Burn wrote:Ms. Trebuchette wrote:Okay, but hear me out here, there a LOT of women and LGBTQ+ persons saying that they *liked* the way that IDW handled their inclusion because they felt represented and they had characters they identified with.
And has anyone said otherwise? You're emphasising a point that no one seems to be disputing.Ms. Trebuchette wrote:I don't want to shout the "b" word at everyone who disagrees with me, but it doesn't strike you as odd that most of the complaints about these narratives AREN'T COMING FROM women or LGBTQ+ folk since John, James, and Mairghread took over?
Doesn't strike me odd at all. IDW set out to write stories to include those groups. They clearly achieved that.
I have NEVER disputed that, and in fact, a LOT of people wouldn't dispute it. So again, you seem to be emphasising a point that the majority agree with.
My personal "grievance" with all the socio-political/inclusive stuff is the timing, as I said, I felt it was done because that was the "flavour of the moment".
But here's another reason. I read comic books, I watch TV shows and movies as an escape from reality.
The fight for marriage equality went on in Australia for years. The Government could easily have changed the law but they dragged their feet, so for years I had to listen to "friends" sprout their bigotry.
I just wanted it legalised. To me there was no debate.
But for years while it dragged on, it kept getting pushed to the top of the news cycle.
Then the Government decided to hold a plebiscite. $150million AUD would be spent on plebiscite that would 1 - Be voluntary and 2 - the Government didn't even need to abide by it if it was an overwhelming "Yes".
Which ignited the flames even more and the bigots got louder, the supporters got louder, and I just wanted marriage equality to be legalised, but had to endure all the arguments.
So I try to escape to the comics ... and it's there too. This spills over to the forums. Suddenly my escape from reality has had reality seep in.
It made the comics hard for me to enjoy.
So you see, some people aren't bigots. They just want to escape from reality for a little bit.
Perhaps if I hadn't had to sit through years of loud noisy bigots fearful that marriage equality would cause cows to stop producing milk then I might have been able to enjoy the comics more, I dunno.
Okay. With all due respect, you seem to have misconstrued my point, but I think that might be my fault.
So let me clarify!
As a woman and a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I WELCOMED the inclusion of characters that were like me. The biggest thing that IDW's series have done for the Transformers is that, for the first time in 34 years of consuming Transformers media, I see myself reflected back when I pick up the comics. I see characters that INTIMATELY identify with because their struggles are so similar to my own. And I see those characters/stories fictionalized and idealized. I'd give my left arm if I could treat everyone who disrespected me to the business end of a laser sword.
I'm sorry if the inclusion of LGBTQ+ couples hit to closely for home for you because you had to deal with it every day. But AS A MEMBER of the LGBTQ+ community, we *NEED* to see ourselves depicted in media that we enjoy. It makes us feel like we belong in this society. We face discrimination EVERY DAY; THAT is OUR LIFE.
Do we not deserve to see ourselves included in Transformers comics? I'm sorry if our inclusion in comics reminds you that real LGBTQ+ persons are struggling every day.