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https://www.themarysue.com/12-year-old-zaya-wades-first-red-carpet-was-a-beautiful-moment/
(Andrew Toth/Getty Images)
On March 7th, Zaya Wade made her first red carpet appearance since the announcement that she was trans, flanked by her father, basketball star Dwyane Wade, and her step-mother, actress Gabrielle Union. Zaya’s journey and the support of her parents has been an empowering message of LGBTQ acceptance, especially in the Black family.
Wade’s picture was instantly iconic, from the amazing ensemble she’d put together to the bossed up and empowered swagger that shows that, despite the discourse around her identity, Zaya Wade is in a family made of love. She’s all good and showed it off Saturday at the sixth annual Truth Awards, which honor achievements within the black LGBTQ community.
All Zaya! WoW! Not bad for a 12 year old huh 😉 https://t.co/GxTEIbUqpE
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) March 9, 2020
When it was shared with the world, via her father, that Zaya had come out, there was an overwhelming amount of opinions about it, ranging from the supportive and thoughtful to the hateful and asinine. Most rational people were of the opinion that, considering the number of parents out there who have traumatized their gay children, they should keep their transphobic tweets and think pieces to themselves. For me, as a young bisexual Black woman, the support and love that the Wade family is giving to Zaya is a beautiful subversion of the narrative about Black queer children and their families.
Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union have been open and honest about being supportive of Zaya and being an advocate for her until she becomes an adult. In a piece they wrote for TIME, they spoke about needing guidance and being lucky enough to have a reservoir of resources to be able to help as much as they can while respecting that there are things they will not understand.
We didn’t change overnight—we weren’t immediately the perfect allies. We were assimilated into gender roles that we’d been ascribed. There were learning curves. Zaya, now 12, once asked us, “Do you know there’s a difference between gender expression, identity and sexuality?”
We were like, “Yep!” And the second she walked away, we said, “O.K., let’s break out the Google.” We had to shut up and listen and ask so many questions and talk to health care professionals. We reached out to black trans activists, advocates, educators, and watched shows and documentaries like Pose, Euphoria and The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. Zaya had to educate us. She has always led. At times, we’ve had to catch up.
They also candidly addressed the way fear of protecting Black children can lead to Black parents limiting the experience of these kids and stopping them from becoming who they were meant to be. “We’re robbing our children of their identities and their most authentic selves,” the Union-Wades said. “Sometimes the fiercest fight is against the person in the mirror and how you were raised.”
Homophobia and transphobia in the Black community is something that often gets weaponized as a narrative as a way of placing the huge sum of homophobia on Black people, but the ignorance of that narrative does not erase the legitimate issues that many Black LGBTQ people have faced in trying to gain acceptance in their communities. Even going back as far as the Harlem Renaissance, there is a history of queer Black writers and activists within that movement, but many of us never hear about that aspect of their identities like Alain Locke, Countée Cullen, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, to name a few.
We are just now becoming more aware of the Black trans presence in history through the work of academics, activists, and others who want to make sure that history is known to secure our past, give illumination to the future, and also to teach those in the present that we are not “new” or “confused.” We are part of a story that is longer than the written experience—y’all are just catching up.
What’s more is that the Wades are not actually outliers in the Black community, according to analysis about Black transgender and gender non-conforming people from The National LGBTQ Task Force: “many Black transgender people who were out to their families reported that their families were as strong as before they came out. Black respondents reported this experience at a higher rate than the overall sample of transgender respondents.”
Black transgender and gender non-conforming people are the most vulnerable population in our intersecting communities as Black queer peoples. They have among the highest suicide rates, murder rates, and ratea of being homeless and in poverty. By embracing Zara publicly and proudly, the Wades are setting the new standard; it’s up to us to level up.
(via NY Daily News)
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(Andrew Toth/Getty Images)
On March 7th, Zaya Wade made her first red carpet appearance since the announcement that she was trans, flanked by her father, basketball star Dwyane Wade, and her step-mother, actress Gabrielle Union. Zaya’s journey and the support of her parents has been an empowering message of LGBTQ acceptance, especially in the Black family.
Wade’s picture was instantly iconic, from the amazing ensemble she’d put together to the bossed up and empowered swagger that shows that, despite the discourse around her identity, Zaya Wade is in a family made of love. She’s all good and showed it off Saturday at the sixth annual Truth Awards, which honor achievements within the black LGBTQ community.
All Zaya! WoW! Not bad for a 12 year old huh 😉 https://t.co/GxTEIbUqpE
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) March 9, 2020
When it was shared with the world, via her father, that Zaya had come out, there was an overwhelming amount of opinions about it, ranging from the supportive and thoughtful to the hateful and asinine. Most rational people were of the opinion that, considering the number of parents out there who have traumatized their gay children, they should keep their transphobic tweets and think pieces to themselves. For me, as a young bisexual Black woman, the support and love that the Wade family is giving to Zaya is a beautiful subversion of the narrative about Black queer children and their families.
Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union have been open and honest about being supportive of Zaya and being an advocate for her until she becomes an adult. In a piece they wrote for TIME, they spoke about needing guidance and being lucky enough to have a reservoir of resources to be able to help as much as they can while respecting that there are things they will not understand.
We didn’t change overnight—we weren’t immediately the perfect allies. We were assimilated into gender roles that we’d been ascribed. There were learning curves. Zaya, now 12, once asked us, “Do you know there’s a difference between gender expression, identity and sexuality?”
We were like, “Yep!” And the second she walked away, we said, “O.K., let’s break out the Google.” We had to shut up and listen and ask so many questions and talk to health care professionals. We reached out to black trans activists, advocates, educators, and watched shows and documentaries like Pose, Euphoria and The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson. Zaya had to educate us. She has always led. At times, we’ve had to catch up.
They also candidly addressed the way fear of protecting Black children can lead to Black parents limiting the experience of these kids and stopping them from becoming who they were meant to be. “We’re robbing our children of their identities and their most authentic selves,” the Union-Wades said. “Sometimes the fiercest fight is against the person in the mirror and how you were raised.”
Homophobia and transphobia in the Black community is something that often gets weaponized as a narrative as a way of placing the huge sum of homophobia on Black people, but the ignorance of that narrative does not erase the legitimate issues that many Black LGBTQ people have faced in trying to gain acceptance in their communities. Even going back as far as the Harlem Renaissance, there is a history of queer Black writers and activists within that movement, but many of us never hear about that aspect of their identities like Alain Locke, Countée Cullen, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, to name a few.
We are just now becoming more aware of the Black trans presence in history through the work of academics, activists, and others who want to make sure that history is known to secure our past, give illumination to the future, and also to teach those in the present that we are not “new” or “confused.” We are part of a story that is longer than the written experience—y’all are just catching up.
What’s more is that the Wades are not actually outliers in the Black community, according to analysis about Black transgender and gender non-conforming people from The National LGBTQ Task Force: “many Black transgender people who were out to their families reported that their families were as strong as before they came out. Black respondents reported this experience at a higher rate than the overall sample of transgender respondents.”
Black transgender and gender non-conforming people are the most vulnerable population in our intersecting communities as Black queer peoples. They have among the highest suicide rates, murder rates, and ratea of being homeless and in poverty. By embracing Zara publicly and proudly, the Wades are setting the new standard; it’s up to us to level up.
(via NY Daily News)
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(Marvel Studios)
We talk a lot about the struggles of representation and gender parity in entertainment, and slowly but surely the industry is waking up. A new study from The Geena Davis Institute on Gender and Media has found that 2019 saw a record-breaking number of female lead characters in family films.
Last year, 48% of the 100 highest grossing family movies (defined as films rated PG-13 and lower) starred lead female characters. This number has doubled from 2007, where only 24% of films had female leads.
Davis expressed the importance of representation, saying “Media images have a huge impact on how we see ourselves and judge our value … When you see someone like yourself reflected, you take in the message: ‘There’s someone like me, I must belong.’ This is why it’s vital for children to see — from the beginning — fictitious worlds that reflect the real world, which is half female and very diverse.”
Davis added, “girls will be far more likely to see that they are just as important as boys, and that they do half of the interesting, important things … Boys will take this message in unconsciously too, and thus be more likely to see girls as equals.”
The study has also shown an increase in people of color and people with disabilities in leading roles. LGBTQ+ roles have dipped however, and there is still plenty of work to be done in terms of representation across all marginalized communities. Davis and her organization remain committed to holding Hollywood accountable and to help create awareness about the importance of seeing oneself onscreen.
Davis said, “There’s still much work to be done, but we are so encouraged by the progress being made.”
(via CNN)
- Dive into the Easter eggs hidden in season 2 of Netflix’s Altered Carbon. (via Syfy Wire)
- Diego Luna has … strong feelings about Jabba the Hutt. (via io9)
- Samantha Ware joins the cast in season two of Doom Patrol. (via CBR)
- Reese Witherspoon is narrating a nature show about female animals called Fierce Queens for Quibi because why not. (via AVClub)
- Bernie Sanders releases a comprehensive plan for reproductive justice. (via Jezebel)
Today is the International Women's Day!
I would like to celebrate this special day by highlighting one of the most important women in Game Freak so far, Atsuko Nishida.
Responsible for designing some of the most fan favourite Pokémon.#IWD2020 #ThankYouNishida pic.twitter.com/pogrJ4AEnI
— Galar_Post (@Galar_Post) March 8, 2020
Today is #InternationalWomensDay and we recognise that women are still far from equal to men in today’s societies.
We can not have climate justice without gender equity.And remember; what we women want today – and every day- is equality, not congratulations or celebrations. pic.twitter.com/g1CuEN6YLX
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) March 8, 2020
Happy International Women’s Day, Mary Suevians!
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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—
This post contains spoilers from The Walking Dead Season 10, Epsiode 3.
The Walking Dead is finally giving its Whisperer arc some much-needed steam in the final episodes of this season. In the wake of Connie and Magna’s predicament, Alpha and Negan have concocted a plan to make the Hilltop and Alexandria bow to their command. The Hilltop is outnumbered by thousands of walkers and dealing with its own infighting over the arrival of Gamma/Mary “Morning Star” gave fans a classic battle from the Whisperer comic arc and new updates that deviate from the comics, too.
Here’s how it all went down on this week’s The Walking Dead and what this episode hints at for the remainder of Season 10.
The Hilltop Battle
Jace Downs/AMC
Alpha’s determination to make every Hilltop resident a member of her walker herd seems to be going well at this point. Her massive hoard has overwhelmed Hilltop’s electrical barrier and the walls are coming down too. The circle of people equipped to fight at Hilltop is painfully tiny, partially injured, and covered in flammable liquid while fires are burning most of the ground and buildings around them. There’s seemingly no where to run nor hide. Yikes. But, we all know that everyone cannot die here because the show must go on!
This battle borrows directly from a comic battle at Hilltop. The Militia fought against the Whisperers (and their herd) but things went downhill quickly when the latter shot flaming arrows into the community. Many of the buildings, including the historical Barrington house, were lost but the Hilltoppers still managed to win the battle under the leadership on none other than Maggie.
The Walking Dead showrunner Angela Kang recently said during an online Q&A with fans that Maggie will show up in the “nick-of-time” and this is a dire moment where she needs to run in with an army from whatever community she has been hiding at for years. The Hilltop is eventually rebuilt but, until then, the residents make their way to Alexandria.
This wouldn’t be a bad thing for the TV series. Alexandria will have to deal with Michonne’s exit and the likely deaths of leadership people like Father Gabriel among other residents. And, it’s likely that the Hilltop will lose people (Alden, maybe?) too. The aftermath is chance for the three communities – Hilltop, Alexandria, and the remaining Kingdommers to come together in one residential area, form new councils, and evaluate how they are going to rebuild for everyone.
Maggie and Yumiko would likely fill in leadership gaps while the story could expand towards the Commonwealth and New World Order arc with people like Eugene, Rosita (if she is still alive), and maybe Daryl at some point.
A Stephanie/Eugene Update
Jace Downs/AMC
Stephanie and Eugene’s radio romance is certainly ripped straight from the comics. They start communicating during the Whisperer arc and their communities meet around this time. Most comic fans have assumed that she’s with the Commonwealth in Ohio like her comic counterpart. The shows seems to have confirmed this after Stephanie set up a face to face meeting with Eugene at a rail yard in Charleston, West Virginia.
It makes sense to meet each other halfway (sort of) and she’s given him a week to get to that point. However, she has yet to confirm whether her community is in West Virginia or in Ohio. Both locations are possible because Stephanie and Eugene saw the same satellite crash from the season opener. Eugene tells Stephanie that the range for seeing that crash could only be a few hundred miles – a range that both West Virginia and Ohio fit into.
In the comics, a few Commonwealth soldiers met Eugene and others at an Ohio train yard. There’s a possibility that Stephanie is still a Commonwealth resident and the show simply moved the community from Ohio to West Virginia. It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to have her in some random community, especially when there’s still something to explore with Maggie and Georgie’s community.
West Virginia hasn’t been a state of interest in the TV show but it does make an appearance in the Telltale Walking Dead game when Clementine spends some time in the state. There’s probably not a significant connection here but it’s a nice Easter egg for those who engage in this universe outside of the TV series.
It’s been a while since The Walking Dead has expanded its scope outside of Virginia (outside of flashbacks) so it will be great to see other parts of the country.
Carol Makes Amends With Everyone
Chuck Zlotnick/AMC
Carol and Daryl’s relationship is still pretty rocky at this point. Daryl says he could never hate her – and I believe it – but he definitely isn’t interested in being buddies right now. He’s ready to go out and look for Connie and Magna but has been derailed by Alpha once again. Both of them have the thickest plot armor in the apocalypse, so there will be time for them to repair the broken trust. Whatever happens, Connie needs to LIVE.
Of course, there’s no comic precedent for what Daryl nor Carol will do next. Comic Carol was a very different person who died way back in the prison arc. But, Carol has taken on some comic Michonne aspects so perhaps she will travel with Eugene to meet Stephanie. Daryl is the new lead so he might end up at the Commonwealth too at some point.
Carol also spent time with Ezekiel right before their big battle and found out about his cancer diagnosis. It’s nice to see the former romantic pair back on better terms but also a sign that Ezekiel is probably about to die.
Any time a person finds some resolution or peace on The Walking Dead, they should prepare for their impending murder. Ezekiel has mended fences with Carol, made his diagnosis known, and made a death pact with Daryl. It was nice to know you King.
The Negan/Alpha Weirdness
Jace Downs/AMC
The Negan and Alpha pairing continues to get increasingly weirder as they whip each other and he gets his skin mask. Gross. Their comic counterparts never had a sexual relationship but they were still an odd pairing for a while. Negan was weirdly attracted to her and respected her rule over the pack. However, Negan sees the inhumane (even for him) philosophies in her group and eventually decapitates her.
Right now, TV Negan seems genuinely enthralled with Alpha but her desire to make all of Hilltop walkers might be enough to make Negan decide to take action against Alpha. Or, perhaps something will happen within the camp to make Negan stop being uncomfortably weird.
Will Negan cut of Alpha’s head? The show may decide to follow that path because he has the space and opportunity to get it done. Or, perhaps Carol’s dream of torturing Alpha to death will come true. Either way, Alpha needs to die soon.
The Walking Dead‘s Hilltop battle and burning marks the beginning of the final fights between the communities and the Whisperer army. It’s no secret that our groups will come out victorious but there’s always a price to pay in the fight for survival.
Image Credit: Jace Downs/AMC
The post THE WALKING DEAD Delivers A Comic Whisperer Battle appeared first on Nerdist.
Written by: Lebo Malatse
In our second recap of the Netflix series, Queen Sono we recap the episode “Dying Is Sore”.
Harare, Zimbabwe has Queen glammed up as a potential client for Superior Solutions that is ran by the mysterious Elton Davenport. Superior Solutions is a company that sells illicit weapons. In a high slit fuchsia dress, sis looks like she is trying to get attention. Fred is in a van outside seeing everything from the contacts that he gave Queen. He drops the bomb that Hendrikus is dead but I doubt his so-called illness killed him and I think Queen thinks the same. Everlyna Song, a friend of “Francine”, requests the assistance of a possible criminal and Queen uses that as into the VIP room.
Catching the eyes of the very sexy Elton Davenport, she gets him to talk business while they dance. The discussion is cut short by a phone call from his sister who is fluent in Russian. Elton’s name is Vitali and he has connections to the leader of the Watu Wema, Shandu Magwaza (Vuyo Dabula). Suspicious. Also, Elton/Vitali’s father was head of the operation and put him in charge. I predict that the sister and Queen will be combating in an episode soon. The girl has moves and can take a punch. Queen has Elton suspicious and nearly gets her outside but considering that she upsets an old enemy, a shoot out happens. I’m not even sure if Elton is alive after getting shot. At least Queen is able to get out without a scratch.
Elton/Vitali’s sister, Ekaterina calls out the leader of Watu Wema for his fake “soap box speeches” that get liberated men killed. Vitali has been giving these men a portion of their weaponry and it doesn’t please his sister at all. She threatens to do something if it happens again. By the way, Elton is dead, and Queen hears it from Miri and Sid (head handler I think). But we got intel! Ekaterina Gromova is owner of GromCorp and daughter of Victor Gromova, known as the butcher. SOG
You know that Queen wasn’t going to leave the Hendrikus death alone. Posing as his hospital nurse, she rocks up to his home and speaks to the family. Obviously, they are devasted and think he is innocent of his crime. Miri and Nana discuss Queen’s abilities to handle things. It doesn’t seem that Nana cares for the Queen as much as she does for her career. It must be nice to host a president that you don’t like in your home. At Hendrikus’ home, Queen is going for the Oscar acting as she cares about this man and his family. Hugging someone who thinks that you are lesser than is not easy but she gets out with a phone in hand. Nana is making waves with President Malunga and guests. Her speech on Safiya and her disgust at corruption in politics really got to them.
After a game of paintball, Queen is subjected to political rambles made by William and Nova’s friends. People honestly just talk crap without thinking who is in their midst. Nova does her best to shut them up. William brings up that should Queen should see a therapist but when she slams that down, he brings up an international work opportunity that will leave Queen alone. When is she going to admit that she likes him?
Safaris in Kenya are on my bucket list. Ekaterina is camped out there with her father. Victor isn’t pleased with her lack of ability to keep her father alive and he isn’t budging on the idea that she won’t lead his company. She thanks him for being sexist and pushing her to be better than her brother. Ekaterina smothers her father to death then promises her baby bro that she will find his killers. Shandu and his right-hand man, Bulabule, discuss riches before they are interrupted by Ekaterina. She offers Shandu the opportunity to be a leader of the continent after they change the country. His group will burn the country down while her company saves it from the flames.
I want to know more about Fred and his missing sister but we have possibly bigger problems. The company that Queen and Sono have been working for, SOG, has been paying Superior Solutions. Queen assumes that it is the director, Dr. Sidwell. My money is on Miri.
Stay tuned for Episode 3: “The Devil’s Toys”
The post ‘Queen Sono’ Recap Week 2: Dying is Sore appeared first on Black Girl Nerds.