And the comeliness argument is still tripe.
No, it's not.
Kwan actually addresses this in a later podcast episode, that the Comeliness stat was introduced in
Unearthed Arcana before being included in
Oriental Adventures (he wasn't aware of this when first making the criticism). He sticks to his critique, as he doesn't see why a Comeliness stat needed to be included in OA at all . . . and that regardless of author intent, it comes across as racist to Asian Americans. He specifically points out multiple times in his podcast series that he isn't critiquing
Oriental Adventures from the point-of-view of the author, or with any knowledge of authorial intent, but rather as an Asian American reacting to the tropes and stereotypes in the book. He also points out that, while he IS a D&D gamer and part of our hobby, he isn't an encyclopedic expert on the game's history . . . . and that you shouldn't have to be to have a problem with
Oriental Adventures or any other book.
His argument isn't "tripe" or wrong or unsupported by the facts . . . it's an honest reaction of an Asian American (actually, several) upon reading through a book problematically titled
Oriental Adventures.
Part of the racist stereotype of Asians is the feminization of their culture, particularly the men. Kwan's fully willing to believe that the inclusion of the Comeliness state in OA wasn't an intentionally racist move by the authors (Gygax and Cook), perhaps not even unintentionally, and may have simply been an unfortunate coincidence. But it comes across as racist nonetheless by Asian Americans.
Others have noted that while
Unearthed Arcana was published before
Oriental Adventures, both were in development at the same time. Introducing a new stat . . . as stupid as Comeliness is . . . makes sense in
Unearthed Arcana, a book of options to expand the base game. It makes less sense in a book intended to expand the game in a different way, with Asian-inspired fantasy.
Likewise, the defense of the Honor system is weak also. Sure, the honor system was later expanded to cover non-Asian, Western cultures . . . but specifically introducing it in the Asian fantasy sourcebook is textbook orientalism. There really is no defense. Hell, we haven't yet escaped the honor system linked to Asian culture in 5th Edition . . . why wasn't the honor system also included in
Unearthed Arcana? I think we know why.
And this bears repeating . . . . NO ONE is accusing any D&D authors, Gygax, Cook, and later game designers, of being racist, horrible people. Simply authors who were not fully aware of the systemic racism in our culture (and pop culture) towards various minorities, in this case Asian Americans, and carrying that forward into D&D. Most gamers who are unhappy with
Oriental Adventures (seemingly at least) prefer the disclaimer option (which is what we got), but some would rather the title be removed from the catalog altogether. You can disagree with that position, removal of the book from sale, but to dismiss the concerns and offense of Asian Americans in reaction to
Oriental Adventures . . . smacks of selfishness and white fragility.