shewalkslikethunder:

wistful-adoration:

I sat down to watch the premiere of “The Mindy Project” expecting to be dazzled by Mindy Kaling’s new show. I’ve known her to be funny, feminist, and intelligent. I had high hopes. Instead, I was, pretty much, utterly disgusted.

Do we really need another show about another woman who only cares about the fact that she doesn’t have a boyfriend? I understand vulnerability and giving her flaws because otherwise she’d be too perfect - but she’s a fucking doctor and the only thing she talks about are OMG WHY NO BOYFRIEND WAH. 

Am I supposed to laugh at her ruining a wedding (sorry, he might be your ex, but that doesn’t give you the right to destroy that day. The world does not revolve around you and the fact that it didn’t work out between you two.) and drunkenly riding a bike into a pool? Why is that funny? 

Then, we have her sitting here talking to an immigrant Muslim woman (correct me if I’m wrong) who is pregnant and looking for Mindy to be her doctor, but she doesn’t have insurance, and Mindy is going on about how that’s just really not that convenient for her. She wants more out of her life. She wants to be successful. Because the point of being a doctor isn’t to make a difference in the lives of your patients, or god forbid, to help them - but to get rich. She finally rolls her eyes and relents, but only if this pregnant woman makes an insincere promise to have insurance by the time she delivers. Mindy casually remarks that it’s okay to lie to her, because she allows men to do this too. Totally healthy and not at all horrifying. 

Oh, and just in case you weren’t offended just yet, she’s not actually saying this to the mother. No, she’s saying all of this to the eight-year-old son of the pregnant mother, who is then translating to his mother. 

Then she complains to the receptionists/nurses (I gather?) that she wants better patients. Meaning: white. Is this really happening? Am I expected to find this acceptable because for once, it’s not a white woman saying these words, but an Indian woman? Pretty sure this shit is still fucking wrong, even if you were kind enough to cast someone that wasn’t white for a change. 

Whilst on a tragically desperate first date, the kid from earlier calls because there’s an emergency with his mother. Mindy tells the waitress to hang up on him. (Who wouldn’t want to have babies with this woman?) 

THIS is why you’re still single, sweetie. Because you are obsessed with all that is shallow and meaningless in this world, and completely impervious to what truly matters.

Not to mention the classic “Complete Asshole who really just needs the love of a good woman to turn him into a suddenly amazing boyfriend YAY” character, who even remarks to her that she needs to lose 15 pounds.

He’s so dreamy.

Mindy Kaling, what the fuck happened.

I don’t know why I’m supposed to laugh at the fact that this 31-year-old successful doctor has the emotional maturity of a sixteen-year-old girl. I just know that if I had a sixteen-year-old daughter, I shudder to think of what she’d be taking from this show. 

Alright let’s do this.

Do we really need another show about another woman who only cares about the fact that she doesn’t have a boyfriend? I understand vulnerability and giving her flaws because otherwise she’d be too perfect - but she’s a fucking doctor and the only thing she talks about are OMG WHY NO BOYFRIEND WAH. 

Maybe if this were a show about a white woman I would agree with you. But women of color never get this chance. Never. Some women just want a fucking date, and that’s ok. But women of color aren’t allowed to want to be the princess of their own fairy tale, we’re never allowed to be swept off our feet because we’re supposed to be stronger than that. So sorry I’m not sorry that Mindy is being portrayed with just as much potential to be frivolous and obsessed with romance as every other white cookie cutter romcom starlet. It’s frankly a breath of fresh air.

Am I supposed to laugh at her ruining a wedding (sorry, he might be your ex, but that doesn’t give you the right to destroy that day. The world does not revolve around you and the fact that it didn’t work out between you two.) and drunkenly riding a bike into a pool? Why is that funny? 

Because she’s drunk and made a stupid choice and it’s embarrassing and human beings have this thing called schadenfreude. You’re not supposed to laugh at “HAHA THAT’S RIGHT FUCK THAT GUY FOR HAVING A WEDDING”, you’re supposed to laugh at MINDY because she’s making a fool of herself. I mean is the “ooh girl noooo!” trainwreck appeal of situations like this completely dead? Is this thing on?

Then she complains to the receptionists/nurses (I gather?) that she wants better patients. Meaning: white. Is this really happening? Am I expected to find this acceptable because for once, it’s not a white woman saying these words, but an Indian woman? Pretty sure this shit is still fucking wrong, even if you were kind enough to cast someone that wasn’t white for a change. 

I find it funny that you viewed the previous scene as indicative of what a self-absorbed, terrible person Mindy is, when all she’s actually saying is, she can’t afford to take this woman on as a patient and expect to move forward in her career (she eventually does take her on, by the way, because the bottom line is as much as she wants success, she’s not going to leave a woman in need out in the cold for it, which I notice you didn’t mention)

And she didn’t say “better” patients, meaning white, she said richer patients, meaning white. Which, I mean, are we actually going to pretend that white people aren’t more likely to have insurance, to have better jobs, to flat out have resources, than, say, poor immigrant women of color? That’s the point.

And “kind enough” to cast someone who isn’t white? This show is Mindy Kaling’s baby. Who exactly is making the decisions for the main character (who she PLAYS) if not her?

Not to mention the classic “Complete Asshole who really just needs the love of a good woman to turn him into a suddenly amazing boyfriend YAY” character, who even remarks to her that she needs to lose 15 pounds.

He’s so dreamy.

Except he’s not dreamy. That’s the point. He’s a vaguely sexist insensitive dick, and Mindy calls him out on his shit constantly. Yes, he’s attractive, and there’s always the possibility of him becoming a love interest later in the series but jesus this is the PILOT and you’re already locking him into the role of future “suddenly amazing boyfriend” who is transformed by the “love of a good woman”? Do you have the scripts for the rest of the season that the rest of us haven’t seen? I mean, damn, there’s this thing called character development. TV shows use it sometimes. He is going to change, in one way or another.

I mean, I’m sorry if I’m coming off as a bitch here but I’m 100% done with feminism giving out passes to white women in media like candy on Halloween whenever they aren’t perfect, but still holding women of color up to an impossible standard. People will stay stanning for Natalie Portman and her rape apologist ass, but Mindy Kaling writes a show about a woman who wants a boyfriend and OUTRAGEEEE I’M NEVER WATCHING HER SHOW AGAIN WHAT A BAD FEMINIST. She’s practically fucking blacklisted.

I mean there are inevitably going to be problematic elements of the show. You would be hard-pressed to find any piece of media that is perfect in terms of representation and progressive content. But I am willing to give Mindy a pass on these elements if it means more diverse representation of women of color, and more roles for them opening up on TV. Because I am a woman of color, and I cannot separate my feminism from my multiculturalism.

(via sunshine-empress)