A rant about representation
I recently saw a post on Marvel's Hero Project and I think it's incredible how Marvel (and Disney) have been integrating representation into a lot of their Disney+ content. Marvel's Hero Project is really cool because each episode focuses on a member of the youth that is a real life hero and stands up for really great causes. They've got kids fighting for lgtbq+ rights and kids advocating for disabilities and the homeless, but one thing they don't have is a Muslim kid. Now that isn't to say that in later episodes they won't have one, but as a Muslim and full time hijabi (a Muslim woman who covers her hair with a headscarf and wears modest clothes that covers most of her body) it's getting increasingly frustrating for all these TV shows and movies to get applauded for representation when I rarely, if ever, see any positive Muslim representation. Now I'm mostly gonna be touching on representation of Hijabi woman because I feel that is the most prominent and most easily recognizable image of a Muslim person to the general media.
First, I want to talk about a couple examples of representation that have really got me going (bad and good). I'm gonna start with Halo from Young Justice, mostly because I did a post about how much I appreciated her and am low key regretting it. Obviously they fucked that up and I can't put into words how disappointing it was to see her character lose sight of being Muslim (not that they made it very important to begin with) but I mean I guess I was blind sighted by the fact that she was a hijabi when really that was the only give away that she was Muslim at all. On the other side of the spectrum we have Kamala Khan, who is everyone's go to Muslim representation. I myself am a fan of Ms.Marvel but I can't help but find fault with her representation. I don't want to take away the fact that she's a Pakistani American practicing Muslim but I do want to point out that the fact that she's Muslim isn't really super vital to her story plots. It's a lot about her inhuman abilities and genes. This is a small detail to have a problem with, especially considering people are reading her comics to see a superhero in action and not the domestic day to day problems of a Muslim girl. Really I guess my biggest issue with her is that she doesn't wear a headscarf. I know this is something I'm sure will bug a lot of people that I'm picking on, because after all any representation is better than no representation, but it's the fact that being Muslim is something that she is known for and yet she doesn't fit the image of a Muslim woman in a way that most people would recognize. I'm not invalidating any of my non hijabi sisters, I'm just saying it's a lot easier to recognize a Muslim in a crowd if they're wearing a hijab, so to have a character that is Muslim and not have her look like someone anyone person would immediately recognize as Muslim is a little :/. Both these characters also to wildy different degrees help check off the representation box without having a lot of evidence to support it. (Please don't misunderstand this as hate for Kamala, I love her and am super proud of her as a character, I just think there should be more characters and done better.)
Getting away from animated/cartoon characters I want to talk about Ramy, a sitcom on Hulu, and Amira on Druck, part of Skam. Ramy is this sitcom on Hulu that revolves around a young Muslim Egyptian man and the struggles he encounters while trying to reconnect with his faith of Islam. I love this show and encourage people to check it out because it's created by Ramy Youssef who also stars in it. It's a wonderful show that is super relatable for young Muslim people who struggle with being part of American society and practicing their faith, also it's fucking funny. The show also has serious episodes about his sister and mother and how much a double standard can exist in some Muslim households. I know a lot of conservative Muslims who would HATE this show because it constantly shows Ramy sinning. But I love this show because it's relatable and real and in the end Ramy tries his best (more or less) to be a good Muslim. It shows you the inside of some Muslim practices like Ramadan that a lot of people might be ignorant about. Now before I talk about Amira I just want to say I'm not the most informed on Druck or Skam and the only things I really know for sure is that they do a lot in the way of positive representation. I just wanted to touch on Amira really quick because from what I've seen of her I'm in love. Just from a purely aesthetic point of view the way she fucking wraps her scarves and wears her clothes in the MOST fashionable ways while staying modest and covering her body is a breathe of fresh air (also I'm super jelly). Her arc also shows her struggle with falling for someone who isn't as strong in their beliefs as she is and how that strengthens instead of weakens her. She stays true to being a Muslim and learns how to integrate that aspect of herself into her social life. Imane from Skam is also a great example as well because she is not a full time hijabi and they show how much being Muslim means to her and how much she identifies as such and makes sure people know. It's also a great side to see because it shows her interested in dating a non Muslim and how she naviagtes that and it's lovely. I really love seeing these characters because they show me that despite there being so little representation for Muslims some people are coming around and they're proof that we're getting there...really fucking slowly.
This summer I was fortunate enough to intern at Cartoon Network in Atlanta and I got to attend an event that hosted one of the PR members involved with Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. Something he really wanted to hear about from the young audience (all highschoolers) was things that they loved about Cartoon Network but also things they could improve on. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people complained that CN lost the subtle edgy humour that was brought by their early 2000s shows, but what really stuck out to me is when a close friend of mine stood up and told him that while Cartoon Network was doing a great job on representation, they were far from perfect because full representation wasn't accomplished until every kid who tuned in could see a version of themselves on TV. I think it's amazing that we have shows that include LGBT couples like in Steven Universe and I love ALL the forms of representation we get in Craig of the Creek, but everytime I see them pump out a new show I get dissapointed to see the lack of Muslim characters. Now that isn't to say I don't get excited everytime I watch We Bare Bears or Craig of the Creek and I see a hijabi in the background, but obviously that is far from real representation. Of course I'm not criticizing CN only (they just are farther ahead than Disney and other channel's in my opinion), I'm waiting for Netflix to release a show where I get to see a hijabi woman who practices Islam and is proud of her religion and I can't help but wonder when seeing a practicing Muslim on TV will be trendy and cool and mainstream. Anyways this got long and I guess I'm just sad that representation of any group of minorities isn't where I hoped it would be in 2020.
tldr: the Muslim representation that we get is far from enough and in a lot of cases can hardly qualify as completely accurate representation and I'm tired of it.
edit: I forgot about Imane from Skam!!
