Representation in comic books

brevoortformspring:

The words of the wonderful author Junot Diaz strike me as appropriate and enlightening at a time when the debate over the representation of women and minorities in comic books is at a fever pitch:

“You guys know about vampires? You know, vampires have no reflections in a mirror? There’s this idea that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror.  And what I’ve always thought isn’t that monsters don’t have reflections in a mirror. It’s that if you want to make a human being into a monster, deny them, at the cultural level, any reflection of themselves. And growing up, I felt like a monster in some ways. I didn’t see myself reflected at all. I was like, “Yo, is something wrong with me? That the whole society seems to think that people like me don’t exist? And part of what inspired me, was this deep desire that before I died, I would make a couple of mirrors. That I would make some mirrors so that kids like me might seem themselves reflected back and might not feel so monstrous for it.”

187 Notes/ Hide

  1. sirreal13 reblogged this from brevoortformspring
  2. therebelwithoutapplause-blog1 reblogged this from mutantmasterofmagnetism
  3. mutantmasterofmagnetism reblogged this from brevoortformspring
  4. hexxxxd reblogged this from brevoortformspring
  5. spiderhungry reblogged this from brevoortformspring
  6. whitepeopleclapping-blog reblogged this from cobracommanda
  7. pluckedstrings reblogged this from idworkforabstergo
  8. pithyhelmet reblogged this from brevoortformspring
  9. idworkforabstergo reblogged this from brevoortformspring
  10. ceelo619 reblogged this from brevoortformspring
  11. noblehierarch reblogged this from melissahastoseethis
  12. melissahastoseethis reblogged this from realpunksdontfollowrules
  13. gracefulmoose93 reblogged this from brevoortformspring
  14. heeeraldo reblogged this from brevoortformspring
  15. mattgordonzero reblogged this from brevoortformspring
  16. thedirectionoftime reblogged this from giraffepoliceforce
  17. cephalopod-demigod reblogged this from gorbaeshoff
  18. addictive-delusions reblogged this from giraffepoliceforce
  19. jasmine-leigh reblogged this from giraffepoliceforce
  20. sealsurprise reblogged this from giraffepoliceforce
  21. sillyrunner reblogged this from giraffepoliceforce
  22. siphonophores1 reblogged this from giraffepoliceforce
  23. liyabee reblogged this from giraffepoliceforce and added:
    This is one of the most striking and truthful things I’ve ever read, I’m in awe.
  24. shoeflyoctopi reblogged this from allegriana
  25. brevoortformspring posted this