I am a princess. All girls are.

Yeah looking at the tags...maybe white trans mascs shouldn't be speaking on mizu's gender at all because a lot of you are being racist and misogynistic , but that's not new. and I'm just gonna leave it at that. it's very on-brand for you to see a woman of color forced to be a certain way because of misogyny and racism, and make it about yourselves and call people transphobic for pointing out the cultural context.

she literally, in her own words, said she was forced to be a man and you guys are really...with chest...calling people transphobic for rightfully saying that mizu was forced to be a man because of misogyny.

idk imagine making a woman's gender trauma about yourselves

headcanons are fine - in fact have them, i have some about her being genderfluid, but a lot of you are seriously, unironically, calling people transphobes for not seeing those hcs as canon.

addition, i think what i'll say to update this is that, headcanons are fine (like i said before?), and in fact i think we SHOULD have hcs about Mizu, that's fine. There isn't anything wrong with women, trans men, nonbinary people, etc., seeing themselves in Mizu. The issue is people are quite literally, being called TERFS for not adhering to the idea that she's trans mascs. Other trans mascs, are being called terfs and transphobes for using feminine pronouns for her. There are specific people in the tag that keep on insisting that she is canonically a tman and getting mad at people for saying otherwise, and again, calling us terfs. That's not okay, a terf is a heavy accusation and ot all a trans masc person that heavily exposes them to actaul terfs finding and harassing them. I wouldn't have made this post if i didn't see it. HAVE your headcanosn, but leave people alone. stop ignoring cultural and gender context, and stop harassing other trans men for not sharing your hcs. and like that im finished with this fandom.

@pumpumdemsugah I’m so sorry that you’re getting backlash, but thank you for speaking up about this issue. As a biracial woman myself, it’s incredibly frustrating how white people (including queer ones) are not listening to women/people of color whenever we call them out for this problematic behavior. I’m trying my best to be patient and calm, but people like that Anon don’t make it easy.

To anyone who tells us “you have Mulan” — let me just remind you that Mulan is a Disney film for kids made by white people. Meanwhile, Blue Eye Samurai is an adult animated series that was primarily created by two Asian North American women (one is biracial and the other is bicultural). They are not the same things and they are not telling the same story, but even if they were … that would still mean that there are only TWO stories like that.

White folks are so used to seeing people who look like them on screen all the time, that they never really stop to consider what it’s like for us visible ethnic minorities to never feel seen/heard in the media that we consume. The only discrimination that white queers know is due to their gender/sexuality. I know you’re desperate for representation, but guess what … so are we. Biracial/POCs deserve representation too, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

The writers of Blue Eye Samurai can’t deny something that wasn’t even there in the first place. This show was never marketed as Queer Representation. Are there queer elements in it? Yes, but that does not make it a queer story. This show is about a biracial Japanese woman in 1600s, Edo Japan, who is not traditionally feminine and who has complicated feelings about sex due to the belief that she was conceived through sexual violence. This story is deeply personal for the women of color who created it and for the women of color who finally get to see themselves represented in it. Do you have to be a biracial or bicultural woman of color in order to enjoy this show? Absolutely not, but just remember this … you are an outsider looking in. This show is not about you and it was not created for you.

It is NOT transphobic to call out white queers who decenter racism and sexism from the storyline of Blue Eye Samurai. It is NOT transphobic to explain why it’s extremely problematic to view this show from a modern western lense. We are NOT transphobic for simply telling you folks to shut up and listen to us ethnic minorities for ONCE. Anyone who continues to argue about Mizu’s gender identity or sexual orientation has clearly missed the point of the story. Anyone who continues telling women of color (including Blue Eye Samurai’s own creators) that we’re wrong for referring to Mizu as she/her is being racist and misogynistic. Period.

Blue Eye Samurai is not a queer story.

It is a story about a mixed woman being forced to hide her sex because of race and men being in positions of power over her.

As a white queer, it’s important to know when a story is meant for me or whether I am merely projecting onto someone else’s story. There are so many stories out there that talk about the experience of being a white queer.

BES is not one of those. I will not go into detail about how absurd it is to force western ideas, customs, etc onto characters who just fought the very concept of westernization on screen. But I will say, it is very apparent that many viewers are going into this show looking for westernized queer representation that is simply not there.

Thank you @queer-exp and @foxglovevibes for saying this openly. I hope neither of you are getting too much backlash for speaking up.

Personally (as a women who is biracial, bilingual and multicultural), this show was such a pleasant surprise for me. I never expected it to be as good as it turned out to be. I’m not used to seeing well written (and well researched) representation for people like me, especially representation that is created BY and FOR people who are like myself in many ways. This is rare and we (biracial and/or bicultural Asian women) should be able to celebrate this project openly, especially because it was primarily created by two Asian North American women — one who is biracial and the other is bicultural.

It’s only been two weeks since Blue Eye Samurai came out on Netflix and yet I’m already seeing lots of people on here (mainly White queers) who are angry with the show’s creators and their intended audience simply for referring to Mizu as she/her. I’ve also seen a lot of posts from these same types of people complaining that the show was “queer baiting” or not “queer enough” for them even though this show was never marketed as Queer Representation to begin with.

Today I was accused of lacking “human compassion and reading comprehension skills” simply because I pointed out to them that 1) this is not a queer story and that 2) it doesn’t have to be one in order for it to be enjoyable or even worth telling. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Of course, everyone deserves to feel seen and heard, but not all stories have to represent every marginalized group at the same time. And yes, queer POC deserve good representation too, but this is an excellent show regardless if Mizu is queer or not in canon. Why can’t these people just enjoy the show for what it is? Why can’t they allow biracial women and Asian North Americans to just enjoy this show? Why can’t they understand that some things aren’t made for them, but that they’re still allowed to like it?

White folks (including queer ones) need to stop projecting their modern western ideologies on non-White people — especially those who are from other countries, cultures and time periods. Are there queer elements in Blue Eye Samurai? Absolutely. Is it okay for various queer people to see parts of themselves in Mizu? Absolutely! But that doesn’t change the fact that this show is not a queer story. The main themes in Blue Eye Samurai are about racism and sexism in 1600s, Edo Japan. It’s about a biracial Japanese woman who has to isolate themselves from society due to racism and who has to disguise themselves as a man in order to survive. It’s already an incredible show that deserves more seasons.

I completely understand that Mizu’s character resonates with a lot of different people and I think there’s no wrong way to interpret fictional media. If some people want to headcanon Mizu as nonbinary or even as transgender, as bisexual or asexual, etc … it’s all okay imo. However, it’s also okay for people to view Mizu as a cis-gender woman who is not traditionally feminine and who has mixed feelings about sex due to their belief that they were conceived through sexual violence. All of these (and other) interpretations are completely valid imo. Mizu is a very compelling character who’s story deserves to be told, regardless of what their gender identity or sexual orientation is.