We're not talking green.

[eliyes]

Lately I've been seeing a lot of chatter about "persons of colour" in the media -- not that this is anything new, but I've encountered a fresh wave. I.e. there's not enough of them, they're handled mostly badly, and people seem to fuck up who's what on a regular basis. Now, this leads to AUs where entire shows are recast (but seriously, fandom, why take out the recurring awesome Asian scientist but keep the one-appearance blonde chick?), ruminations on characters being introduced as non-white versions of white characters (Jaime Reyes is a sweetie, but he's also a recent example -- at least he's not a douche like the new Firestorm!), and of course massive fail in portraying/colouring/casting these characters. In the comics world there are such classic examples as Jubilee (who is Chinese*) being portrayed as white (frequent) or black (occasional), and Monet (who is black) being coloured with the same skin tone as her midwest farmboy teammate, Jamie Maddrox.

But the example I present to you now is from DC.

Does anyone working on -- or reading! -- the books even REMEMBER that this character is half-Cambodian? Judging by the art, obviously NOT.



Yes, that's right. Rose Wilson. HER FATHER IS NOT HER ONLY PARENT. She used to have a less "ZOMG European" nose, eye colour, and skin tone, but it frankly didn't last that long.

*Yes, yes, Chinese-American. My point is her ethnicity, not her citizenship.