something that i’ve been commonly told when i make characters black is that i’m “blackwashing” them and i should keep in mind “what if it were the other way around and they were whitewashed?” a lot of people that call me, a black person, racist compare whitewashing and blackwashing as if they work together hand in hand
whitewashing is the act of making a canon character of color white, which removes poc representation. “blackwashing”, a term created by white people, is the act of doing the opposite of whitewashing, which adds black representation. for decades, black people have been forced to identify with poorly written and often black characters built off of sterotypes. thats why fans of media like myself have had to make representation of our own by making our favorite characters mixed with their canon race and our own cultures. people should not be off threatened or offended by “blackwashing”, especially when a lot of casts have white or pale poc characters and the token black character looks like a stereotype, ends up dying, or both.
“why don’t you make black original characters?” tons of artists on here have made black characters but you don’t see them cross your dashboard because it doesn’t have the same effect as making a canon character black.
“why don’t you focus more on canon poc?” a) there isn’t even any canon poc in some series or b) the small amount of canon poc are poorly represented because authors don’t often do research on black culture
“blackwashing” doesn’t exist. just like reverse racism, it’s a term coined by white people so they can feel special by being oppressed. people who believe in “blackwashing” are not educated on how black people are treated in media now and how they’ve been treated in the past. our skin color and facial features were used as clown makeup by white people in minstrel shows but people don’t even think about it because “oooOoOO what if it was the other way around and it was whitewashing” >:((”. instead of going after the people that make canon dark skinned characters WHITE, spineless dogs go after people about something that doesn’t exist. when poc make a canon character’s skin dark and say they’re black/latino/etc., they’re doing it out of love for their culture and people. when white people “blackwashing”, they do it in support of poc. nothing but love and care goes into “blackwashing”.
and if you still believe in “blackwashing” after reading this, i’m going to personally make your favorite characters black and there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it
Tag: racism
im just really mad bc people in this fandom will get so fucking heated over mixed-race headcanons and assume that every darkskinned edit of a character just automatically means they’re black and that so-and-so isn’t black/more unsavory words and they’ll defend it until they’re frothing at the mouth. all that really says is that you people think that being black is really the worst thing you can be and we’re the only ones willing risk whatever reputations we have in, whatever semblance of respect people may have for us, because we’re already crossing the line by being black, in order to defend ourselves
People also seem to think that when facing these types of people, it’s a lot better to be funnie than you know,,,stand up for people. Being funny gains them brownie points. But I’ll be damned if anyone actually tries talking seriously for a second on an issue they seem to care so much about.
nonblack people can and probably should rb!
i think people should be more aware of the fact that all the regular citizens who helped jewish people escape the country or openly mocked hitler or simply didnt join the military were committing a crime
i often hear people talking about how they would love to help the syrian refugees in europe or do something against trump to help the immigrants but they dont because theyre scared of what others will say about them / because its hard and complicated / because they dont want to get in unnecessary trouble like im absolutely not trying to guilt anyone here but did you really think that working against fascism would be easy or legal in any way? did you think that those germans who hid jewish people or who protested against hitler did so because it was easy and completely safe? of course not but they still did it! they were completely unaffected by hitlers regime and could have lived peacefully (until the war at least) but they sacrificed that and put their lives at danger for the right thing. and despite being traitors they were still treated better in jails and camps than the groups the nazis originally persecuted
so yeah you do have many things to lose – actually less than before bc helping refugees isnt illegal yet – when you actively stand against the norm but looking at the big picture (yknow, helping people survive under a fascist government) it really is a small price to pay
Like when I say ‘white people need to talk to bigots because bigots don’t listen to minorities’ I did not say ‘and it will be easy and fun’.
I know it’s easier to be like ~boo hooo the world is so evil and there’s nothing I can dooo~ but it’s statistically and experientially understood, just by fucking 3rd grade logic, that a bigot will be less amenable towards the subject of their bigotry.
Bigots don’t just ~not like~ minorities- they don’t think we’re human. It’s not about whether they agree with you or not in the moment. Like, pause.
Understand this:
Calls to action for white people to oppose bigotry are calls for white people to position themselves as opposition. THEY ARE NOT CALLS FOR ~SUCCESSFUL DEBATE~
Do not think you are expected nor are you likely to just go around arguing with bigots and they’ll go ‘I agree with you because you’re white!’.
Your job is to be sandpaper.
Every time they open their mouths to make a bigoted joke, or a bigoted remark, or post their shitty bigoted opinion online, you grate against them.
Your job is to make it hard to be a bigot or a fascist. Your job is to ostracize them. Your job is to speak over them the way they love to speak over minorities. Your job is to make it difficult, lonely, annoying, stressful and unwelcome to be a bigot.
When you are white and silent, You are making it easy. You are just letting it happen.
When minorities speak up for themselves, they are in danger, and the bigot just writes off our arguments as the chattering of ‘lessers’.
You, white people, whether you think so or not, are their peers.
Specifically those of you who look and talk like, to an outside observation, your average white american.
Bigots think you all think like them, but are too scared to say it. That, or you’re too much of a coward to stop them.
YOUR JOB IS TO PUSH BACK AND PROVE THEM WRONG.
YOUR JOB IS TO SEPARATE THEM FROM THEIR OWN COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
There are devils among you and if you want to stop being associated with them then fucking prove it. You’re pretty much the only people who can.
White people are too busy in OUR faces tryna show how much they Get It and how Not Racst they are to correct the blatantly racist folks.
They literally don’t have time cause they too busy dancing for our approval.
something people don’t always seem to grasp is that whitewashing isn’t only lightening skin tone, it’s erasing ethnic features as well.
i see a lot of asian characters get this treatment and it definitely like. goes under the radar a little. many asian characters are pale skinned so people don’t really draw the connection with whitewashing, because most people tend to associate the word with strictly colorism (which is an obvious, enormous problem) while forgetting that other forms of erasure and racism also exist at the same time. hell, i don’t even notice it sometimes but then i’ll see something really blatant and go ah! that sure is a white.
and people always try to excuse any and all whitewashing with “it’s just the art style” and “i don’t know HOW to draw ethnic features/black textured hair/etc.”
like…….. okay. so learn. practice. actually put in some effort. learn how to draw rounder faces and monolids. learn how to respectfully draw fuller lips and wide noses. learn how to vary darker skin tones and properly shade them. literally everyone is perfectly capable of incorporating intrinsic diversity into their art.
why would you not want to progress with your talent? why would you not want be able to not only do characters of color justice in your fanart but be able to create more diverse original work in the future? there’s really only one reason someone would be flat out against the idea of that.
sometimes it’s an accident and people don’t realize. so if you haven’t thought about this in a while when it comes to your art and how you depict characters of color, here’s your sign. just take a second or two to look things over and see if perhaps there’s any room for improvement. (hint: there is always room for improvement, for absolutely everyone. that’s part of the fun of creating content and having a passion in the first place, i’d think!)
but if you go out of your way to actually insist that blatant whitewashing is “just your style” then chances are you’re not only lazy but decisively racist.
How White People Handle Diversity Training in the Workplace
One of the white participants left the session and went back to her desk, upset at receiving (what appeared to the training team as) sensitive and diplomatic feedback on how some of her statements had impacted several of the people of color in the room. […] [Later] her friends wanted to alert us to the fact that she was in poor health and “might be having a heart attack.” Upon questioning from us, they clarified that they meant this literally. These co-workers were sincere in their fear that the young woman might actually die as a result of the feedback.
All of this is going to feel very familiar to anyone who’s blogged about racism in fandom.
“the gay community was never racist”
shit y’all still are to this day
I’m glad my post got around.. ppl need to see some history
In 1984, both African American and Asian American groups fought discriminatory door policies at bars across the city. Henry Chappell reported a double-carding incident at theWatering Hole on Folsom. Wearing a dress, heels, and a shawl, Chappell, an African-American self-identified transvestite, was asked for two forms of picture IDs as a means of excluding him from attendance. BWMT hoped that San Francisco would adopt a regulatory model for admittance based on Atlanta’s carding ordinance, which mandated that no bar could demand more than one valid ID per person.3 In part due to pressure from such actions, the City eventually passed a similar ordinance.
Around the same time, the Asian Lesbian and Gay Alliance (ALGA) conducted an informal study of various S.F. gay bars. One of the organizers later recalled, “White guys could sail through with no restrictions, but once color was added to the mix, the barriers went up.” The Midnight Sun and Castro Station were Castro bars particularly notable for their anti-Asian discriminatory practices. When confronted, the owners rationalized their multiple ID policies by claiming that it was difficult to visually discern Asian men’s age.ALGA picketed the Midnight Sun, attracting media coverage with placards such as“Discrimination in the Gay Community Demeans Us All.” During a KPFA radio debate,one participant recalled a bar owner claiming, “Your people don’t drink,” and “It’s a cruise bar; we would lose other clientele because they don’t want to cruise your type.”
-”Racism and Reaction in the Castro: A Brief, Incomplete History”
actually why do we treat the anime industry as a hivemind when its basically just like. Animation Made In Japan. like when boss baby and inside out exist together we can just say “oh yeah boss baby is a bad animated movie and inside out is good but boss baby being bad doesnt make the entire industry bad” so like why is it that when the dragon maid anime and spirited away exist together we’re like “dragon maid anime bad. the entire anime industry is a mistake so liking any anime is bad”
It’s the orientalist racism
Black And Latino Children Are Often Overlooked When It Comes To Autism
Black and latinx children are getting diagnosed as autistic less often than their white peers, due to many factors, including doctors’ own hesitance. These communities are also at a greater risk of misdiagnosis based on racist biases.
Black And Latino Children Are Often Overlooked When It Comes To Autism
The Republican Primary in Georgia Is Taking Racism to a Whole New Level
This is legitimately terrifying:
“In a television ad released May 9, Brian Kemp—who serves as Georgia’s secretary of state and was formerly a state legislator—suggests he intends to personally detain and remove immigrants from the country. “I got a big truck,” he says, climbing into a pick-up truck, “just in case I need to round up criminal illegals and take ’em home myself.” He then adds with a smirk: “Yep, I just said that.””
The Republican Primary in Georgia Is Taking Racism to a Whole New Level
I feel the mountains burn inside 