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How Recent Love Triangles Reinforce Racism

Why is the love interest of colour always second choice?

By TC13Published 2 years ago 5 min read
2
To All The Boys I've Loved Before 2: P.S. I Still Love You

Love triangles have long been a staple in the YA drama. From TV shows, movies, and books, they're a common source of drama (particularly in sequels, for some reason). In the past seven years, there's been a big push to also diversify the love interests seen on screen, with more men of colour in particular joining the fray, which can only be a good thing. (Even if women of colour deserve more opportunities, too.)

However, stop me if you've heard this before:

Leading lady is torn between two great guys. (It may or may not also be a sequel to a very successful Netflix original movie.) Maybe one is more mysterious and one is a longtime friend, a bad boy versus goody-two shoes. One of the guys is a person of colour. The other is not, or is significantly more white-passing. And regardless of whether she's choosing the 'bad' boy or the sweeter fella, the leading lady also picks the whiter of the two.

Now, have I just described To All The Boys I've Loved Before 2: P.S. I Still Love You, Twilight, Ginny & Georgia, the Kissing Booth 2, The Hunger Games, or Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist? I'm sure there are others I've missed, but the fact I can think of six movies and/or shows that follow this exact format is indicative of a wider problem. Other movies, books, or shows that engage in this pattern are: Tall Girl 2, the Harry Potter series, Set It Up, and many more I am sure I am missing. (The Star Wars sequel trilogy should also be here, and I will die on that hill.)

Simon, Zoey, and Max from Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist

The one true exception I can think of is the first season of Avatar: The Legend of Korra. While the love triangle in Korra leaves much to be desired as a plot device, the outcome of it is one area that was particularly refreshing in retrospect. Although everyone in the world of Avatar is a person of colour, the titular Korra is much darker skinned than her initial romantic rival, Asami, for the affections of a brooding firebender named Mako. After a few episodes revolving around the three teens and their messy love lives, Mako and Korra end up together. Much later, after multiple breakups, Asami and Korra end the series as friends turned lovers.

Mako, Asami, and Korra from The Legend of Korra

But, as I've said, this is one standout example I can think of, as well as Netflix's Shadow and Bone series (but more on that later).

For the rest of stories I have listed, there is a secondary love interest of colour who is often much less developed, and even if they may be more 'perfect' on paper, they always inevitably lose out on love. I can't be the only one who walked away from To All The Boys I've Loved Before 2 wondering who on earth could possibly turn charming and heartfelt John Ambrose McClaren down?

The most interesting note regarding John Ambrose, perhaps, that can best exemplify this problem, is that originally, he was originally played by a white actor in the end credits sequence of the first film. Later, when the movie was a giant success, Jordan Fisher was brought on for the part.

Lara Jean Covey-Song (Lana Condor) and John Ambrose McClaren (Jordan Fisher)

Similarly enough, Shadow and Bone's subversion of this growing trend was also somewhat accidental. Originally, the fantasy series' heroine, Alina, was white in the books, and so were her two love interests: the alluring but dangerous, Darkling, and her longtime childhood friend, Mal. In the TV series, Alina and Mal are both half Shu, the series' Asian coded country, while the Darkling remains white (and a villain).

So we have one series where a race change from book to screen was 'negative,' and one where it was 'positive,' in regards to whatever we want to call this sort of trend.

But why is this whole thing a problem, and if it is a problem, what's the solution?

Well, for one thing, interracial relationships are still rarely seen in media. When they are presented, it's almost always white character with a character of colour, never mind an interracial couple where neither are white (although the Dragon Prince and few other series are starting to change this, with two prominent Black and Asian interracial couples).

Janai and Amaya (on the left) as well as Amaya's sister, Sarai, and her husband, Harrow (on the right)

More representation is a good thing. More jobs for actors is always a good thing. Which is why, even if PS I Love You contributes to a less than stellar trend, I am always a fan of giving talented actors more room to shine in popular products - particularly because so many have been barred from those exact ones for a very long time. With that in mind, the solution is not to not hire actors of colour to play the secondary love interest in any given love triangle; not at all. And just to reiterate, I am not saying that any of the shows, books, or movies listed above are flat out racist or have worrying elements of racism (except for Harry Potter, which should be unsurprising at this point). These authors of colour are not racist.

Sometimes, people just don't - for whatever reason, and often times understandably so - think through all the implications. Or do not realize the lack of vacuum their work is existing it.

However, it is still disappointing to see characters of colour be continually passed over as viable love interests. Black men and women in particular, as well as Asian men, are often seen as 'unfit' for romantic interest due to long held societal racism and a mix of being both hyper-sexualized, feared, and desexualized. It doesn't take a lengthy scroll on tiktok to see people talk about the damage these sort of portrayals have done to them and their communities, throwing into questions of worthiness and the failed expectations of adolescence. And whether we like it or not, the media we create, consume, and cast can reflect real life biases and reinforce racism, however unintentional.

Luckily, the solution is also very straightforward: cast more intentional and unintentional characters of colour as the love interest when it comes to stories, adaptations, and media across the board. Everyone who wants that sort of love deserves to see themselves as worthy of it.

Everyone.

[If you liked this piece, please consider liking and maybe checking out some of my other pieces - they may likewise be up your alley. Also, if I have overlooked anything and you would like to add your two cents in regards to this piece here or on another social media site, feel free. Starting a conversation is always my goal.]

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About the Creator

TC13

Aspiring author and mythology enthusiast with a deep love for fantasy. Writes from a queer nb (they/them) perspective.

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