South Asian-coded Pirates with "Robin Hood Ideology"
Anonymous asked:
Hello I have a fantasy setting with several different cultures, which are based on real ones. I have a pirate group consisting of people with different ethnicities and most of them are from the south east coded region (continental part closer to India/Sri Lanka and islands have several other inspirations etc.). Their pirate group has smth like a “robin hood” ideology — stealing from the rich and giving to the poor and stuff. I know that there is a stereotype of people of color being criminals and violent in general, and I remember reading about other south asian coded pirates on your page, but would their ideology make any difference? Like it is still messy, out-of-the-law and all, but comes with a selfless idea in mind. Another problem needed to consider: I don’t have much characters from the mentioned region and the pirate gang has kind of an episodic appearance. Would their group than be considered a tokenism? Also one of the pirates falls into the “big scary dark-skinned warrior” territory and I don’t know if his “softer inner side” would make this stereotype less harmful. Should I change his ethnicity or having other people on the team will make it less problematic? That’s also the question applied to the whole pirate team in mind. p.s.: sorry if I made some mistakes or wrote in a kind of jumbled style — I’m still learning the language (im russian)
Breaking up my response into three distinct sections, for each of the different potential problems raised here.
Also, before we begin, a gentle correction: the regions you have mentioned (India and Sri Lanka) fall geographically under South Asia, not South East Asia.
Q. 1 “Do the South Asian coded pirates play into racialized stereotypes, i.e. people of color being associated with crime, violence etc. ?”
It is always good to be vigilant when basing your fantasy characters off real-world cultures, more so when they are not not white. However, while you could rightfully argue that racial coding in popular fantasy often negatively targets minority groups, you should also be aware that stereotypes can be vastly different across various communities.
Hell, South Asian literary/cultural history is rife with contradictions: the Wikipedia page for South Asian stereotypes has a separate sub-section for region-specific historical prejudices.
Even a cursory look at Indian literature, media and cultures will reflect the historical tensions between various communities, and how such tensions shape popular representations.
Before you start to go down the rabbit hole of worrying about potential stereotyping, you'll need to do the following:
Be specific about which exact cultures/communities you are drawing from.
“South Asia” is an enormous region, comprising several countries; India alone has more ethno-linguistic and cultural diversity than can be homogenized by a general “brown people” identifier.
I am hazarding a guess that you are taking inspiration from the Dravidian ethnolinguistic groups–the Tamil, Telegu, Kannadiga, Malayali, Gondi people etc. to name a few–very roughly corresponding to parts of South India and Sri Lanka, which you have mentioned.
But even that doesn't really narrow it down, because a) there are many Dravidian groups, each with their own specific cultural markers b) I don't have enough information about your specific inspirations for racial coding, to make any further assumptions.
Once you have narrowed down which exact cultures you are drawing from, research them thoroughly, looking into potential grey areas and historical stereotypes. In your case, focus on prejudices pertaining to violence or aggressive crime among said groups.
See, as a Bengali from an Indian Hindu family, I am also South Asian, but we are not traditionally stereotyped as violent criminals; instead, Bengalis are more likely to be depicted as lazy, servile or effeminate (in case of Bengali men), or “false” Hindus, for reasons stemming both from colonial history and present-day xenophobia.
My point being, when you derive inspiration from real-life cultures, you need to know the implications of group-wise stereotyping; this helps to refine your sensitivity research and identify specific tropes that may be offensive.
Now that you have identified both the group, and its associated stereotypes, ask yourself: are you actually challenging it or reinforcing it?
Intent =/ outcome.
A classic example of overzealous representation for me is George R. R. Martin’s Dorne in A Song of Ice and Fire, where there seems to be a sort of cognitive dissonance between intent and outcome. On the one hand, it refashions a geographically distinct ethno-linguistic group, partially inspired by MENA and Moorish cultural heritage, as being more “sexually liberated” and radically progressive than their Westerosi counterparts; on the other, there is the looming presence of persistent Orientalist undertones every time Dorne shows up in the series, including hypersexualization of the few recurring Dornish characters.
With all that being said, here is the final thing you need to ask yourself.
What representation do you hope to achieve through your South Asian pirate characters?
Will you be actively challenging stereotypes presented against them? Or are these stereotypes perpetuated, even unintentionally, by your narrative?
Mod Abhaya mentions an important point: when you speak of ideology (Are they anti-imperialist, and fighting to reclaim their indigenous land?), you must also remember to contextualize it against South Asian history, specifically documentation of armed resistance, people's rebellions, and piracy/crime in the regions you draw inspiration from.
Also, on that note:
Are the pirates, even with their Robin Hood ideology, presented as “activists gone too far” in their stance against authority, like, say, Jet from Avatar?
Does the narrative show the heroes as being more morally pure/sound than them?
Will the pirate group be presented as misguided but well-intentioned, to be “redeemed” by their interactions with non-South Asian characters?
TL:DR;
Select a specific group/culture instead of blanket generalization → Research historical and contemporary stereotypes about said group to identify vulnerable areas to avoid → Actively challenge and resist these prejudices and biases.
Q. 2 “Is this kind of representation tokenism?”
Please refer to our General FAQ post on tokenism first.
More on tokenism: What Is Tokenism, and Why Does It Matter in the Workplace? by Vanderbilt University
From a glance at the information provided, I personally think that in the current state of your WIP, these characters’ inclusion does sound like tokenism, particularly because you mention that you don't really have many other South Asian-coded characters (There is some information missing: what about the ethnicities of your other characters, especially the protagonists–are they primarily white? Is there any South Asian character of particular significance?)
To avoid this, you might think of adding more South Asian characters with plot relevance, who are not affiliated to this group. Also avoid using the characters in a very heavy handed sense, by which I merely mean: don't use them as mere mouthpieces to make long, insincere monologues about racism or social issues faced by this particular community, especially if they have a very minor appearance in the plot. This practice reeks of artificial diversity.
Q. 3. “Is it racist to play into the strong, brown warrior trope, even if he has a softer side?”
Let's be blunt for a second. Why do you think this might come off as possibly racist? Why are you so sure that your writing plays into the racialized trope?
Have you portrayed this character to be standoffish, aggressive or in an otherwise negative light?
Is his physique and skin color presented to be inherently scary?
Is his “softer inner side” presented as a surprise reveal, for comedic or shock value, or in direct juxtaposition to his physical features?
Are there lighter skin characters from other ethnic groups specifically, who are depicted to be afraid of him, especially for laughs?
Are there other characters with a similar personality/build, who are not South Asian, and if not, why did you feel drawn to portray this character in particular?
Check internal biases, and see if you can trace authorial logic and answer your own question.
Also related, see this WWC post about racial stereotyping, and poverty driving BIPOC to crime.
All the best with your project.
-Mod Mimi [ Here is my kofi, I am a trans and queer student currently struggling with work and education, any tips are highly appreciated, if you are in a position to donate! ]
First, let’s discuss culture.
What are the other cultures you have utilized in building your setting?
You mention this group having episodic appearances within your setting, with few characters originating from their region. I’d invite you to question why that is and what it means to have the majority of your South Asian characters associated with piracy.
Contextualize them with your other characters and see if you have written in general patterns.
Also, you are condensing many cultures under a single label of South Asian in this case–determining the actual reference points that you want to draw from will enhance your research.
Second, ideology.
How does their ideology play out?
What are the forces in opposition to your pirates?
Are they combating imperialism and/or other oppressive forces?
Interrogate the reasons why they would be choosing to do so. The framing of these characters as pirates, even with a Robin Hood ideology, opposition to the law–what is the structure that they are fighting against?
Additionally, the methods by which they try to resolve this conflict will change how they come across. If they are fighting on the same side as your heroes, what distinguishes them beyond in-group / out-group definitions via appearance?
Third, bias.
What role is the pirate gang playing within the larger narrative?
Why are they the majority if not all of your South Asian characters?
Try to investigate the origins of these characters and why it’s coming across as problematic within your own mind.
As Mod Mimi said, why did you feel drawn to portray these characters in this manner?
-Mod Abhaya
