yknow what iโll just compile all of this into a little masterpost.
How NOT to make a character with albinism
(by a person with albinism)
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1. Donโt give them red eyes. People with albinism donโt have red eyes.
This is a myth, we do not have red eyes. Not even animals have red eyes. The reason our eyes look red sometimes is because our eyes are translucent, and when light reflects off our eyes, the red youโre seeing is the back of our eyes, even with animals. Animals donโt have hats and sunglasses to protect their eyes, or the camera people are using flash photography, and itโs the same thing. Animals also have naturally blue eyes, itโs just more rare to see that since they donโt have access to eye protection. And if it sounds painful, itโs because it is painful. Iโll get into that later though. Our eyes are naturally more blue/greyโฆyou could argue for purple since sometimes thatโs the case depending on the lighting situation. But no people with albinism have naturally red eyes.
2. Our hair and skin arenโt perfect! They can still get damaged.
My rule of thumb is the longer the hair, the more likely it is to be damaged. Whether itโs by the sun, or by natural causes, itโs still prone to damage to the point our hair color can turn a sort of buttery color if itโs long enough. our hair grows white from the roots, but the longer it grows, the more damaged itโll get. Itโs not as big of a problem with short hair, but longer hair can pose an issue. itโs usually sort of faded from white into this buttery colorโit doesnโt grow in like that. thatโs from natural damage from the elements. And with skinโwe can still have scars, and acne, and pimples, and moles. The only thing with moles is that instead of being brown, theyโre more pink in color. But we arenโt marble statues. Weโre gonna have flaws in our skin and hair. Itโs possible. The only thing we canโt have are natural freckles, because those come from pigment gained in the sun.
3. Donโt give us some name pertaining to our conditionโฆplease.
God, this oneโs such a nitpick and Iโve only ever seen it in movies, but when you name your character after their condition, itโs almost like youโre taking away their humanity. Examples Iโve seen were Bhoot (translates to unwanted spirit/ghost in Hindi), Whitey (twice actuallyโฆone of them was nicknamed Q-Tip...ok.), Powder (even if it was a nickname itโs still objectively bad) and, of course, โThe Albino.โ Because how would you know theyโre albino if that wasnโt their actual name? Like itโs fine to have a character have a name meaning light, or white, or snowโฆas long as it has a meaning outside of their condition.
4. Donโt ignore our disabilities.
Regardless of what type of albinism you have, youโre going to have a visual impairment. You will be legally blind (20/200 vision or lowerโ20/200 basically means that i would need to be 20 feet away from something in order to see something someone with perfect vision could see at 200 feet). Thereโs a varying degree in how bad oneโs vision is, but itโs never going to be above that 20/200 markโnot uncorrected at least. And even then itโs impossible to get it to 20/20. Personally, the closest Iโve gotten with double lensed, super prismatic glasses was 20/180, and that was pushing it. Same thing with the photophobiaโphotophobia doesnโt mean weโre all vampires who are going to explode when exposed to sunlight, but weโre also not exactly safe in the sun either. We need a hat and/or sunglasses, and sunscreen, even in the winter. I think the longest Iโve been in the sun without burning (and without sunscreen) was fifteen minutes, for reference. We donโt have the pigment in our bodies to protect us from the sun like a non PWA does. When you erase the disability part, you cross that line between ableism, and into fetishism. If you donโt want to put the effort into researching the disability aspect, donโt give that character albinism. You have no right to cherry pick what you do and donโt like about this condition. At some point, it boils down to laziness and an unwillingness to put even an ounce of thought into what youโre portraying.
5. People with albinism can still work around their disability.
Yes, being visually impaired makes life difficult, and Iโm willing to give some grace here because people who arenโt legally blind donโt know what itโs like to be legally blind, but itโs not too hard to figure out solutions to a problem. Iโve never known life without a visual impairmentโno person with albinism has, so thinking of ways to overcome that sort of just comes naturally. For example, I used to work as a cashier, and on the rare occasion people paid with cash, it took me quite a while to count out change because itโs hard to see the numbers on the dollar bills, but I learned pretty quickly that $1 bills were light green $5 bills had a purple tint, $10 bills had an orange tint, $20 bills were similar to $1 bills but more yellowโฆetc. Or when I was first learning to cook and do laundry on my own, I had to buy large print measuring cups, or Iโd mark the ones I already had with a sharpie/bold label. Same thing with the cup you put detergent in. Itโs not impossible, really. Or if Iโm filling a cup of water I usually have to just put my finger along the edge so I can feel when itโs full. Little things like that. You can work around it if you find the right ways to.
6. Donโt ignore other eye issues: Exotropia and Nystagmus
These are often overlooked, but our eye muscles are also incredibly weak, in the way a non PWAโs eyes arenโt. So, many of us have Exotropia or Nystagmus. Exotropia is basically just when one eye drifts out to the sideโฆit can kinda make it look like youโre looking in two different ways. With me, itโs especially prevalent in photos (mostly cause the flash aggravates it), but there are fixes. Thereโs a surgery that could work (though itโs rare it does), or you can wear an eye patch, I guess. You donโt have to though! Itโs a personal thing. If your character would be fine with their exotropia, cool! If not, those are some fixes. Nystagmus is more commonly heard of I thinkโthe way it was explained to me when I was maybe 5 and the way I explain it to people is that itโs also called โdancing eye syndromeโโbasically it just means our eyes bounce around from left to right. It actually does increase when weโre tired, or sick, or when eye fatigue is getting badโฆit slows down when weโre wearing prescription glasses or contacts. Allegedly it also completely stops when you get drunk, and I wasnโt a witness to thatโฆso. When our eyes mive randomly, itโs basically just muscle spasms. IMy vision moves with my eyes with neither my exotropia, nor my nystagmus. I donโt notice it until people point it out, but itโs still a thing people with albinism need to deal with. So donโt ignore that either.
There are many methods of technology we useโwhite canes being one of them. Most of us do use a white canes, although sometimes, itโs more so for your safety than ours. It has a double meaningโit both helps us navigate the area so we donโt trip and fall on our faces, but itโs also used to indicate to people passing by that weโre visually impaired. There are many different methods of cane usage and types of canes, but thereโs no way I could fit it all on here. Canes do come in all sorts of colors though! So feel free to design a cane of your choosing! All of them are red in the ends, however. Another thing Iโve gotten asked about a lot is a service dog. Service dogs are typically given to people who are legally blind (which all PWAs are), so a guide dog could be a possibility for your character! And if youโre feeling extra spicy, apparently seeing eye ponies existโฆI donโt have much info on them though lol. The only downside to a service dog is you need to be beyond proficient in cane usage in order to qualify for a dog. Service dogs arenโt pets. But a cane and/or a service dog are typical with PWAs.
This oneโs more of a nitpick on my end, and I guess it depends on who youโre talking to, but most people with albinism arenโt too fond of the word โalbinoโ. I canโt speak for everyone, I can only speak for myself, but the word โalbinoโ feels borderline animalistic and inhuman. Itโs incredibly degrading and the only reason I refer to myself as โalbinoโ is 1. out of habit and 2. because people know the word albino, but they donโt know albinism, the condition. So if I say โI have albinismโ people donโt know what Iโm talking about until I say smth like โYeah, Iโm albinoโ. Then people get it, and half the time itโs followed up by โoh like an animal?โ But generally speaking, I would strongly advise not using that word. Itโs a โput the person before the conditionโ sort of thing. Person with albinism or PWA is preferred. Albino is such a gross, degrading and inhuman thing to call someone. Thatโs what you call an animal. Again, this might be a me thing, but just to play it safe in case other PWAs feel similarly to how I do, just say person with albinism, or shorten it to PWA.
If youโve seen my posts before, you know about most of these, but there are some stereotypes that get tossed around in movies that people inadvertently attach to their OCs. One of which being the โevil albinoโ caricature. This oneโs the most common oneโalbinism is often portrayed as an evil condition. One that makes the haver of it unsympathetic and villainousโthe most common example is Silas/The Evil Albino from the Da Vinci Code. We arenโt evil or mean because we have albinism. If you meet a mean person with albinism, itโs just because theyโre a mean person, not because the condition made them that way. Another one is the โMagical Albinoโ myth. This one started in more secluded parts of Africa I believeโpeople with albinism were often hunted and killed for their body parts, and said body parts were ingested and eaten because people with albinism were thought to hold magical healing properties. Giving your OC with albinism magic is harmful because of that myth. Unless some/all of your characters have magic powers, donโt give the one character with albinism magic. Not really a stereotype but please donโt make your characters incompetent because of their albinism. Being visually impaired/disabled doesnโt make one stupid. Donโt make your character with albinism the cookie cutter evil, dastardly character without a heart who has magical abilities. Another thing is, donโt let the character be an outcast unless itโs genuinely important to the story. A lot of PWAs are isolated enough as is, so unless itโs a genuine part of the story, Iโd try to avoid it.
10.) Albinism around the world + fetishism
Different places treat albinism differently. As mentioned, in some remote parts of Africa, people with albinism are hunted and killed for food and so their body parts can be made into healing potions. In other countries, albinism is viewed as bad luck, leaving those people ostracised and even abandoned at times. Depending on where your character is from, give a bit of research into how PWAs are treated and responded to in that place. Some places treat us better than others. Itโs all different. Just put a little bit of thought into it. Donโt be lazy. Albinism is also an extremely fetishized condition. Itโs often chalked up to the looks, and thatโs not all we are. Itโs easy to fall into the pit of fetishism, but if you think youโve crossed that line? chances are, you have. Even based off of the โfrequently asked google searchesโ about albinism you can tell itโs extremely fetishized. Please just treat your characters with albinism as normal people and not sex toys used for their โunique looksโ. I assure you, no person with albinism wants to, or should be okay with being fetishized like that. Itโs gross.
Anyway, yeah! Thatโs all I can think of. Iโll probably reblog this if I think of anything to add. If you have questions, shoot me an ask! Iโd be more than happy to help. Iโm not gonna candy coat it, but a lot of characters with albinism are made very lazily, and I partially blame the movie industry for how horribly weโre represented, therefore how horribly weโre thought to be, but please give this a read through.
(i donโt normally ask this but please feel free to reblog to reach a wider audience! this is incredibly, incredibly important to me <3)
(pardon any typos by the wayโthis isnโt proofread and this is just me freehanding it. i canโt see my keyboard too well :c)
