#jew coding

[littletealights]

i’m not saying that the magical community of bbc’s merlin is jew-coded.

…but i’m not saying they’re not.

[benevolentbirdgal]

When does a character being a pushy salesman/wanting money/being greedy become an antisemitic stereotype? Is there any way to write a character being greedy/power/money hungry without going into harmful jewish stereotypes?

This is a super broad question, so I'm not sure I have the answer you're looking for (and also not the Jewrax - would love to hear from other Jews as well!).

It is possible to write money hungry/greedy/pushy salesman types without doing antisemitic stereotypes, and while obviously writing/creating is specific to what's being created, here's what I'd list as general guardrails:

Don't Jew-code your greedy bastard or slimeball salesman. Really, don't Jew-code your villains in general. And if you have Jewish villains (as in actually Jewish, not just coded that way) there's definitely a lot of thought to be had going in as to why and how that works, and that your villains aren't all Jewish and you have Jewish good guys. Jew-coding is definitely worthy of its own post (and I'm sure people have them), but the big general notes are: overlaps like hell with queer coding, looks like a classic Disney villain (big nose, dark hair, small eyes, sharp features, dark or red curly hair), using Yiddish/Hebrew/other Judeo-languages and phrases when no one else is, is scheming/conniving/greedy, trying to take over the world, and blood libel analogues. For some of these - like the red curly hair or the greed or trying to take over the tri-state area - it's does not a Jew-code make in isolation, but it does begin to stack up at some point.

Basically: A. If you have a pushy salesman or greedy bugger who isn't Jew coded, we're good (on this front, at least). B. If you have a Jewish villain, especially in this way, the ice is getting thin, especially if they're the only Jew or basically the only one in the story - I would really get a sensitivity reader at minimum in this case. C. If you have an otherwise Jew-coded/has traits commonly assumed Jewish antagonist who is greedy/whatever, we have a problem.

The primary ways that this kind of thing becomes antisemitic is if the character is Jew-coded, it's indicated that the bad behavior is Jewish or typical of a story's analogues to Jews (i.e. if there are antisemitic goblins and a nongoblin does something greedy and it's like oh what a goblin), and/or if the character is the only Jew or Jew-coded one in the story.

As with many things, if you have a specific character/plot point/trope/whatever, I recommend talking about it with someone Jewish who has opened themselves to that conversation!

If you have a specific character or dynamic or trope in mind, feel free to follow up with another ask or in my DMs!

[officialcomcast]

SORT OF SPOILER OF ASoUE: I wanted to ignore the Jew-coding of Count Olaf, but they're literally saying "Mazel Tov" at the wedding....

[ameliathefatcat]

More I look into Naomi. She is differently both Jew and Queer coded

[returnofthejudai]

I hate to ask for spoilers but I remember it being said Tolkien's Dwarven people were Jewish-coded and lost their home. Do they ever get it back? Are they okay in the end? I just really don't want to start reading the books and find out that they all die or live in permanent statelessness because that seems to be where most goyim go with their Jewish-coded people *cough* Dragon Age *cough* and it gets disheartening to invest hope in them and have it come to nothing at the end.

The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings Spoilers

The Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain get their home back at the end of The Hobbit. Some of them die in the Battle of the Five Armies, but they DO get their home back. The Dwarves of Moria aren’t so lucky and get completely annihilated by the Balrog and its army of Orcs. 

[fromchaostocosmos]

I’m really uncomfortable with how much people are making fun of Kylo Ren in context of much he is Jew coded.

[fromchaostocosmos]

hi, i saw your list of Jewish HCs (v glad to see Bucky Barnes in there) and i was wondering what you think of Jessica Jones as maybe being Jewish-coded (i've only seen the first 3 episodes so...) and/or maybe it's because the showrunner(?) is a Jewish woman. also is it pretty common to HC a character as Jewish if the actor is?

I don’t if it is common to headcanon a character as Jewish if the actor is, but I know that I do it a lot. Like a ton. 

You know that is a great question about Jessica Jones. I think I would have to rewatch it because I’ve only seen it once so far and it as more about me not getting triggered and dealing with that.

So I have rewatch and pay attention to that.

Either way you can totally headcanon her as Jewish cause why not. 

Does anyone else headcanon Jessica Jones as Jewish or know if she was being Jew-coded?