Diversity in Demographics

I’ve been away from blogging as I consider where I want my writing to go. Yes, I’ve come up with a million things to write about, from my own body views to updating my cancer called blog….the list goes on. I wanted this year to be the year of no explanations. I don’t want to have to explain why my black is beautiful or why my confidence is stable , or why my childless life is still fulfilling. I wanted this year to be the “just because I freaking am” time of my life. Yet, I find that in the space of me, there are other people who also feel like they aren’t being represented either. For instance:

Race: Why can’t black people be diverse? Why do I have to speak a certain way or have a limited amount of interests in order to be “black” in a space where people are willing to deem acceptable? There are black nerds, and this is our norm. We shouldn’t have to be seen as the exception, because there are a ton of us; we just aren’t being represented in an everyday platform. How many black nerds are on shows like “The Big Bang Theory” – which is literally a show of nerds? Where are the young, black professionals who aren’t ghetto, but aren’t so far removed from their heritage that they are only Black-ish? Can I not enjoy sushi and soulfood in the course of a day without it being groundbreaking and oxymoronic? Can my race not be defined by my personality and interests?

Gender: Women get to be diverse. We aren’t just mothers. We don’t just come in one size or two personalities. There isn’t just one brand of beautiful woman. I’m finding beauty in women from all walks of life. I was in a wedding this past weekend, and I was worried about being the only chocolate person. My biggest worry was that everyone would be speaking Spanish, and I wouldn’t fit in. Then, I was like, “great, I’ma be the only plus size girl”. Then, I met the other women, and they were great. I’m very comfortable in my skin, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not aware when I am the only one of my kind in a room. In truth, the other women were as self aware – as much as (if not more) – than me. While taking pictures, all I could think of was that we nailed it. We hit beauty from almost every spectrum. There were women of a multitude of body types, personalities, shades of color, educational and professional backgrounds. It was phenomenal. The fact that we all came together without issue and our own set of insecurities, made it that much more memorable. None of us have kids, but some of us will in the next 5 years. The ones of us who never will won’t be seen as less than. The ones of us who will never marry will not be considered less desirable. We are human enough to stand on our own and be layered as individuals.

Age: I’m a married 30 year old who has survived cancer, had a hysterectomy, attained a B.S. degree in Molecular/Microbiology, an M.A. in English, with no children, no pets, and one of my dream careers. I have scars that age me, with a soul that agrees. It’s almost impossible to find married people my age who don’t have children. It’s very hard to fit in in the suburbs I live in. The common things that link me to this demographic are not part of my makeup. Where are the people my age who are single and not-not looking, but aren’t desperate. They’re just focused on living…

Health: We are taught that you get out of your body what you put in it. That is the furthest from the truth. Why is it that every cancer person is seen as saintly? Where are the people that hear the news, and send out text messages to their families, and their families call them back crying and cursing? My life almost exactly. Allow us to paint adequate pictures of people who have hormone disorders, yet trying to live a normal life – while attempting to pretend like they are ok with the changes going on in their bodies until they are. The closest I’ve come to seeing this honesty is “Transparent,” “Tiny People” and pregnant women. Where are the Turner Syndrome women, or the Klinefelter males and the millions of other hormone disorders?

Religion: Where are the people of colonialism and imperialism questioning why Christianity? This was the religion used to suppress us, and now we are supposed to be ok with allowing it to run our country and suppress others? Where are the people finding and searching for God in the purest form? Where are people following Omnism or searching for their people’s original religion? That’s not happening anywhere on television? I know I’m not the only person on this journey. Or the people who are finding their way out of their religion, because it contradicts everything they have realized they believe in about themselves? Being a strong woman in an Abrahamic religion means you’re failing…so hard. I feel like the only time religion is questioned is when love for another person is involved, but it never seems to include the simple love of self without another’s influence. I want to see that.

I want to explore all of these things in my writing. I recently stumbled upon my screenplays from my screenwriting class, and I thought, “yeah, I really wanna explore this.” I want to quit complaining about the lack of diversity in demographics and start creating them. I can write for days on in, but I know nothing about “the business” or how to get started. Everyone has probably said that line. I would love to hook-up with a young director looking for experience that I can write for. That would be my dream. I’d get to see these realistic and layered people the way they actually are, instead of the way they are ideally portrayed. Are we not tired of the funny, fat women being the best friend and not the lead? Are we never questioning why the nerdy guys always look the same and somehow have zero swag? I’ve met some smooth nerds and fat guys in my day that pulled in women like crazy. I want to see cancer patients not fall apart at the news, and handle it in a way where they can talk about it like it’s not them, but they still address it. I want to see people happily single and situationships turn into love stories, but end up being best friends for life instead of love interests. I want male and female leads with no romantic feelings towards one another – and not just because one of them is gay. I want to see polyamorists couples as normal and not zoo people to be put on display exotically. That’s what I bring to the table.