We Are Not Your Goddamn Stereotype

People of certain ethnicities, backgrounds, or variance of melanin are not automatically preset into cultural cages.

That’s just an overly complicated way of saying that, just because we are a certain race or come from a certain background, doesn’t automatically mean that we ascribe to your idea of what that means.

That line of thinking is a secret form of racism that places individuals into boxes. And the worst perpetuators of this idea are those who claim to be standing for the rights of others.

Let me tell you something you’re not going to like to hear: “People of Color” or “POC” is a disgusting term. It denotes difference. It sets a distinction between human beings. It says that anyone who isn’t white has to be lumped together with a different designation, instead of being regarded as human, first.

In short, it’s a form of segregation.

Yes, there are certain cultural norms. But these can transcend race and social class and speak to people on a personal level. Culture shifts and blends. It reaches communities and changes them, regardless of history and location. If not, we wouldn’t have many great artists who escaped expectation to become titans in their field.

So when you expect portrayals of people to fit into preset forms, and then call it “unrealistic” if said presets aren’t adhered to, what you’re actually doing is perpetuating the idea that being born into your skin is a lifelong sentence that ensures you’ll like specific art, act a specific way, and hang in specific social circles.

This is all a crude way of saying that institutionalized racism/sexism is still alive and well and running rampant in the very ivory towers that claim to be “woke”.

We are people. People come in all shapes and forms, despite their backgrounds. Some adhere to cultural norms. Others swim in different waters. But the point is, cultural identity, with all its fluidity, is not nor should not be the defining factor of being human.

It’s who we are at our cores that defines us. And that’s different for everybody. Because we are — all of us — people.