What makes setting lore "actually matter" to the players?

[Bill Zebub]

I can only speak for myself, but my stake is that other species that are functionally treated as humans have a tendency to edge into becoming like analogies or allegories for real life ethnicities, which I find kind of questionable. A thought I had recently is that if a character comes from an analogue to a real life culture, I’d much rather they be human than otherwise. Making, say, a China-like nation majority gnome opens the door to way too many headaches in my observations.

This of course isn’t inevitable when using species for aesthetics, but I found it after goes hand in hand.

Ok, I hadn't thought of that, and haven't observed that happening, but let's say it can happen...it sounds like you are aware of and alert to that possibility. Isn't that enough to prevent it from happening at your table? What am I missing?

 

[Umbran]

That's not what I said. I said I want more than, "I thought it was cool", if that characterization flies in the face of the setting lore for that species and the player can't be bothered to come up with a single in-setting reason as to why.

The, "can't be bothered" is a characterization loaded with presumptions.

I will repeat - the setting lore for a species is typically a stereotype. Real sentients vary widely in behavior. If this is supposed to be a simulation of something like real people, we should not expect individuals to adhere to a stereotype any more than we should expect humans to adhere to the various cultural stereotypes we have about them.

Not having a specific justification for playing other than the bog standard stereotype is less an indication of "couldn't be bothered" than it is an indication that the player doesn't feel a justification should be necessary or required.

I personally don't think that's too much to ask.

So, the base question of the thread is, "What makes lore matter to the players?"
You are the GM in this scenario. "The GM thinks it isn't too much to ask," is not a selling point to a player.