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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 7273340" data-attributes="member: 42582">Picasso is famous for his masks. Who conceived of and created the masks that Picasso copied and drew inspiration from?Those who express concern about "cultural appropriation" are not sayng that "no one should ever be able to experience a non-native culture through second-hand activity". They are trying to create a public space, in relation to cultural activity, in wich second-hand experience does not crowd out first-hand experience.If a result of this is that white, American males (among others) find themselves limiting the palette with which they express themselves - well, that self-restraint is part of the outcome intended by those who express concern about cultural appropriation. This is not all that is going on in concerns about "cultural appropriation", especially when such concerns overlap with concerns about stereotyping or racism more generally. But it is an important part of it.How those engaged in private, social activities like RPGing in someone's loungeroom should incorporate these ideas and concerns into their non-public cultural activity is obviously up to them. The issue about "crowding out" doesn't arise in quite the same way, although they might still be felt to arise obliquely eg in an Oriental Adventures game, whose "version"/representation of Chinese or Japanese culture and history does a group rely upon to firm its own conception of the gameworld?As far as the OP is concerned, I'm in no position to counsel on what happened in that session. But I don't think it adds anything to our understanding to assert that a GM has a right to represent this or that. Who would such a right be held against? Who would be under any corresponding duty? Obviously the GM has the ability and social position - within the context of an RPGing session - to represent stuff as part of the gameworld. The question is about how that ability should be used.</blockquote>

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