RC’s idea of attractive men vs mine
I’ve been wanting to do this for a while, because the white washing and exoticization is crazy. I thought about including women, but it’s already pretty long.
So here’s what RC thinks desirable men look versus what I think.
Don’t get me wrong. I think Cassiel, Volot, War and Ellia are all very attractive. BUT they are either zombie gray or have lightened features like blue or yellow eyes. The light eyes on POC characters is sort of a pet peeve of mine. There are already so few POC LIs compared to white LIs. Yet, they still find a way to make them look more white/less whatever race they are.
Where RC did good: Greg, Deshawn, Nahome immediately come to mind.
Pictured: Kofi Siriboe, Mike Colter, Aldis Hodge, Jamal Roberts
Jamal Roberts won American Idol a couple years ago. Every time he appeared onstage, I said to my husband, “He is so handsome!”
I know everyone drools over Michael B. Jordan and Idris Elba, but I cannot tell you the crush I have on Aldis Hodge! That man is…
I think Amrit and the Doobays were inspired by Hrithik Roshan, but I personally don’t get the attraction to him. Even though I love Ram, I’ve always thought he looks like Travis Barker. And I will never forget how confused I was when I found out Ratan was actually an Indian man/deity and not an East Asian tour guide.
Like I mentioned before, light eyes on POC is something I really don’t like. I know there are Indian people who do have green, blue, or hazel eyes, but there are so much more who don’t. Can we have more of those? I don’t understand the obsession RC has with light eyes. Dark eyes can add a lot of warmth and allure to a character.
Where RC did good: Avery in 7 Brothers looked like Sendhil Ramamurthy, but he wasn’t even an option until the very end! 😩 At least there’s Maria for the wlw. (Then again, there’s like zero romance in that book…)
I’m not usually a beard person, but Raymond Ablack in Maid had me yelling at my TV. If you’ve seen Maid, you understand. No way am I choosing an abusive alcoholic Nick Robinson over THIS! ⬇️ Sexy South Asian men do exist!
This also makes me really want that cowboy story. Not the fake Wild West gunslinging unconscious ones, but real ones. We could totally have a sexy South Asian cowboy. Racist Americans who say otherwise can kiss my butt. A lot of cowboys were (and still are) POC!
Sorry, but these people don’t look real to me. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Garden of Eden characters were inspired by real k-pop idols, (I think Minhyuk might’ve been influenced by V from BTS but they failed), but I still think they look cartoony. It gives me that icky exoticized-fetishized feeling. They look like dolls.
Kazu barely looks Japanese. He looks like a white woman with hooded eyes and black hair. He just looks off to me. I don’t know why Masamune is shiny. I will, however, appreciate that they were created by actual artists and it’s very visible.
There are also some racially ambiguous LIs that I can’t tell if they’re supposed to be East/Southeast Asian, or just Asian passing—like, is that a white man or is he supposed to be Asian? Xander, Malbonte, and Montclare fall into this category. I’m pretty sure Montclare is white, but there’s usually an Asian LI in each story, so Idk.
Where RC did good: Shen, Shen, Shen!
Also Novak, and Ozar looks like Yutaka Takanouchi.
Sam from Chasing You does look like a Japanese guy, but he also looks like a kid, so... 🫤
Here’s a mix of Chinese, Japanese, and Korean men, long and short hair. I’m not huge on the k-pop idol look. It’s fine, especially for GOE, but I just think the whole k-pop/drama look is actually an anglicized aesthetic. Korean society expects young people to look that way when they aren’t Anglican, then they feel ugly for having natural Asian features, then have to get cosmetic surgery to look that way. It’s sad. I just want to celebrate the unaltered look. Monolids don’t get enough love!
Pictured: Godfrey Gao, RIP 😢. Shun Oguri, my forever ikemen. 90-00s Takeshi Kaneshiro = perfection. And Rick Yune is that sexy Korean-American who never stops.
Amen and Set are Egyptian. Mustafa is Moroccan with a hair of French. I know white people exist in those countries, but we already have so many white LIs. Why not have some actual Arab representation?
I have issues with Amen and Set. They both get presented as these dominant alpha male types with power. Amen’s an official, Set’s a god. They’re masculine, seductive, and dangerous in a good way. And they both have the same 90’s boyband haircut!
Meanwhile, dark skinned characters like Ramesses and Remmao are portrayed as weak, effeminate, cowardly, sneaky criminals who can’t be trusted. They are dangerous, but in a bad way. 🙄 They are also sidelined or killed off. Remmao was a victim, I tell you!
I love Mustafa. But there’s no reason why he needs to look like a Viking. Another racist thing with The Desert Rose: the main LI is a white guy with blue eyes dressed up like a Bedouin. But the actual Bedouins are in the background. The white people are heroes and the dark skinned characters are cruel, corrupt savages. Oh, and the one dark skinned LI is mute! Literally silenced! I actually liked The Desert Rose as a story, but the racism is undeniable.
Where RC did good: Yasin, my love. 😍 I think Joel from The One Vol 2 could possibly pass though his ethnic background is never stated. And Imani, of course.
Here are 3 Egyptian men and 1 Moroccan-French man (bottom right). Rami Malek has such a distinct look that I find attractive and captivating. Mena Massoud is so gorgeous. Those curls, the dimples, that smile… 🫠 When I first saw Saïd Taghmaoui in Lost, I was like 😳 Who is that and give me more!
