Finally have this doll ready for @creatingblackcharacters Black History Month challenge <3
This is a doll of a character of mine, Ashasiara. Tolkein-esque high fantasy historically is antiBlack, both in the common refusal of depicting Black characters and often using Black traits to describe "barbaric" races. More Black people have had roles in high fantasy in the past couple years thanks to the efforts of Black writers which is amazing. I wanted to show a character in a fantasy setting for Black people to relate to, specifically Black women. I want people to be able to see themselves in a leading role, having an emotionally complex hero's journey, of getting to see Black people in the whimsy of being an elf on a big adventure.
I wanted to have another Black doll because the customizing community does have a strong preference for a specific kind of straight-haired white coded doll. It's much more rare than it should be to see people making Black custom dolls, especially ones with textured hair. I want Black people to be able to see people making these art pieces that reflect them too, and are given just as much detail and care and respect as any other custom.
Definitely check out Black doll artists such as Dollmaker, Acori Honzo, Bohopunkz, and KaypeaCreations just to name a few !
Thank you to Ice for tagging me!! I'd like to tag @ratscrap @ecofear @eggmixercortex and @eggdritch if they'd like to reflect with some of their art, gifs, or writing, and anyone else seeing this consider yourself tagged.