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Demihumans of Color and the Thermian Argument
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<blockquote data-quote="Shardstone" data-source="post: 8350019" data-attributes="member: 6807784"><p>I don't mean this as an insult to anyone.</p><p></p><p>But there's something truly odd in people of the majority (in this case, white) telling people in the minority that their desire for representation doesn't matter, and that we shouldn't be asking for it whatsoever.</p><p></p><p>I'm mixed. Half black, half white. White-passing too, except for my hair and facial features. I have a unique look. My siblings have unique looks. My father, who is black, has a unique look. And growing up, I never saw anyone like me, my siblings, or my father in anything fantasy related.</p><p></p><p>It was blond white people with blue eyes and pointy ears and shaped like Adonis. It was black haired white people with straight hair and Euro-centric beauty standards. And to those of you on this forum who are white and think "Representation doesn't matter," you're telling us who are not white that if we want to see what a black elf would be like, or an elf with braids, or an elf with kinky hair that what we look like is so profoundly alien to you that you can't even comprehend why we want to see more of it.</p><p></p><p>And the argument that Fantasy doesn't need to adhere to real-world standards of diversity is beyond childish. It is shortsighted. Nothing has to adhere to anything. Fantasy is made up. Fantasy isn't real. And above all, Fantasy is made for an audience in mind, to be sold, to be packaged, to be given to consumers in America, because we ingest our Fantasy from novels and video games and tabletop and from artists who are trying to build their portfolios and from artists who imagine amazing things and from artists who sell their skills to paint the image of fantasy that we so enjoy.</p><p></p><p>Why is it though that Fantasy can be made up and created, yet can't adhere to diversity? What is it about Fantasy that makes it so troublesome to show that elves aren't always white, or dwarves or halflings? What is it that people cannot understand when someone of color says "I want to see people like me?" </p><p></p><p>I find it deeply troubling that so many people try to mask this as "symbollic" or what have you, that elves are white. I find it deeply troubling that people consider the idea of representation a cry for attention, or an unreasonable demand.</p><p></p><p>Children seeing people like them do amazing and fantastic things is important.</p><p></p><p>And let's not forget there are racists in their hobby. I've seen them, talked to them, and gamed with them. I've had them criticize my projects for having queer, black, or trans NPCs in them. I've seen them use slurs at minorities and at the LGBT+ crowd, and I've seen them use the indifference so many people have on this forum (which is held by a sizable faction of the TTRPG audience) as fuel for their racist agendas.</p><p></p><p>So, really, what I'm getting at is this.</p><p></p><p>Minorities need representation. It normalizes them, broadens worldview, and inspires them to see heroes that look like them, even if the race is different.</p><p></p><p>Racists use indifference to representation as a weapon. If you haven't seen this, its probably because you're not the target of it. Its real, and you need to believe us when we tell you that its real.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shardstone, post: 8350019, member: 6807784"] I don't mean this as an insult to anyone. But there's something truly odd in people of the majority (in this case, white) telling people in the minority that their desire for representation doesn't matter, and that we shouldn't be asking for it whatsoever. I'm mixed. Half black, half white. White-passing too, except for my hair and facial features. I have a unique look. My siblings have unique looks. My father, who is black, has a unique look. And growing up, I never saw anyone like me, my siblings, or my father in anything fantasy related. It was blond white people with blue eyes and pointy ears and shaped like Adonis. It was black haired white people with straight hair and Euro-centric beauty standards. And to those of you on this forum who are white and think "Representation doesn't matter," you're telling us who are not white that if we want to see what a black elf would be like, or an elf with braids, or an elf with kinky hair that what we look like is so profoundly alien to you that you can't even comprehend why we want to see more of it. And the argument that Fantasy doesn't need to adhere to real-world standards of diversity is beyond childish. It is shortsighted. Nothing has to adhere to anything. Fantasy is made up. Fantasy isn't real. And above all, Fantasy is made for an audience in mind, to be sold, to be packaged, to be given to consumers in America, because we ingest our Fantasy from novels and video games and tabletop and from artists who are trying to build their portfolios and from artists who imagine amazing things and from artists who sell their skills to paint the image of fantasy that we so enjoy. Why is it though that Fantasy can be made up and created, yet can't adhere to diversity? What is it about Fantasy that makes it so troublesome to show that elves aren't always white, or dwarves or halflings? What is it that people cannot understand when someone of color says "I want to see people like me?" I find it deeply troubling that so many people try to mask this as "symbollic" or what have you, that elves are white. I find it deeply troubling that people consider the idea of representation a cry for attention, or an unreasonable demand. Children seeing people like them do amazing and fantastic things is important. And let's not forget there are racists in their hobby. I've seen them, talked to them, and gamed with them. I've had them criticize my projects for having queer, black, or trans NPCs in them. I've seen them use slurs at minorities and at the LGBT+ crowd, and I've seen them use the indifference so many people have on this forum (which is held by a sizable faction of the TTRPG audience) as fuel for their racist agendas. So, really, what I'm getting at is this. Minorities need representation. It normalizes them, broadens worldview, and inspires them to see heroes that look like them, even if the race is different. Racists use indifference to representation as a weapon. If you haven't seen this, its probably because you're not the target of it. Its real, and you need to believe us when we tell you that its real. [/QUOTE]
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