#diversity positivity

[outsidethebeautybox]

Is Same Face Syndrome a Good Hack or Just Disrespectful?

The webcomic world has been hit by a pandemic we artists call “same face syndrome.”

In a nutshell, ‘same face syndrome’ is when most (or all) of the characters in a comic have the same head shape and facial features. When this happens, the only distinguishing features are the character’s haircuts/colors, eye colors, and skin tones. Sometimes their heights/body types make them stand out as well, but oftentimes, there is one set body type for all adult females and another (1) for all adult males.

The main motivation behind same face syndrome is a need for efficiency. People get used to drawing faces one specific way, and artists are able to streamline their processes when they stay in their comfort zones.

The question is, is this hack beneficial or disrespectful?

Here’s the thing: People from different ethnic groups have unique facial features that won’t be represented if all the characters are drawn with the same face. Ethnic diversity aside, even people within the same ethnicity often have extremely different facial features from each other.

If we give every character the same face, we run the risk of turning individuals into cliches and fail to represent any diaspora properly.

There may be stories where this doesn’t matter that much, but just in general, I think it’s topic worth careful consideration.

Is sacrificing individuality for the sake of efficiency the right decision to make in this scenario?

There are a thousand nuances involved in the process of making EVERY story ever illustrated, so I’ll refrain from making a blanketed statement. However, there are a few instances I can point out, where I feel that same face syndrome is entirely acceptable.

Mostly, it’s for comic strips and other cutesy/silly/lighthearted content. As the characters aren’t an accurate representation of anyone from any ethnic group, the largely homogenized faces aren’t a problem.

For instance, most of the children in the Peanuts comics have the same face shape and body type. Even Franklin (who is African American) has the exact same facial structure as the other children. The only major difference between Franklin and all the other boys is his hair texture and complexion.

However, this art style was already so whimsical and cutesy, that drawing him the same way the other children are drawn doesn’t take away from the story OR his character.

Thus, whether ‘same face syndrome’ is acceptable or not will always depend on the story you’re trying to tell.

With serious stories, I believe it’s crucial that we put in the effort to properly represent each character’s individuality and cultural identity. Seeing a face that reminds you of yourself, especially in the romance genre, can be life changing. 

It convinces us (usually subconsciously) that we are worthy of being loved. The less we look like the people in the content we watch and read, the less we’re able to believe that. It’s even more hurtful when we look nothing like characters who are allegedly supposed to be our ethnicity. More often than not, these characters have been fitted to a beauty standard we will never be able to achieve, and why should we have to?

I know many people are only comfortable drawing their own ethnicity. We’re best at rendering the sort of faces we see everyday, and that makes sense. But because of that, comic books and cartoons continue to be extremely homogeneous. Most stories revolve around one ethnic group and two to three tokens from another diaspora who are added formulaically. We bathe in institutionalized diversity.

With the way things are right now, every culture in the world has to make their own stories just to be able to see themselves (properly) represented in stories.

I love art and I am all for everyone creating as much of it as possible, but we artists can also learn to move outside our comfort zone every now and then. We can put in the work to develop the skills needed to represent each other properly. 

If we learn to think of people other than ourselves (and our diasporas) and actively give our neighbors a hand up, no one will ever have to be left out again. No child will have to ask why there are no princes or princesses that look like them.

[ajsartstation]

Begging character designers to stop doing this.

[pickled-flowers]

Sex positivity is also about not calling Ace people prude and using virgin as an insult 👍 hope that helps

[thatchickmaya]

Messy vampire consort

[creation-help]

Hey

- Make characters OTHER THAN VILLAINS fat too

- No not just the greedy or food loving ones

- Not just older people or moms

- Make more characters fat

- Like actually fat

- With double chins, bellies, thick arms, fat necks, rolls

- And let them be love interests or protagonists or in respected positions.

- Let them be portrayed as hot. While being fat yes

- Make more characters fat

[lgbtqtext]

Requested by 72-donkeys-in-a-trench-coat

[bonebabbles]

RiverClan Refugees

Gorseclaw and Lizardtail want to join ThunderClan because they watched Harelight, their only other family, get publicly executed in front of them

They are trying their hardest to be useful and polite while being refugees in ThunderClan, and get mistreated for the effort-- having their food preferences mocked, getting told they're taking up space, hearing a steady stream of slurs, etc

After one more mass shaming session where Squirrelstar asserts they won't be accepting new cats, Sunbeam and Fernstripe join in on condescending them, and we get this;

"It would have felt bad turning them away, but if they chose to go home (AFTER BEING BULLIED FOR SEVERAL CHAPTERS) then there was no need to feel guilty"

This does not come across as these two earnestly missing home and choosing to go back; it comes across like they're accepting the fact that they are unwanted and getting out of dodge before it gets worse.

Honestly, I'm at the point where I can't call this a lack of self awareness. The difference between ThunderClan's treatment of Gorse and Lizard vs RiverClan's treatment of Wasp is obvious to me. The narrative is straightforwardly pro-xenophobic as long as it isn't overtly violent.

Social bigotry is fine. Good, even, to separate the "desirable" immigrants from the "undesirable" ones. What defines those categories? A good one will assimilate fully and leave their culture behind; a bad one only wants safety and a better life for their family.

Terrifying, imo, considering how the irl overton window has shifted on migration at the time of writing this in 2025. Does the spectre of the times loom over these words as I speak them? I hope not.

[kaylees-art]

Favetober day 2: body part to draw

The stomach area is really fun✨

[0ntheplusside]

Tess Holliday

[chubbymuffinclub]

deevarose

[outsidethebeautybox]

Highlight: Beautiful Dresses for Beautiful Women

Can we also just talk about the fact that JessaKae has an older model? Like, thank you. Beauty does not have a time limit!

[biblicalhorror]

Okayyyyy yeah also let's talk about Tammy. I didn't know how I felt about her for awhile because she did very much feel like the Disposable Black Girlfriend, but I'm seeing people saying she's an "abuser" or God forbid "just as bad as Kevin" and that's just. Not at all true.

Yes, Tammy is controlling. She doesn't seem to really like Patty for who she is, and kind of seems to want to change her into someone else instead. HOWEVER, I think we need to look at the whole character to understand WHY she's like that. I don't think she's controlling Patty for personal gain or for the sake of manipulating her. I think she's lonely and desperate for companionship, which leads to her ignoring/pushing past the obvious incompatibility in her relationship with Patty.

Here's what we know about Tammy:

1. She seems to be the only black person in the Worcester social circle. She also mentions frequently how she's surrounded entirely by white men at work.

2. She is also the only openly lgbt person in the area, other than Patty, who is still not exactly out and proud.

3. She describes her entire job as "making excuses for" and "cleaning up after" the men at her job, particularly her partner (whose name I am unfortunately forgetting, does anyone remember?), who even had her plant evidence for him on at least one occasion.

4. Despite being very competent and good at her job, the white men around her keep failing upwards (she mentions a few times that people beneath her keep getting promoted) while she remains stagnant in her career. There doesn't seem to be any explanation for this other than the fact that she is a black lesbian in an extremely white, conservative community.

Basically, Tammy seems like someone who has been taught (like many black women) that she will have to work much harder than everyone else to get ahead in any capacity. She is also likely very, very lonely. She doesn't seem to have any friends outside of work, which isn't surprising given the above. It seems like she doesn't exactly have a ton of prospects, dating-wise, other than Patty. In my opinion, it's really no wonder that she clung to Patty so desperately and immediately and tried to forcibly mold her into someone who could be compatible. She's tough, smart, organized, direct, manipulative, no-nonsense and controlling because, well, she had to be. And she ends up trying to "rein in" Patty because, in her mind, what's the other option? She ends up alone, surrounded by men who force her to cover for their antics and don't care if she lives or dies.

I'm not saying her behavior is healthy. But it comes from an entirely different place than Kevin's abuse, or Chuck's, or even Neil's. And it's also not uncommon. In real life, I know many queer women (specifically small-town lesbians) who end up in relationship dynamics just like that over and over again because they start dating someone who doesn't quite fit, and they compensate for it by trying to force a connection instead of accepting loneliness and isolation. I have a lot of sympathy for Tammy. And I wish the show had taken more care to establish the abuse she faced from her coworkers off-camera.

[selectivechaos]

hyperspecific good morning, night, afternoon, evening, void-hour to people with:

breathy voices

voices that cut off halfway though

choppy voices

whispering voices

higher pitched voices

no voices

mechanic-sounded voices

augmented voices

monotone voices

inaudible voices

voices that barely get through

voices that repeat

voices that skip syllables

voices that pause between words

voices that shake and waver in pitch and volume

voices that clutter

voices that stutter

voices that make sounds not words

🌹🌹

[thatchickmaya]

I reworked a few older pieces.

[queenmayats]

Tell me what you see🤤😍💕

[eiochevart]

Redraw of the illustration I made for international women’s day last year!

Sorry for the delay, but the message still stands 🥲