queerhawkeye:[Caption: screencaps of a tweet by @youngavengersaf / @queenamericachavez that reads:
queerhawkeye: [Caption: screencaps of a tweet by @youngavengersaf / @queenamericachavez that reads: #MakeCatwomanCubanAgain special thank you to @psylockestorms for encouraging me to make the tag! Thank you! “For the last 3 decades Selina Kyle, mostly known as the main Catwoman, has been half-Cuban in DC comics. When I found out, it was the most amazing moment to know that there was a superhero, A FEMALE superhero, that was like me! At least partly. But shortly afterwards, it occurred to me that while she was a (half) Cuban superheroine, it seemed like nobody knew so, which striked me odd, seeing how popular and famous Catwoman is. Especially since that run where her mother was established as Cuban, she’s been (mostly) drawn with light brown skin; so did everybody just assume she tanned or? But I did some research and realized that her backstory was constantly retconned, and her ethnicity was buried among the mess that people have made of her origins. Now after realizing why nobody seemed to know her mother was Cuban, it was like DC had no problem completely ignoring it because it is NEVER brought up. I’m sure everyone knows how DC is starting to make new movies and have them all in the universe knows as the DCEU, which leads to my point. There will be a solo Batman movie, maybe even another trilogy, and Selina Kyle is bound to show up. So a friend suggested that I make a tag and set up something so that the DCEU would not white-wash her character once again. I want to set up several days where everyone participates in the tag #MakeCatwomanCubanAgain. Where Twitterverse comes together to pitch into the effort of making sure that the Selina Kyle we get on screen is Cuban-American, and played by a Cuban-American actress in her 40s (let’s not play into Hollywood’s ageism towards older female actresses either, seeing as Batman and Catwoman are love interests to each other, and Ben Affleck is 43). I also want to add what may seem like a harsh point, but it will not do justice if a non-Cubana plays her, even if it’s another Latina. It may seem like it is okay, but it’s not; it’s disrespectful to deem different latinx backgrounds as if they were interchangeable. Latin America is not a monolith; it does not share one culture. It shares multiple cultures that have similarities, but they are not the same. This definitely takes inspiration from #KeepIrisBlack which gained so much traction and attention that Rick Famuyiwa casted Kiersey Clemons as Iris, which is such an amazing thing, it truly showed how powerful social media can be. SO I want to pitch in the effort of having Selina Kyle as an actual Cuban American. If the DCEU has no problem racebending originally white characters (Aquaman, Deadshot, now Iris West), then they should have no problem not white washing a character of color, right? Well seeing as how Selina Kyle is notoriously whitewashed I have trouble keeping that mindset. On Saturday, September 17, 2016, at 2pm Eastern Standard Time, let’s get this tag trending! Using the hashtag you can tweet (or share other platforms) whatever you want; whether it be explaining the importance of having racial/ethnic diversity in comicbook media, of older (LGBT) women of color in media in general, of (female) Cuban representation, (age appropriate) fancasting, what it means for you personally, basically anything supportive and positive! Remember to tag @BenAffleck, @GeoffJohns, @DCcomics, and @WBpictures in your tweets, although it’s not necessary but because they are in charge of the casting, it would be a good idea to have them notice. Even if this is ahead of time I want to personally thank everyone who participates in this event/tag, it means the absolute world to me. (Sidenote: I’m hoping to have multiple days dedicated and will definitely come up with more dates and times for it to trend again)“ The tweet is accompanied by three pictures of Catwoman.] Guys! Mark your calendars! On Saturday, September 17, 2016, at 2pm Eastern Standard Time, let’s get #MakeCatwomanCubanAgain trending! Retweet this on Twitter and share it on Tumblr and across any social media! -- source link