'A League Of Their Own' Is being canceled and we need to talk about it.

In a world where it seems like social and ethical progress is not only being stilted but also not so slowly or quietly being reeled back; Representation of minorities is something that is sorely needed now more than ever. As a whole, Minorities are facing dangerous times- Not to say that being a minority in this world has ever exactly been safe, but the progress we made as a society has been slipping away and so have the freedoms that came with it.

There had been slow but sure wins when it came not only to the LGBTQ+ community such as gay marriage being legalized in the U.S. and the ever-growing fight and awareness for trans rights that's been spreading including the Equality act that's currently going before the U.S. Senate. However, the LGBTQ+ community isn't the only one that has seen progress; In recent years, Awareness has been spreading about the race gap in America and the blatant inequality of not only the financial system in the U.S. but the bias of its judicial system.

Awareness has been spreading like wildfire in recent decades but it has all come to a sudden and very obvious halt with hate crimes at an all-time high and even designated safe spaces meant for minorities are in more danger than ever. It's at times like this that representation is important because hate like that is taught and the media is often where most people learn.

Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia are often taught and passed down by parents and relatives which leads to a sense of normalcy for the child learning it. These behaviors feed each other into a cycle of hate that continues to be passed down and it's only when they realize that these beliefs aren't normal and they can be taught something different is when they have a chance to make a change.

Its also when we have a chance to make a change at large.

With all of that being said, I’d like to express my concern for a deeply worrying issue. Streaming services have gotten into the horrible habit of canceling shows with not only LGBTQ+ representation but also the representation of other minorities lead shows with casts mainly consisting of Women or characters that are POC.

This continual behavior exhibited by streaming services is blatant bias and the most recent show to be on the chopping block is titled “A League Of Their Own”. This show is based on real people and the true events that occurred at the start of the AAGPBL. ‘A League Of Their Own’ on Prime Video was created following in the footsteps of the 90s movie under the same name. The Showrunners and creators believed that the true stories of the Rockford Peaches deserved to be told as an original ‘Peach’ confessed that the movie had been not only white-washed but straight-washed as well. The real story deserved to be told and their message needs to be shared now more than ever in this current hostile environment where minorities are being shunned or shoved back in the metaphorical closet.

Prime Video is gearing up to cancel its fifth-ranking highest show with a large percentage of its overall representation being do to ‘A League Of Their Own’, The streaming service announced they'd be ending the show with a short season of four episodes which only comes off as a less than stellar consultation prize after its history of canceling minority lead shows.

After so many shows with prominent representation of minorities being canceled year after year, People are getting tired of being baited by the promise of seeing a glimpse of themselves in the media, to know there are other people like them and that they arent alone- To know that hope is out there, only to see their hopes and dreams get crushed after the service makes enough money and they cancel the show.

Often the service will bury the show or cancel it without warning- If the show is popular enough they’ll make up an excuse or quiet cancel a show or they’ll do the worst and most insulting thing possible and will cancel a show on the account that its too ‘niche’ (as they said about ‘a league of their own’) or that the show wasn't getting enough views, As the CEO of Netflix did when he received backlash over his similar cancelation habit, when in reality they refuse to understand that not all shows will blow up like Stranger Things and Squid Games.

These services don't grasp the concept that token roles of the ‘black friend’ and the ‘gay best friend’ aren’t proper representations but blatant stereotypes. CEOs don’t grasp that baiting minorities starved of seeing themselves on tv because isn't right. It's a blatant abuse of power, a thinly veiled lie because they know that the audience will take any scrap of representation that they’ll offer.

‘A League Of Their Own’ shows people that women can be more than what they can give others, It shows that women and other minorities can be successful and chase their dreams no matter the hurdles that the world throws in their direction. This show wasn’t marketed as something for ‘the girls and the gays’ it wasn’t made for the facade of being woke. These characters are foremost women chasing their dreams and living their lives, It's about women who love baseball and would do anything to achieve their dreams.

After that, It's about community, It’s about minorities finding hope and a place where they feel comfortable enough to be themselves. ‘A League Of Their Own’ features so many different communities, We get to see Latina, Black, Jewish, Lesbian, and Transmasc representation. We even see a character overcome stigmas and learn to understand and love her friends.

This show teaches us that we can achieve our goals and our dreams, That finding a place where you belong isn’t impossible. This show also teaches that people can change, That prejudice is a learned behavior and thought process. Furthermore, It shines light on a very obvious and important truth; The LGBTQ+ community hasn’t just randomly appeared and started to grow, They’ve been here all along.

Streaming services need to understand that they can't just bait minorities for their money and then backtrack when they feel like it. CEOs need to grasp that biting the hand that feeds them is inevitably fruitless. Being represented in the media is too important to just let it go and watch it slip away and these communities are fighting harder than ever to keep the small amount of representation they’ve been given.

So as a reminder to those who have forgotten, We’re just as important as straight white males on tv and we deserve the same amount of recognition as they receive- Maybe even more when we’re ignored and consistently targeted. Fading out minorities from media is the first step in villainization and backtracking in the normalization and well-deserved recognition of minorities.

For those who believe in the fight to save the show and help others feel seen; The fans of ‘A League Of Their Own’ have been given a chance to make some noise and raise awareness to keep the show running. So please, Make some noise on twitter or your available socials and join this fight.