yapping it up

[syntheticsoliloquies]

being a person of color in fandom is such an exhausting experience because you’re so constantly on guard. you bristle when you see something that might possibly be a microaggression and get this feeling that you’re over sensitive. you have to choose your battles so carefully, you have to try and figure out if people will take criticism or if you’ll be attacked and you’re under obligation to be as gentle and kind as possible

[secretsynthetic]

i’m feeling rlly encouraged by my little corner of the internet rn, so i want to discuss something that is pretty relevant to dark content and fanfiction in general. nobody can control the things that they’re into, nobody has a say in what kinks or fetishes they develop, and finding an outlet through art and writing is absolutely wonderful in my opinion.

that being said, blanket statements condemning “purity culture” and promoting the idea that all of this art is morally neutral are very much dangerous, particularly in white fandom spaces. that is not what purity culture means.

to avoid boring you, the term "purity culture" originated from the 1990s christian movement emphasizing sexual abstinence. since then, the term has evolved to include the sanitization of art, expression, language, etc. to avoid upsetting or taboo subjects, disproportionately targeting women, queer people, people of color, and all marginalized groups who are historically seen as "inappropriate" or "unclean". the effects of purity culture are very real in both the internal and external suppression of a person's ideas and life experiences. some personal accounts of the 90s movement conclude that purity culture is the cause of ptsd in people who lived through it. people still insist that queerness should be kept out of children's media for being inappropriate or inherently sexual. clearly the effects are still here.

"purity culture" can be applied to a plethora of topics in taboo art. this includes the depiction of racism and racial violence. white creators can depict racism in their work, but these creators and by extension their white followers have a responsibility to analyze their treatment of characters of color. i’ve seen it said that fictional characters cannot be objectified because they are objects, and this is true—however, these characters can be examples of fetishization. racial and ethnic stereotypes can absolutely be applied in dark content.

racial stereotyping is what moves the treatment of fictional characters of color from "objectifying" to fetishizing. an example that comes to mind is comparing fictional men of color to animals--historically, comparing men of color to animals is a form of dehumanization and othering. it was used as an argument to support slavery in america based on the idea that black people were savage, animalistic, and less intelligent by nature, and thus require subjugation by white people as their "stewards". stephanie meyer played into this trope by making the werewolves in the twilight trilogy all indigenous people, specifically focused on portraying men of color. what makes this harmful racial stereotyping isn't that men of color were shapeshifters or werewolves. its because it was only people of color that were portrayed as animals.

racism is prevalent in fandom spaces. many creators of color have shared their experiences with this and been told to stop “clutching their pearls”. the fact is, sharing and creating racist content with an uncritical eye as a white person is irresponsible at best, and makes fandom spaces inaccessible to fans of color. we can’t cultivate online communities without care and concern for one another, and that means taking responsibility, learning about fetishizing tropes and how to spot them in your work or other people’s work.

this is not a condemnation or a callout. as a person of color in fandom, i know a lot of wonderful white allies who actively make the community accessible to fans of color. all i want with this post to help make this space safer for myself and others, and that means pointing out racism and encouraging people to educate and inform themselves.

[secretsynthetic]

i need cod fans and fan artists to understand that whitewashing isn’t just lightening skin. if you draw gaz with brown skin but a small, button nose, that’s whitewashing. if you give him straight hair, that’s whitewashing. if you give him small lips, that’s whitewashing

even if you give a character brown skin, you’re erasing their race and ethnicity if you take away their features. if you draw farah, gaz, alejandro, rudy with a small nose, that’s not a style choice, that’s whitewashing.

[secretsynthetic]

i’ve deleted both of these replies and blocked out the names so neither of these people receive hate, but i am gonna take the opportunity to address these two things.

“i’m scared of messing up drawing other races” is a very common sentiment among white artists. people of color hear this all the time, and frankly, it seems like an excuse to not portray poc correctly (the only way to learn how to do something is to practice), but i will take it in good faith. people draw what they know. its easiest, and it makes the most sense—if you grew up around mostly anglo-white people, you may have internalized typical white features as being the default or the norm. there are hundreds, if not thousands of references and guides on how to draw features of people of color. monolids, wide noses, flat noses, hooked noses, round faces, textured hair, palm pigmentation—all of these are features that should be depicted, and when you avoid depicting them, it send a message to people of color—that our features are not worth depicting, that your fear of being wrong is more important than we are. i promise, we are not as difficult to draw as you think. if you mess up and someone points it out, it’s a learning experience that you can use to improve, and it sucks, and it’s uncomfortable, but that’s artistic growth.

there is no way for me to take this second reply in good faith. to say “it’s just art” is reductive not only of the feelings of people of color but also the importance of art as a whole. art is a cultural capstone and a deeply important form of communication—yes, fan art too. it might not be the mona lisa, but the fact is fan art is art and has an impact. like i said before, not taking the time to learn how to depict people of color shows a flippant disrespect that makes fandom spaces uncomfortable for us and puts us down. i don’t mean to get pretentious about this point, but art isn’t “just art”. it never has been.