she had a reputation for racial stereotyping even before she went mask-off as a terf, decades back. like naming the one Asian character Cho Chang (sounds like ching chang chong; both names are from different Asian countries), naming the one Black character Kingsley Shacklebolt (King from MLK, shackle from slavery), naming the Jewish character Anthony Goldstein, naming an Irish character Seamus Finnegan…
…it’s not that she was necessarily super racist, she just used very stereotypical/over the top names for her characters. so I don’t hate her for being racist, I hate her for being transphobic.
About Cho Chang though, she actually looked up the meanings and choose Cho because it meant butterfly. I’ve never really associated that character’s name as a play on the racist stereotype, being Oriental myself. I’ve just associated it with general western ignorance.
As abhorrent as she is now, she was a queer ally but just didn’t understand trans, like many people around her age and demographic. She reacted to the massive backlash and drove herself into the weeds.
She’s horrible now and deserves all the hate but know that she’s a result of our own making. I think if any new people express a misunderstanding, it’s far better to make a bridge to correct that misunderstanding. It takes a lot on our part, trans and trans allies, but I’d rather make a friend out of a fool than a foolish enemy.
she had a reputation for racial stereotyping even before she went mask-off as a terf, decades back. like naming the one Asian character Cho Chang (sounds like ching chang chong; both names are from different Asian countries), naming the one Black character Kingsley Shacklebolt (King from MLK, shackle from slavery), naming the Jewish character Anthony Goldstein, naming an Irish character Seamus Finnegan…
…it’s not that she was necessarily super racist, she just used very stereotypical/over the top names for her characters. so I don’t hate her for being racist, I hate her for being transphobic.
About Cho Chang though, she actually looked up the meanings and choose Cho because it meant butterfly. I’ve never really associated that character’s name as a play on the racist stereotype, being Oriental myself. I’ve just associated it with general western ignorance.
As abhorrent as she is now, she was a queer ally but just didn’t understand trans, like many people around her age and demographic. She reacted to the massive backlash and drove herself into the weeds.
She’s horrible now and deserves all the hate but know that she’s a result of our own making. I think if any new people express a misunderstanding, it’s far better to make a bridge to correct that misunderstanding. It takes a lot on our part, trans and trans allies, but I’d rather make a friend out of a fool than a foolish enemy.