@beccatopol I am an educator. I am a Desi woman. If my students watched Mira's Detective, there are a number of things that would make me weary. I am going to make a thread & you can ignore this or you can use some of these ideas for the future, but I'm shooting my shot bc tired.

It's frustrating that when we get a Desi heroine, she's guaranteed to be Indian. More on the erasure of other South Asian identities (which exists primarily bc White ppl are making the decisions & White ppl exoticize India) here: https://diversebooks.org/why-we-need-more-diversity-in-south-asian-representation/

I love India considering it's my ancestry. Both sets of my grandparents were born in India before emigrating to Pakistan. I want Indian girls to have representation. But let me get more into this nuanced issue along w some other issues.

Immediately when my mom sent me the show, I knew that the MC would be Indian. This is because to the White person's gaze, Pakistan & other South Asian identities do not exist. When I grew up, no one really knew what Pakistan was in my K-12 education. I was AFRAID to say I was

Pakistani bc when I tried on a few instances, ppl didn't understand what I said (bc they pronounced it so incorrectly) & had no idea what Pakistani culture was. OR they would reference some horrid article on women being killed or the like. That was how they saw Pakistan. From a

young age, I was bullied for related issues. Before I left elementary school I was told a number of times that I was Indian. It's what people assumed when they looked at me, because I had brown skin. (Wearing hijab later on didn't change this fact.) I had ppl insist I was Indian

when I said I wasn't. I had people ask me to defend India/Indian culture. "Why do all Indian girls have mustaches?" "Why does Indian food make your stomach hurt?" So believe me when I say harmful Indian rep hurts me not only bc it's part of the larger Desi rep & I share a culture

w/ it, but also bc ppl LOOK AT ME AND ASSUME IM INDIAN, WHICH MEANS ALL STEREOTYPES THAT APPLY TO INDIANS ARE THEN APPLIED TO ME - which I cannot escape. In my teacher education program at uni rn, we cover teaching thru a social-justice-oriented lens extensively. Cultures are

typically reduced to the aspects other ppl can benefit from most - there are scholarly journals on these. "Holocaust & Hanukkah" for Jewish ppl, "Tacos & Tequilas" for Mexicans, so on. For Desi culture, it's Bollywood & flash mobs. It's head bobbing & spicy food. Are you actually

repping Indian culture by making Mira's Detective look like it's straight out of Bollywood, or are you getting to indulge in the aspects of Indian culture most enjoyable for you? I can't answer these Q's, but they have to be considered. When I watch Mira's Detective (there are

free full episodes on YouTube FYI), I think: Indian ppl are NOT American. Why can't a Desi MC take place in an American setting? I urge you to consider this question. Why can't Indian culture exist in America? Why do we have to reinforce that Indian = India? It doesn't. Not for

the thousands of Indian girls who grew up in America. Not for thousands of South Asian girls tired of being told to go back to their country or treated like America isn't really theirs. I would encourage your team to include some aspect of America. Why Other an Indian girl for an

American audience? International audiences are another story. Disney is an American brand & they owe Desi people here our EFFECTIVE rep first. We don't need Mira to be centered around Bollywood dancing & styles, which is reductive of Indian culture. She can wear American clothes

sometimes. Ppl in India wear American clothes. A lot. I LOVE shalwar kameezes & they should still be featured, but not to the extent that you're Other-ing Mira. Which you are. Which the show does. There is more to Indian culture than Bollywood & Pretty Clothes & Food. Like: the

partition. Maybe u already included this - I haven't watched all of season 1 yet - but that's imp history that can be brought up at some point. Highlight Pakistani, Bangladeshi, & Sri Lankan identities by bringing in characters from them. Keep a greater emphasis on the importance