Quotes About Representation

Young Asian people who come up to me have a certain vibration, and I receive it, and I understand it, and I feel emotional just talking about it. I'm here for you. And I'll continue doing everything I can to fill something that I know you need right now that we don't yet have as a community.

My first idol was Dick Emery, this man on the telly who was a sexpot one minute, then a vicar with dodgy teeth. Transformation - I think that's what he represented to me.

The reason we have Christian president and Muslim vice president or Muslim president and Christian vice president is to have balance.

The President has only 190 million bosses. The Vice President has 190 million and one.

What I would note, though, and one of the things I really admire about the vice president: She is the first African American woman, woman of color, Indian American woman to serve in this job. Woman. I mean, so many firsts, right? It's a lot to have on your shoulders.

If you are playing a Hispanic character who has to speak in dialect or in an accent, nail that dialect or accent. When I hear a character that's supposed to be Cuban speaking with a Mexican accent or vice versa, it grates on me and immediately pulls me out of the story.

Historically, we have seen cis men play trans women and vice versa. That casting breaks through the fourth wall, and it gives people the message that trans people are being played by cis men in real life, which is where we get this idea of men in dresses.

Trans people should be able to fall in love and sing love songs too, and have that be just as valid. You turn on the radio and every other song is some guy singing about some girl who broke his heart, or vice versa. And there's not a lot of trans representation with that.

People who are short, they're often portrayed as the victim.

I'm a civil rights attorney. I'm a victim rights attorney.

The argument for '12 Years a Slave' was that - yes, it's a beautiful film. Beautifully shot, beautifully acted. It's a real story, and these stories should be told. The problem is, if they're the only stories being told, then it makes Americans of African descent - it puts them into that victim category. And that was my problem with the movie.

Most female characters have either been the temptress - like a Betty Boop type - or the victim - like an Olive Oil type.

It's rare that this woman gets to be in a superhero movie and not be the victim.

The token gay character is always so funny and so fantastic. That's happened a lot. Or they're often purely victims.

There has to be some limit to what lawyers can take from their clients. Otherwise, cagey attorneys end up with the lion's share of the settlement and the victims end up with little more than scraps.

I thought that, as a black audience member, I would like to see something that reflected an experience that's not normally exhibited in documentaries, or is so much about black people as victims in this country, and black people not taking control of their own lives and their own destinies.

As a writer, I've always felt it's my job to be extremely careful when writing about victims, especially women.

When I started, black people were either victims or they were the perpetrators; they were the boogie men who jumped out of the bushes and did terrible things to you.

I used to be a human rights lawyer and acted for many black Londoners who had been victims of discrimination.

I have a dream that, one day, maybe we'll have more women in the Senate than there are victims of Harvey Weinstein's harassment.

When you have violence, there's victims, which entertainment tends not to explore that as much.

Victoria's Secret is a brand, not a socio-political movement. But at the same time, there is that one-dimensional look.

Victoria's Secret should highlight real women that actually purchase their clothing. I would love for them to start featuring more real bodies and diverse women. Victoria's Secret has the ability to tell people, 'It's okay,' when they wake up in the morning. They have the ability to change lives.

Growing up, I didn't really watch the Victoria's Secret fashion show too much. I really just saw folks who weren't real to me, so it didn't really interest me.