Eda Clawthorne - Blog Posts
Happy Valentines day!
Something I don’t think enough people recognize when it comes to making shows more diverse, there is so much going on behind the scene that you literally can’t “just add them.”
Alex Hirsch had to wait until the end of Gravity Falls to show that Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland were in love so that way the show didn’t get prematurely cancelled. And even still, that was censored in other countries.
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The Owl House has a bisexual afro Latina protagonist that falls in love with a white lesbian. They kiss several times on screen and say “my awesome girlfriend.” It also has Disney’s first nonbinary character (Raine Whispers), their bisexual love interest (Eda Clawthorne), and an aro/ace woman (Lilith Clawthorne). However, because like five people said that TOH wasn’t the “Disney brand” the show is prematurely cancelled. So even with everything that TOH did, it only won battle but lost the war.
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The art crew for Encanto had to fight to make Luisa buff. And when they were finally able to make her buff, Disney didn’t make as much Luisa merchandise because they thought little girls would want Mirabel or Isabela’s since they’re more “feminine.” (I think the same thing happened with Namaari when RATLD came out but I’m not sure. So don’t quote me on that.)
*Also, Luisa out sold Mirabel and Isabela. So that’s a win.
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Bubblegum and Marceline couldn’t kiss until the series finale of Adventure Time because it would’ve been cancelled. So throughout the entire series, the crew always just had to imply undertones about their past. Since HBO produced Obsidian, they were able to kiss on screen.
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Korra and Asami’s relationship had to tempt down so that way Nick could continue airing the show and they weren’t allowed to kiss until the comics.
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Turning Red got so much unwarranted criticism because not only did Mei’s mom say “pads” but she showed them on screen. (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if that made you uncomfortable, that’s a sign that we need to do this more and not less.)
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Some countries marked She Ra as 18+ because Catra and Adora kissed on screen. (Once again, I’m not sure if this completely true but ND Stevenson had to fight to actually show them kissing on screen instead of a fade to white.)
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Steven Universe is the gayest show I’ve ever seen in my life which was both good and bad. It was good for obvious reasons. Example being that it was the first show that introduced to me nonbinary people in a way that wasn’t “haha, look, she uses they/them pronouns. She’s so funny and quirky.”
And it’s bad because it put a target on it’s back. SU has been censored so much that it’s honestly a miracle that we got an ending. And in most of the countries that censored SU, they usually portray Ruby as a man. So I can’t imagine how bad the censors were when the wedding happened and Ruby wore a dress and Sapphire wore a suit.
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Also, you have to remember the outdated idea that gay/trans topics are “too mature” for kids to handle (there’s an episode of Adam Ruins Everything that talks about this). So it’s easier for shows with an older audience (like Arcane) to have queer/trans rep.
Not to mention, if you ever go on Insider’s website to look at the queer/trans characters in cartoons [here], most of the characters are revealed to be queer only online and not in the actual show.
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All of this BS because God forbid that kids find out that other people exist.
Representation is important but please, just be aware of the actually struggles that go on that you don’t see and be thankful that this is where we are now because even though it might seem like it at times remember that this is actual progress. We need to keep pushing studios to do more. I’m sure that there’s millions of untold stories that would be made if not for this prejudice.
Gonna start working on a raeda fic, it’s about young raeda bc no problems 😋😋
I’m gonna read this every day
Growing up, like most of us, I only saw neurotypical cishet people on TV, most of them white. I rarely saw gay characters who weren't stereotyped side characters used for the "gay best friend" or the "butch lesbian" to poke fun at or the "bisexual who only likes the same sex for attention". I never saw genderqueer people who weren't used for some kind of humor or sad backstory and they were rarely respected when they even existed. Neurodivergent folks were always for humor such as the "ADHD kid bouncing off the walls and OOH SQUIRREL" or for angst such as the "autistic person who exists solely for angst and to be bullied by others." I never got to see someone like me in the media.
And now we're in a point in history where we get to watch this show.
The main character is bisexual, neurodivergent, and afro latina.
The love interest is a lesbian with a rough past and abusive parents.
The best friends are a burnt out gifted kid raised by a single dad and a girl with two dads and self esteem issues. Both of which are people of color.
The love interest has a brother who's dating someone who uses they/them pronouns.
The mother figure is bisexual with a chronic illness.
The mother figure's love interest is a nonbinary performer with stage fright and a person of color.
The mother figure's mom used to be an anti-vaxxer before she learned to understand and respect her daughter and her chronic illness.
The principal has a disability and genuinely cares for his students.
Several of the 'mean' characters have gotten realistic character growth in which they acknowledge that they did wrong, address it, and grow.
Several side characters are seen with same-sex partners, various skin colors, and disabilities.
They/them pronouns are used regularly used both for folks who use them and folks whose pronouns are unknown.
And none of these facts cloud any of the characters or are used for humor or anything like that. In this world, homophobia, racism, transphobia, and ableism flat out don't exist.
I have cried happy tears several times to my mom and my friends about how amazing it is that such an inclusive show exists. Not only is the plot incredible and the animation beautiful but it raises a more inclusive generation.
Young children are turning on Disney Channel and seeing that it's okay and normal to be disabled, neurodivergent, queer, transgender, a person of color, chronically ill, or from a "different" family dynamic. That it's never to late to grow and change as a person.
I would give anything to have had a show like this growing up. To turn on my favorite tv station to see that it was okay to be myself. That there's not just one way to be myself. To be able to see myself in the characters on my screen.
Dana Terrace and the team have made such massive contributions to the history of progress and inclusivity and I cannot express my appreciation enough.
EDIT: 1. True, Boscha has made no changes as of yet, I used that picture because I personally thought that scene seemed to hint that she has the possibility of change and I couldn't find a screencap of Matt that effectively showed his change. 2. True, there is some ableism as far as the magic abilities go (I.E. Eda's curse) but I meant as far as ableism that related to disabilities in reality, sorry for the confusion. 3. Thank you for everyone giving me suggestions and reminders as to things to add! I put what I could remember when I wrote it and didn't expect this post to blow up so much so thank you to everyone giving me suggestions to show how amazing this show is!
Also this show is called The Owl House and you can watch season 1 and the first few episodes of season 2 on Disney+! ♡
Idk, I’m thinking of writing raeda fics. And some marvel !male reader ones. Should I ?
I need angsty and fluffy raeda fics.
Raeda are PEAK romance
commision for my friend (i don't know why i didn't drew harpy eda earlier)