#learn at least one thing about cultural appropriation & racism!!!

[owlbelly]

okay now i'm mad that the horror movie i watched last night that was based entirely on western esoteric nonsense (A Dark Song, 2016) was so damn compelling & well-made

i mean other than the production design for the ceremonial shit, that was as hodge-podge & half-assed as any other movie occultism. lots of copy-pasted 16th-19th century manuscript stuff + random clearly-contemporary horror illustration with asemic scrawlings + totally unnecessary & out of context Chinese or Japanese characters (???)

(though that last bit is actually a thing i'm noticing now - in Hereditary the Solomonic-style book had its Hebrew replaced with Sanskrit of all things, presumably because Ari Aster is Jewish & felt more comfortable using somebody else's exoticized language? lmfao just pick another damn book Ari i promise nobody actually has to keep using the antisemitic demonology bullshit even if you swap things out to make it anti-Asian instead)

but other than that!! the two leads were great, the score was fantastic, the scares were actually scary, the demons when they finally showed up were really unique & then there was an angel i'm almost positive was played by a trans woman! i liked it

if instead of "real" (shitty!) occultism, the filmmakers had invented something original & paid someone good to design it, it would have been fucking excellent

[dalesramblingsblog]

I know we've been commenting since The Star Beast on the irony of Russell T. Davies taking Disney money and using it to say trans/gay rights as part of one of the biggest British television events of 2023/2024, but I think Dot and Bubble fully opened my eyes to something I've been quietly contemplating since at least the time of The Giggle.

I am genuinely convinced, knowing everything I know about Davies' comments on the state of the BBC and the kinds of art he's been making of late, that Series 14 is a brilliant and purposeful piece of artistic subversion that has taken Disney's money to not just say trans rights, but to actively comment upon the cold, empty yawning abyss that is modern MCU franchisecrafting.

Time and time again, the show has returned to the idea that that sort of "artistry" is completely anathema in a cosmic horror sense to the very fabric of Doctor Who. The Toymaker is an arbiter of rules and continuity, who threatens to turn Doctor Who into a knock-off of The Avengers before everything collapses back into a game of catch with the Doctor in his underwear.

73 Yards is quite explicitly about the loneliness, emptiness and futility that accompanies human beings trying to impose rational, ordered frameworks and narratives on a fundamentally chaotic and strange universe. The very fact that the episode exists in a media ecosystem where hackish YouTubers will be falling over themselves to make "Ending Explained" videos for it *is part of the point*.

And then we have Dot and Bubble, where the modern glut of franchisal/social media (and the two are often close to interchangeable, as proven by this very blog post) is explicitly shown to have an anaesthetising effect that insulates people from real-world suffering. But it's more than that, because that same anaesthesia ties into expressions of actual, direct racism that are so baked into the foundations of that media and who it tends to uplift (white, conventionally attractive and implicitly straight people) that they become indistinguishable from said suffering.

After years of Doctor Who trying its hand at being a generic MCU-esque property and fans creating mockups of Phase-esque release timelines with a million spin-offs focusing on the Wacky Adventures of Miss Evangelista or whatever other bullshit fandom constantly clamours for, here is an era that puts its foot down and says "Actually, the foundational elements of that brand of media consumption are materially connected to the constant racist or sexist backlash you see against the casting of Ncuti Gatwa or Jodie Whittaker or Kelly Marie Tran."

And it is absolutely, positively, 100% correct.

How, then, does Doctor Who resist the creeping power of this monolithic cultural entity? In a world where studios seriously try to argue for the artistic worth of tripe like Morbius or Madame Web or Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, what is the appropriate response?

The same response that it's always had, the thing that it's been doing for sixty years. Getting people to learn how to run down corridors from hokey aliens, hoping against hope that those people don't turn out to be massive fucking racists and telling them exactly where they can shove it if they are, and instilling the children of the world with a healthy dose of fear and light-hearted humour.

Welcome back, Doctor Who. God, I have missed you.

[project-sekai-facts]

Here's a fun little Project Sekai fact! Almost all of your faves have appropriated other cultures as costumes and some have even done blackface. If you're supporting this game and refusing to make a meaningful statement about it beyond "b-b-but i said it was bad! 🥺", you are fucking racist.

You're either anti-racist, or you're a pro-seka blog. Choose one. You can't be both.

Basically everything is problematic and actually I have criticised the cultural appropriation and racism present in the game multiple times, at no point have I refused to acknowledge it (and you’re not the first person to send an anon in). You can play the game and be anti-racist actually it’s called being critical of the media you consume and having social awareness, we’ve been over this. Everything is problematic you probably like problematic media too.

Yeah the game did revival my dream and that was fucking racist, the costumes are stereotypical and they didn’t research into any specifc native culture they just wanted to make something that would get them money. it’s not princess mononoke put the trained costumes next to each other, the trained costumes are heavily stylised to look "pretty and fashionable" and forego accuracy. I’m aware of that, I’ve said this before multiple times but you wouldn’t know that because you just randomly came here to send me this message.

Then there's also the kamikou sports fes set. Luka's qipao is very obviously altered for the sake of fanservice which is just so wrong, do not sexualise other cultures for money. Rui's I think is meant to be some sort of military hanfu? But quite stylised, which again for someone outside the original culture to stylise a traditional outfit just is a no-go because you will probably get things wrong. Mizuki's outfit seems to be based on Qi-lolita and there's a whole thing surrounding that about whether you should wear it if you aren't chinese.

and then there's the island panic cards which are both orientalist. yes, not just the boys, the girls too. the outfits aren't based on any specific culture and just mishmash different swana and south asian cultures and stereotypes together to make something that looks "exotic".

If you notice a recurring thing is that all of these are in some way wxs related, and wonder why that is, it’s because they’re the theatre unit. They wear costumes, these are just cultures being appropriated as stage outfits, because the devs don’t care they just want a quick bit of money.

all of these are horribly common in idol games and gacha games, not just project sekai, and it's important to recognise the problems rather than just blindly consuming it. If it makes money, devs will continue to include ca, recognise that.

and yeah puchiseka episode 6 happened at no point have i ever denied that. it should have never happened but it did and at the very least the fandom was able to rally together and get sega to take it down. even after they did that sega and clpl should still be held accountable for even letting it be released. while they didn't make the episode, that was entirely handled by an external company (who should also be held accountable for their actions - we're never getting a second season for a reason), sega still released it knowing full well the contents. it wasn't ganguro like people said it was extremely clearly based on a very racist and crude interpretation of african tribes, and for part of a joke no less. It was disgusting. And it’s not ganguro like how people defend it; ganguro is part of the gyaru subculture and the outfits in that episode were not that. there is no defence for what happened. at the very least, it was impressive that the fandom called out the episode and actually got staff to listen and learn. that doesn't happen in other games, and we managed to do it again with rmd. the fanbase is calling the game out and actually educating staff. It’s just critical consumption - fans of the media were able to recognise that the episode was racist and correctly called out management with enough of a voice to make staff correct their mistakes. They apologised, it’s not my apology to accept, and I still hold them accountable for the fact it even happened.

This probably all makes me sound like a white saviour, and I don’t want to speak over the people affected by this, but that’s what you wanted, isn’t it? You probably have me blocked already and never followed me in the first place, but if you really wanted to call out racism, then maybe you should’ve sent this to blogs that do turn a blind eye to the flaws in this game, not one that calls them out. Why just me? Was it because of the username, because you’re not the first person to make that quip. I know you won’t see this anon, but a word of advice. Most media is problematic one way or another, you can enjoy something but still be aware of and acknowledge its problems. Project sekai is not made with the intent of encouraging or funding harmful behaviour, yet it still includes some harmful content. Call it out, educate staff and tell them not to do it again, they listened once they can do it again.

[jewishbarbies]

I didn't know about the antisemitism in hp because while I wasn't explicitly taught "this is antisemitic" I still learned those tropes. I just didn't know they they were tropes. The only thing I knew was nazi propaganda, because that was in textbooks. We didn't learn about everyday antisemitism. We didn't learn about the history of jews in any other country. And that doesn't excuse me or the school I went to. But I know better now, and I can look around and recognise certain tropes. But I can also recognise that jkr was hateful to so many different groups of people. Jews, the Irish, asian people, gay people, trans people, ironically women in general (Ginny Weasley in particular who only existed as a character for Harry to save and get married and have babies with) and women who like "girly" things (Lavender Brown deserved better.)

at this point, so much of pop culture is steeped in these antisemitic things (tropes, imagery, caricatures, etc.) and a lot of fantasy lore in some areas is just antisemitic to its core so while I’m angry I have to sift through the distressing nonsense, I try not to get angry at people who genuinely don’t understand. because you can spread antisemitism while not being an antisemite. the entirety of the witch aesthetic is stolen and twisted from jewish caricatures, antisemitic history, and practices appropriated from indigenous cultures - but that’s just The Witch now. same with goblins. that’s just what That Thing is to people now, so if you want to stop it, you have to throw the whole thing away and barely anyone is actually willing to do that. on top of that, they believe they don’t have to.

with HP specifically, I don’t blame anyone for not picking up on the bigotry from the books they read as children. now, if you reread it as an adult and still don’t get it, that’s another issue. but at least with the antisemitism, it’s much more obvious with the movies and a lot of people try to excuse JKR from it bc of that, when she had such a heavy hand in making those films. she had/has enough sway to change literally anything. and I think a lot of people understood the antisemitism more when they could see just what these goblins were supposed to look like, and that brought it all together. however, there are people obsessed with goblins (I think there’s a lot of neurodivergent people who have a special interest in goblins for one reason or another and that makes it more difficult to let go, in my experience) who absolutely refuse to come to terms with the antisemitic nature of the creature to begin with, when it’s antisemitic originally AND in JKR’s interpretation. I never got into HP so I didn’t know about the goblins, having not seen the movies, and it was really easy to not interact with it once I did. I can genuinely understand how heartbreaking it is to find out something you love goes against what you believe in, bc for jews it’s just part of our lives. we find out creators of and the things we like are nazis or antisemitic every single day. moreso than usual as of late.

imo the racism and general bigotry of JKR should be more than enough for HP fans who claim to care about other people, but it’s hella odd that antisemitism is the sticking point for so many people. they’ll say they’re streaming the movies and playing the games and reading the books but but but they’re not giving money to JKR and therefore not supporting her transphobia and racism, but you mention her antisemitism and the fact that the HP game was just antisemitism the simulator and they immediately dismiss it. her bigotry is embedded in the work. it’s in the imagery of the franchise. hell, there’s a storyline where a villain is a villain bc he wanted to stop the holocaust. that speaks for itself, and should be enough for literal adults.

(on the It’s The Thing Now point, it’s happening with lizard people as well. everyone is calling themselves a goblin and making lizard people jokes and it’s just apart of the young people dialogue now. I could go on for hours but I think I made my point.)

[ofbreathandflame-archive]

You talk about racism in some books and then go on to prize Percy Jackson without any comment about it's blatant cultural appropriation. Maybe you could occasionally try to expand outside usamercica too.

First off—I am a dual Nigerian-American citizen . I was born in Nigeria and was brought here to America; I spend my time between the two when it’s safe. I’m perfectly able to see the problems in the west…my country’s predicament is literally a product of western hegemonic ideologies and colonialism. It’s very easy to see the problems is america HENCE WHY I TALK ABOUT RACISM. As you literally pointed out.

Secondly, I literally made a whole post about the importance of critique literally including…Percy Jackson. Thirdly—the book is required curriculum in my state. It is absolutely facilitated by context - one of the first lessons I taught about the book was it’s take on ‘western civilization’ and how we can work (as students) to unpack some problems in it. I’m pretty sure other curriculums in other states probably also have CRP (pedagogy) that also addresses those issues. But like…I am a teacher. The book is required, and it’s merely a gateway into learning . Hence why it’s always supplemented. Fourth, I specifically work with students who are at least two to three grade levels behind. This book is the way I get them back into reading — while supplementing it with culturally relevant material. Yesterday we talked about how we felt about the use of words like ‘crippled’ and ‘mental.’ They learned about connotations! It’s was very cool! I also talked (on my last blog) the lack of diversity in the trilogy and the depictions of diversity in the sequel trilogy. I can be critical of something while taking it in. I — again— made a most about just that thing. But I guess u wouldn’t know that. Bc this was not a good faith argument and you’re trying to prove some weird point that I’m confused abt.

So-it’s weird you took a post I made about getting students into reading and having them engaged in the book they’re reading and getting them into reading (as many of them are feel stigmatized bc they are below their grade level) (which is…my job) and then turned into a gotcha moment…for someone is also not from the states. Pls stop being weirdos.

[bluemusickid]

Hello! It's been some time!! Missed y'all, hope you missed me too!! I haven't been active but I have checked the tags sometime and am more active on Twitter (w my boo @carpediemm-18 💕🤌)

I am pretty sad to see most of my friends leave, and ik how much of a tough decision it must've been. The fandom has changed considerably and tbh, like most, I don't really care about the whole "relationship" and while i've been enjoying it like a really long Reality TV show/season, there are a few things I feel like talking about, which as a Desi and a Hindu, I was pretty sad to see v few people acknowledge.

First off, let me preface by saying that I feel sorry that her nudes leaked. Intentionally or accidentally, no one should have to go through that, at ANY point of their life, for ANY reason. My heart goes out to her for that, and I hope she has been able to recover from that.

But, I have seen so much discourse about her and her friends. Especially in the context of racism. When I first saw those pics, I was disappointed and hurt. Not because I expected any better from either party, but because in this day and age with a lot of exposure to global policies and discourse, being ignorant is a wilful choice.

I saw her picture with a bindi, and honestly, it seems like they were pretty openly mocking Hindu culture and customs. The bindi, the mudra, the sticking out of the tongue? Yeah, all VERY prevalent signs of mocking, or at the very least, emulating what they've seen in media; which again, is not a proper representation of what our culture is. I have seen people say that "oh, well, when people come to India, don't they dress up in traditional attire and click photos? If that isn't a problem, why is this?" That isn't a problem because you are in our country, learning our customs in person. We are welcoming you to our world of traditions in a proper way, which isn't cultural appropriation.

In addition to that, her friends were very openly saying vile, antisemitic and fatphobic things, not too long ago. You might argue, oh that was a long time ago, they were young, they might've changed and so on. And I agree, I would defo give them the benefit of the doubt in such a case. But most of these tweets are from like 2014/15/preeeetty recent if you think about it. I am close to her age, and even as someone who is not from The West, at that age and in that time, I knew that stuff like this is INHERENTLY wrong. Bear in mind, even if they were in their teens at the time, it's not like it was the early 2000s or something. In 2014, you should know better than to quote Ad*lf H*tler. Heck, even my 12 year old cousin doesn't do that, and he's a complete edgy teen extraordinaire.

I come from a place where colorism is still very much prevalent, and to see people from the West pick and choose what they "like" about Eastern philosophies is disappointing and quite frankly, disgusting. You can't claim to "follow Buddhist principles" and continue associating with such vile people. You don't even have to call them out, but you can distance yourself from them.

I haven't said anything about Chris because he's a grown-ass man and if at this point he continues associating w such people, he's a manchild dicko. But Alba has the chance to change, and she should think about getting better friends when she can. Breaking off a friendship in your 20s is MUCH easier than realising and regretting your mistakes in your 40s.

With that, I sign off.

[saetoru]

This is a genuine question that I've not known how to ask but I'm gonna try, is there anything that I can do as a white person to help poc? I've never treated anyone different but I obviously can't understand the day to day struggle, and whenever I see posts like yours I want to *do* something about it but it's such a big widespread issue that I don't know how.

hello i appreciate ur ask/mindset and being willing to try and do something !! it’s rather refreshing to see <3 i put my answer under the cut. also, do know that i can’t speak for all poc as a whole as i’m just one person but these are just some things i think are nice that some of my white friends have done around me that help me feel more heard / seen as a poc. the root of racism is obviously systemic but there are social aspects of it too that u can individually work on that honestly makes the world of a difference

the main thing to rly do is stay aware and educated on issues and concerns poc have. read articles, talk to poc u know, be aware of current events etc. ignorance is often times the root of a lot of issues like microagressions and cultural appropriation and whatnot. sometimes u don’t know and accidentally perpetuate a harmful stereotype or appropriate something culturally significant—which ignorance is not good, but it’s fixable !! id prefer someone be unaware than just racist u know ??

u can also support local small businesses that are poc owned depending on ur area. don’t buy ethnic goods off of overpriced white owned companies online—its usually cheaper if u buy from ur local ___ owned store / brand etc bc they’re not trying to make an outrageous profit off of “exotic goods !!!” for example like turmeric and henna. they should not be as expensive as certain brands make them out to be—and that’s bc they’re trying to sell you products at high prices at the expense of someone else’s culture. there are also obviously more than a few causes u can donate to that aid marginalized groups in multiple different ways, but i won’t ask of anyone to spend money bc obviously idk everyone’s situation.

but the main thing u can do is be as educated and aware as u can on racism bc it bleeds into literally any and every aspect of poc life and more often than not, without realizing it, you as a white person have probably fed into at least one microagression or stereotype against poc and made them feel out of place. that’s not to make u seem like some villain / asshole, but like i said before, ignorance is the root of a lot of the more social problems we face, and it’s always better to learn and grow than stay ignorant and refuse to acknowledge something you may have accidentally said or done.

please look into what ingredients are in foreign foods before trying them, please do minimal research into what it is u might be having before having it. it’s become a trend on tik tok to try cultural foods and i’ve seen more than one small business suffer from white people leaving bad reviews and comments and etc on ethic dishes that are exactly what they’re supposed to be. you will not like everything you try, some things are acquired tastes, but that doesn’t mean they’re bad !! be respectful to ppls dishes and their backgrounds. do not wear sexualized versions of cultural clothing !! do not wear off brand kimonos and lehengas and etc that are sexualized by white brands to prom or on halloween. our clothing and cultures are not costumes. they have meaning and history.

i’m not saying you as an individual have done all these things, but these are things that happen all the time and continuously harm poc. kids are teased for clothes and food from their ethnicities and are discouraged from learning about their backgrounds in their youth only to find those same things become trends when they’re older. all these things ultimately come from one thing: and that’s ignorance. so like i said, trying to be aware of what u can is always the first and foremost thing you can do. you are privileged and sometimes you will unknowingly say / do something that stems off of that privilege and accidentally hurts a poc. just listen to them when they voice that, and learn and grow from it. i know the chronically online ppl seem like making one ignorant mistake means ur automatically racist and irredeemable, but if u acknowledge that u have been ignorant and have learned, that’s all we ask and i promise most poc are not crazed ppl who start witch hunts for tiny mistakes. all we ask is that you make a visible effort to hear and acknowledge our concerns.

ok ramble aside i rly did appreciate this ask and i hope u know it’s nice to see that ppl do care enough to try and be conscious of their actions and at least make a slight difference. i hope u have a good day and take care !! <3

[lunulater]

Today is a National Day of Mourning. Please make sure to center Indigenous voices first and foremost, today and always. Check out the shared link along with @mahtowin1 on both IG and Twitter as one resource for more info & ways to show support to our Indigenous family. My personal ruminations of today are below:

Please take this to heart; mourning is not at odds with celebration of life, of family, of gratitude. Grief and gratitude are not incompatible. Grief and gratitude are hand in hand in the practice of mourning, which is also a practice of healing. It is in times of mourning that we reflect most on our lives, our loved ones, and all that we might be grateful for. Conscious mourning is an invitation to honor those things. To celebrate.

So, if you must celebrate Thanksgiving today, please, take the time to educate yourselves and your families on what it is our Indigenous family is mourning. Take this time so that you may reflect collectively on the insurmountable losses and grief faced by the original Indigenous peoples of these lands. Loss of sacred lands, homes and havens, loss of human life, communities, cultures, languages. The grief soaked Trail of Tears. The grief of babies ripped from the loving arms of their families, to be stripped of their rights to heritage, to community. Name the genocide for what it is. Take time to sit with the violence of our shared colonial histories, here on these lands of the "United States of America" as well as abroad. Take the time to reflect on the ways this violent heritage persists even today.

May your time today with family (and food) be as a wake grounded in the collective mourning of Indigenous people. May you celebrate all you have to be grateful for anchored in that mourning. May you reflect on all the ways things could have—should have—been different and how we may challenge ourselves and our communities towards better. May you take the time to sit with the loved ones you still have the privilege of today, and reflect in earnest on the intergenerational traumas that not one of us can escape. Take the time to learn from our shared histories, from one another, take the time to heal, and to grow. Take the time to celebrate where each of us has come from, and where we might go. Take the time to reflect and foster accountability so that we might all leave this plane of existence better off than we have entered it. A feat that cannot be achieved without all of the above. Take the time to ground one another in humility and compassion, to do the work, and to share the burden in doing so. That is what family, what community, is for. To share the load of growth towards building better selves, towards building a better future for all.

My mother took us to PowWows and demonstrations of Indigenous practice, of creative joy. She got us books about Indigenous people and histories. For most of my childhood she collected Indigenous arts and jewelry. There were admittedly ways in which this erred into appropriation and exotification of Indigenous culture and people, I won't defend that, but she tried. She tried when there was little accessible public discourse to guide us in the paths of least harm. On that note, be sure that you are centering Indigenous voices today and always. Let those be the voices that guide you in truth and healing, and towards work centered in harm reduction.

My mother continues to try. It is for those types of efforts that I continue to try with my family, despite harms done which cannot be undone. It is for the witnessing of those efforts that I do not just give up on the world. We cannot undo all harms done, but we can try. We must try.

[bacchicly]

September 30th was the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada and today is the public service stat.

It is a time to listen, learn, reflect, and make concrete commitments on how we can and will, as individuals and organizations, support and advance truth and reconciliation throughout the next year and beyond.

As with all my encounters with calls to action or fights for justice, I feel often stymied by where to start - let alone do enough - to help and properly give the time, attention, and consideration I believe is appropriate. Everything feels both inadequate and somehow inappropriately too much , especially when I have benefitted and continue to benefit from privilege that stems from the oppression which needs to be dismantled and for which restitution needs to be made.

However as I believe something is better than nothing...and in the tradition of me using this platform as a home for "lists for healing" here are my personal commitments for this year:

I will learn more about the local indigenous communities and attend at least of one event or space where a local indigenous community is inviting the public to attend with the hope that those outside their community may listen, bear witness, or financially support a cause in their community

I will write an email to the heads of my Specialist Discipline inquiring as to how we are as a community of practice will be concretely supporting T&R this year; I will include the list of suggestions I have gathered from managers and colleagues in the last few years as to how our discipline could concretely and positively contribute to advancing recognition of T&R for their formal consideration

I will be proactive in findings for ways to support T&R in my day to day work

I will be mindful to not put T&R related actions/considerations last in lists and be vigilant that they not be included simply as a checkmark for myself or the organization

I will strive use my privilege to lift up the voices of those who have personal experience and calls to action that need to be heard.

I will work to get more comfortable at knowing what words I may and should use and what questions to ask when speaking or writing about indigenous cultures, stories, rights, and calls to action. But rather than cede to the easier but harmful silence and my fear of saying the wrong thing, I will try my best and be open to suggestions and take it upon myself to research or ask someone when I feel unsure.

I commit to speaking up and challenging all instances of racism, classism, sexism and all other forms of hate, fear, and intolerance I encounter day to day and I will continue to strive to recognize, interrogate and challenge my own biases, assumptions, and preconceived notions.

I will read at least three books/plays by indigenous authors

I will print a more specific version of this list and post it in my office at work, along with items related to my work place's current efforts to support the advancement of Truth and Reconciliation in my office and home both as a personal reminder of my own commitments and as a way to raise awareness of the need for individual, community and organizational action among colleagues and my family.

For more learning about Truth and Reconciliation in Canada:

Sept 30, 2023 Statement by Assembly of First Nations: AFN Acknowledges National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Calls for Accelerated Action Towards Reconciliation

CBC's tracking of the action and inaction in response to the 94 Calls to Action: https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/beyond-94?&cta=1

Aboriginal Peoples Television Network's NDTR programming: https://www.aptntv.ca/ndtr/

Information about NDTR provided on the Government of Canada's Public Website: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/national-day-truth-reconciliation.html

[discourse-by-candlelight]

We have some random 3 AM thoughts while very sick.

We have to wonder how many of the posts in recent "tulpacourse" are actually genuine or just trolling. If there's one thing we've learned in our time here on Tumblr and the internet as a whole it's that if there is a really messy not clear cut subject like the murky origins of the term tulpa, there will be people who purposely aggravate both sides for the lols.

We stepped out of the arena a while back as a pro tulpa blog, and it feels as though all the more constructive talk of that time has degraded into something incomprehensible. No more compromise, no more attempts at mutual understanding, just black and white thinking and a fair dose of actual racism, which keep in mind we say that as a pro tulpa terminology blog.

Even the worst offenders of a month ago have nothing on what we've seen in the last week. The only conclusion we can reach is that many of the anon posts being shared about lately are more than likely not actual tulpamancers or pro tulpas, and vice versa. IDK, we hope that it's just outside trolls.

To wrap this up since we really should sleep. We have plans on some more nuanced pro tulpa posts in the future designed to purposely open a dialog. It would explain our actual views and hopes of separating the modern tulpamancy community from the (pretty racist) origins in ADN and Theosophy, without necessarily having to discard a term that is deeply important to tulpas and tulpamancers.

We also think many people on both sides don't actually know much about the terms history, beyond "it's appropriation and a stolen practice" or alternatively "it's cultural sharing" when it's not truly either of those. We'll link to an academic article we quite like on the subject calling Tracking The Tulpa.

Especially it shows how the word was invented by ADN based on a mix of her time in Tibet and her past in Theosophy. Tulpa doesn't exist in Tibetan Buddhism, but two closely related words which are a small step from the term tulpa do. Tulpa was ADN's creation from her book Magic and Mystery in Tibet, a fairly Orientalist book of her time there. From there it spread in western occultism and was transformed over time into something much different. Nowadays there are two groups, tulpas in paranormal lore, which are closer to ADN's and are what we would consider a much more serious case of appropriation as they actively claim to be a Tibetan practice, and Tulpamancy.

Tulpamancy is for the vast majority entirely psychological, not connected to any spiritual or religious practice. Many don't see anything about it as being Buddhist, although the belief still exists in some of the community. Some might also be surprised to learn there were/are Tibetan Buddhists in the tulpamancy community, but they are a small minority and don't interact with the Plural community. We were surprised to discover just the other day for instance that one of the earliest members of the tulpa.info forums was a self identified Tibetan Buddhist, although they are not in the community any longer to our knowledge. It's pretty clear to see the level of disconnect though, and the modern tulpamancy community is probably at least fifteen years old now. The term has become to tulpamancers something deeply connected to their lives.

Just realized we are rambling way too long and should have probably just cut it at the link. Oh well, we're too sick to change it now. Hopefully people can understand where we were going with this though. We won't be touching tulpacourse after this post for quite a while (if ever) as we draft things and recover from our illness. We have a life to live too, with college in full swing now.

Till next time, be kind to one another

[samwisethewitch]

Cultural Appropriation in Modern Witchcraft

Cultural appropriation occurs when cultural practices are taken out of their original context and misused by outsiders. Cultural appropriation is different from cultural sharing, which occurs naturally in any multicultural society. Eating at an Indian restaurant is not cultural appropriation. Wearing a bindi when you don’t understand its significance in Indian culture is.

Cultural appropriation is a huge issue in modern witchcraft. When you have witches using white sage to “smudge” their altars, doing meditations to balance their chakras, and calling on Santa Muerte in spells, all without making any effort to understand the cultural roots of those practices, you have a serious problem.

When trying to understand cultural appropriation in witchcraft, it’s important to understand the difference between open and closed magic systems. An open system is one that is open to exchange with outsiders — both sharing ideas/practices and taking in new ones. In terms of religion, spirituality, and witchcraft, a completely open system has no restrictions on who can practice its teachings. A closed system is one that is isolated from outside influences — usually, there is some kind of restriction on who can practice within these systems.

There are different reasons a system might be closed. Some systems require a formal training and/or initiation, but there is no restriction on who can be initiated. Reiki and some forms of Wicca operate this way. (All other forms of Wicca are completely open.) Some systems are closely tied to a complex set of cultural beliefs that may not be fully understood by outsiders, so they are closed to people outside of that culture. Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) is an example of this. Some systems require a family lineage, so you must have been born into the system to practice within it. Zoroastrianism and some forms of traditional witchcraft fall into this category. And finally, some systems are closed as a kind of self defense, usually because they have been the target of persecution from outsiders — keeping the system closed is a way to preserve beliefs and practices that might otherwise be lost. African Diaspora Religions fall into this last category.

If a belief or practice is part of a closed system, outsiders should not take part in it. It really is that simple. If you aren’t Native American, you should not be performing smudging ceremonies. If you aren’t Jewish, you should not be practicing Kabbalah or working with Lilith as your “goddess.” If you aren’t Black, you should not be practicing Hoodoo. You get the idea.

On a similar note, just because a system is open does not mean you can do whatever you want with its teachings. You should still make a point of educating yourself on the system you are practicing and take care not to take things out of their original context. Some forms of Shinto are open, but you wouldn’t involve the kami in a Wiccan- or pagan-style ritual — Shinto has its own rules for ritual, which are very different from Western paganism. If you feel called to work with a cultural system you are not already part of, you need to be willing to put in the work of respectfully learning about and preserving that system.

It is impossible to appropriate a dominant culture. For example, in the United States, white American culture is treated as the default. There is tremendous pressure on all other cultural groups to speak English, dress like white Americans, and act like white Americans. White American culture has deep roots in Protestant Christianity, and these religious influences are enforced through social norms and sometimes through laws. Many businesses are closed on Christmas and Easter, and I live in an area where it is illegal to sell alcohol on Sunday mornings. White (Christian) American culture is literally being shoved down everyone’s throats all the time. A non-Christian immigrant wearing a cable-knit sweater, taking Sundays off work, or celebrating Christmas isn’t cultural appropriation, because they are expected to adopt these elements of the dominant culture.

It is also impossible to appropriate your own culture, even if you weren’t raised in it. For example, a Latinx person who decides to learn brujeria does not need anyone’s permission to do so. That practice is a part of their cultural heritage.

Dead cultures are a gray area, but the general consensus is that you cannot appropriate a system that isn’t connected to a living culture. For example, Hellenic polytheism is very different from modern Greek culture. A non-Greek person practicing Hellenic polytheism isn’t appropriating Greek culture, because that religion hasn’t been openly practiced in Greece for thousands of years. The same goes for many other types of reconstructionist paganism (paganism based on recreating ancient beliefs and practices) such as Kemetic (Egyptian) polytheism, Celtic paganism, Norse paganism, etc.

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t still make an effort to be respectful of the cultural origins of these religions. If you worship the Kemetic gods, you should probably educate yourself on at least the basic history and philosophy of Ancient Egypt. You should probably try to be faithful to the ancient beliefs in your practice. But you don’t need any sort of initiation, because there is no direct connection between the ancient religion and modern reconstruction.

So How Do We Avoid Appropriation?

Know the difference between open and closed systems, and respect if a system is closed.

If a system is open or only partially closed, try to find a teacher or mentor who is already a part of that system. If an in-person mentor isn’t possible, try to find books and other resources created by people who are actually part of that culture.

Only use items or practices in your witchcraft if you have a good understanding of their cultural, religious, and/or spiritual significance.

If a member of a culture or magic system tells you their system is closed and asks you to stop using it, listen to them.

Educate yourself on how cultural appropriation contributes to systemic racism and other social issues.

Don’t try to sneak around culture appropriation. If you burn white sage to cleanse your space, you are still appropriating Native American spiritual practices (and contributing to the overharvesting of an endangered plant), even if you don’t use the term “smudging” or appropriate the entire smudge ceremony. If something is not yours to practice, leave it alone.

Learning about other cultures is not the same as cultural appropriation. Here’s a personal example: I live fairly close to New Orleans, and I think New Orleans Voodoo is a fascinating tradition. When I visit, I like to speak to local Voodoo practitioners and learn from them about their practice. That being said, I recognize that I am not a part of that practice, and I’m not about to start incorporating elements of Voodoo into my personal practice.

As a white woman, my track record is not perfect when it comes to cultural appropriation. When I first started my witchcraft journey, I burned white sage and worked with the chakra system. I didn’t know any better, and these things were presented to me as if they were open to anyone. But now I do know better, and I’m making a conscious effort to avoid appropriation in my practice.

I’m also trying to do better for new witches just entering the world of alternative spirituality. It’s important for us to talk about things like cultural appropriation so that baby witches know from the beginning what the issues are and why they matter.

[zarya-zaryanitsa]

is slavic paganism closed to those who are not slavic themselves? I've seen different takes on this and wanted to know your perspective, if you'd be willing to share.

I share my opninion on the subject quite frequently - furthermore I made sure it’s permanently pinned at the very top of my blog, for everyone to see.

But fine, let’s say it again.

In my reconstruction/revival of pre-Christian Slavic beliefs I strive to remain as faithful to their original spirit as circumstances allow (the circumstances in question being both limited amount of information and the reality of living in XXIst century Poland). In claiming that this faith is closed to outsiders I would then simultaneously be claiming that pre-Christian Slavic culture and religion were similarly closed — which is simply untrue and very easy to disprove on the basis of the information that we do in fact posess (you can take a quick look here or here). 

Of course both pre-Christian Slavic religion and culture are a thing of the past, that has not been passed down in continuous, ubroken line. Nonetheless modern Slavic paganism is heavily reliant on the living Slavic culture and language, and later Slavic folklore. To give you an example let’s look at the goddess Morana. There are no pre-Christian records of Morana. All we know about her comes from our living culture, from the centuries of ritual drowning and burning of her effigy, countless songs and superstitions that accompany it. From careful analysis of the various versions of her name and her nicknames appearing in multiple different Slavic languages. For this reason I would say diving deeper into Slavic paganism requires also diving deeper into Slavic culture, art, history and linguistics. Slavic paganism is not something you can separate from Slavic peoples, which doesn’t mean everyone who practices it has to be ethnically Slavic. (Also there are big differences between the many different Slavic peoples. It’s key to remember Slavs as an ethnolinguistic group are a construct and not one unified civilization.)

I hope this does an okay job of explaining why some Slavs feel very protective of Slavic paganism and worry about it being misrepresented and appropriated. Especially since Western media have a long record of depicting Slavs in very unfavorable light and not doing their homework where Slavic culture is concerned. I can definitely understand people worrying that their ancestral culture will be turned into a shallow aesthetic (and let’s get this straight in all likelihood they won’t even be the ones benefitting from that), while they are still treated as second class citizens by the broader Western society.

The thing is, in my opinion at least, that it would be completely erroneous to only direct your protective feelings outwards. Because there are scores of ethnic Slavs who are already misrepresenting Slavic culture and Slavic paganism as a convenient new aesthetic for their bigotry, racism and nationalism. There are countless Slavs spreading misinformation about Slavic paganism either because they were too lazy to genuinely try to learn about it or because they were never interested in learning to begin with and just wanted a space to be a nazi with their friends. You know?

So no, in my opinion closing Slavic paganism wouldn’t do much to protect it at all. It would probably just encourage the nationalists to be bolder in Slavic pagan spaces and that’s the last thing that I want. I think judging people on their individual behavior and individual treatment of Slavic paganism and culture makes much more sense. 

[ailuronymy]

Thoughts on the new discourse? Warrior cats naming conventions and rank names being straight up stolen from native American people? So many people seem to be... Straight up leaving the Fandom or changing all of their fan content and it feels very performative and, people not actually thinking critically and just being scared of getting "cancelled"? I feel like your opinions on these matters are very informed and well written so I wanted to ask given that this blog main theme is, well, warrior cat naming system and that seems to be the main issue of the new discourse.

This is probably going to get long, since there's sort of a lot to say about it in order to talk about this whole thing fairly and constructively, because from what I’ve seen there’s a lot of hyperbole happening, and panicking, and disavowing this series and fandom, and so on, like you say, and also some people genuinely trying to have complex meaningful conversations about racism in xenofiction, and also probably some bad faith actors in the mix--as well as some just... stupid actors. Kind of inevitably what happens when two equally bad platforms for having nuanced discussions--i.e., twitter and tumblr--run headlong into each other, in a fandom space with a majority demographic of basically kids and highly anxious, pretty online teens. I don’t mean that as a criticism of fans or their desire to be liked by peers and “correct” about opinions, it’s just the social landscape of Warriors and I think it’s worth pointing out from the start.  

If I’m totally honest with you, if not for this ask, I wouldn’t actually be commenting on it at all, because none of this is going to impact this blog or change how I run it in any way. But since you’ve asked and frankly I do feel some responsibility to try to disentangle things a little for everyone stressed and confused at the moment, because I know a lot of people look to this blog for guidance of all sorts, I’m going to talk about what I think has happened here, and how to navigate the situation in a reasonable way. 

Quick recap for anyone blissfully unaware: from what I understand, this post (migrated over from a presumably bigger twitter thread) has got a lot of people very worried about Warriors being a racist and appropriative series, and now are trying to figure out what ethically to do about this revelation. The thing I found most interesting about this screenshotted conversation is that it makes a lot of bold claims, but misses some pretty surprising details (in my opinion). If you do look critically at what is being said, here’s a few things to notice--crucially, there are two people talking. 

Person 1 says that a lot of animal fantasy fiction + xenofiction (fiction about non-human/”other” beings, such as animals) is frequently built upon stereotypes of First Nations and Indigenous people, and/or appropriates elements of Indigenous culture and tradition as basically set dressing for “strange” and “alien” races/species etc., and this is a racist, deeply othering, and inappropriate practice. This person is right. 

I’ve spent years researching in this field specifically, so I feel pretty confident in vouching (for whatever that’s worth) that this person is absolutely right in making this point. Not only is it frequently in animal fiction/xenofiction, but it’s insidious, which means often it’s hard to notice when it’s happening--unless you know what you’re looking for, or you are personally familiar with the details or tropes that are being appropriated. Because of the nature of racism, white and other non-First Nations people don’t always recognise this trend within texts--even texts they’re creating--but it’s important for us all, and especially white people, to be more aware, because it’s not actually First Nations’ people’s responsibility to be the sole critics of this tradition of theft and misuse. Appropriation by non-Indigenous people is in fact the problem, which means non-Indigenous people learning and changing is the solution. 

Person 1 offers Warriors as a popular example of a work that has this problem. Notably, this person hasn’t given an example of how Warriors is culpable (at least in this screenshot and I haven’t found the thread itself, because the screenshot is what’s causing this conversation), only that it’s an example of a work that has these problems. And once again, this person is correct. We’ll look at that more in a moment.

Person 2 (three tweets below the first) offers, by comparison, several more specious insights. Firstly, it’s really, really not the only time anyone’s ever talked about this, academically + creatively or in the Warriors fandom specifically, and so that reveals somewhat this person’s previous engagement in the space they’re talking into re: this topic. In other words, this person doesn’t know what has already been said or what is being talked about. Secondly, this person explicitly states that they “[don’t know] much about warrior cats specifically but from what I see it just screams appropriation,” which as a statement I think says something crucial re: the critical lens this person has applied + the amount of forethought and depth of analysis of their criticism of this particular series. 

I’m not saying that using twitter to talk about your personal feelings requires you to research everything you talk about before you shoot your mouth off. However, I personally don’t go into a conversation about a topic I don’t know anything about except a cursory glance to offer bold and scathing criticisms based on what it “just screams” to me. By their own admission, this person isn’t really offering good faith, thoughtful criticism of the series, in line with Person 1′s tweet. Instead, Person 2 is talking pretty condescendingly and emphatically about--as the kids say--the vibes they get from the series, and I’m afraid that just doesn’t hold up well in this court. 

So now that there’s Person 1 (i.e., very reasonable, important, interesting criticism) and Person 2 (i.e., impassioned but completely vibes-based opinion from someone who hasn’t read the books) separated, we can see there’s actually several things happening in this brief snapshot, and some of them aren’t super congruent with each other. 

Person 1 didn’t say “don’t read bad books,” or that you’re a bad person for being a fan of stories that are guilty of this. They suggested people should recognise the ways xenofiction uses Indigenous people and their culture inappropriately and often for profit. My understanding of this tweet is someone offering an insight that might not have occurred to many people, but that is valuable and important to consider going forward in how they view, engage with, and create xenofiction media.

Person 2 uses high modality, evocative language that appeals to the emotions. That’s not a criticism of this person: they’re allowed to talk in whatever tone they want, and to express their personal feelings and opinions. However, rhetorically, this person is using this specific language--consciously or subconsciously--to incense their audience--i.e., you. Are you feeling called to action? What action do you feel called to when you rea their words, despite the fact their claims are not based in their own actual analysis of or engagement with the text? It’s, by their own admission, not analysis at all. Everything they evoke is purely in the name of “not good” vibes. 

Earlier I mentioned that Person 1 is correct that Warriors is absolutely guilty of appropriation of First Nations and Indigenous people and culture. I also mentioned that they didn’t specify how. That’s because I think the most egregious example is in fact the tribe, which in many ways plays into the exact kind of stereotyping and appropriation of First Nations Americans that Person 1 mentions, and not the clans, contrary to Person 2′s suggestion. For instance, in addition to the very loaded name of “tribe”, there’s a lot of racist tropes present in how that group of cats is introduced and how the clan cats interact with them, as well as the more North American-inspired scenery of their home. It’s very blatant as far as racism in this series. 

When it comes to the clans themselves, though, I think it’s muddier and harder to draw clear distinctions of what is directly appropriative, what is coincidentally and superficially reminiscent, and what is not related at all. Part of this difficulty in drawing hard lines comes from the fact that, on a personal level, it actually doesn’t matter: if a First Nations person reads a story and feel it is appropriative or inappropriate, it’s not actually anyone’s place to “correct” them on their reading of the text. Our experiences are unique and informed by our perspectives and values, and no group of people are a monolith, which means within community, there will always be disagreement and differenting points of view. There is no one single truth or opinion, which means that First Nations people even in the same family might have very different feelings about the same text and very different perspectives on how respectful, or not, it might be. 

I’m saying this because something that gets said very often when conversations of racism and similar oppressive systems present/perpetuated in texts comes up, people frequently say: “listen to x voices.” It is excellent advice. However, the less pithy but equally valuable follow-up advice is: “listen to the voices of many people of x group, gather information and perspective, and then ultimately use your own judgement to make an informed opinion for yourself.” It means that you are responsible for you. The insight you can gain by listening to people who know topics and experiences far better than you do is truly invaluable, but if your approach to the world is simply to parrot the first voice, or loudest voice, or angriest voice you come across, you will not really learn anything or be able to develop your own understanding and you certainly won’t be making well-informed judgements. 

In other words, one incomplete tweet thread from two people who are each bringing quite different topics and modes of conversation (or perhaps gripes, in Person 2′s case) to the table is not really enough to go off re: making a decision to leave a fandom, in my opinion. In fact, I think in responding to anything difficult, complex, or problematic (which doesn’t mean what popular adage bandies it about to mean) by trying to distance yourself, or cleanse of it, will ultimately harm you and will not do you any good as a person. It is better, in my opinion, to enter into complex relationships with the world and media and other people in an informed, aware way and with a willingness to learn and sometimes to make mistakes and be wrong, rather than shy away from potential conflict or fear that interacting with a text will somehow taint you or define your morality in absolutes. 

So. Does Warriors have racist and appropriative elements, tropes, and issues in the series? Yes, of course it does, it’s a book-packaged series produced by corporation HarperCollins and written by a handful of white British women and their myriad ghostwriters. Racism is just one part of the picture. The books are frequently also ableist, sexist, and homophobic (or heteronormative, depending how you want to slice it, I guess), just to name some of the most evident problems. 

But does the presence of these issues mean it’s contaminated and shouldn’t be touched? Personally, I don’t think so. Given the nature of existing the world, it’s not possible to find perfect media that is free of any kind of bias, prejudice, or even just ideas or topics or concepts that are challenging or uncomfortable. I think it’s more meaningful to choose to engage with these elements, discuss them, criticise them, learn from them, and acknowledge also that imperfection is the ultimate destiny of all of us, especially creators.

I’m not saying that as a pass, like, “oh enjoy your media willy-nilly, nothing matters, do what you want, think about no-one else ever because we’re all flawed beings,” but rather that it’s important not to look away from the problems in the things we enjoy, rather than cut off all contact and enjoyment when we realise the problems. That doesn’t mean you have to only criticise and always be talking about how bad a thing you like is either, publicly admonishing yourself or the text, because that’s also not a constructive way to engage with media. 

As I said, there’s a lot to say here, and believe it or not, this is honestly the shortest version I could manage. There’s always more to say and plenty I haven’t talked about, but pretty much tl;dr: 

I don’t find Person 2′s commentary particularly compelling, personally, because I think it’s a little broad and a little specious in its conclusions and evidence, and I also suspect that this person is speaking more from their feelings than from a genuine desire to educate or meaningfully criticise, unlike Person 1. That’s not to say Warriors isn’t frequently racist and guilty of the issues Person 1 is discussing, because it is, but I don’t think this tweet thread is a great source of insight into the ongoing history of this problem in xenofiction, or Warriors specifically, on its own. I would recommend exploring further afield to learn more from a variety of sources and form your own opinions. I hope this helps. 

[genshinconfessions]

PT II of II

It's honestly a bit weird, a bit annoying, and more than a bit problematic to see so many people fixated on representation in Genshin in the form of skin color. I'm not saying that isn't valid, but it's verging on the point of obsessive which diminishes much of the validity. I am Indian, so the representation or lack thereof is something that actually affects me and that I too have opinions on (gasp a minority who is actually directly affected having opinions and managing not to be racist in expressing them). However, since I AM Indian, this means I have been dealing with racism, colorism, and a lack of representation my whole life! It is not something I have become magically aware of and concerned with because a game made by Chinese developers sorry ahem cough I meant made by China the Country logically of course has chosen to limit their skin tone range in a region influenced in part by my culture. It is, in fact, actually something that has existed in every form of media and in every country I have gone to and in most things that I have experienced every day! I have been painfully aware my whole life of how there is no one who looks like me in most things I read, watch, or play. When there are people who look like me they never actually REPRESENT me, and often make me feel upset that North America constantly views and portrays me as a foreign imbecile regardless of having lived here my whole life. But by your point of view these caricatures "represent" me because at least we are the same skin color, right? At least North America is giving me Baljeet! Beyond that, I have been painfully aware that the things that ARE a part of my culture become white washed and discredited and that any representation is wiped away and things that I was made fun of for slowly become appropriated and claimed to be invented by "North Americans". This is not representation, in fact it is overt racism and is something that primarily North America seems to suffer from. For me, I would have loved for any part of my culture to be represented at all and anywhere at all. That's why, as problematic as Avatar is, I still love that show and loved it as a child. It represented parts of my culture that other people didn't understand and thought were weird, but in a mainstream way that exposed people to new ideas and concepts. Maybe Genshin doesn't have the representation that looks good on paper to the closed minded "North Americans" who do not express any willingness or interest to experience/learn about a culture beyond their own and instead fixate on skin color due to sheltered self-righteousness and adamant refusal to admit their own underlying racism, but Genshin is doing a lot by culturally embracing and respectfully creating a region influenced by beautiful cultures and with lore and names and concepts directly tied to things I can recognize and appreciate! Is it annoying that characters named Kusanali or Dori are pale as turnips? Yeah, a bit. But what's new? Lack of representation for my skin color has existed all my life, but at least the characters are representing my culture at all in a respectful way that will reach millions of people and expose them to something new. Maybe instead of diverting all blame onto "China" and Chinese culture (which how tf would any of you know anything about that unless you're Chinese???), you guys should focus on the issues in your own countries and try to notice the lack of representation and often racist undertones present in much of our media. Otherwise you're sort of outing yourselves. You can't have an issue with one country as soon as one game you play doesn't cater to your exact desires and demands, when in reality the majority of the world doesn't cater to the representation you're wanting and never has. If that's how quickly it takes for you to be so severely bothered by a country entirely unrelated to you and by a game no one is forcing you to play, especially if you aren't the target audience as you so claim, then I wonder how quickly it would take for you to turn on the minorities you presently want represented if even just one of them did something you disagree with? Maybe instead of fixating on skin color you guys should crack open a book and learn about other cultures and figure out how to recognize representation in all its forms, not just the one you can see without engaging in any deeper thought.

<3 keith

[hematomes]

Addressing the #boycottgenshin issue

[TW: racism, cultural appropriation, whitewashing]

Hi.

So I feel like I should speak up about the whole #boycottgenshinimpact issue. First of all, I’m not indigenous myself so I won’t speak for them, but I am of mixed race (African and caucasian) so I want, firstly, to address the issue about colourism and racism surrounding Kaeya and Xinyan (but mainly Xinyan). As a second disclaimer, I’m French, so my English won’t be perfect and I do apologize for that, but I'm doing the best I can.

Ok so let’s get this out of the way: I don’t think Kaeya and Xinyan, as characters, are sterotypes/proof that mihoyo is racist, and I will explain why. First of all, the take that Xinyan is “whitewashed” is, in my personal opinion, basically racist. Xinyan is affiliated to Liyue, her name is — as far as I know — chinese-based, so to my understanding, she’s most likely of mixed race, which can explain the fact that her skin is not “dark enough” (at least I believe that it is the first issue). As I am myself of mixed race, I find this statement (that she’s whitewashed) really disturbing and disrespectful, because in this case I would be considered whitewashed (I don’t want to show any picture for obvious reasons, but if you really don't believe me I can show you my hand lmao) as I am on the "lighter" side of the “spectrum”. What I mean is that you don’t have to have the same skin tone as Morgan Freeman to be considered poc, and saying otherwise is probably at least as harmful as whitewashing someone. Xinyan is most likely of mixed race, and she’s (I think) a bit darker than me, so.. please don't accidentally imply I'm not dark enough to be a part of the black community?

Now, addressing the issue of people being scared of her: they aren’t scared of her because she’s a poc but because she’s loud and obnoxious, and because of her punk style. She’s a rock star! She yells constantly and has a demeanour that can be surprising, especially to children and easily frightened individuals. Please, I beg of you, read the full story before you jump to conclusions. This behaviour is harmful because not only is it useless, but it also perpetuates the belief that our struggle is also based on fake intel.

That being said, I also wish to speak up about the Hilichurls situation. I want to stress the fact that I’m not indigenous myself, so make your own conclusions! I base my judgement on theories about Genshin and, if you want proof to support these arguments, you can read this: https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Impact/comments/juz7jo/the_13_page_fantheory_on_genshin_impacts_world/ It might contain some spoilers, up to Act I, so be careful! As I will be speaking about this, I may spoil some stuff too, so if you don’t want to be spoiled, skip this entire paragraph. Also, I will base my opinion on the credibility of this theory. If it is proven wrong at some point, I will obviously review my judgement.

So. The main claim is that the Hilichurls being based on indigenous culture is an issue, as they are perceived as “more-or-less as unintelligent, savage monsters.” That is a fair assumption if you don’t dig into the game and learn more about the Hilichurls.

But if you do dig into the game and learn more about the Hilichurls, here’s the thing: they are not unintelligent, savage monsters to begin with. The Hilichurls were most likely part of Khaenri'ah, an “ancient civilization that existed 600-500 years before present-day Genshin and was extremely advanced.” The main theory is that Khaenri’ah’s citizens were cursed by the Unknown God for being too advanced, which is why they are depicted as “unintelligent, savage monsters”. Also, they are manipulated by the Abyss Mages; if you stroll around in the game, far enough from the Hilichurls, they don’t attack you. They’re just chilling, dancing or just napping, most likely because the mages have conditioned them to attack threats (namely: the citizens of Teyvat that weren’t cursed and aren’t part of the abyss, since the abyss is the main antagonist of the game) on sight. So, in conclusion: they aren’t savages, they are cursed and manipulated.

Now, the “unintelligent” part. You may have done the quests with Ella Musk, who asks you to help her have a conversation with a Hilichurl. If you succeed, she does, and the Hilichurl happily dances even though you’re in their vicinity, and doesn't attack you. They are intelligent, they just speak another language and have other means of communication. Saying that they are unintelligent just because they are mobs in the game is reductive, if you play long enough you’ll realise that that’s not the case. Also, they build stuff! They have towers, camps… They are in fact civilised!

I also want to point out that they aren't the only mobs in genshin. There're the treasure hoarders and the fatui! Just because one part of the mobs are loosely based on indigenous culture doesn't mean that the developers are racists, especially knowing that the fatui are the "real" antagonists at this point in the game (aside from the abyss).

In the long run, I don’t have enough information to be 100% sure of what I’m saying here, but neither do the people trying to boycott genshin over these issues. I don’t want to start a heated argument, but I am open to criticism if you aren’t convinced (that’s totally understandable, I may be wrong and this is really just the opinion of a single player enjoying the game and the lore associated with it). So, if you want to chat about it, I’d be happy to! Just know once again that I’m French and my English is probably broken as hell, so please don’t be mad at me if I can’t perfectly convey my position on these issues.

PS. addressing the paedophilia surrounding Flora issue, if I’m not mistaken it’s either a mistake (since Flora was an adult in the beta) or a misunderstanding (I believe there’s an adult Flora even in the game? but I’m not sure).

Anyway, I feel like this is a lot of negativity and misplaced resentment, but I could be mistaken. Have a great day, and don’t forget to regularly change your password!

[foodbytesback]

The Rise and Fall of Bon Appetit

Sometimes life comes at you fast.  Sometimes, that means stories in the food industry break in such rapid succession that you have no time to blink in between.  Sometimes, it means someone found out about something racist you did a few years ago.  What happens when it’s both?  Ask the fine folks at Bon Appetit.

In recent years, Bon Appetit made a name for itself, rising from the ashes of dying print media, through its Youtube channel featuring a diverse cast of personalities.  But over the course of this past week, many of the publication’s executives have been found to foster a toxic workplace culture, rife with racism, sexism and homophobia.  

Before I get too deep (because this is going to be a long one), I feel the need to point out that while this story’s breaking happened to coincide with Black Lives Matter protests across the country and gained traction from people’s outrage towards inequality, the events that have unfolded should not be blamed on “cancel culture,” “political correctness run amok” or any other reactionary dismissal of critical thinking.  Adam Rapoport didn’t lose his job because Black Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter came to be because of the damage that many in positions of power like Rapoport have done in both mainstream media and society as a whole.

[Also, yes, there are going to be a lot of links to Instagram posts that have been screenshotted and uploaded to Twitter.  Clearly the real takeaway from this debacle is that I need to get an Instagram account.  Also also, thanks to Tumblr’s new rules about offsite links, you’ll have to go to my main site for the full receipts.]

Preamble

Shortly after the killing of George Floyd, Adam Rapoport, Editor-in-Chief at Bon Appetit, wrote an editorial highlighting some of the coverage they’ve given to black chefs.  Many criticized this as being superficial and performative, with others saying that BA has, on numerous occasions, shut down articles relating to black culture for not being “trendy” enough or otherwise was discriminatory towards black employees. (Also, the repeated use of “uprisings” instead of “protests” seems a little suspicious.)

An article from Eater criticized the role BA played in the appropriating and whitewashing of many cultures’ ingredients and cuisines (gochujang, Aleppo pepper, and sumac seem to be some of BA’s favorite ingredients) that had become prevalent in food media in recent years.

While it’s a fairly minor offense in comparison, it may also be worth bringing up the time Rapoport accidentally called Priya Krishna “Sohla,” the name of his other Indian employee.

Monday, June 8th

Food writer Tammie Teclemariam posted a screencap of an Instagram post made by Rapoport’s wife, which depicted the two of them donning Puerto Rican stereotypes as Halloween costumes, brownface and all.    

Many were quick to declare their outrage and demand that Rapoport either resign or be fired.  Meanwhile, Sohla El-Waylly, one of the leading stars of the Youtube channel, was one of the first BA employees to speak up, and disclosed that this kind of behavior was just the tip of the iceberg.  She said that BIPOC workers have been paid disproportionately for their work, including not being paid a per-video commission that the white stars of the Youtube channel receive. 

Molly Baz, one of the aforementioned white stars, announced that she would no longer make videos for BA until all of El-Waylly’s demands were met.  One by one, their white coworkers chimed in in agreement.  

Former staff photographer Alex Lau also wrote an extensive tweet thread about his experiences at BA, including how he had futilely tried to fix the system from within.

By the end of Monday, Adam Rapoport had resigned from his position as Editor-in-Chief.

Tuesday, June 9th  

Since Rapoport’s official resignation did little to fix many of the systemic problems in place at BA, many began to turn their attention to other senior members of the staff.

Some came for Andrew Knowlton, the Restaurant Editor, for behaviors such as gaslighting an employee for trying to bring up racist practices in the offices.

Others called out Matthew Duckor, a VP at Conde Nast and BA’s former “Head of Video” (Did a 3 year old come up with that job title?), for a series of old racist and homophobic tweets.  He tried to apologize by saying that he was young and didn’t know any better at the time, but many were quick to point out that he was, at the youngest, 20, aka for all intents and purposes An Adult when he wrote those tweets. 

Tammie Teclemariam returned to ask current and former BA employees to DM her information about Duckor that they didn’t want to go public with themselves, ranging from his hand in the aforementioned pay disparity to making inappropriate comments towards women.

Teclemariam also did even more social media muckraking and found that Drinks Editor Alex Delany had once decorated a cake to look like a Confederate flag, while others found things like a Vine where he says the f-slur and some questionable comments about women on this Tumblr.  He later deleted his Tumblr and Twitter, and issued a cookie-cutter apology on his Instagram.

She also vague-tweeted that Brad Leone, one of the most beloved stars of the Youtube channel, is “possibly not a great guy,” but later added, “don’t fret.” At that point, some began to accuse her of just trying to stir the pot.

Ultimately, Matt Hunziker, director and camera operator for Leone’s show, reported that the higher ups were ignoring the situation regarding the pay disparity, and that they were not “learning and growing.”

Wednesday, June 10th

By this point, journalists were able to do more thorough investigations and put together exposés that were more than a blurb about an accusation followed by a nut graph.

Business Insider published an article where they interviewed 14 current and former BIPOC employees of Bon Appetit.  In addition to information already discussed above, it also described events such as an incident where several BIPOC staffers were told they weren’t allowed the test kitchen. (Carla Lalli Music, the Food Director at the time, would later defend her stance in the affair on Twitter.)  Ryan Walker-Hartshorn, a black woman who served as Rapoport’s personal assistant, recalled that she would often spend her day doing menial tasks like polishing her boss’s golf clubs or trying to teach his wife how to use Google Calendar.  In another incident, Knolton called Rick Martinez a “one trick pony” for only developing Mexican recipes, which is what he was being forced to do so BA could tout “diversity” bonus points.  Martinez would also say that the magazine under Rapoport’s tenure “went from old and irrelevant and white-washed content to young and trendy white-washed content." (Martinez would also upload a more graphic description of the treatment he received  to his Instagram that same day.) Later that day, Business Insider would also report that Duckor had left the company.

Vice would liken Rapoport to Michael Scott from The Office, but noted that that kind of bumbling, endearingly insensitive bad boss archetype isn’t as charming in the real world where real employees are being affected.  Parallels were also drawn between the Youtube channel and The Office itself, stating that the “quirky workplace” facade put on in the videos helped hide the more sinister practices that lurked beneath the surface, and that the notion that they were “one big family” often pressured BIPOC into doing more than their fair share for the greater good.

Jezebel showed email transcripts where Rapoport argued the semantics of having his costume be called “brownface” when he wasn’t wearing makeup, and had to be explained to, like a child, that the term refers to the racist caricature and not the literal act of putting brown makeup on one’s face.  What a douche.

Bon Appetit published an official apology on their site, a whole two days after the controversy began.  Many believed that their empty promises of “learning from their mistakes” were a day late and a dollar short.

Meanwhile, on Twitter, former BA writer Alyse Whitney said that senior editor Andy Baraghani had, on several occasions, used his influence to undermine her efforts. Whether this had to do with racism, sexism, or just Andy being petty is up for debate, but still constitutes as unprofessional behavior to say the least.

Thursday, June 11th

As interest in the story seemed to wane for many in the industry, Claire Saffitz, arguably the face of the Youtube channel, released another statement on her Instagram.  She said that her relative silence was due to taking time to find the right words, and that the same-old promises to “learn and grow” that most had been giving felt empty and performative. Unlike many of her white coworkers, she directly apologized for being complicit in the toxic environment  and for not using her status to try to leverage even pay for her BIPOC coworkers.  

Another BA Youtube personality, Amiel Stanek, also released a statement in response to BA’s official press release, where he demanded Conde Nast to stop avoiding action by setting vague timelines for changes or making excuses for not giving BIPOC workers raises like “the money just isn’t there.”

Associate editor Christina Chaey also opened up about her experiences with being pushed into more and more videos to “diversify” them- all without compensation.  

Friday, June 12th

The biggest scandal of the day was that, as Teclemariam predicted, Brad Leone is possibly not a great guy.  A leaked screenshot of an Instagram DM showed him making callous, almost Trump-y comments regarding El-Waylly’s demand for better pay.  He also allegedly said that if Delany were to be fired (as of that day he had been sent on leave), he would quit.

Saturday, June 13th

The New York Times published an article suggesting that the issues prevalent in BA’s management may go all the way to the top of Conde Nast.  Highlights include Chief Executive Roger Lynch chastising the whistleblowers within the company for raising their concerns in such a public manner and an account of an incident where he gave his black assistant a guidebook on how to speak “proper” English.

The Sporkful released a special episode of their podcast containing interviews with several current and former BA BIPOC workers.  Nikita Richardson divulged that after she was laid off, a story she had already done all the leg work for was picked up and credited to Amanda Shapiro, a white staff writer who is now acting Editor-in-Chief in lieu of Rapoport.  Sohla El-Waylly confirmed that the self-congratulatory editorial Rapoport wrote in the wake of George Floyd’s death was the real beginning of the end, and that the racist photo was just the final straw.  She also described a company-wide Zoom meeting held after the photo began to be spread around where Rapoport issued a half-hearted apology, and began talking about how he would “fix the brand” before El-Waylly demanded he resigned.  Furthermore, she revealed that after her Instagram posts began circulating rapidly, Duckor had offered her a new contract with increased pay, but she is refusing to sign it until all BIPOC have received similar compensation.  She also said that she had a hand in the wishy-washy statement that BA had published on Wednesday, and said that it originally had taken much firmer stances on the issues but their PR office made them tone it down.  Also, she commented that Leone, for the most part, just seemed like she “genuinely think[s] [that he] just found out racism is real.”  Ultimately, she was glad that the story was getting as much coverage as it was, since it made her feel that her voice was finally being heard.

Sunday, June 14th

Baraghani released a statement on Instagram apologizing for his behavior, saying that trying to achieve his personal goals in BA’s toxic, competitive environment made him lose sight of solidarity with his fellow BIPOC.  

While that may seem like the end of the story for now, it’s important to note that, even with the resignation of two executives, nothing has truly been done to fix the systemic problems at hand.