Once when I was in undergrad, someone described something as “problematic” in class and our professor was like, “That’s cool, but ‘problematic’ doesn’t really mean anything. It means that the thing you’re describing has a problem, and in and of itself that’s not bad. Art, especially, should always have problems, or else it’s not interesting and not art, either. It sounds like you’re trying to say that this is bad, but you don’t want to say ‘bad.’ Is that right?”
So from then on whenever one of us called something problematic, he would make us talk it out until we could name the “bad” thing we were hinting at. In this particular class, 7/10 it was some type of oppression, and the remainder was like, “I’m uncomfortable because this is very new/confusing/pushing boundaries that made me feel safe.”
Once we stopped calling things “problematic” and stopping at that, class got way more interesting and... we all had to say, like, “that’s racist” or “that’s misogynistic” or “ew capitalism gross” out loud, which a lot of us had never done in a classroom before. Or we had to be like, “Uhhh... I’m not sure what’s so bad?” and confront our own beliefs and that was maybe even more useful.
Anyway. Whenever I see the word problematic, I can’t help but think of this professor being like, “Good starting point, now let’s get specific.” I think when we have to commit to saying “that’s ___” it requires a lot more careful thought about the truth and impact and complexities of whatever we’re claiming. Sometimes there really is some bullshit afoot, and also sometimes it’s art, and it should be full of problems, because that’s what art is.
i think we should be ridiculing them more for this. you don't get to try and go all "queer website" when your staff likes to go on nuking sprees targeting the trans fem users
would be remiss not to mention that the rainbow notably straight up just removed the trans flag colors from it. like they’re gone. it’s the progress flag minus the trans flag colors.
*If you send me anything after the 13th, I am going to delete it! Pay attention!
Y'all been asking about this one forever, and I admit that I had to really think about how to make something like this possible without dying due to overwork 😅 but I think I got it!
The rules for this one are long and specific, under The Submissions, The Critics, and Things to Expect from Ice. So I'm putting them under a read more.
PLEASE READ THE RULES! Y'all were not reading the rules during the character polls and it drove me nuts 🙏🏾
The Submissions
In order to be accepted, your submissions REQUIRE:
The Title and Genre
The premise of your story- this can be a description, a blurb, a summary, anything that allows us as the reader to understand the set up of what's going on here.
A description of your character- this doesn't have to be their entire life story. We just wanna know their name, what they look like, background, powers- RELEVANT things! Ideally, this should tie in smoothly to the premise!
Think of it as the summary that's on the back of books when you go to read them, plus a little extra. It should pull your reader in!
Rules for Submission:
Character has to be Black. This includes Black biracials, yes! If it's a side character, fine. But don't tell me all about your nonblack MC's life saga just to go "and then here's Black Buddy". Keep that. We want to hear something tailored to the Black character!!
PDF converted into an image. That way we can click it and read the whole thing without it taking up a huge amount of space in the ask. If you can include an image description for accessibility, that would be kind of you.
One Page! 12 Point! Legible Font! You can write your magnum opus if you want, but I won't post it 🤣 twelve point font MINIMUM, one page MAX! Calibri is the font I find easiest to read, but be reasonable.
You don't have to fill the whole page! If you think you've got it in two paragraphs.... Great! Don't use no damn AI though.
Only do this challenge if you're willing to accept constructive criticism. This is a major one! People are going to judge your work. You have to accept that! You're ASKING them to! I will not accept submissions with apologies and clarifications and "this might sound racist now but-" Let the viewers make their own calls, unbiased! It'll reveal to you things you may not have even considered, which will guide your writing. Maybe you'll drop an idea, maybe you'll take on an extra challenge, it's fine!
The Critics
Be constructive, not destructive. These are people looking for genuine feedback. Put on your Mrs. CBC hat and give that to them. You are well within your rights to say when something makes you uncomfortable, or if it's not something you would read due to that discomfort. Use your words to explain WHY. But if you feel yourself about to blow up with how much you hate an idea or a person... Keep it in your head or take it to your own page. We didn't ask for that.
Keep feedback to a reasonable length. I don't mind one or two comments with feedback, but if you got a LOT and you really wanna have this conversation with the poster (which is great!) you can always take it to the OPs inbox! I know it's selfish, but I'm gonna get a lot of notifications from this and if it's a back and forth, that is something that can be held between the two of you!
Understand that the premise is not the entire story. As always, you cannot determine if something is a problem based off of a page worth of context. So when you offer feedback, recognize that you can only approach it from a "consider this idea, because it may be a problem" perspective. Not a "this is inherently bad!!" We've talked about this! It's not on the idea, it's on the writer!
Things to Expect From Ice
For real, I won't be saying much! This is everyone's chance to play as CBC for two weeks lmao. But I will pop in as desired. I do know there's gonna be some little things I'll be checking for in every submission.
I'll be turning notifications off after a point for each one, so I don't get overwhelmed. If something feels wrong, if boundaries are being pushed and it comes to my attention, I may turn off reblogs.
I am not pre-checking submissions! Do not ask me in advance how I feel- that defeats the point of the project.
Okay! If you read this far, good job and thank you 👍🏾
This is an example of what the polls will look like:
How do you feel about this prompt and/or character description?
Black readers: Could currently use work (how?)
Black readers: Sounds cool so far!
Everyone else: Could currently use work (how?)
Everyone else: Sounds cool so far!
Voting ended onJun 2
Yes, this IS subjective! It's not like we're going to have full group agreement on "what needs work" and why. It's the Critics' job to elaborate and offer a constructive thought process. These poll are more so to quickly gauge the mood of a potential audience, just based off of what you (the Writer) are currently showing them. In other words: don't take this to heart as Law, take it as feedback.
okay it’s come to my attention that absolutely NONE OF YOU know ANYTHING about how cutie marks work. let me say this simply. a cutie mark isn’t a job being assigned, it’s a special TALENT OR SKILL that the pony enjoys. Most of the time it has a directly transferable job for that skill, like if you enjoy baking and are super good at it WOW! baker. If you are really good at writing and telling stories, author. However, there are some cutie marks that could go multiple ways.
twilight sparkle has exceptional magic ability, so she became a scholar, but she could really do anything that required a good magic skill. same with rainbow dash, her weather controlling job isn’t directly linked to her cutie mark, but it does fit the bill for the job.
i was posed the question of what would a murderer pony’s cutie mark be and wouldn’t everyone know. NO. if somehow murder were to be a special skill, the cutie mark might be something like a knife or a shovel. other ponies might just assume you’re good at cooking or gardening. now with cutie marks like apple jacks, their family has a ‘green thumb’ kind of deal so obviously the cutie mark would be hereditary.
so, the reason i made this post. walter white pony’s cutie mark would NOT be blue crystals. it would be a CHEMISTRY FLASK.
I’m starting to realize we may not all be ready for Racism 102, aka “often times, you don’t think ‘I’m going to be racist,’ you just act on it.”
It does not matter what other reasons you have for being racist. It was still racist. White people lashing out on people of color when In Their Feelings About Something is still racism. White people objectifying people of color for WHATEVER reason is still racism.
Reading a book where a character does a racist thing, but it's narrated in first-person and they're not saying "I racistly attack the person of color with racist intent" so clearly nothing racist could be happening
It is also somewhat frustrating to see discussions of this framed in terms of mental health---almost exclusively white people's mental health, cited as a rationale for the racism---as though no person of color ever struggles with, for example, anxiety, depression, psychosis, or the simple stress of navigating society as a racialized person.
Today I wanted to talk about Kyle Bassinga. Kyle was a 21 year old man from Georgia, whose family described him as "a kind, thoughtful, and smart young man who loved nature, music, and the people around him". Kyle Bassinga was killed on February 18th 2026, just ten days after his birthday. He was found hanging from a tree in a park.
The police ruled it a suicide. The family and local community demanded an investigation. The police refused to change their ruling.
I know this website it too white for this to really go anywhere, but an understanding of the present reality of white supremacy in the United States is just so important to transfeminism here. Lynchings never stopped, white supremacy never went away, you just stopped looking.
The rest of you can (and really ought to!) reblog, but it's not your turn to talk. Just listen and reflect!
What DOES a good apology for antiblackness look like, to you?
Not a shitty twitter apology that dodges accountability. Not a genuine apology made to white fans to soothe their embarrassment and egos and maintain white solidarity.
What does an ACTUAL apology for antiblackness consist of, to you?
What actions do you need to see from people who claim to be better, to deserve your support despite a history of being unsafe?
Why do you think nonblack people feel they're entitled to grace, and what would actually EARN them your grace? What makes you not want to offer it at all?
I think there's a disconnect between what the group being harmed needs, and what people think the group being harmed should settle for. We've been forced to know the latter. How do Y'ALL feel?
I'm not sure why it's so hard to believe that this website is majority white. This is at least the tenth round of this question getting this same answer. How many times is it "just not reaching the demographics of color" before we accept that there just isn't that many 😅
But seriously, I think if any of you want to do positive as an ally to end out this Black Girl Magic May, you should go see Is God Is if it's in your theaters. No, it's not about religion, but yes there is symbolism. As there is in many a story.
Complex Black and complex female characters? Isn't that what we all asked for? Black and female characters that are allowed to get angry, to make mistakes, to get emotional, to get dirty, to lash out and win?
I also think we should support a Black female playwright and director, Aleshea Harris. It's such a brilliantly written piece of work and I would like to support her creations. Especially because we know what happens whenever films by Black people and women "fail".
We have a chance to put our money where our mouths are- buy some candy and sneak it into the theater so you don't have to pay for treats, and support Black creation!
“we shouldn’t be holding indie creators to the same standards as bigger media“ i agree on principle but like this only seems to ever come up when the indie creator in question is being racist for some mysterious reason. So
Black people dont need to be made into animals or aliens to become “palatable” to audiences. We are alive and we have stories to share. If you want to see black kids share their story with the world considering following FLY on Kickstarter. We launch June 9th ! (link in bio)
A coming of age story about Black kids who finally have power to fight back against systems designed against them.
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