Ethnic stereotypes and powers

While there’s a study that enlists the kinds of powers more commonly given to women, it doesn’t take ethnicity into account especially which ethnicity’s more likely to have these abilities and skills at all. It’s even goes without saying that while there are well-intentioned attempts at introducing multiethnic and multicultural superhero teams, for some characters they’re beholden to stereotypes. Characters like Siryn and Shamrock play into stereotypes about Irish people being red-haired and in the case of the former, drunk.

I’m not saying that there aren’t any red-haired Irish people, but the Irish people I personally know (online to be certain) aren’t big on drinking and I can’t name any red-haired Irish celebrity. Blond maybe, especially if you’re Ronan Keating and Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh. But I can’t name a single red-haired Irish celebrity, which again tells you how these characters play into stereotypes about Irish people made worse by that they’re not written by Irish people.

In the case with two Norwegian superheroes in DC Comics, both Glacier and Ice have ice powers and the latter was created to replace the former (in a way, by mistake). Even not all Scandinavian heroes in DC Comics necessarily have ice powers, it does play into stereotypes about Scandinavians being frigid. Not that there aren’t any glaciers in Norway at all and part of it is in the Arctic Circle. But for some reason, there’s not a single Argentinian character with ice powers.

Argentina’s very close to Antarctica so it gets really cold down south and it’s a missed opportunity when it comes to creating an Argentinian superhero with ice powers, likewise since Iceland has a lot of volcanoes it should make sense to create an Icelandic superhero with volcanic powers. It’s these quirks of geography that can and should inspire writers to create characters based on those, but due to ethnic stereotypes this may never come to be.

The biggest risk of say a Norwegian superhero as written by a non-Norwegian is that there’s a chance of playing into stereotypes, even if it happens accidentally, but it does tell you about how they see a certain ethnicity as. If you want to know what a Norwegian superhero would be like, if they were conceived by a Norwegian here are two examples. The other one’s even black, which’s something neither DC and Marvel have done outside of the latter’s version of Thor.

Likewise, a Brazilian superhero by a Brazilian writer would more accurately depict Brazilian culture. I think no matter how well-intentioned the writer this, if the writer doesn’t share the character’s ethnicity and nationality there’s a chance of playing into stereotypes even if it happens accidentally but still.

Only a minority would tell

There’s this post on Tumblr about the way redheads are portrayed in the media saying that quite provocatively, many redhead characters are really blonds and brunettes with red hair in that many of them don’t undergo sunburns, turn red whenever they feel something or get bullied for their red hair. (Rugrats’s Chucky Finnster might be one of the few redheads who actually get bullied for having red hair, well as far as fiction goes.) More often than not, red hair is a statement rather than something characters live with and go through.

I could say many of the same things about blond characters where it’s like they’re hardly portrayed as irritated with dumb blonde stereotypes (something blonde women have to go through), or for another matter those with albinism where they don’t undergo sunburns and problems with eyesight. It’s in other words an inauthentic portrayal of who they are and what they go through; only a minority would tell that there’s something off about the way they’re portrayed that marks their inauthenticity.

They look the way they do to communicate ideas about them, rather than about who they really are. It’s not enough to subvert stereotypes about them, but to also make them more like real people with that trait to better represent them. This also extends to the way ethnic minorities are portrayed: the way their cultures and individuals are portrayed risk being untrue, even stereotypical, appropriative and racist. It would be like always stereotyping black people as indulging in crime, that’s untrue for many black people.

Another thing that would be untrue for many black people is portraying them with big genitalia, which’s something not all black men have as evidenced by a handful of studies. It’s a stereotype that risks fetishising them since it’s something they get valued for, but it’s only something only a handful of black men have and others might not be that well-endowed. There are gay black men who have issues with this stereotype, you really have to listen to them to know that stereotype’s untrue.

So it’s important to listen to these people, knowing it might be untrue for many of them. One man’s innocent trope is another man’s offensive stereotype. It’s not just a matter of subverting tropes, but also knowing why it hurts some people and why it’s important to listen to those hurt by those cliches. If it goes unchecked, people will always be ticked off by those. When it comes to certain cliches, they hurt people whether if it’s a joke or a stereotypical portrayal. So is cultural appropriation and why we must listen to them.

Good point about inauthenticity

There was somebody on Tumblr who said that the way redheads are portrayed in the media don’t always reflect what actual redheads go through (admittedly, not all redheads are pale and white however), in the sense that as far as I’ve watched there’s barely ever a fictional redhead who gets bullied for having red hair. Rugrats’s Chucky Finnster is the only fictional redhead who ever got bullied for having red hair, likewise I could say some of the same things about portrayals of dwarfism and albinism.

While pale, not a lot of fictional albinos struggle with vision problems and they also don’t get bullied for being pale. Not a lot of fictional dwarves struggle to get something and do something considering their height. This also extends to the way cheerleaders and athletes are portrayed in fictional stories, well in the ones I’ve watched none of them ever get hazed and bullied. This is based on the reports and studies I’ve read where it’s actually not uncommon for athletes and cheerleaders to be abused in any way.

If geeks can protest about the inauthentic portrayal of geeks in The Big Bang Theory, why not protest about the way redheads and other groups are portrayed in the media as well. At times, these characters are there to communicate an idea of them not their realities. Not to mention these stereotypes are detrimental to the people affected by them, this blonde woman admitted that dumb blonde stereotypes are rather annoying. If I might add, shy redheads and angry blonds (especially Marianne Faithfull and Denis Law) exist.

These portrayals are rather inauthentic and insincere to their experiences, so much so that it even bothers them a lot.

Mukokuseki

The Japanese word for stateless but in the sense that when it comes to the way people of their own ethnicity portray themselves they see themselves as unmarked whereas they other those of different nationalities and ethnicities, which sometimes leads to facial profiling. Anime characters aren’t necessarily white just as The Simpsons aren’t necessarily Asian in that if they’re the default ethnicity, they can’t be stereotyped in any way. Those of other ethnicities tend to be marked, for instance a black person would be stereotyped as oversexed, well-endowed, thuggish or animalistic whereas white people aren’t (in white made media).

I suspect this extends to writing where it’s like how black people would be stereotyped and described as either Mandingos, sambos, mammies, Sapphires, Jezebels, animals (often simian or primate) and thugs. If it were written by a black person, because blackness would be the default here black characters wouldn’t be portrayed that stereotypically unless if that black person has internalised racism and projects it onto women (from my personal experience). If a Nigerian did Nigerian stories, their ethnicity and nationality would be the default and this extends to how ethnicities see each other where a Yoruba sees themselves as unmarked but the Igbo and Hausa are.

This also extends to gender where if men are the default, women are the marked other or for another matter sexuality where if homosexuality’s other, heterosexuality would be default. When it comes to mukokuseki for black people, that’s only when blackness’s made default that we get less stereotypical depictions of black people (though it’s possible to have non-stereotypical black characters in a white-majority or multicultural setting). But it becomes less stereotypical in the sense that if a Nigerian did a black character, that would be the default ethnicity (no special markers needed). It’s not so much of a matter of ethnic and racial differences but rather the perception where if your race’s default it wouldn’t be stereotyped in any way unless if self-hate issues are present (which do exist among some black people).

It’s actually telling with the Milestone comics that the characters are portrayed in a less stereotypical manner than they would be in most other superhero comics at the time, though if it were coming from let’s say a black person (or if that black person’s not that misogynistic and full of self-hate) we’d get a lot of non-stereotypical black characters. When it comes to African comics, this becomes more telling that on one hand they don’t stereotype blackness but on the other hand they’d stereotype African nationalities and ethnicities. Even without comics, this becomes telling in the way they perceive themselves and each other.

A white German wouldn’t see themselves as a stereotype, just the default ethnicity but they’re going to mark Italians, blacks, Turks and Moroccans as the other. It may not always be obvious in writing but it does play off that way, for instance Italians would be stereotyped as lusty, emotional and dark-haired. The more different the ethnicity is, the likelier they are to be othered. The more default the ethnicity is, the less likely they’ll be stereotyped. It does make sense this and why it does deconstruct racism to some extent when it comes to seeing whichever ethnicity’s default.

It may not always be the case but it does make sense that in anime if Japanese people are the default, they wouldn’t be stereotyped in any way but the Chinese and Americans usually get stereotyped and othered in ways they wouldn’t be in their own media and soils. It could apply to any ethnicity and still prove my point right about whichever ethnicity’s predominant.

Othering the Native American

When it comes to Native Americans, there’s a tendency to other them whether by romanticisation (which’s something some Europeans and White Americans do) or through demeaning stereotypes like Tonto speak where Native Americans speak in broken English. Never mind that their own languages are in decline so it’s much more realistic and likelier for them to speak in broken Lakota, Navajo or Sioux and they’d be much more familiar with the English language due to the marginalisation of their own languages for generations.

Blue Corn Comics extensively documents the various Native American stereotypes that have appeared in over the years, where you go from sexualised Native Americans (not just the women, it’s also a staple in heterosexual romance novels where you have exotic, sexualised Native American men) to Native Americans and their casinos as well as criticisms about Pocahontas. The real Pocahontas was probably a pre-teen or early teenager, by modern standards she’d be too young to have consensual sex with and too young to drink either.

That makes the romanticisation of her relationship with John Smith more unsettling in that he’s older than her and he has power over her. Another thing’s that there’s the tendency to appropriate parts of Native American cultures without the full immersion in that culture, which necessitates much more experience with Native Americans in addition to having considerable knowledge of their cultures and languages. There’s also a tendency to stereotype Native Americans as lazy, close to nature, humourless or drunk (the Native Americans I know of are geeks and aren’t drunk).

Until recently with Marvel’s Indigenous Voices as well as Peace Party and other comics written and drawn by Native Americans, unless if they did their research or better yet have any real experience with those characters Native Americans will often be stereotyped and portrayed in a cliched manner. They will often be othered, made exotic or very different from their white counterparts even when Native Americans themselves don’t differ much in overall behaviour. (I can say the same things about Asians, Latinos and blacks.)

Not to mention the inability to understand foreign cultures can make it hard to do authentic portrayals of Native Americans, not just by doing research but also having any real experience with that makes it more authentic. The same can be said of any other culture really.

Defying things without deliberation

Given there are cases where the blonds are depicted in a non-stereotypical fashion without trying, to the point where if it’s not always deliberate subversion (though it’s present on some level) there’s also the possibility of somebody knowing people like that in real life.

Something like in Hey Arnold where there are at least two blond characters who don’t fit the stereotypes (Helga and Arnold), the former’s short-tempered but also infatuated with him and the latter’s shown to give advice at times though my memory of watching it’s not always good.

(For another matter, other Nicktoons like Loud House to some extent.)

There’s always the possibility of people knowing characters like that, in addition to deliberate subversion (i.e. Captain Planet’s Linka and Mighty Ducks’s Tanya are blonde but also smart and computer-savvy).

That kind of proves something about stereotypes

As I said before, there might be people who do subvert stereotypes deliberately or unconsciously so where in the case with Captain Planet and arguably Mighty Ducks, the blonde women are depicted as smart, conniving or more level-headed than expected.

Though it’s also possible that it’s not always a deliberate subversion but also personally knowing somebody who’s like that where if somebody does know a blonde who’s brainy, shy or hot-tempered in person or from reading/listening that this reflects the way they make some characters.

Though it could be argued that some deliberately fought the dumb blonde stereotype in those cartoons, perhaps backed by a study where blondes are actually smarter.

They don’t fit it to a T

I do think there are always people who don’t fit stereotypes to a T, which even some writers may acknowledge or portray such characters where a character could be blonde and into fashion but also not very outgoing, level-headed and resourceful/canny enough to create her own clothes by hand.

(I could be projecting but there’s likely people who do those.)

Though I do think the possibility of introverted blonds might have to be considered, especially if/when you know them either from experience or from what you’ve read. Or for another matter, science-oriented blonds which becomes likelier if you know somebody like them.

It could be said about anybody else but that involves actually knowing them at any to whatever degree.

Who reads or knows a lot?

I still think that it does matter that you’d know, learn or read a lot to tell people something and to depict very different characters, that even if it may not always be the case it still makes sense most of the time. Like if you always depict blondes as ditzy and clumsy, then you evidently don’t know blondes who don’t fit the cliche.

(Logically, if you know there are blondes who’re good at sports, animals, science, farming and hunting, and blondes who’re irritable, smart or levelheaded then it can and will influence your works albeit unconsciously so at times.)

This isn’t always the case but it does make sense in terms of wider exposure to and knowledge of those characters that’s helpful in avoiding stereotypes a lot, whether if it’s calculated or you know somebody like that and both then that’s enough to avoid stereotypes or the same character all over again.

You don’t know about Jack

Like I said before in other posts, why some writers tend to resort to stereotypical characters a lot’s that I feel they really don’t know a lot to write about characters who don’t fit the mold well (something like having competent blonde huntresses and seamtresses around but that involves knowing people like that).

In all likelihood, they don’t know any blonde who doesn’t fit the stereotype/mold well (i.e. blonde bookworms, bullied victims, nerds, farmers, cat owners, huntresses and the like do exist if you do know those by chance), which’s the vibe that I’m getting from those people (one wonders if they really don’t know a lot).

For another matter, this is like imagining Ireland and Scotland as full of redheads even though many of the Irish celebrities I know don’t have red hair (most of them are brunettes, some of them are blondes*). Again, those people evidently don’t know a lot to write characters who don’t fit those molds well.

*Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh of Altan, Boyzone’s Ronan Keating, a few women from Celtic Woman and Nightcrawlers’ John Reid but that involves knowing those people to begin with.