A Thread of Women of Color/Femmes of Color Characters who inexplicably can’t/don’t communicate with the main cast of mostly white characters

Starting with Karen Fukuhara’s character Kimiko in Amazon Prime’s new hit series The Boys, Season 2 now available for streaming
Next is Kiely Williams’s Lily in House Bunny

She’s the only Black woman in the entire film and barely speaks due to her being “shy”
Karen Fukuhara again as Katana in Suicide Squad, now she has a few lines, but a small amount in comparison with others in this film

Twice with an Asian woman character, and both times seemingly to portray her as mysterious and dark, but male characters hardly get this treatment
and yet another with an Asian girl Miya Cech as ZhenZhen in the Netflix Alien Invasion film starring a whole cast of kids Rim of the World

ZhenZhen doesn’t really speak for most of the movie, and this really bothered me, because I’d been noticing this pattern for a while now
I’m not trying to be ableist or erase people who don’t speak English media

I’m pointing out that it’s kind of strange that these characters so frequently are also the least represented in these genres, it’s almost as if the creators don’t Want them to speak #TheBoysTV
I know this is a trope, similar to Fridging, a term for killing off or otherwise dehumanizing a female character for the sake of a male character’s character development coined by @GailSimone and that I’m only listing a small amount here, but I bet you can think of some too!
The Original Slayer from Buffy the Vampire Slayer as depicted by Sharon Ferguson in Whedon’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer
she’s primitive and doesn’t speak and the scenes with her in them bothered me a lot when I watched the series
I liked her character, but I wanted more for Sineya
This happens because these writers are frequently male and white and “have no idea” how to write these girls and women and so they just don’t give them lines at all

You ever consider just hiring on a consultant or writers that are women of color?

It’s lazy writing
YES I WAS SO INCENSED
why didn’t she get to Speak/Sing?? https://twitter.com/ace_defective/status/1302304087116054529
I’m going to tell you why, they’re scared that they’re going to do a bad job so they either don’t try or invent a reason for why they don’t get to speak

But this marginalizes Exactly the fan base they’re bringing to their piece by having these characters in the FIRST PLACE
I’m tired of this happening and being told that I’m overreacting or worse being “ungrateful” by pointing out that we as Non-male fans deserve better and fuller representation

Having more women speaking is absolutely fantastic, but if all of those women are white that’s a problem
The Silencing of the Shrew

That’s what I’m coining this particular Media Trope, because they’re trying to have powerful and impactful and awesome female characters without having to hear what they’d actually say, because they’re afraid of us

Better to be seen and not heard
Here’s another example
Thanks so much for the addition @portlyislandboy
Keep them coming people I knew my Autistic Ass saw a pattern playing out! https://twitter.com/portlyislandboy/status/1302324209415266304
And Another
this character portrayed by Indonesian Actress Julie Estelle https://twitter.com/portlyislandboy/status/1302325545288568838
Another Asian Character From Sin City and portrayed by Actress Devon Aoki https://twitter.com/portlyislandboy/status/1302326009283465217
I’m a poor trans disabled writer that works a regular 9/5 answering phones for a Tech company

I’m working on creating a Podcast with my friend where we discuss Media from the perspective of Black nerds-Follow for more info

If you wanna send $
Venmo @Faati
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Gina Gallego as Mrs. Hernandez in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend ABSOLUTELY needs to be on this list https://twitter.com/belenen/status/1302379560382664705
Chiaki Kuriyama as GoGo in renowned Orientalist Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill Volume 1
doesn’t speak and a reason for her lack of lines isn’t given leaving us to assume Tarantino had no ideas for her character passed what she looks and fights like https://twitter.com/FalynnK/status/1302411384874045440
Another one, this was mentioned a few times before, but I get forgetting to add her Actress Rinko Kikuchi as Bang Bang in Brothers Bloom https://twitter.com/adamwilliams13/status/1302597107560448000
Adding to the main thread, because I keep getting pushback on Kimiko’s character’s muteness

Folks are agreeing that this trope is real and problematic except for in the case that birthed this commentary in the first place!

#TheBoysTV #TheBoysSeason2 #TheSilencingOfTheShrew https://twitter.com/faatithestreet/status/1302671630678855680
Miharu Portrayed by Alexandra Massangkau in the film The Platform

So the majority of these women are Asian, this is definitely something bigger https://twitter.com/flatpot/status/1302675347322949633
Also Go Ah-Sung as Yona in Snowpiercer who is an Asian girl who doesn’t really speak in that film due to a language barrier https://twitter.com/attismum/status/1302735239714832388
Forgot to add a photo with that last tweet Here’s Go Ah-Sung https://twitter.com/attismum/status/1302737728782700545
Okay, so spoiler for LoveCraft Country ep.4 below
*
*
*
*

Intersex and Two Spirited Character, but they used She pronouns for her

so I’m presuming Femme and adding her to this list Yahima portrayed by Actress Monique Candelaria

Reason: Language Barrier/Siren
So #TheSilencingOfTheShrew is probably going to be following me around for the rest of my media consuming life, because I definitely wasn’t expecting to find it in #LoveCraftCountry

My best friend and Fiancé and I were like no it can’t be, but it was.
The more time goes by since watching that episode and particularly heinous rendition of #TheSilencingOfTheShrew the more I feel pained by what I saw

So, here’s a way to give back to the people my people disrespected in that episode https://twitter.com/doctora_nature/status/1302352681999106048
The Actress Nive Nielsen as Lady Silence in the Terror https://twitter.com/bunzy55/status/1302833036866850817
This one is really bad and honestly I’d blocked it out of my memory

She was absolutely an example of #TheSilencingOfTheShrew and her character’s body was cannibalized to be used by the white woman lead

Actress Sonoya Mizuno portraying Kyoko in Ex-Machina https://twitter.com/jeshizaburo/status/1302838041128497154
I think I just cracked it #TheSilencingOfTheShrew is a tactic that prevents WOC/Marginalized Gender of Color folks from getting more acting opportunities,
and awards, which actually do help secure more roles

Regina King won an Oscar and then got The Watchmen series https://twitter.com/faatithestreet/status/1302856922970951680
Another thanks @ValarMorDollars https://twitter.com/valarmordollars/status/1302878718596128771
Christine Lee portraying Kyungunsun in Black Summer whose speech is reduced to [Speaking Korean] with no other CC due to her not being understood by her traveling compatriots. https://twitter.com/ElliotRen_/status/1302997176512139264
Anyone catching the fans of these works revealing themselves to be racist and orientalists by discounting Kimiko due to her needing to be mute for “mystery’s” sake?

You know who’s mysterious in that show? Frenchie, you know who also gets lines? #TheSilencingOfTheShrew #TheBoysTV
Yet another based on a Comic book
Kelly Hu as Yuriko Oyamaya/Lady Deathstrike in X2 https://twitter.com/chancecalloway/status/1303072324229365761
And another Asian Actress
Tao Okamoto as Mercy Graves in Batman v Superman https://twitter.com/raining_bolts/status/1303073179217395712
This young Black girl, Star, from Terminator Salvation as portrayed by Actress Jadagrace Berry https://twitter.com/blackfang108/status/1303081272978309120
Adding by popular demand and also because I agree is Tina Cohen Change from Glee as portrayed by @JennaUshkowitz
Because though she speaks she has a stutter in S1 and she had fewer solos or storylines of any other lasting main character in the series
Was disrespected a lot too.
I wanted to thank you everyone for sharing and using the #TheSilencingOfTheShrew hashtag in your posts, please use the hashtag if you’re referencing the post in your own tweets.

I’ll be checking this hashtag so use it if you want to talk ☺️

Venmo: @Faati
Cashapp: $FaatimVasser
Black Actress Yetide Badaki as Bliquis in American Gods the TV series based on the @neilhimself novel of the same name. https://twitter.com/toddireland/status/1303145402401579010
A short thread on the pushback I’m receiving for making this Thread and doing this form of Activism by speaking on an issue I discovered #TheSilencingOfTheShrew

I’ve gotten into quite a few disagreements over this, but this person felt what I was doing was wrong and I just🙃 https://twitter.com/faatithestreet/status/1303237799727042561
This thread is still going we still have #TheSilencingOfTheShrew even within notably “feminist shows” Actress Lori Tan Chinn as Chang in #OrangeIsTheNewBlack it took 3 seasons to develop her character and even then.... https://twitter.com/thrillerbarnes/status/1303337950000959489
In the 1958 film of the musical South Pacific France Nguyen plays character Liat who is given few lines and a “romance” story,

We’re absolutely not attacking these actresses, they’re doing what they can to get work
It’s Hollywood that needs to answer #TheSilencingOfTheShrew https://twitter.com/generalasian/status/1303359832620138499
There’s also one that upset a LOT of X-Men fans in ‘16
Olivia Munn’s portrayal of Psylocke and given very few lines or character development
#TheSilencingOfTheShrew
#XMenApocalypse https://twitter.com/astralw4lker/status/1303385984822894592
This one is disappointing for me to see suggested, I always thought this franchise was inclusive Actress Devon Aoki as Suki in #2fast2furious #TheSilencingOfTheShrew https://twitter.com/MauroGM3/status/1303355697279758338
Here’s another one from the past Venezuelan Actress Patricia Velasquez’s Portrayal of
Anck-Su-Namun of
#TheMummyReturns fits because she barely has lines and should’ve been co-stars with the lead villain Imhotep her lover #TheSilencingOfTheShrew https://twitter.com/imasithduh/status/1303402564973555712
This one too, her aesthetic was totally dope, but why doesn’t she have lines to showcase that badassery that’s drippin’ off ha

Actress Bai Ling as Mysterious Woman #TheSilencingOfTheShrew ain’t neva lied omfg talk about the “Mysterious Asian Woman” trope https://twitter.com/mmarchese26/status/1303311595511197697
This one’s a throwback to the 90s Actress Ebonie Smith as M’L’ila from Xena, whose silence is explained with “she doesn’t speak Greek”

If you’re making up a character in a mostly fictionalized series, you can make them able to speak Greek. Easily. #TheSilencingOfTheShrew #Xena
Hey y’all, I got bad news about my housing situation last night and hardly slept and just threw myself into this thread.

I asked my boss for a raise today and got told no, but he’ll ask his boss.

If you can

Venmo: @Faati
Cashapp: $FaatimVasser
PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/faatimavasser 
Also please keep using the hashtag and suggesting more candidates for the trope

I want #TheSilencingOfTheShrew
trending so we can get Hollywood to recognize how they’ve marginalized their Actresses of Color and cheated all of us viewers of rich dynamic storylines!
Here’s a Puerto Rican Actress Sol Miranda as Donna Maria Nuñez the only non-English speaking woman trapped in the bunker on #UnbreakableKimmySchmidt #TheSilencingOfTheShrew
She is the Founder of Embark Peekskill, a nonprofit which supports the arts in Peekskill, NY https://twitter.com/carolmcarpenter/status/1303542431405740037
There’s this Japanese character in the hit DC Universe animated series #YoungJustice known for its diversity and inclusion, so having a candidate for #TheSilencingOfTheShrew is sad to see, but I gotta include everybody, even my faves
VO Actress Janice Kawaye as Asami Koizumi https://twitter.com/relative_void/status/1302986154757758978
Another @netflix Original #TheCloverFieldParadox a Sci-fi story with a multi-cultural crew on a space station where everyone speaks English, except Tam portrayed by Chinese Actress Ziyi Zhang who speaks English btw,
some of her speech has no CC in this 🎥
#TheSilencingOfTheShrew https://twitter.com/carolmcarpenter/status/1303543757921554434
Another Asian Actress playing a character from X-Men, #XMenDaysOfFuturePast the character Blink portrayed by Chinese Actress Bingbing Fan, apparently all of the BIPOC got this treatment, but her lines were the fewest #TheSilencingOfTheShrew https://twitter.com/wrapitupharder/status/1303710185484099584
This one hurt everybody, because this actress was the most genuine and whimsically happy about her casting out of anyone, only her co-star @JohnBoyega coming second Vietnamese Actress and 👑
@kellymarietran as Rose Tico in #StarWarsTheRiseOfSkywalker
#TheSilencingOfTheShrew
My fiancé just texted me and said:
You forgot the Neanderthal woman from #DoomPatrol

Actress Pisay Pao was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, her parents escaped the civil war in Cambodia and moved to Seattle, WA in ‘86

She plays Slava and has few lines
#TheSilencingOfTheShrew
One suggested from my Facebook post of the thread from #RushHour2 Actress Zhang Ziyi as Hu Li

“Barely talks, spends most of her time in the movie trying to kill people.” -Hailey

#TheSilencingOfTheShrew
She Who Must Not Be Named has already made a problematic Asian girl character, but this one adds insult to injury "Nagini is Voldemort's pet and loyal servant"
Actress Claudia Kim as Nagini #FantasticBeastsTheCrimesOfGrindelwald
#TheSilencingOfTheShrew
https://link.medium.com/MTX1lMFDH9 
Additions to this thread are still occurring, please @ me and use the hashtag #TheSilencingOfTheShrew

if you have any new additions you’d like to put forward

Drawing attention to this issue is the first step in lessening this form of discrimination happening to WOC Actors https://twitter.com/Fair_Decoy/status/1317837024242601984
GoT is known for neither it’s respect for women or BIPOC characterization, so I’m not at all surprised this was added to the list
Why is it that the “silent, but deadly type” is so frequently also BIPOC?
#TheSilencingOfTheShrew https://twitter.com/mer_hartley/status/1317925334763798528
@screenrant mentioned me and my thread in this article, but left out #TheSilencingOfTheShrew and so I’ve added that in my Quote RT for clarification as the comments under this article are mostly that of derision and confusion
Hopefully this helps alleviate some of that tension. https://twitter.com/FaatiTheStreet/status/1318920331101229056
MY FIRST PODCAST INTERVIEW
Discussion between myself and @Frontofthetelly
Check it out if you're interested in hearing my voice and hearing me discuss Media with an intelligent Black woman Media Critic and Nerd https://twitter.com/FaatiTheStreet/status/1320853004203954176?s=20
You can follow @FaatiTheStreet.
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