how to write a black character if you not black yourself, a how to by yours truly, me, cammy
yeah so aight, i did one of these like. last year, here’s the original post right here so yeah. there’s been a lot more stuff that’s been going on in terms with writing black characters and nonblack people being the authors and ones running the blogs since then and a lot of it is just garbage and needs repair. like, i just been thinking, jesus, we need to fix this, how’s it gonna happen. he told me to make another guide so here we are.
ONE. stop expecting brownie points for having a black character/faceclaim anywhere, and i mean ANYWHERE on your blog.
that shit is corny. why should you be gassed up and praised for having a black character? i’m black and i don’t get praised for having a black character, so why are you different? no one gets gassed for using a white faceclaim, so you shouldn’t get gassed up for using a black one? diversity shouldn’t be praised or gassed up, deviating from the norm of a very white/nonblack roleplay environment or any general media, writing, what have you doesn’t deserve an award. you’re supposed to step outside of that and write different characters, you don’t get a cookie.
TWO. stop acting like you own black faceclaims.
that shit is just weird and uncomfortable. if people wanna use a certain faceclaim, then they’re gonna do it. you don’t own them as a person or faceclaim, so don’t get mad when you see duplicates of them and act entitled. black celebrities have their own agency and really don’t act or do anything really just so you can feel like you own their resources on tumblr dot edu.
THREE. use other faceclaims that aren’t light skinned or “racially ambiguous.”
kehlani? kiersey? zoe? zendaya? tinashe? nicki? bey? rihanna? they need a rest. they’re tired, okay, listen to me. your character being black or you using a black faceclaim does not mean they have to be light skinned. use someone different? i promise it’s not gonna kill you, i swear it won’t. if resources and icons are the only things holding you up with using black people with darker skin as your faceclaim then maybe you just don’t need to write a black character at all. there’s people on here that make icons, go ask for some requests if it’s really an issue and you don’t know how to make them? go on pb_updates, look outside of tumblr for icons, like, there’s just zero excuse for it.
FOUR. stop using poc in the place of black.
that shit is aggravating too. black isn’t a bad word like i said. don’t be afraid to say your character is black? poc and black aren’t interchangeable all the time like please stop.
FIVE. if you aren’t black and you’re writing a black character, you need to cool it on talking about black issues/culture.
what i mean by this is if you’re not black, you don’t need to stick your nose where it don’t belong. don’t think just because you write a black character, you can speak up on black experiences or things specific to black people. don’t talk about aave and using it or antiblack slurs, it’s not your place. don’t think you know everything about black culture because you possibly could not know. just. don’t speak over black people and what we go through. you’re free to bring attention to black issues and things like that? but if someone asks you, go ahead and direct them to an actual black person so you don’t get in trouble on here.
SIX. be aware of antiblack/colorist tropes.
your only evil character being dark skinned? bad look. always shipping light skinned femmes with dark skinned masculine people while leaving dark skinned femmes without any kind of relationship/connections? bad look. your light skinned characters being regarded as pure and beautiful and brown/darker skinned ones being regarded as ugly and mean? bad look. there’s tons of other tropes that play into colorism and antiblackness and if you aren’t sure that you’re about to do it, ask someone who’s black and/or do your research just to make sure you don’t contribute to these harmful stereotypes and tropes.
SEVEN. get it together with your graphic designs of your black characters.
if you do art or make your own icons, that’s dope, big ups to you for having that kind of talent and determination. what isn’t dope is when you have your art of your black characters and it just looks like a recolor of a white character. yeah, not all black people have “black” features or they have”white” features those of which that are usually considered to be more “delicate” like having smaller lips or noses and is already a shitty and racist ideal in itself, but its enough of us that do for you to get it together and learn how to draw them. black people have big noses and lips, afros, braids, dreads, twists, discoloration, like! we’re not a monolith and don’t all look like we’re white painted black, get it together. if you can’t draw black characters that look black, maybe you need to step your art game up considerably.
EIGHT. stop ignoring what black writers say concerning struggles with their black characters.
i’m sorry, but we all know the roleplay community is racist. we all know at this point, there’s no way you can’t. if you’ve gone your whole time on here writing white characters and having them praised then going to writing a black character that gets little to no recognition, don’t even be surprised at all. you’re gonna get ignored, you’re gonna struggle for interactions, just keep that in mind because unfortunately in this community, it comes with the territory. it’s going to take time and you’re not going to get a thousand followers in three weeks like you would with a white character. people are gonna be racist and disrespectful towards your character at some point, there’s really just no getting around it most if not all the time as sad as it is. if we can’t surpass any of these problems, don’t think that you can.
NINE. step your character concepts up.
the stereotypes are tired, ok. the drug dealers/lords, the violent rap artists, fashion bloggers with bad attitudes, like? why? and it’s not that black people like that don’t exist, because they certainly do. the big problem is that no one bothers to develop these characters at all? it’s just a trope pasted on a face, they have no emotional agency or ties, the audience has no emotional ties with the character. outside of that, black people do the same stuff nonblack people do? we’re doctors, teachers, lawyers, stay at home parents, models, business owners, anything nonblack people do, black people do too. stop just pasting stereotypes and tropes on to your black characters without developing anything at all and expecting it to just be cool and not shitty or boring and think you’re gonna get by that way.
TEN. please chill with the fetishization and hypersexualization of black bodies.
this shit is aggravating. aggravating and nasty. if all you can do with your black character is reduce them to how their body looks and how sexy they are or how much they have sex you need to get it together. this is not me saying not to write hypersexual black characters, but this isn’t even the same thing. like if all you talk about is how “thicc uwu look at her ass uvu” your character is and how much they love to fuck it’s like, gross. the history of black people being fetishized for their bodies and being unnecessarily hypersexualized is a horrible and disgusting one, so you need to be careful not to do any of that period.
anyways, this is just a fraction of what i need to touch on to be honest, just a small little part. this post is probably worded harshly or what have you, but please understand where i’m coming from. i’m just tired of the shitty antiblack tropes and the racism and entitlement, okay? black people, real and fictional, need to be respected.
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