Eleven weeks ago, Lexa was killed off in the most cliche way possible. Stray bullet, right after consummating her relationship with her lover, at the hands of an over-protective religious father figure. This happened after fans were baited for months on end, and Lexa, the female love interest, was never supposed to be anything more than a guest star.
As fans, we revolted. Not just at the show–but at a system that enables this to happen and allows white, straight, male showrunners to get away with exploiting, manipulating, and then tossing aside a marginalized group of young, LGBT+ fans. We demanded better. The following week, we banded together with LGBT+ fandoms everywhere and everyone agreed on one thing: LGBT+ Fans Deserve Better.
This phrase has become a rallying cry in the wake of Lexa’s death on The 1OO. Not just because of one show, but because of the horrific, bloody spring TV season that has seen 16 lesbian or bisexual women killed, and countless other minorities affected as well.
LGBT+ Fans truly do deserve better. Lexa has become a figurehead of this movement and her fans have provided the drive and passion to create something so strong that we have the chance to create change in the media. We can do great things when we unite behind a common cause and fight for change, because no one else will fight for us.
For that reason, for Lexa’s final appearance on The1OO, we will be trending “LGBT Fans Deserve Better” for the season finale, May 19th during the airing of the show.
We want to bring this movement back to where it began, when we were strong and united in our desire for better representation. Lexa died for nothing on the show, but we can make it mean something off the show–come together, and we can do this one last time in her memory.
Lexa’s story may end here, but she lives on through us and our fight for better representation.
I forgot to post this earlier, but this is going on right now. It’d be great if you could throw in one or two tweets. I know people have been having problems with the way some things have been handled, but, as someone who’s been in and observed a whole lot of f/f fandoms, what happened with The lOO, the way the fans were misled and the false reassurances…was really very nasty. And the trend is a worthy one. Good lord, how we deserve better,
Eleven weeks ago, Lexa was killed off in the most cliche way possible. Stray bullet, right after consummating her relationship with her lover, at the hands of an over-protective religious father figure. This happened after fans were baited for months on end, and Lexa, the female love interest, was never supposed to be anything more than a guest star.
As fans, we revolted. Not just at the show–but at a system that enables this to happen and allows white, straight, male showrunners to get away with exploiting, manipulating, and then tossing aside a marginalized group of young, LGBT+ fans. We demanded better. The following week, we banded together with LGBT+ fandoms everywhere and everyone agreed on one thing: LGBT+ Fans Deserve Better.
This phrase has become a rallying cry in the wake of Lexa’s death on The 1OO. Not just because of one show, but because of the horrific, bloody spring TV season that has seen 16 lesbian or bisexual women killed, and countless other minorities affected as well.
LGBT+ Fans truly do deserve better. Lexa has become a figurehead of this movement and her fans have provided the drive and passion to create something so strong that we have the chance to create change in the media. We can do great things when we unite behind a common cause and fight for change, because no one else will fight for us.
For that reason, for Lexa’s final appearance on The1OO, we will be trending “LGBT Fans Deserve Better” for the season finale, May 19th during the airing of the show.
We want to bring this movement back to where it began, when we were strong and united in our desire for better representation. Lexa died for nothing on the show, but we can make it mean something off the show–come together, and we can do this one last time in her memory.
Lexa’s story may end here, but she lives on through us and our fight for better representation.
I forgot to post this earlier, but this is going on right now. It’d be great if you could throw in one or two tweets. I know people have been having problems with the way some things have been handled, but, as someone who’s been in and observed a whole lot of f/f fandoms, what happened with The lOO, the way the fans were misled and the false reassurances…was really very nasty. And the trend is a worthy one. Good lord, how we deserve better,
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This season of Blindspot has seen the suicide of a QWoC, later revealed to be faked though no less traumatizing to her partner, Bethany Mayfair, the death of Mayfair’s new love interest, another QWoC, killed to send a message to Mayfair, and then in the season finale, the death of Mayfair herself.
The Blindspot showrunner knew all about the trope and the hurt it was causing and still decided that was the way to go. Because killing another Black lesbian was so integral to the plot they just couldn’t not do it.
LGBT+ fans everywhere deserve better than the state of LGBT+ representation in the media today. We will no longer settle for dead, sidelined, or mistreated characters. Together, we can change the face of media, starting with The Lexa Pledge.
Editing/Graphics/Sound: @tazpants (twitter) Concept/Research: @asset_6741 (twitter) Featuring original art from: @TatyLovegood (twitter)
LGBT+ fans everywhere deserve better than the state of LGBT+ representation in the media today. We will no longer settle for dead, sidelined, or mistreated characters. Together, we can change the face of media, starting with The Lexa Pledge.
Editing/Graphics/Sound: @tazpants (twitter) Concept/Research: @asset_6741 (twitter) Featuring original art from: @TatyLovegood (twitter)
I try to stay upbeat and positive. Like, it is just TV, I have other stuff in my life. But…it is only media that I can look to for any kind of queer women happiness. The Catch was a bit of a mess and I do appreciate the statement that the person on the show who people were calling out for having signed the pledge put out: http://lgbtfansdeservebetter.com/blog/2016/04/30/statement-sherry-white/
Unlike the responses from the people behind Orphan Black, The Vampire Diaries, Empire, and The lOO, it acknowledges our points and shows they were listening. It’s not an excuse or a dismissal or justification. So okay, I can feel a little hopeful about things.
AND THEN I CAUGHT UP ON SAINTS & SINNERS. This was a drama with a mainly Black cast airing on BounceTV and the first ep had a surprise f/f pairing involving two awesome, powerful characters. And then this Sunday’s ep killed off one of them! Gloria Reuben’s character! I wrote this post less than a week ago, already two more of them are dead. And that list’s almost exhaustive on existing f/f characters in every currently airing show in the world. Like, there are a few soaps I’ve left out? And maybe a few more I forgot about or don’t know about, The Tunnel, Flowers which blew through all six eps in a week, Legends of Tomorrow, which, hey, at least they’re using a dead queer woman brought back to life.
I genuinely thought that there were so few of us left to kill that there’d be a halt. But nope. Add TWO more for the week.
