[Sensitive question] Is there cultural appropriation in gaming?

[ForceUser]

Hi all,

The goal of the following question is to clarify, in the context of tabletop roleplaying, what may or may not be cultural appropriation. I am particularly interested in the point of view of nonwhite gamers.

Over the past few years, people of color have made it known via social media that some of them find certain common practices to be culturally or racially insensitive, or even racist. These include, for example:

• Indian-themed Halloween costumes worn by non-Indians
• Disney's recent Moana snafu
• White people darkening one's skin to cosplay drow or other nonwhite characters

And so on. To me, if a person of color says that something is appropriation, I think others should listen to them. Based upon the premise, then, that all of the above is valid and true, here is my question:

Is it cultural appropriation for a white person to roleplay a nonwhite person, or for an American to roleplay a character based upon, say, a feudal Japanese samurai? How much does (or should) cultural appropriation matter in the theatre of the mind?

I ask for two reasons: One, I am genuinely curious in knowing how nonwhite gamers feel about it. Two, I enjoy DMing campaign settings in non-Eurocentric fantasy lands. In my current campaign, the center of action is an Al-Qadim-like region, and I roleplay viziers, imams, jinn, sheikhs, and sultans, as well as foreigners from European- and Asian-themed lands. In the past, I've DMed a Vietnamese campaign in which all the players and the DM were white and all the characters were Vietnamese. I have attempted Arabic accents, Japanese accents, Vietnamese accents, and so on, based not upon research of those languages but upon what I recalled from American film and TV, ad hoc, to add roleplaying "flavor."

Being entirely white, no one at my table has ever complained or taken offense in all the years we've played together. Likewise, I've never discussed this with them. However, we whites are often racially and culturally insensitive, often without realizing it. I'm trying to be more mindful. So.

Is it possible for roleplaying to be culturally appropriative?

[Note--I know there is potential for divisiveness in even asking, but I wanted to post it here in the family-friendly ENWorld rather than the Circvs, because I am hoping for constructive feedback. Thanks.]

 

[cmad1977]

While I wouldn't say that it is impossible, I don't think role-playing generally qualifies as cultural appropriation.


In before the
'Ermagerd another SJW thread!' Crowd.



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[MichaelSomething]

Would you feel offended if a Japanese person roleplayed as a white guy

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

There is cultural appropriation everywhere and by almost every race/ethnicity. Yes, minorities are guilty of doing this too, it is not exclusive to the "evil" white man. Most of it is not intended to be racist or bigoted. The only times I agree with this kind of argument is when it comes to misusing another culture's holy or sacred things, like the fuss about people wearing an Indian chief's war bonnet.

I think it is funny that this concept did not pop up in the 80's and 90's when all the white boys were listening to rap music and running around talking and dressing like they were from the 'hood. That was cultural appropriation, but there was no outcry about it back then because people were not so overly sensitive and PC about everything like they are now. I bet if Eminem were a brand new artist trying to start today, he would be labeled with this and slapped down.

For RPGs specifically, I would say it would be difficult for things to be anything more than stereotyping, because players are not acting or dressing like their characters in everyday life, going to work or school or shopping like that. Stereotypes and appropriation of cultural styles are not the same thing.

 

[Dualazi]

In a single word?

No.

Cultures have borrowed from each other since the dawn of time. It’s fundamentally one of the ways we grow as societies and people, and in my opinion anyone screeching about ‘Appropriation’ should be summarily ignored. This definitely applies to the racial/sexual spectrum as well, nothing infuriates me like seeing people try and gang up on a writer or artist because they dared to include something from a culture which they don’t belong to. The idea that only Native American writers can create Native American characters is just pure insanity, and implies a sort of cultural gatekeeping where creators are evaluated by strict definitions of what they’re “allowed” to create. It also creates a catch 22, where people whine about how X Y or Z isn’t being represented, but then retaliate if those same aspects are created by anyone who isn’t personally connected to them.

Here’s a much more articulate speech given earlier this year by Lionel Shriver on the very subject https://www.theguardian.com/comment...pt-of-cultural-appropriation-is-a-passing-fad

I would urge everyone to take the time to read it, as it’s very pertinent and thought provoking no matter which side you take on the issue.

All this ties back into the theme of “what stories are we allowed to tell”, because really, that’s what D&D is, right? Collaborative storytelling where the dice influence the direction and outcome therein. And the answer is “any story you feel like telling.” You can play a Samurai regardless of whether or not you have Japanese heritage. You can have a sub-Saharan themed campaign without anyone in the group being black. Because taken to its logical conclusion, the only thing you’d be able to play is yourself in real life. Even if you’re white, there’s lots of different kinds of white. Should you be stopped from playing a Norse themed character just because you’re of British stock?

As to the voices, I assume there are guides somewhere on how to incorporate them into your own speech for acting purposes, but I can definitely say that even inaccurately done I would prefer them to the DM not trying at all, which is exactly what happens when they face unfounded accusations of racism, they just avoid the topic altogether.

Being entirely white, no one at my table has ever complained or taken offense in all the years we've played together. Likewise, I've never discussed this with them. However, we whites are often racially and culturally insensitive, often without realizing it. I'm trying to be more mindful. So.

Please don’t attempt to speak for all ‘white’ people regarding cultural sensitivity, since that in and of itself is subjective. You should no more walk on eggshells when discussing the topic as anyone of any different race. Though I would caution you that this is the age of being offended on behalf of others, so having a homogeneous group is no guarantee of being free from drama.

 

[aramis erak]

Hi all,

The goal of the following question is to clarify, in the context of tabletop roleplaying, what may or may not be cultural appropriation. I am particularly interested in the point of view of nonwhite gamers.

Over the past few years, people of color have made it known via social media that some of them find certain common practices to be culturally or racially insensitive, or even racist. These include, for example:

• Indian-themed Halloween costumes worn by non-Indians
• Disney's recent Moana snafu
• White people darkening one's skin to cosplay drow or other nonwhite characters

And so on. To me, if a person of color says that something is appropriation, I think others should listen to them. Based upon the premise, then, that all of the above is valid and true, here is my question:

Is it cultural appropriation for a white person to roleplay a nonwhite person, or for an American to roleplay a character based upon, say, a feudal Japanese samurai? How much does (or should) cultural appropriation matter in the theatre of the mind?

I ask for two reasons: One, I am genuinely curious in knowing how nonwhite gamers feel about it. Two, I enjoy DMing campaign settings in non-Eurocentric fantasy lands. In my current campaign, the center of action is an Al-Qadim-like region, and I roleplay viziers, imams, jinn, sheikhs, and sultans, as well as foreigners from European- and Asian-themed lands. In the past, I've DMed a Vietnamese campaign in which all the players and the DM were white and all the characters were Vietnamese. I have attempted Arabic accents, Japanese accents, Vietnamese accents, and so on, based not upon research of those languages but upon what I recalled from American film and TV, ad hoc, to add roleplaying "flavor."

Being entirely white, no one at my table has ever complained or taken offense in all the years we've played together. Likewise, I've never discussed this with them. However, we whites are often racially and culturally insensitive, often without realizing it. I'm trying to be more mindful. So.

Is it possible for roleplaying to be culturally appropriative?

[Note--I know there is potential for divisiveness in even asking, but I wanted to post it here in the family-friendly ENWorld rather than the Circvs, because I am hoping for constructive feedback. Thanks.]

If you ask the more outspoken "proactive activists", it's all cultural appropriation to play or wear anything that isn't your own ethnocultural background; some even go so far as to restrict it to subcultural groups. They complain about kids playing dress-up during choice time in preschool and kindergarten. They complain about white kids playing black people, but in most cases, not about persons non-caucasian portraying characters already established in literature as caucasian; hypocrisy is their specialty. Nor do they usually complain about the Japanese nor africans having adopted the western suit and tie as business attire... which is an appropriation by those cultures of foreign attire entirely to look like they aren't their own culture.

Those people are nutjobs. They need to be ignored.
They are a blight on society, and do more damage than good for the overall view of the people they claim to protect, all the while ignoring their own appropriation of things not of their ancestors...

I've deleted about 10 paragraphs of ranting about how cultures grow by absorbing ethno-cultural elements from others, and how even imperfect roleplay is an improvement of one's own understanding of others. You can find enough evidence of that in the various educational journals, anthropological journals, and historical journals. Then added one back in above.

If anyone's offended, tough. I'm constantly offended by the hypocrisy of the political correctness movement.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

My answer: yes, there is, without question.

However, for the most part, while some of it can be inaccurate, on the whole it is rather innocuous, IMHO.

 

[Redthistle]

Here’s a much more articulate speech given earlier this year by Lionel Shriver on the very subject https://www.theguardian.com/comment...pt-of-cultural-appropriation-is-a-passing-fad

I would urge everyone to take the time to read it, as it’s very pertinent and thought provoking no matter which side you take on the issue.

For this link, especially, thank you!

 

[Morrus]

There is, by definition. It's part of the job description. The more interesting question is where it becomes a problem.

 

[Morrus]

If you ask the more outspoken "proactive activists", it's all cultural appropriation to play or wear anything that isn't your own ethnocultural background; some even go so far as to restrict it to subcultural groups. They complain about kids playing dress-up during choice time in preschool and kindergarten. They complain about white kids playing black people, but in most cases, not about persons non-caucasian portraying characters already established in literature as caucasian; hypocrisy is their specialty. Nor do they usually complain about the Japanese nor africans having adopted the western suit and tie as business attire... which is an appropriation by those cultures of foreign attire entirely to look like they aren't their own culture.

Those people are nutjobs. They need to be ignored.
They are a blight on society, and do more damage than good for the overall view of the people they claim to protect, all the while ignoring their own appropriation of things not of their ancestors...

I've deleted about 10 paragraphs of ranting about how cultures grow by absorbing ethno-cultural elements from others, and how even imperfect roleplay is an improvement of one's own understanding of others. You can find enough evidence of that in the various educational journals, anthropological journals, and historical journals. Then added one back in above.

If anyone's offended, tough. I'm constantly offended by the hypocrisy of the political correctness movement.

For someone ranting about hypocrisy, and how it's just tough luck if someone is offended, it's ironic that you're the only person claiming to be offended in this thread. Physician, heal thyself?