Explanation behind the Sow “joke” (Updated 8/28)
tw: racism, slavery, anti-blackness, police brutality
I have seen countless people wondering what to think about the comments that Noelle Stevenson made on the twitch stream, as well as Rae’s drawing of Bow’s sibling “Sow” and the crew’s inside joke that Sow “tills the fields.”
Some disclaimers before we begin:
I truly do not think Noelle (or the crew) knowingly and explicitly meant to be racist. Noelle did not make a “slave joke.”
Yet, Black people were hurt, and I want to validate them and honor those who cannot reconcile with what happened.
So thus: this post. It will be nuanced throughout and explain multiple perspectives. As you read further you’ll realize the issue has all to with with ignorance and unintended consequences. As all people, especially white people, have implicit biases, this read is especially critical for white people who don’t “get what the big deal is about.”
First and foremost: I am Black, an American descendent of slavery, and a teacher. Many of my students love She-Ra. I wanted to use this moment to teach them (and maybe some of you) how a history of stereotypes that date from the slavery era can still be evoked, even accidentally, by white folks. I will do my best to explain how and why this incident has caused controversy.
I also want to state that any Black person is entitled to feel any type of way about this situation. There are so many Black voices I’ve listened to over the past few days with high stakes in the “Sow” conversation: Black farmers, descendants of slavery, Black LGBT+ kids who rely on She-Ra as comfort, and more. I want to be respectful of all Black voices.
I didn’t make this post out of malice towards anyone, least of all Noelle or Rae. I think being informed is a huge first step when you’re trying to understand how sometimes actions have unintended consequences, especially when you’re outside of the group that was harmed.
To avoid spreading misinformation, here are the two things that need to be addressed.
First, I have directly transcribed the section from the stream, as said by Noelle, below:
Q: Do any of Bow’s siblings have names or occupations?
Noelle: “… Their names rhyme with Bow. So there’s like Oboe and he plays the oboe. And then there’s Gough and like Van Gough he’s missing an ear. And like he [Sam] would come up and just be like which one of them tills the fields? And I was like which one Sam? And he’s like Sow. [crew laughs].”
Second, on their twitter, Noelle posted the picture that Rae Geiger drew that goes along with the crew’s inside “joke.” For this post, we’re going to focus on “Sow.”
[Image ID: In Rae’s drawing, Sow is wearing a straw hat and chewing on a straw. He has a bandana around his neck. He is smiling a wide dopey smile and is dirty and disheveled.]
What Rae admitted to drawing in their apology was a farmer that was based on a “typical” white cartoon farmer. (Remember: saying anything based off whiteness is “typical” assumes white is the default, which is harmful.)
Let’s analyze the drawing a little bit.
1. Not all Black farmers in 2020 look like this art. For example, if you search up Black farmers on google, you’ll find the clothing shown has all different kinds of Looks. Many of the outfits include elements specific to Black fashion. Some of them have a straw hat, some have a snapback. There are more styles than this one, and this is just a google search that took 5 seconds. I have friends who are Black farmers that wear sneakers and hoodies.
2. HOWEVER. There are Black farmers who do look exactly like Sow too. Most of the stereotypical cartoon drawings of Black farmers (I google searched Black farmer cartoon) look very similar to the white farmer stereotype as well. Black farmers who resemble Sow are real and good and valid, and we need to listen to and uplift them. For hundreds of years, my people didn’t inherit any generational wealth because we truly did work the land without getting paid. We can’t let a controversy discourage people from talking about Black farmers and farming. We can’t let a controversy shame Black farmers who wear straw hats, or overalls, or get dirty. They are just as real as the farmers in #1 and are beautiful. If Black folks find Sow to be cute or good representation for them, then believe them.
(Disclaimer about #2: if you’re white and find the drawing to be cute, it is not in your place to tell Black folks what to think about it.)
3. That being said, considering that when you look up the cartoons of Black farmers, and they all look like Sow, it’s important to consider what Chimamanda Adichie calls “the danger of a single story.” What typically happens is that the only Black farmer characters you would see depicted by white people will rely on this one and only stereotype of what a Black farmer looks like. Having more representation of Black farmers in general will allow us to see the Black farmers in those other photos too. You could see art of Black farmers wearing snapbacks, coats, and jeans and that look utterly different from the typical portrayals that we see. Black farmers deserve to see diverse portrayals of them in media, and it’s unfair that we constantly only ever get to see one single story of them.
4. This is where we get into it. The average white American person likely has little exposure to Black farmers irl (unless you’re from a majority Black agricultural area, such as the south.) Because of this lack of exposure, white folks are generally not going to be able to rely on real lived modern day Black farmers to inspire their art. How does someone create or draw a character when they do not share a racial background with their character and likely have little to no relationships with those who do?
Well, you can research, certainly. You can talk to Black farmers to gain their insights into a character. But unfortunately what most white people will do is fall back on stereotypes. That’s what happened with Rae’s drawing.
When we create outside of our own identities, we do implicitly rely on media: movies, tv shows, songs, books, and etc. It’s why representation is so important, because bad representation has consequences in how underrepresented people are seen in real life.
And this is where things get tricky. Representations of modern day Black farmers are little to none. Have you ever seen a movie or tv show about modern day Black farmers? Urban farmers? Farmers in 2020? Me either.
What most American people will think of when they try to picture a Black man who farms is sadly, this:
[Image ID: An old black and white photograph of a family of Black American slaves looking serious and forlorn as they pose for a picture in a field of cotton.]
Black slaves who forcibly worked “in the fields” are an intensely prevalent image to American people. We see and hear depictions of slaves in our novels, movies, tv shows, songs, and more.
Note: “in the fields” is a charged and loaded expression that is very well known to Black folks. It’s so unsurprising that Noelle would say that Sow “tilled the fields” instead of “Sow farmed” because of how intensely connected Black folk have been to “the fields” for hundreds of years. You can see that implicit bias in Sow’s name too.
Americans see enslaved men that look exactly like “Sow” in Louis Sachar’s Holes, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Huck Finn, 12 Years a Slave, Harriet, The Patriot, Gone With the Wind, Lincoln, and etc. I could keep listing them. Most Americans have either seen these characters or movies or read the books and know them well. Well enough to picture Jim from Huck Finn, or Uncle Tom, or Sam from Holes.
And that’s where Sow causes controversy. Some people can see him and just see a farmer.
Some people see him and think: plantation.
The latter can’t really be blamed, because depictions of slaves are so firmly implanted in our social consciousness that the knee-jerk association is there and can’t be avoided for MANY descendents of slavery. And because there is such limited representation of modern day Black farmers, some folks are going to project the representation they know better onto them.
And implicit bias absolutely went into Noelle & Sam’s joke about the name “Sow” and the fact that he “tills the fields.” (Explained further below the cut.)
Science has shown how hard it is to remove a stereotype from the brain. Some stereotypes have been massively pushed and kept alive for years because those in power like those stereotypes. They help plant an image in someone’s mind of a marginalized group, and this leads to a downward spiral of dehumanization and more.
Let me show you some of the most famous stereotypes of African American “farmers” from American history and literature and you’ll see exactly how these stereotypes have stayed so pervasive, and why they are so harmful.
