20 Problematic Things We Need to Leave in 2016

2016 has been a year, and I know I’m not the only one that’s glad it’s almost over. Honestly, the world should have ended in 2012 because this whole year has been one huge faux pas. Like Kylie said, 2016 has been a year of realizing stuff, but not in a good way. We’ve been shocked by our neighbors that we thought we knew by electing a racist, unqualified, misogynistic pig into the White House, the justification of black murder, the ongoing war in Syria, an almost entirely white cast for Mulan, and so many things we never thought we’d never witness in our lifetimes.

The one good thing about 2016 has been the clamping down on all things problematic. Social media has been an instrumental tool for calling out cultural appropriation, whitewashed feminism, racism, and other problematic topics that are often swept under the rug. In 2017, we have to do better. We have to make sure that the following beacons of problems that may have flourished in 2016 are left in 2016, so we make sure that Trump’s inauguration is the only bad thing that kicks off our New Year!

1. Whitewashed Feminism: There are other women on this earth besides white women, so why should white women be the standard for feminism? There needs to be a push for intersectional feminism especially since women of color lag far behind white women in many aspects.
2. White-washing ANYTHING: No, The Civil War was not simply fought for state’s rights. State’s rights to do what? Grow purple tomatoes? IT WAS STATE’S RIGHTS TO OWN SLAVES. We need to stop allowing history to be whitewashed so white people have an easier time pacifying the terrible things their ancestors did. Do we not remember that we were fighting AGAINST the Nazi’s just 60+ years ago?  Do people not remember the reason we don’t want the KKK? Why is there now an attempt to “normalize” them when they AREN’T NORMAL? There’s a difference between asking someone why White Supremacy appeals to them in order to understand their point of view and showing us what the KKK does on a day to day basis. We don’t CARE what the KKK does because we already know they don’t spend their time trying to better humanity. Instead, we should be focusing on why their numbers are growing. We also shouldn’t demand that people stand during the National Anthem or The Pledge of Allegiance to a flag of a country that once did not recognize them as full human beings (and to a lesser extent still doesn’t see them as human beings) nor be expect for them to idolize men that “owned” people that looked like me as slaves because they “laid the groundwork” for the United States. We can acknowledge EVERYTHING these men did while making sure we do not bring up a generation of kids that see their founding fathers in a “God-Like” manner when they were anything far from gods. We can’t pretend that racism didn’t/doesn’t exist just because Black people can go to schools with White people. We need to stand up for diversity in our entertainment and ditch the Eurocentrism that runs rampant in our both the beauty and entertainment industry. James Bond is NOT real, so why should having a black James Bond be a problem? Black people built this country, so why are dark skinned people still having trouble finding foundation in their shade or being snubbed for roles because of their color? “White” is not “right,” and there needs to be an effort to make sure that our industries are inclusive and represent the diverse faces that make America so great.
3. The Unholy Quadrilateral of Problematic White Feminists:
   1. Lena Dunham:  Lena Dunham is arguably the most problematic individual, besides Vice President-elect Pence, in the United States. She is NOT a beacon for feminism and change. She confessed to molesting her sister, she wrongfully accused Odell Beckham of not looking at her and tried to demonize him because of her own insecurities, and her show claims to represent twentysomething-year-old girls but has like -2 minority women? She’s so problematic that there’s an ongoing list of every problematic thing she said and I cringe every time someone tries to bring her up as a serious feminist icon. Every time she tweets/says something she ends up apologizing .03 seconds later, so WHY HASN’T SHE LEARNED TO JUST  STOP TALKING/TWEETING?
   2. Amy Schumer: Another unfunny, problematic white lady that brings little to the table in terms of humor, feminism, and change. She spends her time parodying “Formation,” which was absolutely disrespectful because that song was filled with references FOR BLACK PEOPLE and her “comedy” is filled with racially perpetuating stereotypes that many people try to fight against. No one can (except for your fellow blind white feminist) take you seriously as a feminist if you make rape jokes.
   3. Taylor Swift: Please stop gassing up mediocrity. She has absolutely no vocal ability. She’s a great songwriter I’ll give her that, but her title should be song-writer LEAVE OUT the “singer” part. Her whole “Girl Squad” alludes to the type of girls she’s spent a good chunk of her career, and made a fortune from, hitting back at.  Not to mention her “Wildest Dreams” campaign was a clear allusion to white colonization in Africa with not one African person insight. Her “Shake it Off” video mocking hip-hop was nothing short of distasteful; Hip-Hop is a culture whose hand has shaped America, so for her to mock Hip-Hop then go and collaborate with a Hip-Hop artist, Kendrick Lamar, was almost like a slap in the face. Her whole victim narrative, especially during the Kanye West incident when Kim Kardashian had to come through with those receipts, is very tiring. As a white woman, she benefits from privilege that women of color DO NOT. That’s not to say she hasn’t overcome adversity, but constantly victimizing yourself instead of using your platform to stand up for legitimate concerns women of color bring to your attention, is whitewashed feminism at it’s finest.
   4. Jennifer Lawrence: The fourth side to the unholy problematic quadrilateral and another over-hyped, mediocre white woman. It’s not okay to disrespect something and brag about it just because you don’t see the value in it especially when you know it’s sacred to the people living in that area.  The dismissal of things seems to be a commonality that all the members of this unholy quadrilateral share. You can’t dismiss things as unimportant because they don’t affect you because they affect someone else who is just as valuable as you are. We all know that Hollywood body ideals are.
4. Slut Shaming: A number of people a girl has slept with is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. The clothes that a woman wears does not allude to the number of partners she has had. How does the number of partners a woman has had affect you? That’s right, it doesn’t, so until you start buying clothes for every woman, ZIP IT.
5. Body Shaming: How does the size of another person affect you? All we can do is work on becoming the best version of ourselves. Who are you to speak of another person’s body when you don’t know their journey and don’t know what they’re going through/have gone through? If you’re unhappy, that’s your problem, but you should not try to tear down someone else’s happiness because of how they look.
6. Editing Instagram Pictures: This goes along with body shaming. No one should be made to feel so insecure about their bodies that they resort to photo shopping their Instagram pictures, trying to pass them off as real, and then get called out for it. People like Instagram because it allows everyone to post “authentic” pictures and provide a real glimpse into their lives. Now that pictures are being photoshopped left, right, and center, girls, especially, are left trying to mimic celebrities whose pictures aren’t real. That leaves them in a never ending cycle of the pursuit of perfection that doesn’t exist. It’s okay to be, unapologetically, who you are, especially when young girls and boys look up to you to obtain the standards that you set.
7. Drag Culture: There is nothing wrong with calling someone out when something they say is (insert demographic)-phobic or misinformed. However, there is a time, place, and way to do so. Singling someone out and dragging them does not make them receptive to whatever you’re trying to educate them about. It makes you look immature and lacking in eloquence because they are not the only person to say something misinformed and won’t be the last. Instead of them leaving educated, they leave feeling attacked, shut down anything you’re saying and may even begin to resent whatever cause you’re trying to educate them on. We need to educate without attacking.
8. Stans: Hannah Montana said it best, “Nobody’s Perfect,”  (although, Yeezus might argue this, but even he’s not close to being God.) As a result of our imperfections, even our idolized celebrities are bound to say some problematic things at times. That does not make them terrible people, it makes them human. Instead of trying to argue with all of the Twitterverse that what they did can’t be wrong because THEY’RE FAMOUS DUH, educate your favs and continue to love whatever they put out. As long as they demonstrate that they’re moving towards improving their mindset/being conscious about what they say/do, you don’t have to turn your backs on them 100%. The problem arises when they continuously are problematic about the same thing. One off-color joke does not make a person a demon, but continuously making that same joke and not recognizing why it’s not okay is when you need to reconsider giving your money to this problematic person.
9. Blaming Political Correctness for Everything: I’m sorry that being a decent, respectful human being is something that you struggle with. You can’t just blame all of our moral woes on not being able to call all Muslims terrorists or having someone say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas.
10. Reverse Racism: Until white people are barred from their constitutional rights because of their skin color, don’t bring up reverse racism because it DOES NOT EXIST. White people don’t understand that racism is objective (prejudice is its subjective complement), which is why the institutional conditionality is attached to it. Someone calling you a white b**** is not racist because the government is not banning all white women from going to school with other people, forcing them to drink from different water fountains or not recognizing them as citizens. That is an insult, NOT a form of racism, @ Ellen Pompeo.
11. Black Face: I get that you’re sad God didn’t bless you with dark skin, but painting your skin black and making some snide racist comment about it, is not okay. I don’t think people realize how deeply rooted in racism “black face” really is. It started in during the Jim Crow era and since nothing good came out of that time period, stop trying to drag us back.
12. Mike Pence: He honestly might be worse than Trump especially because he’s had the political office (he was the governor of Indiana) to enact his ill-informed policies. He’s an outspoken proponent of conversion therapy, but what I fail to recognize is how someone’s sexual orientation affects him?  What are we going to do, set up a Gaystapo and have neighbors spy on each other and report “unholy” sexual behavior? Not to mention his staunch stance against Planned Parenthood that provides a wide array of health services for people that otherwise could not afford to do so. He is basically anti-common sense. He advocates for discrimination against already marginalized groups, basically advocates against giving public school funding in favor of “private schools” that aren’t improving test scores, and misused funds showing his questionable ethics. Everything this man has done as a governor is alarming, so naturally, due to his status as a cis white male, promoting him and rewarding his pathetic behavior is the most logical thing to do.
13. White People Wanting to Say N***a: There are some things awarded to certain groups that other groups cannot partake in. A 17-year-old asking to be breastfed would get bewildered stares, but no one bats an eyelash at a baby getting breastfed. Should all 17-year-olds protest and whine because they can’t be breastfed and proceed to shame/drag babies for being able to be breastfed? NO! Because that’s dumb and just as dumb as white people whining about not being able to say n***a. That word was reclaimed by black people in the realization that yes, we were once banned from doing XYZ because we were n****rs, but now we can do anything we want to and being a n***a can’t stop us. Black musicians don’t make music for white people in the suburbs. They speak about their experiences from their view as BLACK rappers and musicians. Yes, anyone can buy their songs or play them on Spotify, but only BLACK people can understand specifically where BLACK musicians are coming from. Until white people face the injustices that Black people have faced, they are not allowed to participate in the reclamation of insults directed towards black people.
14. Cultural Appropriation: There is a difference between cultural appreciation and appropriation. Do you like dreadlocks and think they would be cool to feature in your fashion show? Great, there are plenty of BLACK models with dreadlocks that would love to get the opportunity to work. To Black people, dreadlocks aren’t just a “cool hairstyle;” there is a deep spiritual significance represented by them, which is why it’s absolutely offensive to shame Black people for wearing their hair this way, especially since it’s a protective hair style. To then hail white women as “edgy” when they wear it and to further expound on that point by trying to “claim” straight hair or blonde hair or blue eyes is solely unique to white people. IT’S NOT. It makes me especially angry that the Kardashians are profiting off of their “big butts” and “CORN ROWS” that black women are constantly slandered for. Henna is not just some cool design you stick on to show off at Coachella. There is cultural significance in its designs, which are disrespected when they are reproduced for people that just do it for the ‘gram. If you like an aspect of a culture, feature the people that use those symbols and understand their significance. The only tea we should be sipping is Diversitea(y).
15. Tomi Lahren: Does this even need an explanation? Name one thing Tomi Lahren has contributed to humanity…oh right, you can’t. She spends 50 minutes yelling about a whole lot of nothing. It takes an immense lack of the ability to logically process things in order for you to think that it’s intelligent, or even correct, to compare an institution that lynched people because of their skin color to an organization trying to get people to recognize that Black people are more than their skin color and should be awarded the same courtesies as everyone else. Her and anyone who believes what she says, need to stay in 2016.
16. All/Blue Lives Matter: All lives matter and blue lives matter were started in reaction to Black Lives Matter that was started in reaction to the numerous instances of police brutality that the black individuals face. We know that all lives matter, but the lives that are in jeopardy ARE BLACK LIVES, which is why we need the reminder that Black Lives Matter TOO. You don’t go to Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and tell them “All Cancers Matter.” Yes, we know that all cancers matter, but this event is specifically aimed to promote breast cancer just like Black Lives Matter is specifically aimed to promote the lives of Black people whose murders at the hands of the people there to protect them are vehemently justified. When you see a person, unless they are in uniform, you don’t know that they are a “Blue” life. Black people don’t have the luxury of ripping off their black skin and shedding all the prejudices that come with it. No one is born “blue” you choose to be blue; however, no one chooses to be black. If saying Black Lives Matter angers you, please leave yourself in 2016 too.
17. Discrimination: Who someone loves IS NOT ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS. No one should have to hide who they are or feel unsafe because some people don’t “approve” of them. A person is not worth any less because a book from 15 millenniums ago says so. Nor should they be excluded on the basis of skin color, orientation, race etc. Every human being deserves love and basic respect. If  you cannot respect another person and go out of your way to be divisive and discriminatory, then you need to hop off the train to 2017 and stay in 2016
18. Making Fun of Immigrants: All those stereotypical jokes about immigrants were not and are not funny. “American” is not a culture. What makes up “American” culture are the intermingling of many different cultures to form this wonderful melting pot. No one should ever be degraded for working towards making a better life for their families. As the child of immigrants, it sickens me that other human beings (those of whom are descended from immigrants also) are disdainful of other human beings just because of where they come from. No one gets to choose where they are born and taunting someone or looking down on them because of their occupation or the way they speak is not acceptable. If you only know one language, why should you make fun of someone that knows multiple? You either need to get yourself Rosetta Stone or leave yourself in 2016.
19. Generalizations: EVERYONE from a particular group is not the same! I don’t know how many times I have to say this. NOT ALL MUSLIMS ARE TERRORISTS. NOT ALL BLACK PEOPLE ARE THUGS. NOT ALL PEOPLE OF HISPANIC ANCESTRY ARE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. Just because “you’ve seen one” does NOT mean “you’ve seen them all.” Everyone is unique and should NOT be punished for the negative actions that other people in their similar ethnicity/race/orientation etc. have done. The people that generalize the most (if you’ve got a stank face then I’m talking to you) are the first to get up in arms when they are generalized themselves. Case and point. They generalize and ignore how problematic their generalizations are (especially when it has macro-scale implications) as long as it profits them, but once it’s directed towards them, all hell breaks loose. You don’t get to say “not all Trump supporters are racist,” but turn around and call every Muslim you see a terrorist.  We have to make the effort to realize that the actions of one does not speak for the many and generalizing only breeds resentment that has worse implications further down the line. If you still have a stank face, leave yourself in 2016.
20. Vine: Sadly, with the closing of its app, we literally left Vine in 2016. Even though the app is dead, the iconic videos that perfectly described every mood we were in will thankfully live on through Twitter!

There are a plethora of problematic things we need to work on, but this list, hopefully, covers the overarching ones. Even if you just choose one, make it your New Year’s resolution that you actually stick to!