First I warn you as intelligent people you will spend a great deal of time going WTF is this, are these morons for real but you should grab a wine and read and soon, within two or three paragraphs you will begin to laugh as they perpetually screw themselves into corners with their collective, juvenile BS, the precious self-inserters. What is more this is a losers game and what becomes readily self evident is that they are not majority at all but what we all know to be life's losers who have, at best, a tenuous grip on reality.

There is one aspect not covered by the intellectually well-heeled Arwen who serve us well. Part and parcel of this retelling is its inclusivity, reflective of the society as a whole and not just a small faction fond of the theoretical concept of minority, where the true irony lay is that THEY are actually the minority.

Right....pull up a chair, glare, wonder and yes, laugh. Stupidity at its worst is on the way. If nothing else, this lovely multi-faceted piece shows us all how NEVER TO BE...Namaste

********


I don’t normally get involved with things like this but this hate on Gwen/Angel and her new dress is upsetting my friends and it is just not acceptable.

It is also tainting the name of all of us merthur shippers out there who don’t give a damn or even support this change. So re-blog if you are a merthur shipper and not a Gwen hater. Prove to the Anons who hate that they are outnumbered and what they are doing is uncacceptable.

And to you hateful anons out there, I know by doing this I am opening myself to your hate and do you know what? I don’t care. Come on. Give it your best shot because you have upset my friends and started a war in this fandom and no matter what you say it won’t matter because I know I am better than you and that is all that matters.

Not all Merthur shippers are Gwen/Angel haters?

NO

FUCKING

WAY

Oh my God, guise, we have been so unfair. It’s so obvious we didn’t know this. Let’s all shift our focus from the fact that there is something rotten in the state of Denmark the Merlin fandom and sing the praises of all the special snowflakes who are so very deserving of a pat in the back for feeling the need to announce to the world that they are decent human beings.

Yes, indeed, let us all stop focusing on the fact that the only woman of colour in the show is constantly bombarded with sexist/racist/misogynistic crap and let us instead fall to our knees and bless these wonderful souls. Let’s give them medals. Trophies. Let’s build them statues. Because we MOST CERTAINLY HAD NO IDEA that not all Merthur shippers are bad people. So, let’s focus on them. Let’s sing the praises of these Good People™. Yes, let’s.

Because it’s clearly

ALL

ABOUT

THEM

Yeaaaaaaah this initial post smells of ‘we want cookies’ so bad. It’s nice you want to be all ‘no hate yay!’ but don’t do it this way.

THINGS US MERTHUR SHIPPERS COULD DO TOSHOW WE’RE NOT DICKS:

1. don’t go around just saying WE’RE NOT ALL DICKS because the way to prove that is with action against assholes not by just saying something like this. And so-

2. BACK PEOPLE UP when they’re defending guinevere and/or angel, or calling out sexism and/or racism in general if they need/want it

3. don’t be a dick

4. if someone calls you out on hating, racism and/or sexism, stop being defensive of yourself and listen, come to terms with the fact that anyone can perpetuate sexism and racism etc without even realizing it, including you. It’s not about your pride, so you need to get over it.

5. again, listen to what people are saying to you, but educate yourself, because it’s no one else’s job to do so.

6. collect your fellow merthur shippers when they’re being dicks, if and when you can

This society is far from perfect, prejudices are built in, you’re raised on them, we all are. The show itself perpetuates them, as does every gd show basically (see: how to be a fan of problematic things). Many times, if you’re not a marginalized person, and many times even if you are, you need to unlearn that shit yourself. And the way to do that is to listen to the marginalized, not run around saying I’M NOT A MISOGYNIST, I’M NOT A RACIST! because that just proves your concern revolves around your own image, not the actual problem at hand. (i.e. this entire post is just literally being spread to say you’re not one of the haters, instead of perhaps, calling attention to the actual problem of disgusting crap being thrown at her in the first place)

Show your support to a woman of color character and her supporters with actual support, that does not revolve around solely ‘clearing your name’.




Oh for the love of God. Stop being a bunch of whiny babies and hiding behind the “racism” excuse. Get this: people don’t hate Gwen because she’s black. Some people don’t hate her because she’s with Arthur. People hate her because she’s BORING, unrealistically perfect (and I do know this is a fantasy show, but… c’mon!) and there has been no character development whatsoever since season 1.

I don’t hate Gwen. But I don’t like her either because she bores me to tears and her only purpose on the show right now is to be “Arthur’s love interest” and nothing else. She could be white, yellow, red or even blue and that wouldn’t change the fact that she’s BORING. YOU people are the ones making a big deal about her skin color. YOU people are the racist ones because the color of her skin is the one and first reason that you can think of to justify the hatred towards Gwen. I personally never heard/read a Merthur/Merlin fan criticizing Gwen (or Angel) for being black. The only times someone mentions her skin color is when there’s some rabid Gwen fangirl pointing fingers and accusing other fans of being racist. Curious, huh?

Get off your high horses, grow up and think a little bit, will ya? Racism is a serious issue, don’t just go around misusing the word because of a FICTIONAL character in some show.

She could be white, yellow, red or even blue

Putting actual skin colours with fictional ones. Way to show how worried you are about racism. Good one.

YOU people are the ones making a big deal about her skin color.

You know that being “colorblind” isn’t good, right? Ignoring the identity of a POC DOESN’T MAKE YOU A GOOD PERSON.

YOU people are the racist ones because the color of her skin is the one and first reason that you can think of to justify the hatred towards Gwen.

You mean that when people call her a monkey is because…?

Oh, and maybe you should stop saying “you people”.

I personally never heard/read a Merthur/Merlin fan criticizing Gwen (or Angel) for being black.

…

I’ve never seen Jupiter, but I’m pretty sure it’s there.

Racism is a serious issue, don’t just go around misusing the word because of a FICTIONAL character in some show.

Oh right, you are so very worried about this. The only WOC in this show gets a disproportionate amount of hate when compared to the other characters in the show; she is called a slut, a beard, and people wish her death. Why is that? Because she’s “boring”? You see, it’s hard not to notice it when everyone just luuuuurves the white princesses who have only be there for one episode and then Gwen is called “boring”. Now, why could that be? The character may be FICTIONAL, but people’s actions and their impact on others are very real.

Now, BEFORE you get all defensive and embarrass yourself again, read this:

link

link

Oh. I see what you did there. Twisting my words and making it sound like I said something I definitely didn’t say and had no intention of saying. Bravo. I admire your efforts. Do you feel better with yourself now? And can I say a few things too? If it’s not too much of a hassle. And please try not to twist the meaning this time.


You know that being “colorblind” isn’t good, right? Ignoring the identity of a POC DOESN’T MAKE YOU A GOOD PERSON.


Colorblind? Huh? Why? Because I couldn’t care less about Gwen’s skin color? Because I don’t care if a person is black, but their personality (or lack of, in this case) annoys me? Would I be a better person if I just started yelling “OMFG! YOU HATE GWEN! IT’S BECAUSE SHE’S BLACK! YOU FUCKING RACIST!” everytime someone made a negative comment about her? Would I be a better person if I just said I loved her, even thought I don’t so people wouldn’t judge me for that? You’re being quite biased here, don’t you think?


I’ve never seen Jupiter, but I’m pretty sure it’s there.

Ha! I have a better one. “I’ve never seen Merthur kissing but I’m pretty sure they’re gay for each other” ;) See what I did here? It works both ways. Is this the best you can come up with? C’mon. And actually, since we’re talking nonsense, you might have seen Jupiter. Pay a little more attention to the news.


she is called a slut, a beard, and people wish her death. Why is that? Because she’s “boring”? You see, it’s hard not to notice it when everyone just luuuuurves the white princesses who have only be there for one episode and then Gwen is called “boring”. Now, why could that be? The character may be FICTIONAL, but people’s actions and their impact on others are very real.

ok, not saying I agree with this, but let’s try to get out of our bubble for a moment and think from other people’s point of view, shall we? Slut (how many people did she “fell in love” with in just the first couple of episodes again? 3? If this were real life, would you take someone like that seriously? If you saw one of your neighbors with a different man every other day, would you call her intentions “pure”?). Beard (over the top, maybe, but not entirely surprising, given all the homoerotic subtext in the show). People wish her dead (I don’t really have a comeback for this one, but welcome to fandom. It happens to every character. Some are more hated than others but, again, it happens in every fandom. And POC are not the only ones being hated). Also, honestly? And I speak for myself on this one, even if Gwen was portrayed by the actress that plays Mithian (since most of Gwen fans - better for you like this? - like to mention her name when they talk about how Gwen’s discriminated), I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t like her, either way. The problem for me is not the actress. It’s the character and how I can’t seem to see what’s her purpose in the show nowadays.

To end my rant: I don’t feel embarrassed by what I said. And if that was your intention all along, I’m afraid you failed miserably. I do stand by my words and, even more, I stand by my right to say them. Just like you do. Have a good night =)

Some of you are so unabashedly stubborn and bloody ignorant that it borders on sociopathy. This right here is a perfect example of the sort of bullshit that people are tired of dealing with in this fandom.

No one twisted your words. Marstark took your argument apart, piece by piece and explained to you what was wrong with it. That’s not twisting your words. Saying “they could be green, blue, yellow, purple, I don’t care,” in any argument having to do with race is incredibly ignorant. Race matters. A long time ago, another race of people decided that it mattered because they wanted to enslave and subjugate people in order to take their land and resources. Race matters because people constructed racial divisions. It hasn’t reached the point (and likely never will with ignorant people like you denying that it matters), where it will cease to matter. Race matters because every single day, people of colour are marginalised and unfairly judged based on their race. Race matters because it shapes the experiences of people of colour. When you behave as though you don’t care about race, that doesn’t make you seem progressive, it makes you seem ignorant. There are inherent racially biases that you have because your thoughts and opinions and your parents’ thoughts and opinions and your friends’ thoughts and opinions are shaped by a society that caters to those who got lucky enough to be born white. People who are POC are born into this world with so much negativity foisted on them because of the colour of their skin. These people don’t necessarily know that many of their thoughts are biased because biases are not always conscious. I can deny that I’m not homophobic, but that doesn’t make it true. I was raised extremely religious. I harboured some unconsciously negative thoughts and opinions that hurt lgbtq people whether I believed it or not. I was ignorant. I’m not perfect so I’m sure I still do ignorant things. Whether I am a good person, it doesn’t matter. If I’m doing or saying something harmful and someone who has more experience—due to the mere fact that they have to deal with so much prejudice on a daily basis—tells me I’m being harmful then I’m going to listen to them.

Learn to accept the fact that as a human being, raised in a society that caters to certain types of people (rich, white, straight, cis, male), you are going to have inherent biases. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but it’s the truth. People are taking the time out to explain all this to you and you’re basically spitting in their faces by behaving as though there’s nothing wrong with what you’ve written.

Fetishising gay men, fetishising gay relationships, fetishising two straight cis white men while perpetuating sexism, is something that contributes to the marginalisation of people within the lgbtq community. You’re not being progressive by shipping slash. The Merlin fandom as a whole and slash fandoms as a whole need to understand this. There’s nothing inherently wrong with slash and absolutely nothing wrong with wanting representation for lgbtq people…but many of you don’t seem that concerned about lgbtq rights. All you seem to want is wish fulfillment and all you want is to fantasise about cis white men fucking.

You say that people who bring up racism are the ones making a big deal about Angel’s skin colour. Angel has spoken about her experiences as an actor of colour. It’s not rainbows and unicorns for her. She has it tough as a biracial woman because of the colour of her skin. When you say that you don’t care about her skin colour, you’re invalidating these experiences that she has had. Her skin colour matters to her and it obviously matters to other people. She’s the one who has to live with other people’s prejudices against her, not you. You’re not the one who isn’t submitted for roles because you’re “not the look they want” (coded language for, you’re not light enough/you can’t pass for white).

You said that people who talk about race are racist. How does that even make any logical sense to you? Because we don’t ignore race, we’re racist? Because we have to live with racism, we’re racist? Because many of us have had bad experiences due to the colour of our skin and always need to question if people are being racist, so we rightfully make it a point to talk about racism…that makes us racist? Talking about race, discussing racial differences, discussing racism, discussing how different races are treated, talking about stereotypes and expectations of beauty, talking about white supremacy within society and how it affects our experiences is the only way to understand race. Ignoring race will not make racial lines disappear. It will not make racism disappear. In fact, pretending race isn’t a big deal makes it more difficult for people to understand racism. It makes it more difficult for people to defer to others when they talk about their experiences with racism. It makes people ignorant, not progressive.


The idea of colorblindness is positive when a person is not preferred over another based on race. But this term also carries a connotation of inability or unwillingness to perceive something that has meaning to those who can perceive it. I would like the uniqueness of every single person to be admired, not ignored. Instead of trying to tackle and dismantle the idea of race, it would be more productive to address the racial inequality that prevails.

In a report titled “A Year After Obama’s Election: Blacks Upbeat about Black Progress, Prospects”the Pew Research Center gives statistics on perceptions of race as well as on racial inequality in America. Through surveys, the center found that the income of black households was 61.8% of the income of white households in 2008. In 2009 the homeownership rate for whites was near 75% while the rate for Hispanics was about 50% and the rate for blacks was about 48%. Great disparity still exists in the quality of life and opportunities based on race. After centuries of this white supremacist societal construct, one that places whites at the top of the hierarchy and privileges them over other races, the negativities associated with racial identity need to be rethought before we get to a place where there is no hierarchical value associated with race.

Eliminating the discussion on race does not help end racism and can perpetuate racist acts, though these acts may be subtle. Mica Pollock, an assistant professor at Harvard who wrote a book on the subject, gave an interview for the article “When Race Matters: ‘Colormuteness’ in American Schools.”Pollock claims that sometimes colorblindness is just another word for colormuteness, because it ignores race and racial inequality by not discussing them. Pollock says, “Refusing to talk about racial orders doesn’t make them go away. Indeed, we can actually exacerbate racial orders through colormuteness. The most counterintuitive race talk dilemma…is that while talking in racial terms can make race matter, not talking in racial terms can also make race matter.” The silence makes race matter because no effort is being made to fix racial inequality, so the disparities between the races remain.

Furthermore, there is plenty of evidence that points to the fact that many people within this fandom have issues with Angel’s race.

Racist/sexist/ambiguous confessions that straddle the line and confessions that complain about the unnecessary hatred and confessions that bash the actresses (NOTE: MANY HAVE ALREADY BEEN DELETED DUE TO THE OFFENSIVE CONTENT):

link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/9564849943 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/9194669915 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/9742257817 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/11390423700 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/9700957436 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/11016910963 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/10032184076 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/9660812923 link link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/10803046263 link link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/11350103294 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/8816207453 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/8666952664 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/8985556114 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/9110967680 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/9115685455 link http://merlinconfessions.tumblr.com/post/11390593419
Racism/sexism in the fandom/commentary on racism in the fandom:
link http://www.sidereel.com/posts/4895-discussion-am-i-the-only-one-who-thinks-gwens-character-should-be-changed- link http://zahrawithaz.livejournal.com/3365.html link http://chirravutever.tumblr.com/post/18740102826
If there wasn’t a problem with racism in this fandom, people wouldn’t need to write articles like this: link Or this: link
Or this: link
Like I said, you might not think racism is a problem. You might not think sexism is a problem. You might not think that when Merthur fans criticise Gwen, they’re not doing it because she’s a woman of colour, but with how ignorant you seem right now? I doubt that you’d be able to tell when someone was being sexist and racist. In fact, if you have to vilify and degrade any woman on account of your slash pairing, you’re being sexist…end of story. It’s quite possible to ship Merthur and love Gwen and I’m sure there are people in the fandom who do, but there are many who are very loud about their disdain for Gwen. Gwen is Arthur’s love and Merlin’s best friend and she unconditionally supports them and yet the fandom hates her. And when some of those people jump the Merthur ship whenever a white princess even steps foot in Camelot, it makes it sort of obvious that there’s something poisonous happening there. This happens in other fandoms that some of us participate in as well, so there’s a pattern that we’ve noticed. When women of colour get disproportionate amount of hatred, there’s enough cause to question if it has to do with people’s subconscious racial biases because it’s very likely that it does. When white women get disproportionate amount of hatred for doing the same thing that the men around them do, then there’s enough cause to question if it has to do with people’s internalised sexism and misogyny because it’s very likely that it does. These aren’t issues that we’re producing out of thin air.

You’re asking other people to get out of their bubble…but when will you get out of yours? When will you shut up and try to listen when other people point out problems to you?

You deny that you have biases and yet you’ve just blatantly shown that you do. Arthur has had romances with several women on the show and he’s not being called a slut. You’re not questioning what people would think if he had a different women every couple of months. Gwen had a crush on Merlin and fell in love with Lancelot and then Arthur. That is three men that she’s had feelings for and she married the third. What about that is slutty to you? Where do you live that any woman who’s had three men in her life is considered a slut? Gwen hasn’t been with a different man every other day and if she had been, so what? If this were real life, I’d congratulate her and tell her to make sure she’s being careful because you know what? The amount of boyfriends or sexual partners that a woman has has no bearing on her as a person. No one should be shamed for dating until they find the right person. No one should be shamed for acting on their attraction to people they like. These backwards ideas that you harbour are a result of growing up in a patriarchal society that caters to men and vilifies women that it can’t control. Slut-shaming and body-shaming are sexist practices that seek to shame women in order to keep them in line.

Calling someone a beard because you want to pretend your cis white male couple are together is wrong. Homoerotic subtext means nothing. Subtext isn’t text. Subtext isn’t representation. The presence of subtext doesn’t negate the fact that the characters in this show are straight. Their sexualities are solidly canon. Fanon is a different story. We can pretend that Morgana and Gwen had a non-platonic relationship or that Merlin and Arthur do etc. All that is totally fine, but there’s no need to vilify any of these characters just because your fanon isn’t coming true. Why is it that people who ship Morgana/Gwen aren’t calling for Arthur’s death because he’s coming between them? Or those who ship Gwen/Lancelot, or those who ship Gwen/Merlin? Is it so difficult to behave like an adult and accept canon while indulging in fanon? Is it so difficult to try to check your behaviours when someone tells you that you’re being sexist (or racist or homophobic?).

This whole discussion isn’t about your personal feelings. You’re not some special snowflake who’s exempt from being called out because you insist that you’re different from all those other Merlin fans who have issues with Gwen. Just like them, you’re unwilling to examine why you have issues with Gwen, for example, you say that she has no purpose although it’s quite clear that Gwen is a moral center for the series. She provides so much emotional support and good council to those around her and yet you think she’s useless because she doesn’t have magic or isn’t wielding a sword in every scene. She’s a traditionally feminine character with her own strengths and yet you can’t see that. You can behave as though Gwen being played by a white actress wouldn’t lessen the hatred that she gets for simply existing, but that won’t make it true.

^^^Someone get Watermelancholy an honorary PhD! And of course, a margarita on the house