The whining of racists echoes across the internet and TV channels overa Star Wars that stars a black man and a black Captain America fighting white supremacists. Obviously, there’s still something to be said for representing minorities in our fiction. But representation of marginalized people in sci-fi and fantasy does far more than tick off bigots, it can also have some real, positive impact on marginalized people. Let’s explore some works that show representation matters in how they had a positive effect on people’s perceptions and on marginalized people themselves.
This is by no means a complete list, of course. There’s plenty more sci-fi and fantasy out there that has made an impact, so I could do more articles on this subject (and likely will). In the meantime, be sure to shout out about sci-fi and fantasy that you think had important representation in comments!
Uhura from Star Trek
Star Trek is well known for making an impact with its vision of a multi-cultural future that had equal treatment afforded to all races and genders- quite a radical concept in the 1960’s. Among other things, Star Trek had the first inter-racial kiss on television. But a lot of the best anecdotes about the impact of the show have to do with Nichelle Nichols, who played Uhura. In an era where most black women on television were presented as being servants, Uhura was a member of a spaceship crew on equal standing with the other members and she was treated with respect.
Seeing this was increidibly important and inspirational to many black people, especially black women. Whoopi Goldberg pointed out that before Uhura, “there were no black people in sci-fi, anywhere”. Goldberg recalls running through the house after first seeing Uhura when she was nine years old, hollering "Come here, mum, everybody, come quick, come quick, there’s a black lady on television and she ain’t no maid!”
Whoopi Goldberg and Nichelle Nichols, Paramount Pictures
Goldberg stated that it was seeing Uhura that made her realize she could be anthing she wanted to be and started her on the road to being an actress. She stated that she realized there was a place for people like her in the future.
In fact, Nichols' role as Uhura was so important that Martin Luther King himself commented on it. Nichols was thinking of leaving the role of Uhura to pursue a career on Broadway, when King told her “Nichelle, whether you like it or not, you have become an symbol. What you’ve accomplished, for all of us, will only be real if you stay.”
He also explained “You are our image of where we're going, you're 300 years from now, and that means that's where we are and it takes place now. Keep doing what you're doing, you are our inspiration. It was then that Nichols realized her role was far more powerful and important to people of color than she’d ever realized.
Mae Jemison, NASA
Nichols was even later employed in a campaign to encourage minorities to join NASA. Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space, cites Star Trek and Uhura as an influence on her decision to be an astronaut. Talk about an impact!
Wonder Woman
Way back in the 1940’s, William Moulton Marston stated that he created Wonder Woman to inspire women and help them realize they can be heroes. Did Wonder Woman succeed in doing that?
We certainly see her effect in the early days of comics with little girls writing in that they wanted to escape their sexist society and go to the woman-only world of Paradise Island. Gloria Steinem, an influential feminist and the founder of Ms. Magazine, certainly made it clear she was influenced and inspired by Wonder Woman to fight for women herself.
She even went so far as to say she and the other founding editors of the magazine had been “rescued by Wonder Woman in their childhoods”. Many other prominent female authors described themselves as “devouring” Wonder Woman comics and Jane Yolen called her “the female hero…I sought.”
2009 Wonder Woman Day Poster
Wonder Woman has been employed as symbol in the fight against breast cancer and domestic violence. “Wonder Woman Day” is a charity event that happens on October 26th every year. The event is all about raising awareness of domestic violence and raising money for domestic violence shelters. An awesome variety of Wonder Woman art is auctioned off and all the proceeds go directly to charity. Of course, direct donations are accepted as well.
In the end, it’s safe to say that in many ways Wonder Woman has done what Marston wanted her to do. She's helped many women come together and realize they can be the heroes of their own lives.
Sailor Moon
Sailor Moon’s presentation of female heroes reigning supreme and inclusion of lesbian characters as heroes had an undeniable impact on both women in Japan and those across the ocean as well.
Mari Nishimura cites Sailor Moon as “nullifying constraints” against women in action manga and leading women to play a bigger role in sci-fi and action comics that came after. She also credits the story’s lesbian power couple of Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune as inspiring more authors to explore lesbian love in their manga.
Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune from Sailor Moon, Toei Animation
Akiko Sugawa-Shimada did some studies on the social impact of Sailor Moon and found some positive things. She noted that girls who watched Sailor Moon tended to work together and rely on their female friends for support more. She shared an anecdote about a young girl in China who was being bullied by a male classmate. She relied on her female friends in response, gathering them up as her own “Sailor Soldiers” and telling the bully “in the name of the moon, we will punish you” (Sailor Moon’s iconic catchphrase). Sugawa-Shimada said that “they used the image of the Sailor Moon team to form female solidarity and to protest male power”.
Though admittedly not coming from the most unbiased standpoint, the producer of the current Sailor Moon musicals also credited Sailor Moon with uplifting women. Many female artists, both in Japan and in the West, credit Sailor Moon as inspiration into become an artist. Some famous lady artists and animators who cite Sailor Moon as an influence include Natasha Allegri (Bee and Puppycat, Adventure Time) and Rebecca Sugar (Steven Universe, AT).
Willow and Tara from Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Willow and Tara’s relationship in Buffy the Vampire Slayer was among one of the first lesbian relationships between main characters to be presented (not as a joke) in mainstream television. The impact this had on some people's lives was huge. Amber Benson reports a huge outpouring of fanmail from LGBP+ fans talking about how seeing their favorite characters come out had uplifted them and even inspired many of them to come out themselves. Many told her it had even helped them go on living.
Which was why a lot of people were pretty upset when Tara was killed off as motivation for Willow to turn evil (temporarily). Whoops.
After the time of Willow and Tara, queer people began appearing more and more in adult TV. But it’s was still impossible to find them on Western children’s television due to the persistent, bigoted idea that anything that’s not the epitome of heterosexuality is somehow “unsafe” for children. Which brings us to…
The Legend of Korra
Avatar: The Last Airbender was already notable as being inspirational for its world filled with complex people of color and dynamic, multi-faceted female characters, but the impact the end of the sequel series The Legend of Korra had is an emotional spectacle you can witness with your very own eyes.
The ending of the TV series has Korra and her friend Asami go off on a vacation to the spirit world together. There’s a moment where the two women stand bathed in light, holding hands and gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes. It was fairly obvious to viewers that they were now an item, especially since the scene deliberately calls back to the ending of the previous Avatar series, where the main character Aang and Katara became a couple.
Later, Korra and Asami being bisexual women in a relationship was confirmed by the creators of the show themselves. This was a landmark moment for children’s media, as children’s cartoons in the West had rarely (if ever) represented romance between main characters of the same gender so obviously and positively.
Korra and Asami from The Legend of Korra, Nickelodean
If you ever doubt the amazing and beautiful impact it can have on LGBP+ people to see themselves actually represented like this, you only need to see the many videos of people in the community watching the end of Korra. Many of them break down in tears of joy and the celebration is loud and vibrant. Here’s just a few examples. It is truly an uplifting experience, an affirmation that reminds the community their existence is acknowledged and valued and a message to children discovering their affections for people of their own gender that it’s okay to be themselves and okay to love.
Many havewrittenarticles talking about about the positive impact the end of the show had, for them personally and those around them. Some more good news is a comic continuation of Legend of Korra is coming out and it promises to focus more on Korra and Asami’s relationship.
Steven Universe
Steven Universe was a few months behind Legend of Korra in unveiling some of its main characters as queer, but it was also way more explicit about it. Two female-presenting characters (a show creator has confirmed it’d be “fair” to call them “femme-presenting non-binary lesbians”) were stated as being in a relationship in the show itself. There’s no flying under the radar here, it’s right in the text. Many writers havecommented on how important this is to real life marginalized people.
In addition to having a racially diverse cast and plenty of important and powerful female characters, Steven Universe is also exceptional for providing non-binary representation. Though it has yet to be made explicit in the show itself, creator Rebecca Sugar has confirmed most to the main characters in the show are non-binary. One non-binary is fairly explicit- the character of Stevonnie.
Stevonnie from Steven Universe, Cartoon Network
It’s very rare for a non-binary person to see themselves represented on the screen, much less for being non-binary to be represented as being an amazing and joyful human experience. One writer noted how the character of Stevonnie actually helped their five year old sister understand the concept of genderfluidity and accept it. By representing all different kinds of sexualities and gender identities, Steven Universe is educating these children and helping them to be tolerant and accepting in real life.
Kamala Khan as Ms Marvel
Kamala Khan debuted as the superhero Ms Marvel in 2011 as the first Muslim superhero to have her own solo title. Considering a lot of racism and fearmongering about Muslims persists today, presenting a Muslim as heroic certainly angered some people. The outpouring of letters to the creators of Ms Marvel from Muslim teens expressing joy at seeing a hero who was like them also proves the move was absolutely needed.
Ms Marvel’s image was also used to fight bigotry in a very direct way. Earlier this year, a bunch of anti-Islamic ads appeared on buses throughout San Francisco. The ads went so far as to call for an end to Islamic countries and equate Muslims with Nazis. Street artists quickly responded. These offensive ads were covered with images of Kamala Khan and messages like “Stamp Out Racism”. Ms. Marvel was used as a tool to literally erase real-life bigotry. This really demonstrates how powerful a fictional character can be- she can turn into a symbol that allows the marginalized to fight back.