First off, consider that I had to specify I was talking about an owl, because Hedwig the human is famously very angry about their complicated gender identity in the broadway show Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
Only male snowy owls have pure white plumage, like she is described as having.
“But she’s a magical owl! They could be different”
No, no, you see, the only differences between magical versions of normal animals like rats and owls and cats that we are told about are increased intelligence and increased lifespan.
We can say that all pure white snowy owls irl are male, because snowy owls haven’t socially constructed the idea of gender, so their maleness is just a descriptor of their sexual organs.
But owls with more intelligence, and a closer relationship to human social structures? No one is going to say the owls in Harry Potter don’t have unique identities, and Hedwig is particularly self assured.
Occam’s razor suggests that the simplest solution is most often the correct one. You don’t have to make up any oddly specific facts about how every magical snowy owl is pure white. You don’t have to make up anything at all to know Hedwig is trans. Just look at what’s there and it’s clear.
You are allowed to imagine, however:
The scenes in the pet shop when Hedwig bit everyone all the time and no one could figure out why “he” was so terrible.
Until a tiny black haired kid with glasses who doesn’t know anything about the anatomy of white owls goes “oh she’s so pretty!” and Hedwig falls instantly in love with him. Shop keepers rush up in shock, saying “oh wow! He usually bites every-OW!” And getting cut off when the yet-unnamed owl turns on them viciously.
“Oh, it’s a boy?” Asks the naive young Harry, making the owl scream in anger, only for Hagrid, who reads animals better than anyone and always treats them like people, to get a hunch and ask the owl if she is a girl. Hedwig hoots happily and nibbles Hagrid’s ear as the bewildered staff try to insist otherwise. Hagrid doesn’t even entertain those idiots, isn’t it clear this owl is a girl? She just TOLD them she was!
Harry asks if he can hold her with wonder, and exits the pet shop that day with his first real friend, and the best birthday present ever.
This is not shown, even though it IS relevant to Harry’s journey. This segment of the book is all about the colorful characters and wonderful sights he encounters in his first trip into the wizarding world. Establishing that magical animals have strong anthropomorphic personalities and identities would add to this atmosphere. It would help establish an iconic side character. It would build on Hagrid’s “rough but kind, and competent in his own way” characterization in this segment of the book, and introduce his way with ferocious animals earlier than in the original. Introducing his actual skills here would only aid in coloring him as the literally larger than life hero Harry paints him as in this segment.
Instead the scene just cuts to after the pet shop. Skipping all the absolutely true things about Hedwig’s trans identity.
For the final, irrefutable proof?
Hedwig is killed off for absolutely no plot relevant reason. She has to be LGBT.
Thank you, now you know that despite JKR Harry Potter featured the first transgender owl in literary history. Landmark.
(The best correction I could receive on this post would be an earlier example of a transgender owl in literature, somebody please)
Every time I reread the Hunger Games trilogy I become more furious about the movie representation.
These books were about an indigenous woman (with a brain injury in book 3) living in poverty overthrowing a corrupt white government.
She was demisexual, had stomach hair, was not even remotely romantically driven (and canonically didn’t even find romance until after she had finished a revolution.)
And Peeta was disabled and physically abused as a child and they both suffered from mental health problems and the parallel between the Capitol and the ruling rich was so very transparent.
And I’m seeing fun coloured makeup in stores labeled “Capitol colours from the Hunger Games”!
These books were about the revolution of the most oppressed taking over the extravagance and elitism and decadence of the ruling class while citizens starved.
These books were a parallel to our current social dynamics, they were a call to arms. They were a battle cry for the impeding ruin of the rich white ruling class.
And the movies portrayed them as a fantasy, a romance story, a cute little tale. When the real story in the books was one of strength and upheaval and shifting paradigms and revolutions.
And like…… the death of a young Black child sparked the rebellion.
When Katniss thinks about running away in the second book it is the memory of Rue that makes her decide to stay and “cause all kinds of trouble.”
That is an indigenous woman deciding that the death of a Black child is so horrific and unacceptable that she needs to start an entire uprising about it. That is WOC solidarity.
Then again, when Katniss is talking with Peeta about not leaving he literally, canonically and verbally SAYS it’s because of Rue.
The movies did not lend enough weight to the injustice and violence that Black women face; they didn’t waste any time in deciding the rebellion came from their White Katniss’s determination to overthrow the Capitol.
The movies purposely and aggressively erased all of the racial oppression and power and dynamics that were so apparent in the books.
They made Katniss white, they made Gale white, they erased Peeta’s amputation, they seriously diminished the PTSD both of them faced (which was actually one of the more accuract accounts of PTSD I had ever read in the books), they drastically lessened the weight and importance of Rue’s death.
Anyway, fuck the movies. The books are miraculous. Right down to the respect of survival sex workers. Right down to the power imbalances of society being set in the hands of a violent old white man who has surgery to appear younger.
The author said these books was based on her interpretation of kids’ experiences in war torn Vietnam and Iraq. None of these kids were supposed to be white.
I love it when people try to claim representation in fiction is being taken “too far” to the point where it’s no believable. They’re like:
“What’s next, a mixed-race immigrant on the autism spectrum?” Hi, my name is Rachel, also known as Rachna, and I’m a mixed-race immigrant on the autism spectrum.
“What’s next, a transgender Latino man with chronic pain?” What, you mean my former colleague, Marco?
“What’s next, a Black Jewish lesbian?” Bitch, I know I three Black Jewish lesbians, WHAT’S YOUR FUCKING POINT?
im so tired of the argument being “what’s next? a feasible combination of human conditions other than straight white cis able-bodied dude? that can’t possibly happen!”
This is the future that leftists want to see.
File under “things which reactionary conservatives think to be horrific but are actually pretty awesome.”
WhAT’s NeXT???? HuMAn BEiNgs???? ThAT aReNT mE???????
There’s quite a few mixed-race artists that have a white/European parent in kpop/jpop, but not as many mixed-race artists that have a black/African parent are known. So, here’s a list because diversity is nice.
Insooni ~ R&B Soloist (61)
A fucking legend tbh. One of the first (if not the first) black artists in Korea. Was a R&B girl group member in the 80s and now a well respected soloist. Your faves try to get pictures with her. Here’s EXO:
And hand in hand with Yuri of SNSD:
Yoon Mirae ~ R&B Soloist (36)
A second generation R&B and HipHop singer in Korea. She and her husband TigerJk are Korean hip-hop royalty. As well as couple goals.
Nesmith ~ Group Vocalist (34)
The lead vocalist of popular Jpop group The Second. And a Tokyo Dome Veteran.
I have to include his baby picture because it’s just too cute~~
Crystal Kay ~ Soloist (32)
She’s a popular Jpop singer affectionately called Kurikei by Japanese fans. She debuted at 13 years old (!) in 1999. She debuted around the same time as BoA and the two have been friends since they were 15.
Elly ~ Group Dancer/Rapper (30)
One of the main dancer’s of one of Japan’s top groups. J Soul Brothers is kinda like the Super Junior of Japan lol. He’s also a rapper under the name CrazyBoy now. A fucking king.
Mandy ~ Group Dancer (27)
A main dancer of Jpop group Generations and a breakout variety star in Japan. People really love him; that plushie of his face is official group merch. Fans make bentos (lunches) of his face too!
Likiya ~ Group Dancer/Leader (27)
Elly’s younger brother is in the same company as a leader and main dancer for popular rookie group The Rampage. They won the New Wave Award at the Asian Artist Awards in Seoul last year! And voted sexiest of the group by his members which is a far greater honor tbh. Here’s Mandy, Elly, and Likiya just cause this gif is super cute.
Lee Michelle ~ Soloist (26)
She’s an R&B/Kpop singer, but recently she came in second place on Hip Hop Nation 2 as a rapper. Super talented, but also super underrated. She first came into the media spotlight on Kpop Star on the same season as Winner’s Seunghoon.
Saarah ~ Group Vocalist
Bananalemon is a Jpop group that just recently debuted, but they’re already gaining quite a lot of attention for their girl crush concept. The group is influenced by 90s R&B groups like Destiny’s Child and TLC.
And these are some of the most popular half-black artists in Asia as of now. Jpop girl group GLOSS will be debuting later this year with two half-black members so keep an eye out for them too!
“Unappropriated Beauty“ is a poster ad campaign tackling the issue of cultural appropriation in a non-accusatory, educational way. These adverts are size-compatible to fit in different settings, including bus shelters, billboards, mobile devices, and magazines. The goal of this project is to educate the consumers of appropriative media so that they are better equipped to decide for themselves what is and what is not cultural appropriation, and therefore lowering the tolerance for appropriation being applauded in the media.
What TV writers think is good LGBT representation: *protagonist teary eyed* My attraction to the same gender is so painful I wish I did not feel this way…but alas it’s my burden to bear. Also I have dated both men and women but I don’t like labels. *dies* What is actually good LGBT representation: *protagonist wearing sunglasses playing the saxophone in front of a giant bisexual flag* How am I doing? Well I’m just getting BI!!! Haha get it?? Because I like both men and women so I’m bisexual.
That picture doesn’t do this scene justice, it’s a musical number:
When guards, soldiers, community leaders, sea captains etc are mentioned in passing as side or background figures, they’re just as likely to be women as men, without any extra comment or explanation
I’m pretty sure there was just a Disney reference (in Sabriel ‘that’s what he did, it’s what he lived for’, in Little Mermaid ‘that’s what I do, it’s what I live for’—deliberate or not it’s cracking me up this morning)
He doesn’t spend a lot of time describing his female character’s bodies unless it’s practical mentions of hygiene or wounds
But also he doesn’t dance around the word ‘breasts’ when it’s the appropriate practical description of anatomy
Lirael has depression and suicidal ideation and is a badass heroine, Sammeth has PTSD but is still a badass hero, Nicholas the quintessential know-it-all white guy gets humbled and is the vulnerable character who needs rescuing
Mogget and the Disreputable Dog and their impatience with anything approaching YA drama tropes
The romantic elements that are so *mimes swoon* but also so subtle and also rational and drama free? I mean.
There’s even bits of domestic fluff in the middle freaking action adventure stories, I MEAN.
The political stuff in Lirael and Abhorsen is relevant, wow
Characters admitting that they’re afraid, including (especially) male characters
Some more honorable mentions
In Clariel, they mention it’s just as normal to be attracted to same sex as it is opposite – heavily implying Clariel is aro/ace.
The characters are racially diverse. It always makes me cackle that in the later books, Garth Nix makes more mentions of the Clayr’s skin, since so many people ignored the fact he explicitly describes them as dark skinned. Touchstone is pretty clearly described as black.
Women in leadership and guarding/protection roles. BONUS: w/out making dudes look incompetent in comparison.
Nix mentioning that The Clayr take casual lovers frequently and prefer to raise their kids with other Clayr, rather than their romantic/sexual partners.
Lirael has a service dog!!! The disreputable dog! And the dog sometimes tells Lirael shit she doesn’t want to hear.
Honestly, these books were so progressive and ahead of their time. Way, way better than Harry Potter imho.
wupacing 