another dead lesbian

1. shawna benson invading the forums and giving false promises etc

2. jason + the writers repeatedly telling lgbtq+ fans to have hope also in a way baiting people into believing lexa wouldn’t die

3. jason inviting people to see eliza and alycia filming the finale therefore again giving people more false hope… making them believe that yes, lexa is alive in the finale.. ‘Keep watching to find out’

4. I’m sure there’s more but that’s the basis of it

So here is the deal - we’ve been working on getting this t-shirt out there for quite a while now (it is HARD to get a quality t-shirt made…), but earlier this week, we had finally got a sample back we were excited about. We had this big plan to release the t-shirts with the auction for Eliza’s signed one.  

Then today happened…and ELIZA WORE OUR SHIRT!!!! So since we were just about ready to launch anyway, why not do it now? Here it is, the link to get your very own shirt:

Support Positive LGBT Representation Campaign

See below for some more info:

The Warrior Princess 

“But poussey’s death moved the plot forward”

“Poussey’s death was justifiable because it made a point about police brutality”

If a show or movie tells this story well, and uses it as a way to make a point about the perceived disposability of queer POC in our culture, that is different than a show falling into the tropes. Also, it’s different when the characters are on a show where they do not carry the entire weight of representation on their shoulders alone.

No, it’s not like Lexa at all. It’s worse because we have even less representation than you do. We get killed off shows all the time. Whether we are straight or not. We get killed off shows you would never get killed off of. We get killed off when we are literally the co-lead of shows. When they use our name to market the show and people watch solely for us.

So, yes, this is an unpopular opinion because your opinion doesn’t have enough information. It’s just ~realism~ or sacrifice or lessons. Which, honestly, is such utter bullshit.

Do you know how disgusting it is to read your life as a lesson when, you know, maybe people could just pay attention to real life Black queer women. What if someone told you that they learned a lesson about queer White ladies because of Lexa’s death. That would be disgusting, right?

Honestly, every time someone from the Clexa fandom comes into anything, I like you all even less.

You can keep your realism and your lessons about police brutality that we’re actually living if we can keep some of our characters alive for once. We can definitely call foul on art when it literally singles US out every single time for you to have some fucked up mirror to look into. Go read a book if you need some realism. I’m tired of Black women dying for the White and non Black audience.

But I’ve seen so many posts about how we should all stop watching OITNB - how they’re perpetuating media stereotypes about the fate of queer women. About how Poussey deserved better.

Seriously… that’s the fucking statement they were trying to make! OITNB has always used its’ voice for social commentary and this is a social truth. The victims of police brutality deserve better. Women of colour deserve better. Gay women deserve better.

The writers chose Poussey because they knew it would hurt us and this is something that should hurt. It’s hurting real people all around the world.

And I can understand making the personal decision to step away from a show that might be triggering for you but accusing the writers of employing the ‘Bury your Gays’ trope is just short sighted.

1. They are 100% perpetuating that queer women don’t get to have a happy ending by killing another queer woman regardless of if she died because she is queer. You should probably read up on this trope particularly:

Additionally, the problem isn’t merely that gay characters are killed off: the problem is the tendency that gay characters are killed off far more often than straight characters, or when they’re killed off because they are gay.This trope therefore has been argued to not apply to a series where Anyone Can Die (and does). But regardless of the overall death toll of a show, the death of a gay character has a different emotional weight, as there are unlikely to be many other gay characters in the piece of media. Killing one, two, or even a handful of straight characters to show Anyone Can Die does not remove the entirety of the representation of straight people in a piece of media, but often there is genuinely only one gay couple or character in a piece of media, or very few of any real prominence in the narrative such as main or supporting character and not just a bit part. 

Additionally, when one can count on one hand the number of gay main characters in all of the media they consume, the loss of any one of those is generally more keenly felt.

2. They are playing into the trope of black women dying for white men’s man pain because let’s not lie to ourselves here Poussey’s death is being used to show how the guard who killed her has changed since he got there.

3. They are spitting in the face of BLM by thinking this is the appropriate way to make social commentary, it’s not. I think @istilldontknowher illustrates what I’m feeling perfectly.

the writers created a racist fantasy situation where it was all a horrific accident and no one is really to blame and its disgusting. the narrative wasn’t that black lives don’t matter in the prison system. it was that sometimes inexperienced guards make mistakes and get caught up in bad situations and that causes black inmates to irrationally get riled up

literally this show has just become a garbage bin of rape apologists, weirdly insensitive and unfunny jokes about ethnic/religious identities and humanizing Nazi skinheads and/or the people who hold power within the prison industrial complex

4. Poussey deserved better and if any one reading this is an ally to the Black Queer community you should stop watching the show and join us as we let Netflix know exactly where they fucked up.

Poussey Washington is killed and killed in an incredibly graphic manner, but some would say that her death was justified. Her death is an honor. But just a few months ago, the White LGBT+ community was saddened by Lexa’s death and crying and using their money to create petitions and making plans to go to the offices of TPTB to show their anger. But Poussey’s death is justified. You guys will fight for your White LGBT+ individuals, but let the rest of us drown.

You don’t care as long as your precious conventionally attractive, thin, White LGBT+ characters are safe and sound, but the rest of the spectrum - fuck them! Am I right? Who gives a FUCK about non-White LGBT+ individuals dying and being treated like animals? Hell, who gives a fuck about the White LGBT+ individuals who die for no rhyme or reason if they’re not thin and conventionally attractive? Denise Cloyd, anyone? I don’t remember any hashtags or petitions being made in her honor either. But it’s like this one person said, they’re okay as long as it’s not Vauseman - the ship made up of 2 conventionally attractive, thin, able-bodied White girls.

But it’s okay when non-White LGBT+ individuals die like this, right? It’s perfectly fine because it suits the story, right? She’s just another dead Black girl, am I right? It’s not like we don’t see it enough on TV anyway. It’s fine, right? We only care when the White LGBT+ individuals die like this. Then, it’s definitely not okay. We’re gonna have to call in all the stops when the White one dies but the Black one? Nahhh, it’s just another day at the office.

The fact of the matter is that Alycia, the actress playing Lexa, signed on as a series regular on another show on another network altogether. That happened longgg before S3 of The 100 was filmed or written (x, x) because the season itself was pushed back.  You can claim you didn’t see it coming all you want, but common sense told us how that would work out. But her death was not justified, yet Poussey’s death is. Why is that? I wonder why the death of this one lesbian is justified and the other is not. I wonder what it could be. What’s so different about these characters? Hmmm, any guesses? 

I know the writers wanted to tackle Black Lives Matter, but they didn’t have to kill Poussey in the same manner Eric Garner was killed. There were videos all over the internet of his death; we didn’t have to see that again. There are more than enough real-life examples TPTB that could have pulled from, but instead they killed the Black girl in this way.  At the end of the day, the treatment all of the inmates were being subjected to at the hands of the correctional officers would have been enough to start a riot. They didn’t have to kill Poussey Washington at all, and I stand by that statement. Black women don’t have to be reminded that this could potentially be their fate because it happens to us every day. We know this can be our fate; we watch the news just like everybody else. 

At the end of the day, it is about race. It’s like I said in a previous post - Black women die at the hands of police officers, correctional officers, etc. every day REGARDLESS of their sexual orientation. So, the White LGBT+ individuals can continue to erase that one little fact all they want. It’s not as if it comes as a surprise anyway, but don’t you dare claim that Poussey’s death is justified when it wasn’t. Especially if more than half of yáll were up in arms when that White girl got killed. Don’t do it, because the rest of us see right through it. You’re transparent. 

Besides, let’s not pretend like the consequences that are occurring in the wake of Poussey’s death are about her. The riot that started in the wake of her death isn’t gonna be about her; it’s gonna be about everything and everyone else. Sure, in the beginning it may seem like it, but that’s not what’s gonna maintain throughout the duration of this arc. Either way, you should probably educate yourself instead of telling Black women, who’ve been beat down by institutional racism and police brutality for decades, that deaths like these are justified. 

Here’s some light reading you can partake in once you’re finished here - 

I’m seeing people wanting more reaction to what they did to Poussey, and here are some things I learned after Lexa.

Organize a trend (and for this I mean >organize<, not just start tweeting something before talking to people)

Tweet right now with #PousseyDeservedBetter about what happened and tag @OITNB @Netflix

Contact Netflix https://help.netflix.com/contactus?locale=en-US

Rate the show and write reviews

Spread Awareness. Talk about what happened, share posts and tweets, explain how you feel about it, explain to people about the trope Bury Your Gays.

Share articles about what they did and how it was bad.

Tag OITNB writers, ask for explanations and make them know what it means. As always: be kind.

Make posters, images, gifs and things that can bring attention to it.

Organize the fandom. Organize. the. fandom.

If you want to make any other initiative, do it. Just do it. A fandom is not a mysterious entity doing things from above, is you. Think about what is your message and how you can make noise, and do it.

Ask for help.

Celebrate Poussey. We’re united by passion. Why this character is important?

Remember that the fight after Lexa didn’t happen in a day, and it was only possible because fans worked like hell to bring attention and deal with problems.

If you’re a fan affected by OIT/NB you can start with the list above, and I’m here if you need help. 

a tip: consider that, different from a tv show like the loo that everybody watched 3x07 in the same day and felt the pain because of it, people are watching OITNB in waves. Only people that could binge watch finished it. The noise about Poussey today is much bigger than it was on friday, and it will keep growing as more people watch. so plan accordingly.