Perspective vs. Experience in Wandering Son | Backlog Bop
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- Опубликовано: 16 апр 2018
- In this edition of Backlog Bop, I review Wandering Son or Hourou Musuko--the 2011 anime from director Ei Aoki and writer Mari Okada exploring the experiences of two transgender middle school students in Japan. Enjoy!
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Great video! One thing I'd like to add about empathy - when it comes to trans people, most cis people seem to try to empathise with those with the same bodies as them, not the same identity. So Cis men usually try to understand trans women - what it'd be like to feel like you were or wanted to be a woman. But it's much more enlightening to think of it the opposite - what if you had a female body? What if everyone viewed you as a woman? What if you were constantly told how pretty you were and how nice you'd look in skirts and that you should smile more often? What if you didn't have a penis, if you menstruated, if you had boobs? What if other men kept leering at you, seeing you as a prospect rather than a friend or fellow equal? What if you constantly felt like you had to act the way people expected of women, and were punished if you didn't (while punishment for tomboys is definitely lesser than for fem guys it definitely still exists), let alone if you wanted to be treated like a man? Looking at it from that perspective really makes things much clearer IMO - at least it did for me!
Absolutely
Perfectly said, cis people emphatize the wrong way
I should probably rewatch this series now that I've realized I'm trans (FTM). I think I'd have a different experience than when I was still in denial/unaware. It's a shame there's so few manga and especially anime that have trans characters who are not a joke. I feel like FTM get the short end of the stick in actual representation (while MTF get it worse for transphobic jokes and unsympathetic fetishism) since girls who want to be boys are just tomboys, right?
Besides Hourou Musuko the only other good example I can think of is the manga Shimanami Tasogare - can recommend to give it a read, actually does have a post-transition trans man who's portrayed pretty well.
Briabie - Takatsuki's ending really was disappointing for me. :(
Erin - I'll have to check that out! Thanks for the suggestion. I'm always on the hunt for positive representation
I really, REALLY want more LGBTQ+ anime that’s centered around identity like this one. I’m cis, and as you said in this video, A Wandering Son gave me such great perspective on the lives of others. I would kill for shows that do this for sexuality and how important that identity is for people. As a lesbian, a lot of “representation” that gay people get is objectifying and fetishizing, created for the eyes of lusty straight people (e.g. fujoshis and fudanshis). But I really wish there were more shows that took us seriously, and i would especially enjoy a show centered around kids like A Wandering Son is.
tl;dr: MORE LGBTQ+ COMING-OF-AGE STORIES!!!!
Off the top of my mind, I have:
Shimanami Tasogare: starts with one boy who, after being outed as gay, decided to jump to his death, but was "saved" by a mysterious woman. She then introduces him to the "LGBT+ house" that she founded for people whose sexual orientations/gender expressions are not accepted by society.\
Bokura no Hentai: 3 middle school kids with 3 different sets of problems met online and decided to meet irl. They realized they also went to the same school, and the story starts there: a coming of age story of friendship, love, acceptance, the overcoming trauma and obstacles, and gender identity.
Himegoto: Juukyuusai no Seifuku (content warning): it's a whole lot of fucked up shit, with focus on gender identity, sex, trauma, and social commentary. But it has a happy ending so it's k.
:O thank you thank you thank you!!! I will definitely put these on my list!!!
Saying this one is about identity is sort of short selling it. The shallow take on LGBTQ+ is to showcase the identity and its perspective. This one, especially the manga, is more about the journey and expectations living within that identity. In that sense, it's quite avant garde.
Aoi Hana (Sweet Blue Flowers) is a very good slice of life mild drama of both coming to terms with who you love, what that love is, how it changes or falls apart, and finding the people who make you happiest. The anime does a fairly good job, though at times felt... stilted or awkward. Hoping the manga will provide more insight. :)
Oh, thanks for this comment. I am glad that at least someone understands that representation should take qeer people seriously, and not as a fetish for straight people or any shiping or fanservice.
You did a very good job with this video. Thank you. As a trans woman, the first time seeing a trans character in media treated as a real person and not as a joke or something disgusting was something so powerful I will never forget it. If I had seen it as a kid i would have come out much erlear than I did. But I was scared of what would have happened.
This anime really connected with me. Nitori's experience connected with me. I felt her feelings of pain as they were the same feelings I feel, I felt the loneliness and the longing to just be me. By the end I was a mess of tears on my bed for so so many reasons. This anime was amazing and I just, I don't know what to say. It touched me on a level that no other story had ever gotten too and it's just.... Amazing.
Never watched the show, but read all the way through the manga. Talking about it with various friends of mine who are trans, Wandering Son isn't perfect, especially in some things after where the anime ends.
It has some absolute A+ gut wrenchers, but it also puts an inordinate importance on the practice of cross-dressing. For some people, that does make them happy. But there are also plenty of trans girls who would still dress as they always have if they transitioned. In some cases, a lack of interest in cross-dressing is used by therapists to dissuade people from pursuing transition, because clearly that means they aren't actually trans.
I'm not really saying this to knock Wandering Son, I just feel like since it's teaching some people about a larger issue, it's important to also teach the things it doesn't nail.
Hi, this is an old comment, but I want to respond to it from a place of personal experience, because I think it highlights an important tension.
I don't generally like popular media about being trans. I don't like it because, more often than not, it's written for cis eyes. The trans person's suffering and struggle is the chief subject of the thing. The work is thus transformed into a kind of "pity porn", intended to use the display of the suffering of its subject to "educate" the presumably cis audience. The audience has a cry about what a terrible world this is and how horrible it must be to be the Other being portrayed, and then moves on. At its best, it can persuade people to suppress their feelings of revulsion towards trans people. For the most part, when I watch this sort of thing, all it does for me is make me relive some of my worst moments and heavy-handedly tell me about what it means to be what I already know I am.
That's not what Wandering Son is. Although the story orbits around its characters' struggle with gender, the portrayal is intimate, personal, and not really aimed at "education". The viewer is pushed to identify with the subjects of the series. The subjects' immediate circle is pretty accepting and loving, which lends the series a sense of optimism. The feelings the characters express seem almost to come from my own heart, at times. It draws you in so that you feel the perspective and desires of the characters themselves, and that perspective, those desires have a stark authenticity about them.
I'm thoroughly convinced that the manga was written for trans readers, or even for the author herself. It's got a semi-autobiographical tone, it fantasizes a softer world, it tells the reader about thoughts and feelings I've never seen in media about transness before, yet so visceral to typical trans people's experience that it seems absurd that I haven't.
The ending of the manga is what really clinched it for me. The thing is so obviously a trans woman's fantasy at the end. I won't spoil, but hot damn if the author turns out to be cis, I'll turn out to be shocked.
So I don't begrudge Hourou Musuko for being kind of inadequate as an education piece. It doesn't run the full gamut of trans experiences. It has one character decide they actually aren't trans at one point (much later; the adaptation only covers the manga's midsection), which is handled in a way that I absolutely would never want to show to a cis person (at least, not one who displayed some antagonism towards trans people), but is nonetheless true-to-life.
And, being the trans girl who never crossdressed, who, several years deep in HRT, likes to present androgynously anyway, whose personal narrative is one I felt I had to lie about so that my identity wouldn't be challenged early on, I don't mind. Because I don't think it's supposed to educate cis people. I don't think it's for them. I think it's for us.
*Spoiler in this reply*
As a Trans person I deff have a big issue with the mangaka having Nitori growing up to be a male is awkward - it's something that I can also relate to. I grew up thinking I could only be Trans to a point but would have to throw being a girl away in adulthood. I did grow to realize that was a wrong thought as an adult but it's not an uncommon thought and I sort of, but not really, appreciate it existing in this work. At least there is a positive portrayal of a Trans adult in a loving heterosexual relationship in the series - something extremely uncommon in most mediums.
The manga was great
Just finished it
Ei Aoki's greatest battle royale anime: The battle between genders
Thanks for covering this! I'd love to see some more explicitly transgender related anime, really should give this a watch myself for that matter!
I’m a cisgender woman...
In a boys body.
I’m not going to have the ability to reproduce, but I don’t care, I mean, I could probably sort out something with a doctor, maybe I’ll be able to have a real family, maybe I won’t.
I don’t care.
I just wanna be myself, that’s all I ask.
I’m sick and tired of lying about my feelings.
I am a girl.
But I’m in the wrong body... so I’ll just stay determined and one day... one day I’ll be the woman I’ve always wanted to be.
I’m transsexual and pansexual, I believe that to love and understand others, you must first embrace who you want to be and what you want to become.
17 long hard years, but I’m almost 18, just 2 more months and I’ll be on my way to fulfilling my life long dream.
❤️☮️🏳️🌈
Thanks for covering this series!
Thank you for covering such a wonderful piece of art.
God, this anime really hit me. For an anime from 2011, it really nails the experience part without ever being over the top . I fully agree that No two experiences are the same, and that all of us have differing experiences (Some more accepting that others) And this anime really nails the sweet spot of putting it into the light and what can happen with the people we know. I love that all the characters have differing opinions, and some even change as time goes on. It also shows the amount of time, and effort that we as Trans people have to go through to be accepted for who we are
That is one thing I wish they would do. We need that manga to be rereleased in the west in it's entirety. It would be a preorder for me the instant it goes for sale.
What a wonderful video, for an equally beautiful story! Now that you mentioned the repetition/cut to black technique, i want to rewatch it trying to notice other storytelling tools that are exclusive to the animated version!
Great content as always~
As someone who really suffers from low self confidence, mental strength and depression, it's something different to watch somebody (in this case an anime character) with this much resolve. Even though I have a rather happy life, I'd never risk anything to change it, knowing really well that this would just increase my mental instability. So seeing someone actually doing what he yearns for, is such a comforting feeling
Wow just started the video and the themes of this are so real and even though it may be a first I hope it allows people to be more open in Japan in there acceptance of the non norm. I'm half Japanese and I know the descrimination you face being anything other than a straight person. Love the vid
Thank you for bringing up this anime/manga,I will definitely look at it. During the video it struck my attention the image at 2:27 where the two characters are sleeping one opposite of the other,almost to signal they are super different. I don't know if this is relevant in that point of the story,but I noticed it and if it is is a very beautiful little thing.
Also the "cut to black" closing is a really interesting way to express a feeling without saying anything...more than just silence,is total isolation as you mentioned.
Wow... aaand you just earned a sub thanks to your consideration and insight. Thank you for treating this story and these issues with the respect they deserve. I really wish there were more folks like you who were open to learning and perceiving things on that level, to expanding your understand and just being open to hearing it. This is likely to be the video I share with people that I think should be watching this anime, which I hope can help them understand me better in the process. Thank you.
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U deserve way more success than u have rt now.....ur visuals and commentary are among the very best ive seen in anitubers....hope the channel grows really big
Fantastic little review of it. Glad to hear your opinions on it.
Im proud that you made a video about this series
As much as I think Hourou Musuko represents Nitori's story really well. I feel like it pushes incorrect ideas about how masculine girls (or trans boys) are treated. Masculine girls are not treated well. "Being a tomboy" is something that you are meant to grow out of and if you go into your teenage years like that. You will get a lot of social pressure, ostracisation and bullying from your peers to push you to conform to gender expectations i.e being feminine and attractive to boys/men.
Takatsuki is a trans boy though. He's a he .
@@foregroundeclipse8725 Yes, but Takatsuki is treated as if he's a tomboy. He's not seen as a boy by the other characters.
An idea, coming from a cis boy who feels more feminine, I have is something I heard from someone studying this. Takatsuki's transition (which in the manga she eventually detransitions, no longer feeling like a boy) is possibly more accepted because people view men, and therefore masculine ideas as better than female ideas, due to misogyny. Therefore, a woman being perceived as masculine, whether a tomboy or a trans man, is more acceptable than a man being perceived as feminine. Great example of how everyone suffers under the patriarchy :).
@@sunnydays07 I just disagree. Masculine women are not treated well. Masculine characteristics in women are why women get called a bitch for being assertive, or "bossy". I believe that yes, trans women and feminine men are going to get more shit, because to society, that is the dominant class "debasing themselves". But masculine women are put in their place in other ways. One of the main societal expectations on women is to be attractive to heterosexual men, and to actively go against that is not rewarded. I am a detransitioner myself, and I would say that when I was percieved as a masculine women, I just got a new flavour of misogyny while when I passed, I got male privilege.
A beautifull video on a beautifull anime
Right now I want to watch this, but I still have Hyouka and Kanon to watch so I'll have to move it a little bit down on the plan-to-watch-list
If you liked this I’d definitely recommend Pedantic Romantic’s analysis of the series. She goes episode by episode & goes into cultural stuff that’s not mentioned here (one of which being how GNC people are pretty visible in japan, but really only as something to be mocked. This can clearly be seen in most anime/manga with GNC characters)
Beautifully put. Also, I had the same revelation when I was eager to go buy the manga. But check your local library! I’ve seen it in manga collections in libraries across the US. :)
Great video!
I've always wanted to try this anime but, never really got the time.
I guess I'll watch it now.
Thanks, love your work.
This video really put this show into perspective for me. I'm trans, and while watching through Wandering Son I kept thinking things like "Well, duh. Of course a trans character with gender dysphoria would feel that way. Why are they wasting all this time on the self-discovery part?" but I realize now, as strange as it sounds, that I am not the target audience of this show about trans people. It was made for a cis audience, so they could understand what we go through on a daily basis; stuff that I see as normal, even though it really wrecks me sometimes. It's easy for me to forget that cis people have no real frame of reference for our pain, and this show does an amazing job of bridging that gap. Though, seeing as nobody outside of the trans community really talks about this show anymore, I'm sad to say it'll never reach its full potential impact. I still don't think it's perfect (specifically the ending I found weirdly backtrack-y, like they were afraid to admit that the 2 main leads were trans) but it's definitely an important milestone.
this is one of the best anime's of all time ^^ and this video was lovely, thank you for making it ^^
I remember this anime, it was confusing to me. I will finish it one day.
I'm honestly a little uninformed about how far the perception of gender goes - maybe if I watch this, I'll get a better understanding?
Yes and no. Wandering Son is a story about two peoples' specific, personal experience with gender. By that nature, it doesn't really show you the clinical or scientific perspective of it all, but how these specific people experiencing it understand it.
On top of that, it wasn't written by a trans person, and specifically was written by a Japanese person, which at least currently doesn't have the most accurate cultural view of transgenderism.
It's a good story, and certainly has some accurate moments or elements, but it's not educational nor is it meant to be.
Though, if you're starting from like, absolute zero on the subject, yeah, it might be a good primer.
FlubbedPig Totally agree!
I personally thought it did a very good job, but as others have noted it has its focus primarily on young people first coming to realise or question their identity, as opposed to 'life of a trans person' or a show involving the nitty gritty, like the treatments (hormone therapy etc), so if you're expecting the full whack you might find it a little tame.
It's also very interesting since it talks about the fears of the characters, how they dislike themselves, shows you how other people treat them, and so on, and treats it far more sincerely than any other anime you're going to find that attempts the topic.
Bokura no Hentai is the only manga I've seen where the trans character actually pursues Hormone Replacement Therapy.
I actually love Bokura no Hentai more than Hourou Musuko because of that, but it's much shorter.
Warning tho, it contains elements that may be disturbing to some audiences. It's not really weird or perverted, but it deals with rape and trauma.
AFAIK the manga stopped being translated halfway through. Not enough people bought them, which is a real shame because despite the lack of background detail which is common across Shimura's work, the story and characters are wonderfully relatable and the hardcover volumes from Fantagraphics are REALLY nice quality. I'd have loved to see the last four or five volumes hit the states like this.
Even if you could afford the absurd prices for the physical translated manga, it's discontinued and wouldn't help the translators or original creator anyways, and they also never finished it. Never even came close. Honestly, just read it online, it's extremely worthwhile (excluding parts of the ending, at least).
i'm a few volumes in, and a bit nervous about what everyone says about the ending 😅
You fucking nailed this. Thanks :)
Its been awhile since I have seen the anime but I stll love it and love reading the book.
Thank you for this video. As someone who is a non-binary girl, what you were saying is on point. The whole every transgender person is different, made me so happy to hear because it's absolutely true. I'm getting sick of all these stereotypes about transgender people. About what cist people think a transgender boy needs to do in order to pass in this society because apparently you MUST dress masculine, not wear makeup or anything like that. If you don't do this people will assume you are not really trans. Vise versa as well. It's absolutely ridiculous. The whole seeing femininity as a weakness. Oh yes it is a huuuge problem in the transgender community and for people in general trying to be themselves.
It's the same with being gay. People immediately assume you were straight all along if you decide to date a transgender person because apparently all they see is the genitals.
I'm also very sick of all the gross fetishism of LGBTQ people in the anime community. It seems most manga or anime made containing LGBT characters is aimed to grasp the lust of straight people. Gross. Makes me feel so uncomfortable as someone who is gay themselves. Also the term trap? Don't get me started. The degrading trans-phobic jokes? So sick of it. That's why the author of Wandering Son is personally one of my favourites. You can tell she takes the subjects very seriously, creating a story foundation for everyone. Loved Aoi Hana (: Very realistic representation.
While I LOVE Wandering Son I will admit that some things said in there really rubbed me the wrong way. Like "A girl who wants to be a boy" or "a boy who wants to be a girl" if what you feel inside is different than what was given to you at birth, then that is WHO you are. You're not a boy who wants to be a girl or a girl who wants to be a girl. You're just who you are, boy, girl, non-binary, gender fluid. Genitals have nothing to do with it, they're just genitals. Definitely the cross-dressing thing annoyed me as well. Personally hate the term cross-dressing because there's just no such thing. You can't dress like a boy and you can't dress like a girl. They're clothes. No specific gender is prescribed on them.
At the same time I can kind of forgive this I guess? Well not really. Japan is very misinformed and has a very cultural based and wrong perspective of being transgender. Coupled with the fact that this isn't written by a transgender person, but they still made one hell of a story.
also you can read the Mange on the web ^^ that's what I did ^^
underappreciated channel reviewing underappreciated anime
Damn might need to watch this show now
Man. I totally did not see this anime. I need to watch this.
I watched Wanderjng Son years ago and I really enjoyed it cause it felt like a story I never saw and I found it to be heartfelt and beautiful. However, I did have a problem with the ending. To me it was very unsatisfying. I felt it was a cop out and out of character for Nitorin to be ok with her voice changing when for most of the series puberty is her biggest fear. The anime just felt like the beginning of the story with a lot of loose ends. What did you think of the ending to the anime?
Wow I’m just hearing about this anime. Where can I watch it at? Crunchy Roll?
Yes
yes it is on Crunchy Roll
Yes, and if you want to read the manga, it's on the MangaReader app.
I love ur videos
We just need multiple lenses and more shots
I think the anime lacks a sense of closure for Nitori's story, good thing i read the manga for that. I think you'll enjoy it as well.
Looks good I will go read the mangaaaaahhhh GOD WHY IS THE MANGA SO EXPENSIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Me
If you want a slightly darker take on this subject matter and with the same amount of care check out bokura no hentai or our abnormalities in english
please do selector wixoss
Uhhh.. Deep-fried marsbars
Please tell me where can i watch this with english subs
Crunchyroll
Hmm seems interesting
Thank god I have found someone who does well crafted anime video essays and who also doesn't say shit like "I hate Sword Art Online more than Hitler and 'the Jews' combined."
excellent video! trans rights!
This anime reminds me of Bokura no Hentai.
I heard the mangas not great in the direction it takes
Hey guys can anyone send wandering son manga site link
Come on dude get to the top and get there quick...
hold on, there's a legit trans character in this show, but does it at any point say the kids are actually trans? Cause that was not at all my take away from it
It does in the manga. And as someone who is trans trust me that is who they are. You can even see the parallels between Netori's and Yuki's time in midde school.
With this i'd thought i'd just give my opinion on all this
To put it simply and very bluntly, there is only two genders.
But even with that being said, i'm not saying there's anything wrong in dressing up as the opposite gender and calling yourself that gender, i'm not even against people doing it. I just think you can be whatever you want to be and there's nothing wrong in that and nobody should be shunned or harassed because they choose to do that
There are way way more than two genders. Most cultures had 3 or 4 or more different genders. And even if you correlate sex with gender, which are not the same, it can still be seen in the numerous intersex conditions that even sex is not a strict binary.
Genetically there is only a possibility for only two genders, and that very rare case where some sort of mutation happens where it messes that up. And obviously there's cases where people have had surgeries done to themselves. But that doesn't change the fact that people(normally) are born either a female or born a male.
Being intersex is more common than having red hair. it happens in two percent of the population.
And brain scans of trans individuals brains look more similar to the gender they identify as, as opposed to the one they were assigned at birth. And what makes us who we are, our brains.
That's why i said there's nothing wrong in somebody calling themselves the opposite gender if they so choose. That doesn't change that the person was born a male or female. A male that dresses up as a female is still a male dressed up as a female
Trans women are not men. Trans men are not women.
Every time I see this kind of topic I ask myself what does it matter what gender you have. I’m I really that weird to think that it’s a trivial matter. But that also comes from a person who doesn’t see himself as a men, just as human. I often joke that my gender is human
The word privilege is often used confrontationally, so I want to preface this by saying that I don't have an issue with you feeling that way.
That being said, thinking it's a trivial matter is a result of cisgender privilege. As a cisgender person, your gender identity and your gender have always matched up. You might not even think of yourself as having a separate gender identity (going off your comment, you don't), because it's never been separate from your birth sex. There's no dissonance or dysphoria; there was never anything to notice. There's nothing wrong with that, but that doesn't mean that everyone else feels that way. Representation like Hourou Musuko can help, as can talking to people different from yourself. You'll find that people have lots of different experiences that you could never imagine.
Kate Yen well that probably true I never had any issues with my gender, as such it’s probably so hard to really understand that how one feels with those problems. I don’t intend to discriminate one who are issues with their gender but I just don’t really see why it’s such problematic.
I don’t see my gender really a factor of who I am or others for that matter.
I had one a friend that was unhappy with his gender and he was bullied quite a bit in school. I thought that it was stupid and childish, because I try to see everyone as just a human and as such we are all practically identical. All those differences are really insignificant and contra produktiv in my opinion. But oh well I’m kinda weird
And yeah being confronted with different world views is definitely a good thing in my opinion!
Gender is an important identifier medically. That is the issue, dress how you like and be attracted to whatever gender you want to but a man is still genetically a man and science and medicine has to account for that, there are physical differences. That is the issue I see with it.
It's like if we stopped labeling petrol and diesel as separate, they are different and you need to know otherwise you end up with mix ups that cause serious issues.
Note: I mean in a serious sense like getting the wrong medications not "oh no that person turned out to be a trap".
QuakeGamer632 yeah that is obviously true, that there are physically difference. I didn’t mean it that way more in the sense “I’m male but not really manly” or that I expect that one have a certain behavior just because of their physical differences
@@QuakeGamerROTMGI feel like you don't really really understand trans healthcare or trans people. Trans people are who they say they are regardless. Transitioning is there to help trans people. Transitioning saves life's.
Other Patrons voted this over Kaiba? All you other Patrons a wrong. I mean, we coulda had a Kaiba video. Feels bad man.
I hate that hair so much it's so ugly like this random white spot it's like a random bold spot or random large pieces of white hair
As someone who can count on one finger all the character of my particular ethnicity that I saw in the media while growing up (always as side characters, never main ones), I'll have to call bullshit on the media representation bit.
I also find the "find your true inner self" cliche to be as enjoyable as a damsel in distress.
Sure, go ahead and ignore the countless people who feel the opposite. Seeing their experience reflected in this anime mattered to them. It's really quite simple.
I wanted to point that not everybody longs for representations of their particular intersection of identities and the *need* for it is overstated; it's not a universal law of humanity, just a particular cultural trait of the anglo-american take on what the media is and how it should act.
I can understand why this anime matters for some people. I can also understand why cars matter for many
American high school students. That does not mean that their experience translates to universal laws.
If you're a racial or religious minority, you still have family, and often whole communities of people like you. When people talk about representing minorities in media (usually actors), it's generally because a) visibly successful minorities help dispel stereotypes about who can be successful and b) starring minority actors helps actually change who is successful. The argument is more of a socioeconomic one.
LGBTQ identities are a bit different. They aren't immediately apparent on the surface. In my experience, one of the biggest reasons why LGBTQ representation is important in media is because it doesn't usually come from anywhere else. If you're gay or trans, that doesn't mean your family is (they usually aren't). There are LGBTQ communities and support groups, but it's not like you're automatically inducted. It can be hard to even realize your own identity if you've literally never seen it. This applies to fictional characters as well as celebrities, elected officials, etc.
Figuring out who you are and what your feelings mean as a child is extremely difficult when you have nothing you can relate to. When the media is saturated with cisgender heterosexual narratives, how is an LGBTQ child supposed to understand that there are alternatives? Education can help, but there is a big difference between knowing that something exists, and having seen an example that you can personally relate to.
So representation in the media = notice me senpai
Just because you don't need representation doesn't mean others do as well