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Magix Club's Forum _ Other _ Another hairy issue: Afrogate
Posted by: SpiderBraids Mar 27 2015, 3:54 PM
A couple weeks ago, some blogger posted about racism in Winx. I'll refer you to http://www.unadinoi-winx.com/my-response-to-afrogate-winx-club-is-not-racist/ for the details, but in short, that blogger thought the Miss Magix ep from S1 (from over a decade ago, mind) was being racist by having a minor dark-skinned character call her afro a disaster 
(An afro that is implied to be the result of the Trix I might add... considering the blog in question is about black natural hair, does anyone see the irony in this? 
)
Having been a fan since the first season, I will note that the overtones of that scene haven't gone unnoticed before. When I first wrote about 4K's changes back in '06, one fan thought the 4K change for this scene (her voice has gone squeaky instead) to be better because "her hair is awesome" (actual words) and the voice was funnier. The fan later expanded on that comment by saying it was insulting to people with afros, and could also be considered racist
Me, I never saw any intent of racial overtones in the scene; I just took it at its intended face value: the Trix screwing with her hair right before the pageant. That said, I can understand 4K doing what they did here, not wanting to offend certain viewers...
Nevertheless, I agree with the fans: Winx is not racist; if anything, they're good with promoting equality among races, and that should be praised 
Posted by: P-girl Mar 27 2015, 6:02 PM
I will preface this by saying that I am white and in no way an expert in race or that I am trying to talk over them, but some things need to be adressed.
First, a few things about the scene.
Here's the thing. Black natural hair? It's usually a thing they're harshly put down for. It's often seen as messy, dirty and unruly just for being, well, how it naturally is. So having a black girl be upset over her hair being like that? And then Stella confounding the issue by saying it's bad? Yeah, that's got some pretty big racist overtones and I can totally see a natural hair blog seeing the large issue. Let's not deny it. That scene was godawful and 4Kids was totally in the right for editing it.
There's also the case of intent. You see, intent isn't magic. People do awful things unintentionally all the time. If someone steps on my foot and breaks it, even if they didn't mean to, it's still going to hurt. And I still want an apology,
That said...
It was only a moment. Winx has from that point on grown beyond that. With the introduction of Layla/Aisha, who always has lovely curly, natural hair that's shown to be just as gorgeous as all the other hair on the show.
Being a fan doesn't mean defending EVERHTING a show does. I'm someone who likes to be a critical fan. Heck, fans are the best critics because we're invested and we know the show. We know that this was just a scene an doesn't reflect the show as a whole.
But the scene is still racist. Rather then put up our defences, we should acknowledge it for what it is. Winx messed up and while it should be discussed, we shouldn't blindly go NOT RACIST just because we're fans. Being a critical fan is being a good fan.
Posted by: mightymarty2 Mar 28 2015, 10:49 AM
The problem is people look for racism or a reason to be offended in everything these days. I have seen and heard it before. At the end of the day people are trying to read too much into 1 scene that is not significant and I wouldn't even call it racist.
On a side note of case and point look at Doctor Who its the same point of people getting offended over nothing
people complained about a lesbain kiss, which was not even sexual in any way that most people didn't see as a problem. I remember being cross about the use of the dino and not even noticing the kiss as anything significant
Posted by: P-girl Mar 28 2015, 10:57 AM
I don't think the problem is that people are looking for it, but rather that people notice and talk about it more because they have more platforms thanks to the internet. It's not a bad thing that people notice. Only then can we do something about it. Because racism is still here. Homophobia is still there. Sexism is still there.
Also, I think people 'looking for racism' and people complaining about two women kissing are kind of OPPOSITE of each other. One's noticing intolerance, the other is BEING intolerant.
Posted by: mightymarty2 Mar 28 2015, 11:08 AM
I admit that was badly worded so I edited it.
I believe the problem is still around but its on its way out. Its just a slow process.
Posted by: P-girl Mar 28 2015, 11:09 AM
That, I agree with. That said, that doesn't mean we should fall silent on it. The faster these things will be on their way out, the better, and I will try my very best to speed up the process.