Thread by @ariana_puzzo

🧵General Hospital has a race problem

An (incomplete) thread based on one privileged viewer’s observations #GH #GH61 @GeneralHospital @ABCNetwork @Disney #TrinasVoiceMatters #TrinaRobinsonTheeHeroine

I’ve watched #GH off-and-on since 2009 and consistently since 2019. The common observation that I’ve seen on Soap Twitter is how there’s no legacy black family & when there is a black family, they exist one at a time. (See: the Wards [wiped out], the Ashfords [diminishing])

Today, the Ashfords/Robinsons aren’t even being back-burnered. The writers have made the leading characters into the equivalent of a lasagna that you keep in a freezer. Not good enough for the main meal, but broken out in a crisis (i.e.: bad ratings, to prop). #GH

1. Trina Robinson (1/3)

In April/May 2023, Trina was a lead player in the Greenland Adventure. She secured her label as a heroine on more than one occasion & was one-half of the super couple #Sprina 🕊️🕊️ #GH

1. Trina Robinson (2/3)

Since Feb. 2024, Trina has lost another bf to murder, went weeks without any scenes, makes a once per week appearance and even then it’s almost never to show her grief but to counsel her white friend Josslyn on a relationship that J ended. #GH

1. Trina Robinson (3/3)

Trina’s also taken a leave of absence college & instead of feeling any sort of anger that her late bf’s grandma supports their drugger/assaulter’s serial killer mom, she’s offering to make Laura’s life easier by babysitting her bf’s baby brother. #GH

2. Curtis Ashford (1/2)

Curtis is skilled PI-turned-nightclub owner. In May 2023, he led the Greenland rescue mission and was offered a potential job by an international spy agency that was swiftly dropped as a s/l. #GH

2. Curtis Ashford (2/2)

In July 2023, he became central to another story after he was paralyzed in a hotel shooting. In 2024, he recovered (in a highly ableist s/l) and appears most often with his white friend Drew to discuss Drew’s life/business proposition for him. #GH

3. Portia Robinson and Marcus Taggert

The most egregious erasure in the last year is Trina’s parents. Taggert last appeared July 2023 & has since disappeared with no explanation. Portia sporadically appears, but hasn’t shared a scene with a grieving Trina since Feb. 7. #GH

4. Marshall Ashford and Stella Henry

They make infrequent / occasional appearances since the writers room transitioned. A s/l that suggested they’d be a couple was dropped. In March, RG was bumped from his contract role to recurring status after his ’23 Emmy win & ’24 nom. #GH

5. T.J. Ashford

T.J. is not only treated as a second string in his/Molly’s surrogate s/l but suffers from one of the worst cases of persona retconning. He’s quick to fly off the handle & is disturbingly OOC controlling when he has scenes. He’s never shown to have friends. #GH

6. Jordan Ashford (1/2)

After Jordan & Curtis’ 2021 divorce, she got stripped of personality. She had one love interest (Trina’s uncle Zeke Robinson) in 2023 who was erased after a one-night-stand. She’s Police Commissioner-turned-Deputy Mayor & answers to Laura Collins. #GH

6. Jordan Ashford (2/2)

Not only is she back-burner to Laura now, but she was replaced as Police Commissioner by Anna Devane. The 2 of them started 2024 tag-teaming on an investigation neither had real control over. Now Anna leads it and Jordan isn’t anywhere near it. #GH

There’s more. Obviously. Just like I know #GH writes for people who look like me.

You don’t have to like a s/l or character to know black actors deserve roles that aren’t reliant upon white counterparts. (i.e.: Trina’s voice shouldn’t have disappeared once Spencer died)

Over the past 61 years, GH has relied on “implanting” black families via one character instead of investing in longevity and building generations of a family on-screen. (See: the Hardy/Webbers, the Quartermaines, the Corinthos)

It’s to the show’s own detriment. #GH