Well, my pal Austin said to me on a podcast we were doing that representation was important because after the mythical revolution you have to be able to see the Other as human. They can’t just be enemies or fellow soldiers, right?

So I get it. But I also truly don’t think Marvel or WOTC or whoever really give a shit about yielding on representation. It’s no net loss to them once they get over the structural angst over yielding.

Did you catch this recent story about American Idol pestering this trans musician? The musician keeps telling them now but they keep coming back and asking for an appearance. Well, that’s good, right? It’s representation.

Except it’s still part of this bullshit machine. And it’s co-opted that identity, monetized it. So that’s a marginal good in service to a much greater evil. And kudos to that musician for recognizing that.

So, to get back to the performance, it’s easier to picket for representation in comics or games than it is to say no more comics right? And it’s easier, on the other side, for American Idol to ask the trans musician to come in and play to that as proof of bona fides while they’re in service to a music industry which rips its workers off at all levels.

Now, again. Representation is vital. But it’s part of a tapestry of things involving equality and justice where sometimes it’s the biggest piece, sometimes a much smaller one. But we always treat it like the biggest piece. And, because we do, we let the American Idols of the world harness that instinct for bad ends. I think a world with more women and minority CEOs is okay. I think a world with zero CEOs is better. YMMV