moon

FIRST SITUATION

Let's start with the kink shaming person, which this situation is relatively small but still gained some traction. A person came out and talked about how Mature!Michael era or sometimes even HIStory/Dangerous! era Michael getting paired up with younger reader felt 'weird' (their words, not mine) and that they didn't like the age gaps. They also talked about what THEY wanted to see from the community and I'm not going to lie, came off a little whiny in their first post. At first, I didn't look into the comments of the first post and it brushed me off the wrong way, so I responded to the second post that they made, in which they were talking about how they felt attacked from the responses in that first post.

I responded their second post along with MANY OTHERS, talking about how harmful that was, and they still held up their point. Besides this, I don't really have beef with the person, so this isn't a direct call out, I'm just bringing it up to address the situation as a whole since posts like that can be discouraging. I understand that some fics can fetishize age gaps in a weird way, and the person that in their first post addressed that in the comments as well(which I didn't see until I looked back, sorry user if you're seeing this, that's on me), and that's understandable considering it's strange the way some people portray them, like reader is two seconds away from sucking a binky, and that's understandably off putting.

At the same time, using the words 'weird' in the original post and then falling back on it can brush people the wrong way and even discourage people from writing for age gaps with Michael, especially because not everyone checks the comments. I still stand by my point and many others points because of the way it was worded, but besides the slight kink shame and cockiness, this situation isn't that bad compared to the next two I'm about to discuss.

SECOND SITUATION

Racism.

It's bad. We accept it's bad. We know it's bad and a shitty thing to do. Bad is the nicest way to put it, that shit is inhuman, vile, and disgusting. Yet for some reason, people still feel the need to act out and pretend like this shit is the 1800s. It's 2026 and the golden age of inclusivity, get with the program.

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Now, before I begin on this, I'd like to express that I myself am a woman of color. I am proudly mixed. I love being a half and half baby, I take pride in being half black. So I don't want people to assume that I'm saying this with an uneducated heart or that I'm someone as pale at heavens vagina, because I'm not. Although, even if I wasn't black, I'm pretty sure I'd still agree with the points I'm about to make because this is so fucked up.

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Kinda first case, or at least the first one I saw that, I'm unfortunately sure that there's others. Someone made a post, complaining, about how there were too many black reader fics in the michael tag and that they 'got to go'....

And here's the the thing that gets me. This person is black and saying this.

Let that sink in....

Bitch, I was surprised too.

The way that they're speaking, it almost makes you think "this person HAS to be white, because there's no way". Nope, there's a way apparently.

It's so astounding to me with how out of this touch this came off. You would think that as a black person, you would understand just how much of a privilege/blessingA it is to have so many black writers as we do in this community. Just the level of exclusivity black people/dark skinned people have experienced in fanfiction over the years. Many fics cater to white/lighter skinned people in fanfiction, and it's a blessing to see just how much the fanfiction community has grown to become more inclusive to their readers. Sometimes it's like, just make an OC at that point, with the way some writers mistag/describe their y/n's and readers. That's how bad it gets.

And they defended themselves too. It's just...sad, frustrating, and so out of touch to see. It's not hard to filter certain words or scroll. I do it all the time with fics I'm not interested in. I even do it with black!reader myself. Not necessarily because I'm afraid of my black heritage, but because many black fics cater to darker skin tones, as they should, and as a mixed person, I just ain't as dark as they describe. I'm not white but I'm not completely dark either, I'm light skinned type of mixed.

So I scroll away because I understand that and do that until I find a normal reader x michael fic (Not to say that black!readers aren't normal, I'm just saying that I scroll until I find one that's not as described/warned correctly and catered to anyone). Granted, sometimes I be a little curious sometimes cuz some black writers really do just write that good, but I understand the audience it's catered to and I respectfully scroll away. I would never, EVER, complain about black writers writing for black people.

And I feel that's the way it should be if you're a black person yourself, most especially if you're of the darker skin tone. These people have given so much to write in a way that caters to your skin tones, hair texture, and mannerisms so you don't have to wonder if you're going to read a fic that suddenly gives you red hair, blue eyes, and pale skin, sided with an uwu ass form of speech. These writers often experience racism because of it but continue to push on. I understand that at the end of the day, black writers are more than entitled to write what they want, and if they aren't stepping on anyone's toes in terms of drama, then who gives a fuck? If you can let non-black writers write what they want, then black writers should be treated with that same level of respect.

I do agree that many writers that write for y/n, or x reader, should do a better job at staying inclusive, or at least giving a heads-up in their warnings tag if it's anything different, so it saves people the shock it brings to certain people. The fact that this person couldn't see the level of amazing it is to have so many black writers as a black person, makes me sad. They're bringing down their own race and discouraging others in the process. Please, appreciate what you have as a black person if you're reading this user, and if you don't want to see black!reader fics because you think they take over the tag or some other stupid reason, then either filter the tag or just don't read it. Simple as that. No need to bring down so many black writers in the process!

THIRD SITUATION, THE BIGGEST AND MOST RECENT OFFENDER

This is the one that's currently all over the place and everyone's talking about. This also happens to be the one I'm a little less educated about since the person deleted their original posts, so if someone could provide a full rundown, that'd be fantastic and I'll update my opinion if anything changes or if I said something wrong, I apologize if mess this up a little.

So from what I could gather, basically an account under the name ebonymuse (now known as michaelmuse) started behaving a way that very similar to the way Black/African American people behave online, and, from what I read, made a fic and incorrectly described reader's hair as "ebony".

Now, to those who have been very uhm...active! on social media may have already seen this term used in p0rngraphy websites (Censoring because Tumblr hates me). Now, ebony does have a different term. Many people see it as a beautiful name, and it's also a form of very pretty wood, and can be used to describe darker things. However, over the past few years, especially with rise of certain websites and as access to them has grown, it has started to become a rather fetishized, controversially upsetting, and disrespectful name to call black people, because of how much it's used to describe black people in the sex worker business and the way that it's used.

It's unfortunate because the word is beautiful and has beautiful meanings, but it can also be seen as offensive. Now, how you see the word yourself is on you, that's the reason I gave multiple definitions, but the point is that many black people are beginning to dislike the word because of the controversial switch due to p0rn. It's beginning to be seen as a harmful word.

This also heavily depends on context. In terms of writing, in my opinion, I'm 50/50 on it. Because ebony has multiple definitions, yes, and I understand that the writer might not have realized that it was also seen as offensive, but at the same time, many other words can be used to describe black hair. Black. Raven. Dark. Brunette. And I'm sure there's many others.

I agree with the people that say that the writer should've done their research, because that absolutely is true. No doubt about it, that's completely on them for not having done their research.

Now, seeing as I told you the definition, I also want you to recall the username. ebonymuse. And since ebony can be a substitute for black, replace that word with black. blackmuse. You're calling yourself black muse.

And I know what you're thinking. Why is that such a problem?

This person is white.

Combine that with the use of Ebonics, reposting black!reader fics, and using many black reaction pics and behaving much like how a black person does online...Honey, that looks like intentional.

Obviously this came off as, you guessed it, blackfishing. Digital Blackfishing to be exact, which is a massive problem in today's day and age. Now, I honestly think that there's too many factors in this for it to not be at least some form intentional. Like, if it was just the use of ebony in a fic, maybe it's can be seen as accidental, MAYBE, but when you take into account everything else, it just looks bad in so many ways and is so offensive.

As expected, this pissed off many writers and also readers (including myself). This person received major backlash, apparently on both here and twitter (correct me if I'm wrong), reasonably so, and they did infact make an apology if you would like to go read that on their account.

I won't touch on this situation much until I receive or find full data on it, but from the posts I read, yes this counts as blackfishing and yes it's horrible. Do not do this. Do not behave this way without clarifying your race and being respectful. And most importantly, do your fucking research please.

I am glad that the person apologized and took full accountability, but it's still offensive at the end of the day. It still caused harm and is actively causing harm. Blackfishing is no fucking joke. I don't give a shit if you thought it was cool because you saw Ariana do it on stage during 2018, I don't care if you think it's not that fucking bad, it is that bad.

You are actively stripping away someone's culture and misleading black people, especially digitally where everyone has access to social media and can casually stumble opon your work. It's offensive, disturbing, and absolutely such a loser thing to do. I understand appreciating someone's culture and loving the way certain races behave, but there's a line between appreciation and damn near racism. Once you cross that line, it is incredibly hard to come back from it because of the harm it causes and it's such a disgusting thing to do. Race and ethnicity is so much more than just skin color or behaviors, and if you're a Michael fan, you should know that more than anyone the damage it causes when someone disrespects that line.

Do your research, be mindful and aware of others, give clarification, and mostly important, respect the people you're surrounded by. At the end of the day, the way you treat others around you reflects on the person you are leaning towards inside.

FINAL NOTES

I feel like I got everything unless something changed in the past two hours I've been writing this. I haven't clicked off this tab. Someone could be dead, who knows. You never know with this tag.

Moral of the story, please be mindful. Especially in a tag like this where enough drama is happening.

Another I'd like to note, is please don't be discouraged because of this behavior. Many people have said that they're deleting Tumblr or are going to stop writing.

I fucking hate, hate, hate to see people get scared and feel uncomfortable sharing their talent.

This tag is meant to be all things Michael Jackson, and he was all about inclusivity and love. Love is his message. This tag is meant to be a safe space for writers and fans, and it has drifted from that since the movie.

We need to fix this before it's too late or else no one's going to want to come to this tag anymore if they see it as an unsafe space.

Another serious thing to note is that I've seen some questionable counterarguments. People have been responding to the hate as "oh well every race deals with it" or the comments saying things about "oh well michael loved all women" when someone posts about black people in the MJ community. I've talked about it in the past and I talked about how I love to see things from every race.

While I still stand by that, I like to see stress so clearly that it includes BLACK PEOPLE. If you say to a black person who's struggling "oh well every race deals with it", you're instantly a hypocrite.

I heavily associate with ALM (All Lives Matter), and I do not claim these dumbasses who try to belittle black people when they speak about their struggles and I hate that that has become connected to ALM. If you support ALM, that includes Black People and BLM, dumbass. It's hypocritical to be like "oh well, all lives matter" and then immediately belittle black people, because then you don't truly support all lives. Black people deserve to be noticed and uplifted for their talents, and if you truly support ALM, you should have no problem supporting BLM too. Black people deserve their spotlight and respect as they are included in ALM in the first place. Yes, I believe that every race deserves to get noticed for their struggles. But that still includes Black people at the end of the day. Black people deserve to be respected the way they are, they've earned it.

Also, Michael loved every race yes, but that man still LOVED black women (*cough* in the closet *cough* black or white *cough*). He was a proud member of the Black community and said that every day. The way that man was treated was so saddening, and if you feel bad for Michael, then don't come in this tag and immediately start behaving like a dumbass towards black people, you fucking troglodyte. Michael would hate that, and I don't mean that in a parasocial way, it's a known fact that the man genuinely hated racism and exclusivity. Michael loved women, and black women are no exception.

Alright, it's way too damn late. It's past my personal bedtime and this probably has like 25 spelling errors. I'm too lazy to proofread. Or I'm just too lazy. I hope I said everything in a neat way, and if you would like any clarification, please comment or inbox me and I'll gladly provide it.

on a more serious note, the amount of beef between authors is crazy. obviously, there was the whole ai situation(which I myself spoke on because there was a high level of confusion and doubt in the community), and everyone involved was completely justified in defending their cases, but wdym we're hating on terminology and adjectives?

don't get me wrong, i understand the word giving you the ick i feel that way about certain nicknames too, but in my opinion, just imagine he's calling you baby or something, or better yet, SCROLL.

it's not like reader is wattpad level moaning and screaming daddy and it looks like a geeking 15 year old wrote it, it's a pet name for christ's sake, there's like 500 of them that your brain can choose from to replace the word, same way your brain replaces y/n with the name you prefer.

i understand 'mama' is a common name used in michael fics, and it can be hard to find fics without it, but if it's really that bad, replace it or scroll. given michael's time and his behavior towards woman, it's not a far stretch for people to headcannon that he uses the name 'mama'. kind of like how marvel fans headcannon bucky barnes as a man to use the nickname 'doll'. it just feels like a mutually agreed upon name.

also, i love seeing the inclusive posts on black, white, hispanic, asian, etc women in the community! i love seeing the posts of people using beyonce or sabrina carpenter for aesthetics on singer!reader. all of it is amazing, don't feel discouraged to continue that theme! we love inclusivity and having fun in this house, that's what michael was all about!

he said it himself and 'black or white' exists you guys! if you're thinking about being his baby, it don't matter if you're black or white! unless the author is actively offending or being offensive towards racial groups in their writing, don't ruin other people's shine in their writing! we all come up with different ideas and aesthetics, and sometimes that comes in the form of different things. after all, race could have nothing to do with it, people could just like the aesthetic of that certain person and decide to use it! it's okay, and keep writing y'all!🤍

anyways y'all, i physically CANNOT stress this enough. you're beautiful, your writing is beautiful, your art is amazing, you shine like a special diamond in a cave full of crystals, and you should never let that lightbulb above your head dim!