Alas, I broke my 9 (10?) week Illustration Friday streak simply for not having enough time last week (I will get to it this week though)—it was absolutely horrendous, trying to appease three clients’ deadlines. So, despite feeling so exhausted I had to do something non-work related.

Maybe my strong desire to behead certain demons, be they in my subconscious or in my waking moments, is manifested in this illustration, but damned if I don’t occasionally enjoy the stereotype of an empowered Asian martial-arts and wushu savvy heroine, kicking arse.

Reckon I was inspired by Jeannie Lin’s Butterfly Swords, which I still need to read. I know, I know, I feel quite bereft about not reading books I really want to have read yesterday. But how often do you read a Tang Dynasty romance? I mean, REALLY. It’s as rare as finding an honest Chinese vendor. Next thing I would love to see one set in the Cultural Revolution. Now THAT is revolutionary.

That said, as a Chinese/non-Caucasion tired of marginalisation in popular culture myself I would like to see more of these covers, and indeed such stories (not necessarily a weapon-wielding Asian girl in an ancient era, mind you, because we’d be entering another subject of marginalisation altogether):

… and less of these (nothing against the authors—I for one adore Sherry Thomas’ books): flawlessly beautiful, privileged Caucasion women, or women in compromising and implicitly subservient positions. And billowing red dresses. Sigh.

 

It’s hard to argue with marketing and sales, so we continue to get inundated with such imagery. But my arguments are for another day—and they ARE coming.