D&D 5E On Representation and Roleplaying

[abirdcall]

Nope. I'm just noting any decision here can be, in one fashion or another, wrong, even with the best of intentions and reasonable efforts, and suggesting people keep that in mind.

What are you getting at?

Some things are correct and some things are wrong.

 

[Thomas Shey]

What are you getting at?

Some things are correct and some things are wrong.

If its not obvious, I'm denying that its always that clear-cut. You can absolutely draw lines, but its not self-evident where all those lines should be.

 

[abirdcall]

If its not obvious, I'm denying that its always that clear-cut. You can absolutely draw lines, but its not self-evident where all those lines should be.

This sounds like a call to keep the status quo.

 

[prabe]

This sounds like a call to keep the status quo.

I think it's an acknowledgment that the lines will not always be in the same place.

If I for my home campaign want to have cultures derived from ones that aren't my own, that's one thing--I can take some reasonable care to make them not stereotypes, and the people around my table/s know me and trust my good intentions. It would be a vastly different thing if I were trying to publish my setting, without doing more work, without hiring cultural sensitivity readers, and such--there's simply too much history for people who don't know me to trust my good intentions.

(And--not unreasonably--if J. Random Whiteguy writes a setting without non-Euro cultures, Mr. Whiteguy is probably going to get raked for whitewashing his world.)

 

[J-H]

But it should be possible for J. Random Anycolor to write a setting with any set of cultures, without having to hire cultural sensitivity readers and whatnot. Otherwise you're adding a burden of time, cost, and a political filter (who goes after "cultural sensitivity" careers?) onto everything that gets published, and ultimately selecting out all the people who don't want to deal with the new and changing requirements.

 

[prabe]

But it should be possible for J. Random Anycolor to write a setting with any set of cultures, without having to hire cultural sensitivity readers and whatnot. Otherwise you're adding a burden of time, cost, and a political filter (who goes after "cultural sensitivity" careers?) onto everything that gets published, and ultimately selecting out all the people who don't want to deal with the new and changing requirements.

It should be possible, yes.

It isn't, though. At least, at present. I'm OK with that--no one should open a published setting to find their culture caricatured therein.

 

[abirdcall]

I think it's an acknowledgment that the lines will not always be in the same place.

If I for my home campaign want to have cultures derived from ones that aren't my own, that's one thing--I can take some reasonable care to make them not stereotypes, and the people around my table/s know me and trust my good intentions. It would be a vastly different thing if I were trying to publish my setting, without doing more work, without hiring cultural sensitivity readers, and such--there's simply too much history for people who don't know me to trust my good intentions.

(And--not unreasonably--if J. Random Whiteguy writes a setting without non-Euro cultures, Mr. Whiteguy is probably going to get raked for whitewashing his world.)

But what is the point of the comment?

This happens a lot. Someone says something should change and then someone else chimes in with a vague call about how change could be done wrong so let's not get too hasty.

The idea that the current state should be seen as the default is harmful to people who are oppressed under it.

If the poster has something specific to comment on let's hear it. Otherwise what is the point other than as an attack?

 

[Thomas Shey]

This sounds like a call to keep the status quo.

Really? That was your take home from that? Suggesting that, horrors, there might be some nuance here?

 

[BookTenTiger]

But it should be possible for J. Random Anycolor to write a setting with any set of cultures, without having to hire cultural sensitivity readers and whatnot. Otherwise you're adding a burden of time, cost, and a political filter (who goes after "cultural sensitivity" careers?) onto everything that gets published, and ultimately selecting out all the people who don't want to deal with the new and changing requirements.

I think the barrier isn't as steep as you are portraying here. We live in the internet age, it's easier than ever now to find communities of folks with different perspectives or cultural experiences to connect with. If I'm self-publishing a setting inspired by, say, native Guatemalan mythology, I have tons of opportunities to reach out to people who live in Guatemala, who study Guatemalan mythology, who identify as Guatemalan, whose ancestors come from Guatemala... I should do my due diligence to respect the culture I am using as a palette for my creative process. Maybe that even means bringing on some collaborators!

 

[Thomas Shey]

If the poster has something specific to comment on let's hear it. Otherwise what is the point other than as an attack?

The point is to suggest that "Let's burn it all down if it even vaguely smacks of bad representation" can do as much harm as good. Do you think you're doing POC a favor if, for example, you won't cast them as villains because it might stereotype them? That you're doing representation any favors when people are afraid to even take a pass at cultures other than their own?

All that does is encourage people to stay with the most whitebread thing they can think of. If you think that's moving things forward, I think that's a categorical error.