With the rampant racism going on in the Sam and Sambucky tags on a daily basis, I thought I’d put together a list of resources that people can tap into when writing Sam. Because idk if maybe y'all don't know any better but it's it getting so exhausting seeing your favorite character constantly mistreated or seeing hate crimes in his tag all day.
And listen, I HIGHLY recommend that you go through the stereotypes and tropes carefully and with a mindset of learning. I also highly recommend that if you get offended, defensive, or irritated about anything you read here, you inspect that. And if your first reaction is to double down and argue, inspect that too.
Addressing our biases is uncomfortable but not as uncomfortable as some of you have made people in this fandom with the way you treat Black characters and fans.
Do better.
Stereotypes & Tropes
The link in the heading above is a guide to quite a few harmful stereotypes and tropes to be mindful of when writing characters of color by writingwithcolor. I highly recommend you read through their content.
Below is a list of things we see most often in the Sam and Sambucky tags as well as links from sources talking about similar situations in other spaces:
Infantilization of white characters (At PoC’s expense): Bucky being framed as a helpless child who can't think for himself and that always being Sam's problem.
Black Man, Protecting his Traumatized White Wife: Sam always comforting and being concerned about Bucky when the comfort and care is never reciprocal, and when 'caretaker' Sam's only role/purpose in the story.
Writing a Comedic Black Character: Sam being over-the-top funny and saying things that are wildly out of character. Those incorrect quotes that frame him as joking but he's really mean and hateful, sometimes even violent, toward Bucky? Yeah.
Sam being sexually aggressive: why do people insist that Sam is the top in the relationship? That he's a dom, that he's rough in bed. There's absolutely nothing wrong with top!sam, but insisting that he's no-doubt aggressive and dominant in bed? Nah. Same goes for hyper sexualization.
Size Difference: Describing or drawing Sam as bigger or taller than his white partner when canon clearly depicts otherwise.
Villainizing Black Characters/Actors: Sam is always wrong, Sam is unfair, Sam is a bully, Sam is violent. Mackie is a misogynist. Mackie is homophobic etc.
Writingwithcolor also has this search engine that finds anything on their blog.
Resources for writing Sam as a well rounded character:
A lot of the time Sam is written without any depth or nuance. In many fics, he only exists to prop the white dude up. Very rarely is he written as the caring, badass, heartthrob that he really is. Be mindful of Sam's role in your story, is he always chasing Bucky's affection, are you using Sam as a reader insert to lust after Bucky? Do you diminish/ignore Sam's skills and knowledge to make the white dude look good/smart? Do you consider his trauma and mental struggles as well when you write about Bucky's and how Bucky leans on him for support? Remember Sam's POV does not equal a Sam-centric story.
Below are a bunch of links on how cool Sam really is to help you shape his character in your stories:
From the 2019 samwilsonbirthdaybang:
MCU Wiki (link updated by me since Sam is now Cap)
Marvel Wiki
A folder full of Sam meta
Complete Badass (reblog)
NCO (non-commissioned officer) and why
Sam Wilson Meta: A Timeline
Sam Wilson's USAF Rank
Sam Wilson is a US Special Forces Pararescueman, and a PTSD counselor.
Sam's role at the VA was a peer counselor, not a therapist. here's the difference.
A compilation of Sam Wilson’s personality traits
Sam's PTSD
Sam's age & Riley's death
More badass Sam Wilson
New! More on Sam not being a therapist
Resources for drawing/coloring Sam:
Here's a hint: he's not beige or grey. Too often do we see art of someone who is supposed to be Sam but he's one shade darker than the white dude. These posts go into detail with some great advise:
Creating Black Characters
Whitewashing & Colorism
Coloring gifs of poc
Y'all can't draw or color Black ppl to save your lives.
Color picking
Color theory & darker skin
Some examples of whitewashing skin tone: this, this, this, this and this. New! Another example. Loads more examples on whyaretheywhite!
Here's a visual:
see where this dude's skin tone is on the color picker:
compared to Mackie's skin tone?:
Look at the difference between those two shades! Remember whitewashing doesn't only refer to the lightening of skin, it also includes drawing Black characters with European facial features, and not incorporating the appropriate hair texture etc.
Additional resources & reading:
How to write fic for Black characters: a guide for non-Black fans
Colourblindness
White Authors and Topics to Avoid/Tread Carefully
Physical Descriptions:
Dark skin reactions to cold weather
Skin color changes due to health
Describing skin tone
Skin tone & food comparisons: it's weird. stop it.
Dehumanizinig Sam
Antiblackness in it's many forms
It's not preference, it's racism.
Antiblackness: Even more examples
It's not shipwars, surprise, it's also racism.
More Stereotypes
Interracial Relationships
New! How to: Safely browse Sambucky fics on ao3
New! Ronald Wimberly's comic essay, Lighten Up
New! How to stan the white guy with minimal contribution to fandom's racism problem
For now that's it. I might add useful articles I come across to this post as time goes on. Please also add your own resources but fuckery will be blocked.
These resources are by no means exhaustive, they are just what i have used as references throughout the years. You will do yourself (and a multitude of Sam fans) a massive favor by being introspective about your role in this fandom and how it affects Black fans and other fans of Sam Wilson. Go and read the rest of the articles/posts on these blogs and apply the context to the Sam and Sambucky fandoms, the similarities are stark.
xoxo, a tired Sam fan who just wants to see him loved and respected.
tangentwithtanner
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discoholicmusic
germansingergirl
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