I’m really tired
And I’m tired not just for me, but for EVERY person of color who constantly has to tell people how NOT to portray their race while constantly being spoken over by others.
ever since I made my post about not liking the head canon of alice as asian back in august of 2019 a lot of people, primarily white people, have gotten mad at me for it. Please read the post before I continue because it explains a lot about how I’m NOT upset with people for head canoning Alice as asian but I DO want people to consider WHY they head canon Alice as Japanese and if it actually makes sense or if it’s rooted in physical stereotypes.
Back when I made the post most people were specifically head canoning Alice as Japanese. I am Japanese. And I am a Japanese person telling you that if you view Alice as Japanese purely because she is tiny, pale, and has black hair that makes me uncomfortable. I’m not saying my word is law BUT I’m just saying I’m actually from this culture so my opinion matters. Asian people don’t look one particular way. East Asian people don’t look one particular way. Japanese people do not look one particular way. If you can find a way that is makes sense for Alice to be asian OUTSIDE of being tiny and pale with dark hair go for it head canon her as asian all you want. But I personally don’t see how Alice could be Japanese considering her backstory in Mississippi so I don’t see her as asian. I don’t care if you view your stereotypes as “positive” they are still stereotypes. And like I asked in my original post why don’t you view any other characters as asian? Why just Alice?
I would LOVE for there to be more diversity in the twilight saga but I also want it to make sense.
My biggest problem is how everyone says “listen to people of color” “believe people of color when they tell you you’re doing something wrong” but when a person of color (not just me, I see it all the time with people of color from so many different background) tells you that something you’re personally doing is rooted in stereotypes you speak over us and disregard what we’re saying.
I can’t speak over people of color from other races about what is respectful to their cultures and how to respectfully represent them. And I would hope for the same.
One of the most common arguments I get is “well Catherine Hardwicke wanted Alice to be Japanese so I’m just going along with what she said”. Okay and?? I love Catherine Hardwicke BUT she is still a white person who is not immune to internal biases and stereotypes. That isn’t an excuse to talk over me and disregard what I am saying.
I don’t know how else to say it but literally listen to people who are in these cultures talking about if something is okay or not. You do not know more than people who are actually part of this race. You do not get to decide for us what is okay and what is not.
