Inclusion Must Be Intentional

If there is one word I’m tired of hearing, it’s “pandering.”

That has become the buzzword of people irritated by the idea that they are not being centered in every narrative, i.e. cis-het white men who think the universe and everyone’s imagination is meant to revolve around them. Every time a movie or a fandom centers someone who is Black or a person of color, female, larger-bodied, differently-abled, any religion other than christian, or identifies as LGBTQIA+, white capitalist, patriarchal supremacists and their supporters start raging about how this wasn’t what the creator envisioned, as though creations aren’t re-imagined all the time. It has become the most boring conversation in fandom, especially considering how little change there has been in the media landscape. We get buzzwords and jargon from the white men who have adapted to the language of inclusion, but the implementation of diverse content continues to be minimal — very often tokens assuaging the egos of the easily satisfied and the checklist of the white men sitting at the table. Thing is, if we’re not sitting at the table, we’re what’s being served on it. So, yes, while it is nice seeing people who somewhat look like me on the screen, it’s still not our storytellers sharing our stories and our experiences.

I want to see more people like me. I want to see Black women, fat, Black women. I want to see…