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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 8332830" data-attributes="member: 42582">My view, and I think this is similar to [USER=21169]@Doug McCrae[/USER]'s view, is that what is at issue is tropes and related ideas.Consider Lizardmen/Lizardfolk: they are (literally) presented as resembling certain animals; they are also presented as culturally closely resembling a stereotyped conception of &quot;native&quot; peoples: they live in &quot;huts&quot;, they use &quot;primitive&quot; tools and weapons, they practice exo-cannibalism, etc.One school of thought has it: we use Lizardfolk so we can enjoy those pulp tropes but not associate them with any actual human peoples.Another school of thought, which I personally am closer to, has it: using Lizardfolk keeps alive these tropes which have no cogency or currency except as byproducts of the racist ideologies connected to European colonialism particularly in Africa and Asia. It's the tropes themselves that carry this baggage and hence keep the racist ideas alive.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 8332830, member: 42582"] My view, and I think this is similar to [USER=21169]@Doug McCrae[/USER]'s view, is that what is at issue is [I]tropes and related ideas[/I]. Consider Lizardmen/Lizardfolk: they are (literally) presented as resembling certain animals; they are also presented as culturally closely resembling a stereotyped conception of "native" peoples: they live in "huts", they use "primitive" tools and weapons, they practice exo-cannibalism, etc. One school of thought has it: we use Lizardfolk so we can enjoy those pulp tropes but not associate them with any actual human peoples. Another school of thought, which I personally am closer to, has it: using Lizardfolk keeps alive these tropes which have no cogency or currency except as byproducts of the racist ideologies connected to European colonialism particularly in Africa and Asia. It's the tropes themselves that carry this baggage and hence keep the racist ideas alive. [/QUOTE]

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