Thread by @anarparikh, Indian Matchmaking, among other shows about Indian Americans/Indian diaspora fail to acknowledge [...]

Indian Matchmaking, among other shows about Indian Americans/Indian diaspora fail to acknowledge that just because we are racial and religious minorities doesn’t mean we don’t have our own systems of oppression and bigotry. My own thoughts + a collection of tweets/threads (1/n):

In the case of South Asians in the US—specifically Hindu Indians in the US—these systems of oppression include caste supremacy, Islamophobia, misogyny, and stigma around anything outside of cis heterosexual normativity (2/n).

This most recent show either erases these very real systems of oppression, or worse explicitly or implicitly buys into them. As @mariamdurrani pointed out—it condones some pretty eugencisist ideologies in its obsession with marrying within cultures (3/n)

For those of us who grew up within these systems, we recognize it immediately but it’s really dangerous to romanticize what this show says about arranged marriage for non-Indian folks who don’t know about these realities, as well as for those who Indians who buy into them (4/n).

Some important reflections. Starting with @sharminultra who breaks the Brahmincal patriarchy of it all, along with recommendations on further reading (5/n): https://twitter.com/sharminultra/status/1284871634361430018

https://twitter.com/sharminultra/status/1284871634361430018

So many folks, like @nikitadoval, are sharing their own traumatic experiences with arranged marriage—even in their self-proclaimed liberal & open-minded families—and the deep, deep misogyny of it all (6/n): https://twitter.com/nikitadoval/status/1284782344738467841

https://twitter.com/nikitadoval/status/1284782344738467841

And @MythriJega on the trauma behind the snark & jokes—along with some free advice and ideas for folks who are doing R&D on telling South Asian stories (7/n): https://twitter.com/MythriJega/status/1284892291803475968

https://twitter.com/MythriJega/status/1284892291803475968

Awhile ago, I had a convo on here with an Indigenous scholar who’d seen the marriage convention scene on Meet the Patels & wished something similar existed in their communities. I talked ab how in Indian communities its a way to maintain caste & gender inequality (8/n)...

So again, for those of who are familiar with the euphemisms and turns of phrase around caste and race and color we are able to identify them immediately in this show. I fear that folks who don’t understand the Indian context will simply blow them off. (8/n)

So, listen to Dalit, Muslim and other SA women and queer people when they talk about this show and other “South Asian American pop culture.” It’s really important to get this stuff right. Fin/

Also adding this thread by @SevenDeviled on the inevitable failure of US media to meaningfully capture South Asian stories. Especially if they are tailored first and foremost to white audiences: https://twitter.com/sevendeviled/status/1285034517565186048?s=21 https://twitter.com/sevendeviled/status/1285034517565186048