D&D General “‘Scantily Clad and Well Proportioned’: Sexism and Gender Stereotyping in the Gaming Worlds of TSR and Dungeons & Dragons.”

[Chaltab]

I will say, I knew at least a few POC who were highly critical of the Tiefling storyline in Baldur's Gate 3 as a re-creation/representation of anti-black racial hatred.

Wait seriously? I never even linked it to that prejudice at all and saw it as an obvious allegory to the ongoing refugee crisis.

 

[MGibster]

Wait seriously? I never even linked it to that prejudice at all and saw it as an obvious allegory to the ongoing refugee crisis.

The beautiful part about fiction is that it can resonate with different people for different reasons. Especially fantasy or science fiction where the fantastical setting and people gives the author plausible deniability.

 

[John Lloyd1]

Also, that cover on Good Housekeeping didn't age well. He's divorced...

This is a bit nick picky and I'm sorry for that. And, I have seen it come up a couple of times from other people, but...

What is this whole thing about judging people by their marital status?

On the whole I like this tread a whole lot better than some of the recent ones.

 

[Gradine]

I can't help but think someone's always going to be unhappy. And trying to make everyone happy is a Sisyphean task that can only end in failure and frustration. Now that shouldn't be taken to mean a creator shouldn't consider criticism, look at their work through the lens of that criticism, and possibly make revisions to their work. But sometimes a creator needs to examine the criticism and tell the critic, "I see where you're coming from, but I'm not changing it."

Yes, I know there's a lot of people who will see this, throw their hands up, and decide that if they can't please everybody they may as well (a) not care about anybody or (b) not make things, neither of which is the correct solution. Ultimately, you have to be able to stand by what you created, even if you receive criticism that is understandable but that you feel was important to be done in a certain way. This is certainly true of the BG3 Tieflings, who were definitely meant to be stand-ins for anti-refugee sentiment (which is almost always completely inextricable from racism), which included some of the druids throwing actual (made up) slurs at some of the Tieflings.

You can talk about your intentions, and other people can talk about where their interpretations differ but... it's not like you can disagree with any one person's own interpretation. All you can do is accept, and learn from it. Maybe you decide you were right in the first place, but you can at least think and talk about it beyond ad hominem attacks and cries of "that's not what I intended", as if that actually matters.

 

[Gradine]

This is a bit nick picky and I'm sorry for that. And, I have seen it come up a couple of times from other people, but...

What is this whole thing about judging people by their marital status?

On the whole I like this tread a whole lot better than some of the recent ones.

I mean, on the one hand, sure, but on the other hand, the particular magazine cover was highlighting his personal tips for maintaining a long relationship, where his eventual marital status is inarguably relevant.

 

[Sacrosanct]

This is a bit nick picky and I'm sorry for that. And, I have seen it come up a couple of times from other people, but...

What is this whole thing about judging people by their marital status?

On the whole I like this tread a whole lot better than some of the recent ones.

Oh, I'm not judging. I'm just saying "Hugh Jackmans' secret to a rock solid marriage!" didn't age well, considering.

 

[Autumnal]

Con… is a stretch, but it works better than Str, Dex, or Int IMO.

Con for beating the stuffing out out of “just asking questions” sea lions, and coming back to do it again tomorrow when the next ones show up.

 

[payn]

Oh, I'm not judging. I'm just saying "Hugh Jackmans' secret to a rock solid marriage!" didn't age well, considering.

Yeah I think they might not have read that part of the cover.

 

[Pedantic]

Yes, I know there's a lot of people who will see this, throw their hands up, and decide that if they can't please everybody they may as well (a) not care about anybody or (b) not make things, neither of which is the correct solution. Ultimately, you have to be able to stand by what you created, even if you receive criticism that is understandable but that you feel was important to be done in a certain way. This is certainly true of the BG3 Tieflings, who were definitely meant to be stand-ins for anti-refugee sentiment (which is almost always completely inextricable from racism), which included some of the druids throwing actual (made up) slurs at some of the Tieflings.

You can talk about your intentions, and other people can talk about where their interpretations differ but... it's not like you can disagree with any one person's own interpretation. All you can do is accept, and learn from it. Maybe you decide you were right in the first place, but you can at least think and talk about it beyond ad hominem attacks and cries of "that's not what I intended", as if that actually matters.

Yeah, nuance is super important. Viewing criticism as either an exact instruction guide for what must or should not be done or an attack that has to be defended is where this all goes wrong. More awareness about what readings are possible, what connotations/reactions your work provokes are only going to help you better clarify and realize your creative vision, even if you determine not to follow a critic's suggestion.

 

[John Lloyd1]

Oh, I'm not judging. I'm just saying "Hugh Jackmans' secret to a rock solid marriage!" didn't age well, considering.

Maybe I'm being over sensitive and triggered.

I remember how I felt after the health ed discussion at high school in the 80s about having children out of marriage and realising how out of step my family's values were. Unmarried couple with two children. Which they still are after 60 years.