Doctor Who (& its Fandom) Have a Long Way to Go wrt Race, Diversity

Hello gentle readers, I’ve mostly been expressing myself on Twitter these days. It seems like it’s so much less pressure than writing a blog post — which I know makes no sense when a tweet thread can be longer than a blog post. Brains are weird.

Anyway, today’s tweet thread is something important, so I’m also posting it here.

Check out this article @Talia_Franks wrote about a troubling trend. Diverse casting can have unfortunate consequences. Their piece does a great job of covering that through the lens of this year's New Year's special. https://t.co/HGRvx0TZAR 2/8

— Erika Ensign (@HollyGoDarkly) January 27, 2021

I also recommend @DominicJGM's video–a 1-2 punch that eloquently states how it's frustrating to have the 1st Black woman Doctor as a one-off(?) character–practically a token. He then chronicles some responses & abuse he got for sharing his opinion. https://t.co/5mhvXU9pHD 4/8

— Erika Ensign (@HollyGoDarkly) January 27, 2021

I'm proud that *parts* of DW fandom are warm and welcoming, but as a white lady, I don't always see the abuse that's heaped on my fellow fans. I really want to work to do better at calling this crap out, and I encourage you to do the same. 6/8

— Erika Ensign (@HollyGoDarkly) January 27, 2021

I will close with a little good news. There's a lot of work to be done (especially w/inclusion), but this era of DW has definitely made strides in the right direction on diversity. And despite what you may have heard, this hasn't turned viewers away. https://t.co/C3beht4Fgn 8/8

— Erika Ensign (@HollyGoDarkly) January 27, 2021

I think I may cross-post this over on the Verity! site as well. It’s a message I think a lot of people need to hear. And I fervently hope people will click through the links and listen to the POC who are talking about this and not just take it from some white chick.

Many thanks to @InquiringJoy, from whom I got several of these links. You should definitely follow her for great content like this and much more.