Sexism in D&D and on ENWorld (now with SOLUTIONS!)

[S'mon]

No joke- there have been so many negative depictions of albinos in American movies over the past 20 years, that there is actually an organization that protests them when they pop up.

Of course Gygax had both the black skinned evil Drow and the 'near albinoid' evil Suel. An equal-opportunity colour-coder.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Yes, this tallies with my experience. The meme in Western culture is dark skin = inferior, not dark skin = evil.

Don't miss my stealth edit of that post, though... It contains the major exception.

 

[Bumbles]

There's a reason for it.

Doesn't make the reason a good one. Seriously, I'm aware of the reasons, I just don't agree that they're valid.

Perception can be in the eye of the beholder, and there's only so much that the conceiver can do about it. If you really want to look for other examples of dark-skinned creatures that aren't evil...you can! If you want to look for examples of light-skinned creatures that are evil...you can! If you want to look for examples of matriarchies/gynarchies that aren't evil...you can!

Or create some yourself if that's what you desire.

Trying to make something of the drow being a dark-skinned evil matriarchy is a waste of time IMHO though. It just increases the chance for divisiveness.

However, why do the drow have black skin?

You'd have to ask whoever created them. It may be for the reason you suggested, or it may be for another reason entirely.

For example, contrasting with the surface elves, or high-lighting their underground stealthy nature. I don't pretend to know though.

 

[Ariosto]

The Drow originally were not merely dark skinned in a human way, but literally black, per Snorri Sturluson's description of the "black elves" (apparently dwarfs, actually, although their dwelling is called Svartálfaheim) as "darker than pitch".

There was a later (2E?) product with a cover depicting female Drow in a very obviously "blaxploitation" style -- even (if memory serves) to the point of lightening their skin color.

The association of darkness with danger or evil has to do with human dependence on vision and consequent vulnerability in the absence of light (as for instance at night or underground). It is not peculiar to pale-skinned people!

Likewise, although (again, literal) whiteness can connote purity, it can also suggest death by association with pale bones. See the stormtroopers in Star Wars for an excellent example -- and the common use in Asia of white for mourning or funereal garb.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Of course Gygax had both the black skinned evil Drow and the 'near albinoid' evil Suel. An equal-opportunity colour-coder.

The Drow were the first critters that made me realize that I didn't like iron-clad alignments for non-supernatural creatures. IOW, I couldn't see all Drow as CE- and shortly after their appearance, made my first NG Drow (a Rgr/Druid/MU)- and went from that to include other races...but things like Devils and Devas, OTOH, had virtually unchangeable alignments. Their alignment was as much a part of themselves as their eyes and hands.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Likewise, although (again, literal) whiteness can connote purity, it can also suggest death by association with pale bones. See the stormtroopers in Star Wars for an excellent example -- and the common use in Asia of white for mourning or funereal garb.

And the dangerous, carnivorous Lankhmar Ghouls, whose skin was perfectly translucent, exposing their bones for all to see.

 

[Bumbles]

I think it's far more likely to have been an unconscious product of their cultural context - a context which is full of problems.

There is no cultural context that cannot be said to be full of problems. You might as well be objecting to the pseudo-medieval focus of the game for all the good that argument does you.

 

[Bumbles]

And the dangerous, carnivorous Lankhmar Ghouls, whose skin was perfectly translucent, exposing their bones for all to see.

A clear sign of pro-vegetarian prejudice on the part of Leiber! Either that or anti-cannibalism!

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Wasn't this thread about sexism in D&D and on EN World? I would recommend sticking to that topic, honestly.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

There is no cultural context that cannot be said to be full of problems. You might as well be objecting to the pseudo-medieval focus of the game for all the good that argument does you.

Well, I do, actually. In my games, there's absolutely no assumption that the world resembles medieval Europe in anything more than a superficial and localised fashion. In my current game, using the Scales of War adventure path, the PCs may carry crossbows and longswords, but the feel of the world - at least the target I'm aiming to hit, even if I don't quite make it - is much more "imperial China in one of its least unified periods" or "declining imperial Rome". Magistrates held over from the imperial bureaucracy instead of a mayor or town council, for instance.

Besides this, while all cultural contexts are problematic, we can still attempt to avoid re-enacting the same problematic assumptions in our games without purpose. If I include sexism or racism or authoritarianism in my games, you can be sure I'll have tried as hard as I can to make it have a purpose - a purpose that my players will at least not be irritated by, if not actively appreciate.