Is Woke Culture Hurting the LGBTQ+ Community in Entertainment?

Ever hear the saying, “Go Woke, Go Broke”?

At first glance it may seem like a rallying call from the far right, toxic white male audiences who just can’t seem to accept diversity in their beloved “pure as white snow” tales of heroes and magic.

Sure, there are those out there who really are racist and don’t want to see BIPOC or LGBTQ+ characters on their cinema screens. Sadly, I am not equipped to deal with their ignorance and hatred. I can only speak to the people who are angry about woke culture going too far, and for the most part, I have to agree with them.

Before you burn me at the proverbial stake, please hear me out!

I believe that every human being has a right to life and dignity on this planet, regardless of your sexual orientation, your name, race, gender, or whatever. You are entitled to be “you” and no can take that away, diminish you, or make you feel unwanted. At least, no should be able to do that.

I have listened to both sides of the argument via hours of videos from news sources, articles and YouTube videos.

What I learned from these marathon sessions regarding feminism and woke culture is the following:

Stop race swapping and gender-bending established characters — just create new ones and let the audience decide. Nobody wants a “female” version of a comic character as a platitude. Give women more respect than that!

Stop hijacking the narratives of movies and video games for political purposes. Video games especially were not meant to be used as a tool for social justice. I mean, what exactly does Mario or Sonic represent politically?

Stop shaming people for being attractive or fitting into the mold of what society used to think was perfect. It was not their fault to be born with certain genes. Likewise, let us embrace all shapes, sizes and colours. Fuck it, there is room for everyone!

Stop trying to “cancel” people who have a different opinion — rather have a discourse; otherwise, you are just creating new enemies and giving them ammo to attack you later.

Stop, please, saying that a joke you heard is offensive to an entire community. You don’t know that. Just say that YOU found it offensive. Speaking on behalf of everyone is a sign of privilege and you don’t want to fall into that trap, do you?

There may be a lot that I haven’t covered here and would like to do so in further articles, but for now, just remember to look in the mirror before you judge someone else.