>>46883716>>46883710Let’s start with most famous case — the controversy surrounding Jynx, the “Human Shape Pokemon.” And yes, that is how she’s classified in the Pokedex. It’s worth noting that Gen 1’s Pokedex also says Jynx “seductively wiggles its hips as it walks” and “talks in a strange, incomprehensible language.”
It was inevitable that when Red & Blue launched internationally, many would view Jynx as a racist stereotype. Although it wasn’t the first article criticizing Jynx, certainly the most noteworthy article came from Carole Boston Weatherford, a culture critic writing for Black World Today. Her article was published on January 5, 2000 — just a few weeks after Jynx made her first anime appearance in the United States, in the Christmas episode Holiday Hi-Jynx. Presumably, it was this episode that caught Carole Boston Weatherford’s attention.
Ms. Weatherford begins her article, titled Politically Incorrect Pokémon, by telling her readers that even though Pokemon has “bad animation and a mindless plot,” her 10 and 12 year old children find it “incredibly fun and addictive.” Here’s an excerpt:
“…I saw a character on the Pokémon TV cartoon that not only stripped the phenomenon of its innocence but stopped me cold. The character Jynx, Pokémon #124, has decidedly human features: jet-black skin, huge pink lips, gaping eyes, a straight blonde mane and a full figure, complete with cleavage and wiggly hips. Put another way, Jynx resembles an overweight drag queen incarnation of Little Black Sambo, a racist stereotype from a children’s book long ago purged from libraries.”
