Representation matters. Its been proven time and time again. I know, growing up in Florida, it was hard being the only Asian in any given space. Thankfully I have only occasionally experienced explicit racism but it was still a tough fitting in. It leaves you grappling with self-identity. The only representation for me was just stereotypes; the token nerdy Asian girl in tv shows or the ninja warrior in movies. But at least it was something right? That was what I though for most of my life. As I got older, I realized that a stereotyped character ≠ representation. Why? Because who is it representing? I have never fit into those molds. Stereotypes are not meant for the people they are representing they are meant for people lazily trying to understand a culture they do not actually care for learning about. I really do not think its a necessary strategy in character design or representation. Obviously if you want to represent someone from a specific culture they need to be drawn as such, but they should not be caricatures. I think in the end what really would help the representation of other cultures and people is better writing. There should be more insight and research on who you are actually trying to represent.
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