Haha, I know it's a bit strange, but I came up with this idea a week ago. Don't tell me I didn't change their design, because I know I didn't. I've decided that I don't need any changes for now, so please don't hate me. :D
Хаха я знаю что это скорее странно, но мне эта идея пришла ещё неделю назад, не говорите, что я не меняла их дизайн я в курсе, я решила пока что изменения не нужны, пожалуйста без хейта. :D
For those who fell off the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series (or just never watched it): Mage Meadowbrook is a regular Earth pony that lives in Equestria’s Hayseed Swamp. She grew up as a talented healer, known to create cures for the most serious recorded diseases. Later in life, Mage was recruited to join the Pillars of Equestria and vowed to protect their home from evil forces (Pretty impressive resume for a pony). There was also this whole thing about curses, and shadows, and the Pillars stuck in limbo, but all that other stuff ain’t important. The real question we need to address: Is Mage Meadowbrook a Black character?
I mean, you look at this design and tell me that ain't just a Louisiana Black woman in the form of a blue pony. She lives in the bayous, a common wetland terrain in Louisiana. She's described as speaking in a Cajun-Louisiana accent. She and her family literally have afro-textured hair so thick it sticks up, which you don't see often in this series. It's hard to miss the intentional coding here, so it makes it all the more alarming when you do see fanart of her as a human white woman. I'm not just referring to the Equestrian Girls style with skin color that matches their colorful pony counterparts; no, I mean they depict her as a straight-haired, pale-skinned white girl. You can see this for yourself by looking it up online. It ain’t pretty.
Whether the fans that drew Mage this way are kids or not isn't an excuse. If Black kids have to still experience racism even in fandom spaces, white kids can learn not to whitewash. Let's be real though, they are most likely grown folks, as this space isn't known to have the most reasonable of adults. I haven’t seen many reasons as to why some are eager to depict Mage as a white woman, as most of the fanbase seems to understand she’s meant to portray a Southern Black individual. Based on past observations, I can make a few guesses. So what about Mage’s character is not clicking with certain fans of her deliberate Black-coding?
Why can't Mage Meadowbrook be Black?:
Aligns with the cottagecore aesthetic
Aligns with the witchcore aesthetic
There’s an unawareness of what cultures Mage represents
She has a white voice actor
She has blue irises
Her association with Fluttershy
The Cajun identity could potentially mean Mage would be considered white
There are a few different takes on what the Cajun label is meant to describe and if it should even overlap with the Creole identity. ( X, X). Whether it refers to a dialect, a cuisine, or a group of people, Cajun is understood today to represent a collection of cultural backgrounds that primarily live on the outskirts of Louisiana (Black, Indigenous American, French, and Spanish-European). Sometimes it refers to a mixture of these heritages; but it could also refer to specific groups that don’t necessarily have to be white, nor do they have to be Black. That probably has y'all wondering then, what's the big deal about depicting Mage Meadowbrook as a white girl?
Well, regardless of what they mean by giving her a general Cajun-Louisiana accent, you can see that Mage’s design and lifestyle more closely resemble those of Black and Black-mixed women of Louisiana. It’s a very distinct style that incorporates various traditional fashions from the Diaspora. The vibrant colors, the headscarves, the jewelry; they all had numerous uses and meanings even when brought to the US. It’s not simply the cottagecore getup, as I’ve seen fans attempt to describe Mage’s attire and interests.
Cottagecore was an internet aesthetic trend in which women (not solely but primarily white girls) depicted themselves living a simple, rustic lifestyle. They romanticized the idea of escaping big-city societal problems by moving into the countryside. They wear light, loose, frilly garments while practicing the more “feminine” and “delicate” aspects of homesteading (X). To an extent, Mage Meadowbrook seems to match this lifestyle. She doesn’t live in a major city, and she spends her time journaling and collecting plants. The aesthetic sounds pleasant in theory until you realize how much of it is tied to colonization and tradwife ideology. Others have already written detailed documents on this subject, which I encourage y'all to look into yourselves (Link, Link, Link). What I mainly wanted to point out is how these influencers set up the appeal of going back to “simpler times” (red flag). While they try to sell you on this idea of a comfortable, stress-free environment, they leave out the reality that in order to achieve this lifestyle, you must perform manual labor. Do y'all think most of these TikTok cottagecore girlies (and their film crew) are doing all that? No, their sense of a rural setting is sanitized and unrealistically uncomplicated. Now, back then, the typical Southern Belle could still enjoy the pleasures of living in the countryside, sipping a refreshing drink, and enjoying homemade goods on the porch. They just have servants and slaves do the hard work. Needless to say, Mage isn’t doing all that mess; she and her family do the manual labor just as Black Americans were forced to do (I’ll get more into that in a bit).
Along with the cottagecore trend came witchcore. Yes, it’s essentially the same thing, just leaning more on “witchy arts 'n crafts”. To be clear, there's a difference between this aesthetic vs. genuine witchcraft. It’s also important to distinguish spiritual and religious practices by their distinct belief systems. We shouldn’t categorize them all under the same "witchcraft umbrella” and assume it all links towards European paganism. For Mage’s case, while some described her as a sorceress, she's more recognized as a gifted healer. She’s not just picking the flowers to decorate her home; she collects all sorts of natural materials to brew into medicinal potions for her small community. Based on her environment and home decor (similar to Zecora’s), I have an idea of which cultures the creators are referencing as her expertise. Unfortunately, the series has a frustrating habit of taking non-white cultural identities and not so subtly applying them to characters meant to be seen as abnormal and foreign. They are hardly handled with care, as you could imagine.
If I had to guess what visual elements MLP applied to Mage’s potion-making, I’d say it’s a mix of West African, Haitian, and New Orleans practices: Hoodoo and rootwork specifically. Probably some Voodoo/Vodun, for a visual appearance. Vodun is a religion unlike Hoodoo, with its own ceremonies and systems. Unfortunately, I doubt this cartoon, known for its clunky racism allegories, cares about such sensitivity. Yes, these beliefs and practices are all linked in history. It’s just more likely the show was trying to give Mage a generalized New Orleans "witch-doctor” vibe. Whatever the case, rootwork practices had Black practitioners forage for available resources to create elixirs that heal body and soul. That essentially describes Mage’s specialized family tradition. To further add to this point, they do have Mage battle (eventually cure) a horde of zombies in the comics. If you follow me, y'all should know by now the origin of zombies is inherently Black, and the original horror aspects aren’t exactly how modern movies make it out to be.
“Ok, but what’s so Black about foraging? Non-Black people can forage!" That’s true, there’s documentation of Indigenous American groups helping enslaved, displaced Africans to identify plants and their properties since this land was all foreign to them (what you actually thought I was gonna credit white ppl? Y'all needed slaves for everything, so nah). What makes some rootworks distinctly Black are the beliefs and practices carried over from West Africa. Mage lives in the small fictional community of Hayseed Swamps, but the setting is meant to correlate with real-life Louisiana bayous. She and her family were raised to use whatever resources they could forage for as medicine. This is similar to the way of life of self-liberated Black people, who learned to live and thrive in the bountiful wonders of Louisiana's wetlands. The unfamiliar and hazardous biomes also made it more difficult for slave-catchers (and cottagecore girlies) to navigate. I'm not saying Mage Meadowbrook was subjected to pony chattel slavery (even tho this cartoon sometimes implies that’s a thing-). I am just going into depth explaining WHY foraging was so ingrained into Black people’s way of life, even in the bayous. I have to give a special shout-out to The Black Forager(Alexis Nikole Nelson), who explains the importance of this history, as many laws after the Civil War prevented Black people from foraging and thriving. All this to basically say: there’s not a chance that white cottagecore individuals are going to tolerate living in the bayous. Maybe if you’re a country hick, but as we’ve established, that’s not the aesthetic y’all are applying to Mage, nor want to be associated with.
If anything, y'all tend to depict her as some white girl in boho/orientalist fashion. If you don’t know what boho fashion is, it is a style meant to encapsulate a “free-spirited” nature. They are primarily worn during counterculture eras, such as the Flower Power scene. It tends to be associated with cottagecore and witchcore, given its down-to-earth, natural vibes. White people aren’t the only group who dress in this style, although they are notably the ones predominantly shown. Consequently, people often forget that this style takes and culturally appropriates aspects of various marginalized groups’ fashions, leaving them uncredited: Romanian people, Indigenous Americans, the Asian Diaspora, and the Black/African Diaspora. Guess which one Mage Meadowbrook is associated with while adorning wooden jewelry, a vibrant green skirt, and harboring an intricate collection of African-inspired masks.
The way Mage puts up her hair is reminiscent of how Black women put up their hair and wrap it in cloth. While we always rocked this look, there was a time in Louisiana where Black women were forced to wear their hair this way. The Tignon Laws had it where free and enslaved Black women must cover their heads with tignon cloths when in public. The headscarf was to prevent us from supposedly seducing white men; but also to represent a shameful garment, reminding us of our “lowly” status as Black women. Naturally, it never worked as white folks presumed it would. Again, we've always rocked a good head covering, even back on the continent of Africa. Haitians already wore them before they came to Louisiana, so Vodun priests and Hoodoo practitioners wore them here as well(so yknow, Mage). Headscarves have simply been a fashion statement for Black Americans for generations, despite all attempts to police our hair. So nah, y'all don't get to claim Mage Meadowbrook is a straight-haired white girl.
Headwraps are a vital part of many cultures and for self care!
Which is the other thing, most of y’all would rather drop dead than show an ounce of forehead anyways. The mere idea of being bald or implied to be by having extremely short hair is extremely upsetting for a lot of white people. Maybe because it disrupts white femininity’s insistence that long flowing straight hair is the most beautiful feature a woman could have. I mean, that's why the Tignon Laws were made in the first place, white women actually felt threatened when other women disproved this notion. And so, when y’all draw Mage as a human woman, y’all are very adamant to give her straight hair coming down to her shoulders. Diabolical. Goofy even. You take that forehead of hers for what it is.
No, Mage's hair isn't fully covered. Black people can wear scarves however we please now, believe it or not. Although, it’s more likely this personal choice was made cuz the accessory would appear too bulky on top of a pony head. It’s probably also why her and her family’s hair sticks up the way it does: to intentionally mimic the full headwrap. Fun fact: Mage Meadowbrook's hair is shaped like a lobster tail. Crawfish? Shrimp? Idk, I can't eat any of them(weh in allergy), it just adds to the Louisiana influence in her design. Even her headscarf looks like the white meat inside these critters.
Character design is fun like that, which is why I don't fret too much about the fact that Mage has blue eyes. I mean, I do, it very much bothers me, but I meant that it doesn’t discourage me from knowing she’s Black (it’s not like this is the first time y'all depict Black people with blue eyes). Barely anyone in the series has typical black and brown eyes. Most MLP eye colors tend to either be the same as an already established color in their design (mane, cutie mark, coat) or at least something that complements their overall color scheme. Personally, I would have gone with a green or red for Mage Meadowbrook's eyes; there's just A LOT of the same blue in her design….Ok, I’m gonna back-track here a bit, cuz typing this made me realize a possible reason as to why they made Mage so blue. It’s a common belief amongst the Black Diaspora, especially in Louisiana, that certain shades of blue ward off evil spirits. She’s literally Haint Blue. Man, I love an actual good thought-out character design, even though there’s a good chance I’m giving these white creators more credit than I should give them. Honestly, if they come out saying this was always their intention by the time I post this: No, it wasn’t. Also, I would still change Mage’s eye color, you can’t stop me.
Anyways - if not for the eye color(which Black people can just have), people probably assume Mage is non-Black because she has a white voice actress. Yes, knowing the race of voice actors can help us get a sense of a character's ethnic coding or cultural identity, especially when VAs act in their natural dialect. That doesn’t mean that will always be the definite case, given how discriminatory this field can be towards poc. You should look at all other factors of their characterizations. And I listed A LOT of other factors above to show Mage Meadowbrook is Black, so don’t play with me.
If I had to make one last personal guess as to why fans have a difficult time acknowledging Mage’s Blackness, I’d imagine it’s the same reason they throw tantrums over Black!Fluttershy. The majority of ponies and characters in this show are ambiguous in their cultural coding. However, as we’ve all learned, ambiguity defaults to whiteness, especially in toxic fanbases like My Little Pony. Sure was a sentence I typed, but it’s true. These people act like you’ve desecrated their ancestors’ graves if you drew characters named Pinkie Pie and Rarity as Black girls. They’ll straight up threaten you for drawing their kind, soft-spoken, timid girl, Fluttershy, with any melanin. Maybe because Fluttershy lives the soft cottagecore lifestyle these fans wish to achieve: A quiet and serene utopia that isn’t disrupted by the existence of brown people. Seriously tho, the more I look into the whole cottagecore/witchcore campaign, the more I see it's all repackaged white flight. Which is silly to apply to ponies, whose bit is that they are farm animals. No duh, they live in stables and rural communities, that’s where you tend to find them. Anyways, what does Fluttershy have to do with Mage?
Well, to bring up the Pillars of Equestria again, they were basically the Mane 6's Elements of Harmony from long ago. Each member carried their own element, but they were similar to the Mane 6’s in motives and personality: Sorcery=Magic, Healing=Kindness, Bravery=Loyalty , Hope=Laughter, Beauty=Generosity, Strength=Honesty
Mage represents Healing, the counterpart to Fluttershy’s Element of Kindness, and thus, they share a lot of personality traits. Mage is very intuitive of nature, she has a soft accent, and of course, she's very kind. She may not be as shy as Fluttershy, but she is rather reserved. And like Fluttershy, Mage will help out her friends however she can, even if that means confrontation (which she doesn’t particularly enjoy). Many non-Black people are still ever so reliant on overused stereotypes of Black women; they can’t fathom the idea that there are Black women with Mage or Fluttershy’s temperaments. We are all human, and we all can have various personalities, not tied to race. It’s these same bigoted beliefs that made cartoons drastically lightwash characters like Bumblebee and Orange Blossom. If you can’t imagine Black girls to be kind and shy, then I can only imagine how else that bigotry stunts your general creativity. Not my problem, just get over yourselves and get better.
Mage Meadowbrook is a Black Louisiana woman. Yes, she’s a pony, but as we’ve established in this series: obvious allegories and metaphors (I hope you guys learned back in middle school) help us gain a more in-depth understanding of these characters. Mage Meadowbrook isn’t so much talked about along with the other Pillars. It isn't an excuse to attempt to whitewash her and the cultures she represents.
