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Gotta talk about something that simultaneously made me laugh and genuinely upset about #brownrepresentation.
Before I get into the nitty-gritty, some context.
I am a #brown #trans person. Specifically #nonbinary / #enby.
I am a #brown #trans person. Specifically #nonbinary / #enby.
I am thoroughly unimpressed with the current state of #brownrepresentation.
Why? Because it consists mainly of:
1. Cishet men.
2. White-adjacent women like Mindy Kaling and Rupi Kaur.
3. Queer scum like Lilly Singh.
Why? Because it consists mainly of:
1. Cishet men.
2. White-adjacent women like Mindy Kaling and Rupi Kaur.
3. Queer scum like Lilly Singh.
A lot of these people have grown up outside their countries of origin.
Some of them profit off the suffering of the people they left behind and some just profit off appropriating #culture that isn't their own. #brownrepresentation
Some of them profit off the suffering of the people they left behind and some just profit off appropriating #culture that isn't their own. #brownrepresentation
Of course, some talk about their experiences of being #Desi / #brown away from their country of origin.
Fair. Those stories need to be told and I'm glad they are being told.
Fair. Those stories need to be told and I'm glad they are being told.
Except here's the thing.
Once their stories are told, they continue to occupy that space without bothering to promote the stories of other folx from their immediate communities.
Once their stories are told, they continue to occupy that space without bothering to promote the stories of other folx from their immediate communities.
It takes me back to the first season of @ACSFXBR, where @SterlingKBrown playing Chris Darden says about OJ Simpson, "Once he made his money, he became white."
That line of dialogue stayed with me, because it is so true of most of the prominent #Desi reps out there too.
That line of dialogue stayed with me, because it is so true of most of the prominent #Desi reps out there too.
When you are a #POC, you immediately have a responsibility to be politically vocal.
If you're using that #brownness to your advantage, you'd best be championing the cause of other POCs too.
If you're using that #brownness to your advantage, you'd best be championing the cause of other POCs too.
Look at Priyanka Chopra.
Promoted fairness creams while she was a #Bollywood star, and then had the gall to talk about #colourism in #Hollywood. Don't even get me started on her inviting Modi to her wedding and her silence during the CAA protests.
#hypocrisykibhiseemahotihai
Promoted fairness creams while she was a #Bollywood star, and then had the gall to talk about #colourism in #Hollywood. Don't even get me started on her inviting Modi to her wedding and her silence during the CAA protests.
#hypocrisykibhiseemahotihai
You don't wanna call for more #brownrepresentation? I'll be judging you seven ways to Sunday, but with the money you're making, it's not like you'd give a shit anyway.
But when you start spewing vitriol at #brown folx for calling that out is when I get angry.
But when you start spewing vitriol at #brown folx for calling that out is when I get angry.
This morning (or last night, depending on time differences), Guz Khan decided to do a search for his name on Twitter and came across a tweet about an abundance of #brown #cishetmen in the forefront ATM and how it needs to stop. (account is protected now) https://twitter.com/liptickpalls/status/1261826457581453313
IT IS VALID AF.
We don't see #brown #Muslim women in the forefront.
We don't see descendants of #indenturedlabour and their stories.
We don't see #trans and #queer #brown folx.
What we get is cishet men and women who (mostly) ally with the #whitegaze.
We don't see #brown #Muslim women in the forefront.
We don't see descendants of #indenturedlabour and their stories.
We don't see #trans and #queer #brown folx.
What we get is cishet men and women who (mostly) ally with the #whitegaze.
Guz Khan, no doubt, became a star overnight thanks to Man Like Mobeen. He has blocked me after this saga, but he also has all the power to destroy my entire life with a lawsuit because his fragile male ego can't handle criticism.
So, instead of acknowledging this incredibly valid POV and using his newly-attained clout to call for enhanced #brownrepresentation, you know what he does?
Shames a #brown #woman (and a fellow #Muslim, during #Ramadan, no less) for her personal choices. https://twitter.com/ruqaiya_h/status/1261835169545232387
Shames a #brown #woman (and a fellow #Muslim, during #Ramadan, no less) for her personal choices. https://twitter.com/ruqaiya_h/status/1261835169545232387
I had to step into this argument too, because I couldn't stand for this nonsense.
This man even had the gall to put on the saviour act by informing that his crew was primarily made up of working class #brown #women.
This man even had the gall to put on the saviour act by informing that his crew was primarily made up of working class #brown #women.
Yeah, that's how #brownrepresentation works.
Relegate a secondary space to women and trans folx on your #cishetmale terms.
Relegate a secondary space to women and trans folx on your #cishetmale terms.
It's #disgusting.
Of course, Guz Khan is part of two larger problems:
1. The systemic #brownmisogyny that non- #cisgendermen have to deal with constantly.
2. That famous people are beyond any kind of criticism or faults.
Of course, Guz Khan is part of two larger problems:
1. The systemic #brownmisogyny that non- #cisgendermen have to deal with constantly.
2. That famous people are beyond any kind of criticism or faults.
A couple of the tweets that made me laugh during this episode.
https://twitter.com/zaleel_/status/1261837165492920325
https://twitter.com/zaleel_/status/1261837165492920325
This too. I was genuinely wheezing at them both. https://twitter.com/liptickpalls/status/1261835385660817408
This one, while not funny, perfectly highlights how fragile the #maleego can be.
https://twitter.com/RAIHAN_/status/1261804483094302720
https://twitter.com/RAIHAN_/status/1261804483094302720
Second-last tweet of the thread by highlighting, IMO, the best part of this throwdown. https://twitter.com/liptickpalls/status/1261811113231962114
