Tag: racism

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Alex Heberling Leave a comment

korraisnottan:

dat-shit-schway:

So I was looking up Korra cosplay and i noticed this girl had used makeup to attempt to make her skin tone match Korra’s…and this is what she put in the description. I am not sure why this irritated me so much.


I’m not sure if its the fact that she said “No one else who cosplayed seemed to achieve the exact rich skin tone“ as if people who actually are Korra’s color have never cosplayed as Korra before…and the fact that she believes that brown skin is something that you can easily "achieve” by plastering on make-up and it will basically look like you actually have brown skin (which in fact it does not). :I

Ah. Idk. Its 1 AM and this irritated me. Thats what I get for looking up cosplay.

Deedee:

I have not made much commentary on this blog because plain and simple I’m tired. But I haven’t fully given up on working on it so here I am. 

This is exactly why many people have problems with light skinned people cosplaying as Korra. 

“No one else who cosplayed seemed to achieve the exact rich skin tone“ as if people who actually are Korra’s color have never cosplayed as Korra before…

You are right. They are acting like someone of Korra’s tone hasn’t cosplayed as Korra. There are a lot of brown skin folk that are REALLY happy about her design, her character, her outfit and her skin tone that they don’t feel out of place cosplaying because skin tones match. 

That isn’t to say you have to cosplay as only characters of your skin tone. But if you’ve never felt left out, or if you’ve never had to read about someone fetishing your skintone in this way “lovely milk chocolate color” then you don’t understand the isolation of being the odd man out in the cosplay world. 

This is disgusting, thank you for point this out 

5 Rules of Anti-Racism Work

Alex Heberling Leave a comment

racismschool:

1-Do not separate yourself from the herd. Don’t be the exception to your own rule. If you’re white and you make statements about white people, make sure you fully understand that you are not the exception to your statement. If you believe that all white people are racist, it’s not all white people-except for you. If you believe it, believe it for yourself as well.

2-Don’t feel obligated to teach the unteachable. Failure isn’t choosing not to sit and give your time, attention, emotion and ability to a racist. Contrary to what every after school special tells you, not everyone is racist by accident. Some people want to believe what they believe. Stop giving racists things that should be reserved for people who want to be better.

3-Know the difference. One of the biggest and important realizations you’ll come to is figuring out who is worth your time and who isn’t. This is often wrongfully attributed to those who “Agree” with you. It’s not about agreement, it’s about discourse. Those who search for ammunition in your words but never quite here you talking, are not worth your time. Discerning between the two will lift an enormous burden from your shoulders. In either case, it’s always important to let people know where you stand. Always speak up when you see/hear something racist but know who is worth more than your stand.

4-When in doubt, stay out. While you should always let people know where you stand [Read: Call out racist things you see] the level of discourse you engage in needs to be your level, whatever that level may be. If you know something is wrong but can’t quite put into words why, say you don’t approve/are not okay with what’s being said but leave it at that. Don’t give wrong information or information you aren’t 100% sure of. In a rare instance when giving information you aren’t 100% sure of, make it clear that you aren’t sure. Beware: if you say this in front of someone who’s racist they’ll likely use it against you.

5-Know you first. You can talk about, work toward and be a part of anti-racist work while you, yourself are learning. However, you should be very aware that you are in fact, learning. Don’t play the professor of a class you haven’t yet passed.

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Alex Heberling Leave a comment

dweeb-prince:

okay so

i’m going to break this down nice and easy for folks who still cannot grasp how appropriation of AAVE goes:
AAVE stands for African American Vernacular English – a GRAMMATICALLY CORRECT dialect specific to the African American community. If you’d like to read up on it more extensively, I’ve provided some links here.

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Here’s the controversy behind it:
– Non-black folks who use AAVE normally use it to “spice" up their rhetoric, because it’s seen as cool and “in.“
– At the same time, non-black folks look down at African Americans for using AAVE, usually connoting the notion that they are uneducated.
– These very stereotypes play into systemic violence and stereotypes, and merely using African Americans for your consumption rather than giving them the respect of a community. 
– Every time a non-black uses the word “sassy” it promotes a caricature of Blackness, most specifically, black women.
– Of which are also stigmatized for being aggressive, hypersexualized (while simultaneously desexualized), and “ghetto"

Do you see the problem?

Moving on to attire, which is something that’s still hard for non-black folks to grasp:
– Whenever you wear something that you deem “ghetto,“ it is seen as chic, cute, “in”, and alternative.
– But anytime an African American should wear what is deemed ghetto, they’re fulfilling their stereotype.
– Grillz for example. Honkey Ms. Cracka Miley Cyrus is being ridiculed by many for taking on her new “I’m black now and I was Lil’ Kim in a past life" trope. I need ya’ll to recognize that the moment you start using African Americans as objects, as anything other than human, you are participating in their dehumanization. 
– Whenever you z-snap and say “ooooooh guuurrrrrl" you’re still participating in a caricature of African Americans and it’s actually really racist.

So, this isn’t just a call out to white folks, this isn’t just a call out to white queers who like to use the word “sassy" like it’s nobody’s business, this isn’t only to white cis gay men who use the word “realness" without realizing its cultural implications — this is to all POC who still cannot give the African American community the respect and dignity they deserve. Stop using them for your consumption. Stop thinking that taking bits and pieces from black culture is supposed to make you more unique.

get with the fucking program.

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Alex Heberling

[Content note: prejudiced language]

[Image: My “In the Malt Shop” artwork with a screencapped comment above it reading: “Hello again, Black Twilight! I see your colour scheme is garishly ugly as always. And you’ve brought your friends "Man-Face-Dash” and “Collagen-Lip-Rarity” too.  Wonderful.“]

I was wondering when my artwork would make it onto Prejudice is Magic.  There’s some more in the DA comments that you are welcome to share if you’d like. :)

Dear white cosplayers

Alex Heberling

yamino:

I have several friends/acquaintances who are white and also cosplay! And there is nothing wrong with that.  Unfortunately, I’ve seen some popular cosplayers I admire put on “brownface” to cosplay characters like Korra, Katara, and other people of color.  That is not ok.  What seems like innocent dressup to you is a tradition rooted in racism which dehumanises real people of color.  Skintone is not a costume. 

There’s a cosplayer I used to follow who has been doing this a lot lately.  I have sent them private messages explaining why that was hurtful to people of color in the past, when I saw them giving tips on “how to tan to look like Korra.”  My messages to them were ignored.  I have seen friends of mine who pose with them, condone it, and turn a blind eye. In a way I did that myself after my messages were ignored, I just quietly unfollowed because I couldn’t support it but I didn’t want to call them out publicly and cause a huge fuss.  But these cosplayers and former friends of mine are  still doing it, and I’m getting asks about it, saying “I know you are a huge fan of so-and-so! Why aren’t you commenting on their brownface?”

So I’m making this post now to help clarify the brownface issue for white cosplayers who Don’t Get It, if they would actually read about this instead of ignoring those who bring it up to them.

Because I am a myself a white person, I’m really not the best spokesperson for brownface and whitewashing. Instead, I’ll like to some posts from PoC that explain why slathering on fake tan or makeup to look darker is racist:

If you are a cosplayer who does or has done brownface, that is bad and you should feel bad.  But there is a silver lining.  Now you know!  And you can change for the better.  Nobody is saying you can’t cosplay characters like Korra- just stop wearing her skin color as part of your costume.

And if you have white friends who cosplay using brownface, talk to them about it.  Show them this post. Show them them the brownface tag. Don’t just turn a blind eye to systematic racism.