The poets muse

correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't think max and lia's ethnicities were ever explicitly stated in their books. for lia, when cassie first meets her, is simply referred to as "Asian," and as for max, i don't even think she got that 😭 As readers, we just made the conclusion that they're most likely Chinese because "Zhang" and "Liu" are typically Chinese surnames. (Even if I am wrong, my point still stands because of the fact that I don't even remember if their ethnicities were discussed—that's how quickly it was brushed over by jlb).

Why is it that white authors are almost afraid of being specific about the ethnicities of poc characters? like i promise it's not racist if at some point the character mentions that they're Chinese or whatever ethnicity they are.

And i've seen this pattern irl too. (I'm half-Korean myself so maybe that's why I'm more attuned to noticing these things irl). For example, the other day I went to this candy store and they were selling Ramune, which is a Japanese soft drink. But underneath, on the little card thingy that tells u how much it is, it just said "Asian Soda." is it that hard to at least call it "Japanese Soda?" or here's a thought—call it by its actual name??? AND when i went to the movie theater the other day they had "Asian Salad" on the menu. like omg would it kill you to be any more specific? and now books are also perpetuating this concept of "Asian" being specific enough, which almost seems to me as promoting the idea that all Asian people are the same, which is DEFINITELY an existing stereotype. and jlb is not the only author guilty of this

to preface my last remark i want to say that there is obviously absolutely NOTHING wrong with having a Chinese character. it seems to me though whenever a white author throws in an East Asian character for the sake of diversity (🫩), the character is almost always Chinese, or implied to be Chinese. (e.g.: Frank Zhang from Heroes of Olympus, Cho Chang (granted, Chang could also be a Korean surname) from Harry Potter. Bonus points to J.K. Rowling for using the most stereotypical name ever!!! (sarcasm obviously).) Again I'm just assuming here but maybe it's because white authors view Chinese characters as the "safest" and most "obvious" choice? idk. (Again, NOTHING wrong with having a Chinese character! I'm just pointing out a trend I noticed)

Anyways I'm really glad that other people here are also recognizing the pretty crappy poc representation (i just chose to talk abt lia and max but as we all know this extends to many other characters, such as rohan and lyra) in jlb's books.

OKI this is already really long so BAI 😼

Western???? Yeah no babe that's racism. Or at least colorism. None of the LIs look chinese let's be completely honest. They're just pale. Which, mind you, a lot of Chinese people are not without bleaching their skin FORRRRRR WESTERN standards!!!!!! Racist fucks.

But two girls who happened to have a relationship in some form with Nash Hawthorne, who isn’t even the main character, mind you, get ripped apart for it. They were awkward and rude to each other at WORST and that’s even with them being strangers, not brothers like Jameson and Grayson. Yet you continue to like one while hating on the other because you believe that one always has to be the other woman and demean the two by putting them into boxes they never asked to be put into. While Jameson and Grayson get to be who they choose to be, Libby and Alisa are tied down to what the fandom believes they represent despite their identities and individuality.

YOU are incapable of seeing them past a stereotype of two girls fighting over a boy, and trying to pretend otherwise is, dare I say, the worst part.

And everyone who says “I don’t like Libby for other reasons” or vice versa, YOU ARE A LIAR! You either don’t like Libby or Alisa because you grew to like one first and discarded the other when this little “love triangle” (not even a love triangle, mind you) came about. Or (and I’m focusing on Libby because we get introduced to her first) your reasons for disliking Libby are STILL sexist because jlb outright SHOWS you the violence Libby faces, and it being at its worst when she finally leaves like how everyone told her to, and you’re still going on about “wElL sHe WaSn’T a gOoD pArEnT tO aVeRy”. NO SHIT!! She’s her sister!! And Avery being put with someone she knows for literally 3 MORE YEARS (till she turned 18) is better than being bounced around the foster care system, or worse, being forced to stay with her dad.