WotC WotC's Chris Perkins On D&D's Inclusivity Processes Going Forward

Over on D&D Beyond, WotC's Chris Perkins has written a blog entry about how the company's processes have been changed to improve the way the D&D studio deals with harmful content and inclusivity. This follows recent issues with racist content in Spelljammer: Adventures in Space, and involves working with external cultural consultants.

The studio’s new process mandates that every word, illustration, and map must be reviewed by multiple outside cultural consultants prior to publication.

Leveling Up Our Creative Process: Learnings From Spelljammer

In this blog post, I'll talk about how we in the D&D Studio are changing our review process following the problematic content that appeared in Spell...

www.dndbeyond.com

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Mixed-race status has very specific, localized connotations. In families like mine, it's actively celebrated, but you can cross the street and find people who use the term as an insult. It's extremely complicated.

that is true here as well in north east US... I would NOT take kindly to being called a 'half' anything

 

[Incenjucar]

that is true here as well in north east US... I would NOT take kindly to being called a 'half' anything

It's honestly a household to household, community to community, experience to experience thing. Every time folks in part of my family find out about an expansion to our heritage we nearly high-five each other, but we're also privileged and majority passing enough that nobody has used it to attack us. The part of my family that can't pass as the majority has had to deal with some nastiness, so I imagine they would have a different response. I absolutely adore having blood and cultural influence from all over the globe and family from even more places, but it's never been used as an excuse to hurt me, so I can't assume pointing it out delights others the same way.

 

[Faolyn]

Being called out for being mixed-race is offensive to you . . . but is it offensive within Japanese culture? I honestly don't know. And is it being called out as mixed-race that is the problem? Or the use of the word "half" or "halfbreed"? I don't speak Japanese, but does the Japanese word you mention (ha fuh) have the same connotation in Japanese that "halfbreed" does in English?

If being of mixed-race in Japan isn't seen as a big deal, if the Japanese word used doesn't have a negative connotation within that culture . . . then those folks aren't being racist, not even in a systemic manner. Of course, if folks of mixed-race in Japan are looked down upon, and the word does have a negative connotation, then they most certainly are.

It's understandable however, if being referred to as "ha fuh" or "half" bothered you. It's reasonable to educate your Japanese friends and co-workers on the issue when dealing with those of mixed-race from the US.

I only point all of this out (from my perspective), to make the point that . . . what's racist and what isn't is complicated and the answer isn't always the same depending on the context.

I think Hussar's point may be that it may or may not be bigoted to Japanese people when talking about themselves, but can be very bigoted when talking to people who aren't Japanese. So, if you're Japanese, and being "half-breed" isn't bigoted when talking about Japanese people but is when talking about non-Japanese, don't use that term when talking to or about non-Japanese people.

 

[Incenjucar]

Individual experiences like this are also why it's desperately important to act with empathy and not just our own personal reactions, to listen and not just opine. We can have very different experiences with and reactions to even similar circumstances, and it can be hard to really understand someone else's perspective without really diving into it - which can be incredibly invasive!

 

[darjr]

Never mind.

Wanna see if they do the right thing.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I am Spanish, and here in our land we don't worry about that "purity of blood". Your current behavior is more important than your ancestors or your bloodline.

I don't know the rules in Japan, I respect a lot some things about them, but in others I don't agree. I guess a foreign living in Japan for years could have got a point of view about the current Japanese society different than own the native themself.

An example of untentional offense could be when a foreign living in Japan talks in Japanese to a native, and this congratulates. The intention was an innocent compliment, but really the other was thinking "Did you believe I couldn't learn your language?". Please, in the name of the good sense we should ask more diplomacy and empathy in the social interactions.

WotC has to send the message "everybody is wellcome is the game" and this is not wrong. But I worry because not everybody share the same criterias about "politically correction". Somebody asks some thing, but other answer that it isn't necessary but asking too much. Somebody could ask more works based in no-Western cultures but other would answer telling that may be cultural appropiation. The rules have to be clear and coherent, and the ones about this aren't yet. And the rules can be radically different in other societies.

* Hasbro and the rest of megacorporations could be interested into the Chinese market, but now this may be too dangerous, and not all risks are linked with the economy. I guess licencing a previous IP created in China would be easier.

 

[Umbran]

When I hear "let's cancel this because..."

When you hear it... has anyone actually said it? Has anyone literally used those words?

One cannot be a valid proponent of listening to nuance, and then actively misstate opinions in the discussion.

 

[Alzrius]

An example of untentional offense could be when a foreign living in Japan talks in Japanese to a native, and this congratulates. The intention was an innocent compliment, but really the other was thinking "Did you believe I couldn't learn your language?". Please, in the name of the good sense we should ask more diplomacy and empathy in the social interactions.

A bit of cultural context for that one; Japanese is considered one of the hardest languages to learn, and (as a generalization which will obviously vary from individual to individual) this is something that native speakers consider to be a point of cultural pride. Hence, for a native speaker to congratulate a foreign speaker on learning the language is a comment on them having achieved something notable, not on any presumed lack of intelligence/ability.

 

[darjr]

A bit of cultural context for that one; Japanese is considered one of the hardest languages to learn, and (as a generalization which will obviously vary from individual to individual) this is something that native speakers consider to be a point of cultural pride. Hence, for a native speaker to congratulate a foreign speaker on learning the language is a comment on them having achieved something notable, not on any presumed lack of intelligence/ability.

A common thing many Japanese will have nightmares about losing the ability to speak and write in Japanese.

 

[Faolyn]

A bit of cultural context for that one; Japanese is considered one of the hardest languages to learn, and (as a generalization which will obviously vary from individual to individual) this is something that native speakers consider to be a point of cultural pride. Hence, for a native speaker to congratulate a foreign speaker on learning the language is a comment on them having achieved something notable, not on any presumed lack of intelligence/ability.

Of course, English is also an incredibly difficult language for people to learn, and it's often considered (in the U.S., at least) very rude to compliment someone on how well they speak it... because such a compliment is often wrapped up with racism against non-natives and assumptions that if you're the "wrong" color, you must not be a native.