We all know the iconic superheroes: Superman, Batman, Captain America, Iron man, Thor and Spider-man. What do they have in common? They're all white guys.
Hold your horses people. I already know what you're thinking, or screaming : "That's not true! Two of them are aliens, and Peter Parker is jewish!"
Yeah, well, the aliens are basically white guys with super powers and Spidey, well, he's the only bit of representation we get with this iconic superheroes. But you're probably wondering why I keep saying iconic superheroes. Well, they've been the first superheroes to ever exist. And they didn't represent at all the world they were born into.
Hold your horses people. I already know what you're thinking, or screaming : "That's not true! Two of them are aliens, and Peter Parker is jewish!"
Yeah, well, the aliens are basically white guys with super powers and Spidey, well, he's the only bit of representation we get with this iconic superheroes. But you're probably wondering why I keep saying iconic superheroes. Well, they've been the first superheroes to ever exist. And they didn't represent at all the world they were born into.
Think about the first Avengers movie. Six superheroes, five white heterosexual men (even tho the heterosexual part is still debatable, but the contrary was never made explicit) and one white woman (okay, Russian, but still white). Okay, let's count Maria Hill and Nick Fury. We now have six men and two women, with one black character. Representation at its finest, right? (cue the sarcasm).
Listen, I have nothing against white men. But I know what superheroes are for. They exist to make us normal people feel hopeful, like we could be as powerful as them. They should be relatable in every aspect (except for the superpowers one, of course). They struggle but still manage to succeed and this tells us that no matter how broken we are, no matter how much we struggle, we'll still succeed. Superheroes are a symbol of hope.
Listen, I have nothing against white men. But I know what superheroes are for. They exist to make us normal people feel hopeful, like we could be as powerful as them. They should be relatable in every aspect (except for the superpowers one, of course). They struggle but still manage to succeed and this tells us that no matter how broken we are, no matter how much we struggle, we'll still succeed. Superheroes are a symbol of hope.
I don't know about you, but I can't really relate to Batman. He doesn't exactly look like me. But you know who I can relate to? Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, Carol Danvers, aka Captain Marvel, Spider-Gwen, aka Gwen Stacy. Women who are superheroes. They give me the hope I need. And that's what the world needs. And, luckily, the world is changing for the better. The new superheroes we have reflect the world we live in and give hope to everyone.
I'm not saying you can't relate to Batman, or that you're a terrible person for relating to him or any other white heterosexual male superhero. I'm just saying that our world is not like that.
I'm not saying you can't relate to Batman, or that you're a terrible person for relating to him or any other white heterosexual male superhero. I'm just saying that our world is not like that.
If you're reading this in a public space, lift your head and look at the people around you. Are they all white men? Probably not. Why? Because the world is diverse and beautiful. Us humans come in all different types and that's awesome. Different skin colours, different genders, different eye and hair colours, different sexualities, different shapes and sizes.
We are all valid and strong. We all deserve to feel empowered. We all deserve to feel strong. We all deserve to see ourselves represented.
We all deserve hope.
We are all valid and strong. We all deserve to feel empowered. We all deserve to feel strong. We all deserve to see ourselves represented.
We all deserve hope.