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Demihumans of Color and the Thermian Argument
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<blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 8349831" data-attributes="member: 7006"><p>We humans are playing the demi-humans. Thus all our demi-humans are not going to be truly alien, because everything these characters do is colored by how we humans play them. Everything these demi-humans are, how they behave, what is important to them... is always going to be in relation to humanity. It is impossible for it to be otherwise.</p><p></p><p>Vulcans are the epitome of logic. Why do we define them that way? Because we are comparing that species to how human beings are, and in the "scale of logic" humans are at one point and Vulcans comparatively are much moreso. Likewise... how typical dwarves are is in comparison to how we describe the typical human. If they are described as "gruff", it is because we know how gruff humans are, and dwarves are moreso. Elves are more "ethereal"? Yes, compared to humans. And when we play these races... we are affecting an attitude that is just further in a direction away from how we as humans might typically behave. But our behaviors are still human... they are just more stereotyped and over-emphasized.</p><p></p><p>So what this means is that yes... ALL aliens and fantasy races and such are portrayed as nothing more than funny-looking humans... because we as humans have no reference for anything else. All we have is our experience as human beings. Which means that every single non-human race we play in D&D (or any game) is going to be a representation of humanity in some form or fashion... and because we wish to play them, we are going to want to imbue them with our individual humanity-- including both attitudes <em>and</em> visual representation.</p><p></p><p>If elves are just a facet of humanity dialed up to 11... if you are Pakastani, why <em>wouldn't</em> you want to to have an elf that is dialed up to 11 that looks, feels, and embodies many of the traits that you have as a proud member of that nation? You desire to play an elf... thus you wish to layer the stereotypical elven traits upon <em>your</em> humanity. And why would anyone want to deny that experience for you?</p><p></p><p>Representation matters. Including in "almost-but-not-quite-humans".</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="DEFCON 1, post: 8349831, member: 7006"] We humans are playing the demi-humans. Thus all our demi-humans are not going to be truly alien, because everything these characters do is colored by how we humans play them. Everything these demi-humans are, how they behave, what is important to them... is always going to be in relation to humanity. It is impossible for it to be otherwise. Vulcans are the epitome of logic. Why do we define them that way? Because we are comparing that species to how human beings are, and in the "scale of logic" humans are at one point and Vulcans comparatively are much moreso. Likewise... how typical dwarves are is in comparison to how we describe the typical human. If they are described as "gruff", it is because we know how gruff humans are, and dwarves are moreso. Elves are more "ethereal"? Yes, compared to humans. And when we play these races... we are affecting an attitude that is just further in a direction away from how we as humans might typically behave. But our behaviors are still human... they are just more stereotyped and over-emphasized. So what this means is that yes... ALL aliens and fantasy races and such are portrayed as nothing more than funny-looking humans... because we as humans have no reference for anything else. All we have is our experience as human beings. Which means that every single non-human race we play in D&D (or any game) is going to be a representation of humanity in some form or fashion... and because we wish to play them, we are going to want to imbue them with our individual humanity-- including both attitudes [I]and[/I] visual representation. If elves are just a facet of humanity dialed up to 11... if you are Pakastani, why [I]wouldn't[/I] you want to to have an elf that is dialed up to 11 that looks, feels, and embodies many of the traits that you have as a proud member of that nation? You desire to play an elf... thus you wish to layer the stereotypical elven traits upon [I]your[/I] humanity. And why would anyone want to deny that experience for you? Representation matters. Including in "almost-but-not-quite-humans". [/QUOTE]
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