proud and I have major feels about the state of this little blue planet we live on right now. As a person of color, as a woman in the STEM field, and as a citizen of this country, I have a lot to be concerned with right now. As I sit in my office hunched over my macbook, I am avoiding going to my lab's main office because I don't want my fiance to be right about the alleged Neo-Nazi Propaganda posted in the hallways of my building or being ejected from my PI's printer. Like seriously, WTF?  It doesn't matter, how "white-friendly" you can be as a POC. Fact: Having an abundance of melanin puts you at risk of being attacked and killed. It doesn't matter if you live in San Francisco, California or in Jackson, Mississippi. Just look down at your phone and you'll see Twitter Tweets, Facebook posts and You Tube reaction videos reporting about another person getting killed for being POC, Muslim, Queer or even a lovely combination of all three. Of course, hate crimes, terrorist acts, and police brutality are nothing new under the sun. However, social media has decided it is a BIG FUCKING DEAL. Is this what George Orwell was yammering on about? Fear propaganda and the continual erosion of free speech and free thought? Could be. Take a look at the cell phone drones crossing the street. They are fine with inputting their bank information into an app on their phone but they'll be damned if they have to make eye contact with another human being who narrowly misses colliding into them because they are also on their phone. Oh, and by the way, I am not attacking these people because I do it everyday. I am black and female. That's a dangerous intersection to cross, my friend. Being constantly on my guard is already stressful, since I am trying to catch this damn Poliwrath on Pokemon Go. Shit! He disappeared after I walked five steps. Sigh. In any event, let me give you a few warnings about the contents of this blog: 1) You will not agree with everything I say. 2) You will probably be offended by most of what I have to say 3) You will either rejoice or revolt at my incessant fangirling about science, literature, history, comic-books, cosplay, anime and American pop culture. 4) You will probably read this when your old Uncle Archie is on the John muttering to himself about the damned coloreds. You have been warned. Cheers, The Weird White-Friendly Blerd Girl