The Word "Badass"

If you aren’t sure where I got the title for this blog, it came from my intense love of Marvel’s Agents of Shield. I saw the series premiere at Comic Con two years ago and I was sold. I’m a Marvel fan (if you prefer DC over Marvel, I don’t trust you) and it has been so fun to watch a show and characters that feel like they belong to my generation. If you don’t watch the show, I hope you don’t get too lost. Basically the show follows Agents of Shield, the agents who work with the Avengers and related things, such as advanced technology the government could use.

I could go on for days about how much I love this show but I’m guessing you don’t want to read that rant. Women in the show is one of the most fascinating aspects of the show. Marvel has been knocking it out of the park lately when it comes to women being represented and this show is not disappointing. The show started off with three women (out of six main characters) in the cast and now a Bobbi (aka Mockingbird) has been added. And seriously, she’s a badass. If you don’t watch the show, just look up Mockingbird suit. She has one of the most amazing costumes in the Marvel universe and I’m not saying I need it, but I do. And it’s not just the number of women in the show but the quality that is so amazing.

The women can certainly take care of themselves. The women are not left out of intense fight scenes in the show and they can certainly kick some ass. I think the most satisfying fight moment for me was when Agent May got to nail gun Agent Ward in the foot after he betrayed Shield. Mockingbird (aka Agent Morse) has certainly put that amazing suit to use. One of my favorite episodes was when Lady Sif from Thor worked with the team for a bit and the entire team, including the men, were in awe of how strong she is and were impressed with her skills as a fighter. When she comes to meet the team, Agent Coulson tells Agent May “she’s a warrior. I saw her fight in New Mexico with Thor. Climbed a giant metal killing machine, speared it with her double bladed sword. It was pretty badass.”

The men in the show don’t just recognize the strength of the women but love it. Not to mention one of the founders of Shield, Agent Peggy Carter, is getting her own show and has been featured in flashbacks on Agents of Shield. They way everyone talks about her, both the male and female agents, show she is someone they all respect. When I think of the young boys watching this show, it’s really cool to think that they are growing up with a show that tells them women are to be respected. And then there are the young girls watching the show who are being shown it’s okay to be self sufficient and you don’t have to pretend to be weak around men.

The women are not devoid of emotions in the show despite their strength, and I think this is the best thing about how Marvel portrays women. Marvel has shown women can be strong and in love at the same time, with other characters such as Agent Carter (a huge post about her is coming soon, but I want to wait for the Agent Carter show to start before I write it). The worst thing we can tell the world is that by being a strong woman, you don’t have emotions. We’re strong, not robots. In the show, Agent Ward is the love interest of Skye and Agent May. When he betrays Shield, this impacts these two women especially because of the emotional attachments they had with him. They didn’t just forget about him once he was revealed to be a traitor. They were mad and embarrassed for trusting him, but they did not let these emotions get in the way of taking him down.

They are certainly smart as well. It’s not like the men are making all the plans and the women are dutifully following behind. Women are a central part of the team and making plans to save the world. It is even revealed that the team that the show follows was not actually created by the male Agent Coulson as he thought but secretly by Agent May without him realizing it. The women are part of the process and the men listen to them. They’re not just equals but respected by the men in the team as well. Agent Ward and Fitz have a look of awe in their eyes as they tell Skye the legendary story of how Agent May (aka the Calvary) once defeated a team of men all on her own. She is something of a legend to them.

Out of all the female characters, I would have to say Agent May is my favorite. I don’t know what other words sum her up better than badass and cool. The actress who plays her, Ming-Na Wen, has commented “A lot of my Twitter fans love using the word ‘badass’, which I love. I don’t think I’ve played many characters where that is the constant description.” I think a lot of people like Agent May so much because as much of as a complex character she is in the show, she’s still pretty relatable. She reminds me a lot of myself in a lot of ways.She has trouble socializing and making friends. She has friends (there was a little easter egg in the show that showed Black Widow is her friend) but she’s an agent that has traveled so much in her life it has probably become hard for her to grow attached to the people around her. She is fiercely loyal to the ones she does let herself grow attached to and she’s willing to do whatever she needs to do to save Sheild. Plus, her fight scenes are awesome. It’s pretty cool to see a petite women on tv kicking ass and people loving it. TV impacts our culture because it essentially tells our culture what we approve of and want in our culture. With all these women kicking ass, it’s telling the world we want strong women in our society.

Being Seen

My inspiration for writing these post always seems to happen when I have a lot of studying to do and right now I don’t think I could cram one more New Testament fact in my head.

I wasn’t planning on watching Brooklyn Nine Nine. I didn’t think I could buy Andy Samberg, the goofy guy I watched on SNL growing up, as a detective. I decided to give it a try when I saw Stephanie Beatriz, an actress I saw perform in Ashland’s Shakespeare festival twice, was in it. (So yes Mom, you were right about this show.) I liked it immediately for obvious reasons, like the good writing and sense of humor it has in its storylines. As someone who wants to be a cop and has spent a lot of time with cops, cop shows can be a little painful to watch sometimes. Bad stances and not clearing corners usually leads me to rolling my eyes. But this show is not trying to be a serious cop show, so I can let the little stuff go. And actually, their stances aren't that bad.

But what I really have grown to love about the show is the diversity. It’s a diverse cast that the media is slowly but surely starting to recognize. There are two female Hispanic detectives (Rosa and Amy are the two characters I’ll be focusing most this post), one African American Sergeant, and an African American captain who is gay. Is diversity on tv my top priority in life? Probably not, I think they’re are a lot more important things that face minorities, but what I’ll touch on this post and others is the little impacts having diversity have on our culture. Before I get to that whole spiel, I’ll introduce Amy and Rosa.

At first I really just liked these two characters because I can see myself becoming a perfect mix of them both when I become a cop. Rosa is on the antisocial side and can be snarky, and Amy is an authority pleaser (to a fault sometimes). Both are smart and effective detectives. It’s really nice to hear that neither of these characters where written to be Hispanic. They were blank slates in a way and when the actresses were cast, their characters were adapted a little to fit the actresses ethnicities.

I also identify with these characters because of how being Hispanic is part of their identity. It’s a part of their identity, but it doesn’t completely define them. It’s only one small part of what makes up them as a person. There are small references that make up this Hispanic identity, such as referencing Rosa’s catholic school upbringing, but being Hispanic is certainly not brought up every episode.

I don’t mind having Hispanic characters on tv, such as Gloria on Modern Family, that have an identity that is made up much larger of being Hispanic because this is certainly how some Hispanic women in everyday life identify. The problem is when we only have characters like that on tv because it puts this idea out in society that in order to be really Hispanic, it has to be a huge part of your identity.

I’m at a point in my life where I’m trying to figure out for myself how much being Hispanic is part of my identity. To be honest, right now I’m unsure. There are times I feel completely distant from Hispanic culture (a lot of this comes from the fact I can’t speak Spanish) but I do recognize it’s at least part of my identity. I can’t deny it when the one thing I can cook well is breakfast tacos I learned from my dad.

I feel like these two women perfectly depict how I identity as a Hispanic. I’m someone who looks a little Hispanic, has some Hispanic aspects of culture that make up my identity, but not someone who is completely identifying as Hispanic. That isn’t something I will feel badly about and it doesn’t make me a bad Mexican or person. I don’t have to prove my Mexican identity to anyone. It’s my identity and no one can tell me it is wrong. Although my identity is something I’m still struggling with, ultimately I think I see myself as an American who has some other cultures that make up my identity.

A Place on the Bench

Before their 2014 win, the last time the Spurs won was when I was thirteen. I remember that win a little bit, but not in much detail and not in a way I will remember this one.

I was in Estonia when they won, forcing me to watch the victory over Skype. On my way back home, I stopped in New York for a few days to stay with a friend. Still very excited about the victory, we visited the NBA store in New York City. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, but there were no locker room edition championship tee shirts for women. There were, however, kid's sizes, and there's nothing quite like being told that children belong to a more significant demographic than yourself. You know, the one with actual money to spend.

As much as I love this game and the NBA, I have recognized my entire life the role women just don’t seem to play in the game.

I have loved basketball for as long as I can remember. I love the sound of the crowd cheering and the basketball shoes squeaking. I have to admit, it’s pretty easy to love a team that has been in a golden age practically since I was born. While some players have come and gone, the big three and our head coach have been the same for what seems like forever. I don’t remember a time where these guys I have grown to love didn’t exist.

It isn’t just basketball to me. Basketball is much more than that to my life and family's. There is nothing I love more than sitting on the couch with my family and cheering on the Spurs, or getting to treat my dad to a game in Sacramento. I don’t remember when I learned to do it, but I can talk basketball. If you want a twenty minute lecture on why the Memorial Day miracle is one of the greatest moments in basketball history or why Coach Pop is the greatest coach to ever grace this earth, just give me a call.

And yet, for all this love I have in my heart for this game, I have recognized my entire life the significance of the lack of any female coaches. I’ve known there are women on this earth who love this game just as much as I do, with more knowledge than I could ever have, who simply have never been given a chance to coach an NBA team. It certainly has not been the biggest thing on my mind during my life, but it has been on my mind.

Why couldn't women be on that bench? Why couldn’t women who see this game with more insight than I could ever imagine not coach? Why couldn't women who had dedicated their lives to the WNBA not get a chance to coach for the NBA if that’s where they wanted to continue their careers?

And then with a decision that seemed to be made so effortlessly, the Spurs changed everything. On August 5, 2014, Becky Hammon was hired as the first full time, salaried assistant coach. And yes, that salaried part matters. There have been a few women who have been assistant coaches, but not officially. They were categorized as volunteers, partially because they were not being paid or did not travel with the teams. While some say these factors don’t matter, they were essentially doing the same thing as an assistant coach, it meant their roles could be debated.

There will be no debate with Becky Hammon. She is an assistant coach, just like all the other men sitting on all those other benches. Her role in history is not grey but black and white.

The best part of Hammon being hired? She was not hired because she was a woman. If anyone tells you this, they are flat out delusional. I don’t know a team out there that would be willing to pay an entire salary for an assistant coach just for a publicity stunt, especially not a small franchise like the Spurs.

No, Hammon was hired because of how smart she is and how she fits with the Spurs culture. She was picked because of her incredible career in the WNBA.  She’s a six time All Star and was voted one of the top 15 WNBA players of all time. This job was not given to her so she could be a token female coach but because she earned it.

Spurs culture is a big deal. As many people have put it, the Spurs do not have knuckleheads. While they certainly take the time to celebrate big wins, Spurs players are often described as being on the more serious side. They get on the court, do their jobs and help their teammates do their jobs too. Being a Spur is not just wearing a jersey but being a certain kind of player.

Hammon was hired because she fits in this culture. As Coach Pop puts it, he likes her humor. She likes to learn and Pop sees potential in her to become a head coach.

To hear a man I deeply respect say he thinks a woman could be a coach, that’s pretty significant to me. The fact that he sees her as a coach first and foremost, not just as a woman, that’s a pretty significant too.

So tonight when the Spurs tipped off the season, I was keeping an eye out for Hammon. I couldn’t see her for a minute but then she was there, right behind Coach Pop. I’m not sure if I can really describe what I felt when I saw her there, hair slicked back into a ponytail and talking to another coach. Relief? Gratitude? Pride? I don’t know what I was feeling, I’m just glad she was there.

Finally women like me are being represented in a sport I love and can not imagine life without. Finally a woman will be on that bench, sharing her insights and knowledge to make an NBA team stronger. Maybe one day I'll be watching Hammon leading the Spurs to a championship and I'll be able to tell my kids I remembered when she was just an assistant coach. I couldn’t be more happy this moment in history has occurred and I couldn’t be more proud it was my beloved Spurs that made it happen.

Relationships and Once Upon a Time

The subject of LGBT characters on ABC’s hit show “Once Upon A Time” at times has been both a tense and joyous topic. The fandom community of the show hasn’t always agreed on how the show should approach this topic, but the fact it is a topic at all says a lot about where our culture is in terms of acceptance towards the LGBT community. As someone who comes from Hispanic background, I understand what it’s like to watch TV and not see many representations of your community. While there are many people working to make TV more diverse, the discussion of LGBT characters on OUAT is an important discussion to have for many reasons.

            First, if you’re not already a fan, I’ll give you a brief summary to put this in context. OUAT follows many classic fairy tale characters from the Enchanted Forest who have been cursed to live in our modern world by the Evil Queen, Regina Mills. They are frozen in time and have no memories of their former lives. Before the curse, Prince Charming and Snow White sent their newborn daughter, Emma Swan, through a magical wardrobe into our world where she has grown up not knowing anything about where she is from or who her family is, believing she was abandoned. When she turns twenty eight, the son she gave up for adoption ten years ago, Henry, appears at her door to tell her she needs to come to his hometown of Storybrooke to save her long lost family.She goes with him, and the show continues from there”}

            Since the show started, murmurs from the fandom community have suggested Emma and Regina have sexual chemistry. The people who believe the two should be in a romantic relationship are part of the SwanQueen community. There are a number of reasons I don’t agree with this pairing, and don’t feel it would make sense considering what is already revealed about the characters. First off, I find it a little icky because of their family tree. Regina is Snow White’s Stepmother, and Emma is Snow White’s daughter, so Emma is kind of Regina’s granddaughter. That alone makes the pairing odd to me. Also, neither of these characters have ever even been alluded to being gay or bisexual. so for those characters, a lesbian relationship may be a bit of a stretch or just would not fit with what we have been shown about these character so far. In the end I would not really mind the two being put together, but the writers of the show have made it clear that is not what they have planned for the show, so I respect their decision.

            However, there are some, a vocal minority I think I can say, in the SwanQueen community who have taken this decision as a sign of homophobic beliefs of the writers. They argue if violence or straight sexual relationships can be shown on the show, so should gay or bisexual characters. And I agree there should be diverse characters. But just because a storyline is not going where you would like does not mean you are allowed to suggest a show is homophobic. This is especially wrong to me because so many cast and crew members are very open supporters of the LGBT community, and these accusations are too extreme for what seems to be merely a creative decision by the writers.

            Besides the fact I believe Regina and Emma should not be together because of what I’ve already discussed, I have a huge problem with a major argument many members of the SwanQueen community has put forth. I’ve heard and read from many of them that Regina and Emma should be together because they have clear and strong chemistry with each other. The chemistry part I agree with. The two actresses play off each other very well and their scenes are always very intense. The two characters do not get along and have a tense relationship. They are portraying two women who are trying to do the best for their son, there is no way those scenes wouldn’t be intense. In the second season finale, Regina wants to sacrifice herself in order to save the rest of the town. She wants to use her magic to prevent another curse coming over the town, but by using that amount of magic she will die. Emma insist that while she herself doesn’t have powerful enough magic to stop the curse, they can work together and uses her magic with Regina to both stop the curse and allow Regina to live. It was a beautiful scene that showed the two characters needed each other whether they wanted to or not. But the belief that just because two women have a bond or strong chemistry together means they need to jump into bed together is a problem for me. It would be a problem if we were talking about the same situation with a man and a woman.

            I believe people can have connections with others and not feel any sexual desire towards each other. There are people in my life, both men and women, who I am very drawn to and felt an instant bond with when I first met them. These are people I can talk to about anything and who I feel just understand me on a deep level naturally. There are human connections that we all have and need. I just don’t understand the argument Emma and Regina need to be having sex in order to be in each other’s lives. To me, it’s an insulting premise for both straight and gay people. There was a really sweet scene between Regina and Emma a few episodes ago. It was also a Frozen illusion, so of course I loved that. In the scene, Regina has locked herself in her office after she goes through a very emotional and stressful event (I would go further in detail but it’s a long story and I’ll just add it involves her boyfriend having to break up with her). She’s devastated but Emma speaks through her through the door, telling her that she won’t give up on Regina and she will make sure Regina gets a happy ending. I thought this was perfect scene to show that even though Emma and Regina may not always get along, they do want each other to do happy at this point. I think this kind of message is a great one to be sending to women. Look, you might not always be best friends with someone, but if you can help make their life better somehow, you should try. Being there for someone else, having empathy for someone else, is such an important part of life.

            More recently, there has been backlash for Emma kissing Captain Hook. Emma and her new love interest, Hook, shared a kiss on the season premiere. It was not their first kiss. Again, I don’t want to be writing episode summaries here, but I’ll give a little background to fill you in and understand this incident. Emma and Hook have been flirting and trying to figure out if they want to be in a relationship for a while now, but due to the unstable nature of their lives, being together has not been really feasible. In the season premiere, however, Hook tells Emma their lives will always be unstable so they shouldn’t let life get in the way of their chance to be together. Emma agrees she wants to be with Hook but then just is not the time. They have this kind of talk throughout the entire episode. Nothing frantic, nothing angry, just two adults figuring out their adult relationship. Towards the end of the episode, when Hook yet again tells Emma their lives will always be chaotic. Emma gives Hook a small peck and says “be patient”. To me, this was nothing more than Emma saying with a kiss “I’m here and I want to be together, just give me a little while.” However, a vocal minority in the SwanQueen fandom have taken this kiss to somehow be anti-feminist because, according to some, this is somehow the writers having Emma use her feminine sexuality to shut up Hook? I’m honestly just baffled. At this point, it feels to me that certain members are contorting parts of the show to fit something they already believe. It almost makes me laugh because this is something I’ve always been warned against as a historian. It’s very easy to misuse or manipulate evidence to fit your theory. Throwing around a phrase like anti-feminist because Emma shared a kiss with a man? I think some people in this fandom need to take a step back, take a deep breath and really think if they believe what they are saying is true.

            The writers have told the Swan Queen community from the beginning that while Regina and Emma will never be in a romantic relationship, there would be characters from the LGBT community. Sure enough this promise came true this season with the character of Mulan. When Emma and Snow accidently get sent to the Enchanted Forest, they meet Mulan and Aurora, Sleeping Beauty, who are looking for a way to save Prince Philip. As the four make their way through the Enchanted Forest, there is some indication that Mulan has feelings for Phillip. The two had spent a long time together before when they were trying to find Aurora to wake her up from her cure. Mulan having feelings for Prince Philip was never really explicitly said, so I understand if other fans say she had no such feelings or if the writers wanted you to think she had feelings for Philip but it was Aurora all along. As time goes on, it becomes clear Mulan does have romantic feelings for Aurora. Once Philip and Aurora are reunited, Mulan debates whether she should admit her feelings to Aurora or go to live with Robin Hood and his band of merry men. She builds to courage to tell Aurora, but not before Aurora tells her she is pregnant with Philip’s baby. It is then Mulan makes the decision to leave and go with Robin Hood. It is clear Mulan is very happy for her friend. To me, Mulan leaves because of how much she cares for Aurora. She wants her to be happy, which she clearly is with her husband, but living near her friend and not being able to tell her the truth is too difficult for her.

            The scene where Mulan leaves was both beautiful and painful to watch. It was someone sacrificing their own wants so someone they loved could be happy. I’ve seen straight couples on TV have to make this same painful decision, but never a gay character, and it was nice to see diversity in the show. Having Mulan be gay was important to me, besides the need for diversity in TV, for a few reasons. First, OUAT is show that is targeted towards families, as it’s on a family channel (ABC) and is on in the early evening. The fact this kind of character is no longer not considered family appropriate by a major network is progress in my mind. The other nice thing about Mulan being gay was not what I heard about the choice, but what I didn’t hear. I didn’t hear any group protesting the show or channel, like when JCPenney chose Ellen Degeneres as their spokesperson and the company was boycotted. In fact, most articles I read about Mulan’s sexuality were praising the show for having a gay character or sympathizing with Mulan’s difficult choice. The world has a long way to go when it comes to diversity on tv TV and acceptance of the LGBT community, but the small step of having a gay character on OUAT shows the progress that is slowly coming.

            In no way am I saying it’s wrong for someone to write a fanfic with Emma and Regina together or it’s wrong just to wish they could be together. But flat out harassment from this vocal minority is wrong and is not feminist, as many of them claim to be. As a feminist, I’m never going to tell women it’s wrong to have platonic but deep relationships with women. In a society where we are constantly told as women our only interaction with other women is competition, I think this is a negative message to be sending out. Why can’t these women just have a relationship? What is wrong with that? I like having a show that shows women being in each other’s lives in such a complex, passionate relationship and cannot wait to see what more the writers have to offer us!