Oh man I see homestuck right there
How do you feel about Gamzee and Meenah? Or the Makars and Pixies in general? Do you think they're black-coded and therefore victims of Hussie's racism? Or any thoughts on how it afected the story as a whole?
I understand if you don't want to discuss this, as it's been going on for years, but I'd like to hear what you have to say about it
Well as an Afro-Caribbean myself, I always saw the Makaras as black and the Peixes as Caribbean, specifically Jamaican like me! The fros on Kurloz and Gamzee, plus Meenah’s braids just felt so nostalgic! Also the purples and pinks, with the blues and greens on their color pallets.
Uh yea that shit was racist. Me applying a nicer HC to the characters really doesn’t do anything to absolve them of the fact they’re some of the most blatant racist caricatures I’ve ever seen ??? It’s a truly a product of its time, back when white people really ruled the internet and Tumblr, and thought literally everything was up for grabs in their “ironic humor” phase.
Let’s start with the Makaras right? We have lovely stereotypes such as:
The absent father (Gamzee’s lusus dropped him off and then disappeared)
Substance abuse (Gamzee being largely high on the slime)
Intense aggression and violence (despite Vriska being literally right there) that led to him killing senselessly and in a brutal fashion
And we can’t forget the infamous Chucklevoodoos that Kurloz possesses…do I really have to elaborate on that?
Those features combined with the way they talk and regard their peers makes for a pretty nasty black stereotype. It slaps you in the face honestly. With the Peixes I think it’s a little less subtle with Feferi but it definitely ramps up with Meenah all over again.
Homestuck as a webcomic is drenched in racism though! From the default “anyone could be any race” white they apply to the kids faces, versus the blaring blacks and grays they apply to the other creatures, it’s clear it was made by a man who assumed people wouldn’t give a fuck and he was right! Tumblr ate that shit up back in the day! And you know what’s absurd?
I remember seeing Tumblr posts on Pinterest where it felt like bloggers (obviously non black) would run right into the stereotypes and still not bother to think critically. Homestuck made my middle school years practically a living nightmare; I never quite thought about the implications the way that I do now but there was always something about the story that made me uncomfortable.
And of course, if you bring that up to others they’ll just tell you “you want to claim those stereotypes as your race?? why??”
Because it’s what I’m owed.
I don’t shy away from stereotypes when I write my characters because I know why they’re there. I know the systemic implications and I’m willing to have a conversation about it. All Hussie did was throw these things around to spur the story forward and then chuck these characters away. He looks down on them, it’s disheartening.
