Kelly Marie Tran Speaks Out In New York Times Post

Kelly Marie Tran speaks out for the first time since her departure from social media. Tran was harassed so heavily on social media because of her leading role in Star Wars The Last Jedi that it drove her to delete all of her Instagram posts. She speaks out for the first time in an article for the New York Times. Tran speaks beautifully about what growing up as a person of color and as a woman is like. She speaks to the experiences that many people of color face growing up with in America. It is deep, it is personal and it is inspiring. I highly recommend you take the time the read the entire post here. The entire post deserves to be read in full. Below are some of the quotes that really stood out.

How many times in our own lives have we believed the negative self scripts that we tell ourselves. Imagine having that echoed by social media trolls on a grand scale the way Tran has. Bullying online has very real consequences for those who have experienced cyber bullying. Taking time away from social media is very understandable.

It wasn’t their words, it’s that I started to believe them. – Kelly Marie Tran

Many try and stand up to all of this. Like artist Erin Lefler who started the #ForceAgainstCyberBullying Campaign.

Star Wars is the perfect platform for change. Star Wars is Hope for a better tomorrow. Hope for a more diverse and equal tomorrow. The entire message of Star Wars is hope and the resistance against evil. Where a princess can be a general and lead an army. Where an orphan from no where can be destined for greatness. Where a man who once fought on the side an evil can be moved to do good. It is a place where farmers, smugglers and royalty work as equals and as one for the common good.

Because the same society that taught some people they were heroes, saviors, inheritors of the Manifest Destiny ideal, taught me I existed only in the background of their stories, doing their nails, diagnosing their illnesses, supporting their love interests — and perhaps the most damaging — waiting for them to rescue me.

And as much as I hate to admit it, I started blaming myself. I thought, “Oh, maybe if I was thinner” or “Maybe if I grow out my hair” and, worst of all, “Maybe if I wasn’t Asian.” – Kelly Marie Tran

Tran speaks about what is like to never see yourself represented in the media. When everyone on television and in beauty magazine is white, with light hair, light-colored eyes and skinny, and you are not, you wrongly start to believe that maybe you are not beautiful.

This is the world I grew up in, but not the world I want to leave behind. I want to live in a world where children of color don’t spend their entire adolescence wishing to be white. I want to live in a world where women are not subjected to scrutiny for their appearance, or their actions, or their general existence.  – Kelly Marie Tran

This is why we appreciate business like geeky clothing brand like Elhoffer Design. Elhoffer Design has made it part of their mission to celebrate diversity and inclusion of all. It is so important for people of all genders, shapes and color to see themselves represented. To feel beautiful. Because they are.

Since the time of English settlers landing on American soil, people in this country have been subjected to suppressing their heritage. English settlers forced Native Americans to use “Christian Names” rather than their given birth names. And so it has gone on for generations after generations. Entire cultures using “American names” instead of their real names to make easier on others to pronounce or understand. To assimilate as the Borg in Star Trek would have us do. Instead of others taking a moment to grow as a person and take the time to learn something new. We have been stifling culture and growth for too long.

You might know me as Kelly. I am the first woman of color to have a leading role in a “Star Wars” movie. I am the first Asian woman to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair. My real name is Loan. And I am just getting started.

Loan Tran should be applauded for her powerful words. She reminds us that we have the opportunity as a society to make this world a better place for everyone. We have the ability in our everyday lives to grow as individuals. To make amends for our past behaviors, to be accountable, to do better and be better. We can make the world a better place. We can start now in our own lives.