yknow what iβll 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. Donβt give them red eyes. People with albinism donβt 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 youβre seeing is the back of our eyes, even with animals. Animals donβt have hats and sunglasses to protect their eyes, or the camera people are using flash photography, and itβs the same thing. Animals also have naturally blue eyes, itβs just more rare to see that since they donβt have access to eye protection. And if it sounds painful, itβs because it is painful. Iβll get into that later though. Our eyes are naturally more blue/greyβ¦you could argue for purple since sometimes thatβs the case depending on the lighting situation. But no people with albinism have naturally red eyes.
2. Our hair and skin arenβt perfect! They can still get damaged.
My rule of thumb is the longer the hair, the more likely it is to be damaged. Whether itβs by the sun, or by natural causes, itβs still prone to damage to the point our hair color can turn a sort of buttery color if itβs long enough. our hair grows white from the roots, but the longer it grows, the more damaged itβll get. Itβs not as big of a problem with short hair, but longer hair can pose an issue. itβs usually sort of faded from white into this buttery colorβit doesnβt grow in like that. thatβs from natural damage from the elements. And with skinβwe can still have scars, and acne, and pimples, and moles. The only thing with moles is that instead of being brown, theyβre more pink in color. But we arenβt marble statues. Weβre gonna have flaws in our skin and hair. Itβs possible. The only thing we canβt have are natural freckles, because those come from pigment gained in the sun.
3. Donβt give us some name pertaining to our conditionβ¦please.
God, this oneβs such a nitpick and Iβve only ever seen it in movies, but when you name your character after their condition, itβs almost like youβre taking away their humanity. Examples Iβve seen were Bhoot (translates to unwanted spirit/ghost in Hindi), Whitey (twice actuallyβ¦one of them was nicknamed Q-Tip...ok.), Powder (even if it was a nickname itβs still objectively bad) and, of course, βThe Albino.β Because how would you know theyβre albino if that wasnβt their actual name? Like itβs fine to have a character have a name meaning light, or white, or snowβ¦as long as it has a meaning outside of their condition.
4. Donβt ignore our disabilities.
Regardless of what type of albinism you have, youβre going to have a visual impairment. You will be legally blind (20/200 vision or lowerβ20/200 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). Thereβs a varying degree in how bad oneβs vision is, but itβs never going to be above that 20/200 markβnot uncorrected at least. And even then itβs impossible to get it to 20/20. Personally, the closest Iβve gotten with double lensed, super prismatic glasses was 20/180, and that was pushing it. Same thing with the photophobiaβphotophobia doesnβt mean weβre all vampires who are going to explode when exposed to sunlight, but weβre 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 Iβve been in the sun without burning (and without sunscreen) was fifteen minutes, for reference. We donβt 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 donβt want to put the effort into researching the disability aspect, donβt give that character albinism. You have no right to cherry pick what you do and donβt like about this condition. At some point, it boils down to laziness and an unwillingness to put even an ounce of thought into what youβre portraying.
5. People with albinism can still work around their disability.
Yes, being visually impaired makes life difficult, and Iβm willing to give some grace here because people who arenβt legally blind donβt know what itβs like to be legally blind, but itβs not too hard to figure out solutions to a problem. Iβve never known life without a visual impairmentβno 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 itβs 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 yellowβ¦etc. Or when I was first learning to cook and do laundry on my own, I had to buy large print measuring cups, or Iβd mark the ones I already had with a sharpie/bold label. Same thing with the cup you put detergent in. Itβs not impossible, really. Or if Iβm filling a cup of water I usually have to just put my finger along the edge so I can feel when itβs full. Little things like that. You can work around it if you find the right ways to.
6. Donβt ignore other eye issues: Exotropia and Nystagmus
These are often overlooked, but our eye muscles are also incredibly weak, in the way a non PWAβs eyes arenβt. So, many of us have Exotropia or Nystagmus. Exotropia is basically just when one eye drifts out to the sideβ¦it can kinda make it look like youβre looking in two different ways. With me, itβs especially prevalent in photos (mostly cause the flash aggravates it), but there are fixes. Thereβs a surgery that could work (though itβs rare it does), or you can wear an eye patch, I guess. You donβt have to though! Itβs 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 thinkβthe way it was explained to me when I was maybe 5 and the way I explain it to people is that itβs also called βdancing eye syndromeββbasically it just means our eyes bounce around from left to right. It actually does increase when weβre tired, or sick, or when eye fatigue is getting badβ¦it slows down when weβre wearing prescription glasses or contacts. Allegedly it also completely stops when you get drunk, and I wasnβt a witness to thatβ¦so. When our eyes mive randomly, itβs basically just muscle spasms. IMy vision moves with my eyes with neither my exotropia, nor my nystagmus. I donβt notice it until people point it out, but itβs still a thing people with albinism need to deal with. So donβt ignore that either.
7. Technology
There are many methods of technology we useβwhite canes being one of them. Most of us do use a white canes, although sometimes, itβs more so for your safety than ours. It has a double meaningβit both helps us navigate the area so we donβt trip and fall on our faces, but itβs also used to indicate to people passing by that weβre visually impaired. There are many different methods of cane usage and types of canes, but thereβs 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 Iβve 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 youβre feeling extra spicy, apparently seeing eye ponies existβ¦I donβt 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 arenβt pets. But a cane and/or a service dog are typical with PWAs.
8. The word βalbinoβ
This oneβs more of a nitpick on my end, and I guess it depends on who youβre talking to, but most people with albinism arenβt too fond of the word βalbinoβ. I canβt speak for everyone, I can only speak for myself, but the word βalbinoβ feels borderline animalistic and inhuman. Itβs incredibly degrading and the only reason I refer to myself as βalbinoβ is 1. out of habit and 2. because people know the word albino, but they donβt know albinism, the condition. So if I say βI have albinismβ people donβt know what Iβm talking about until I say smth like βYeah, Iβm albinoβ. Then people get it, and half the time itβs followed up by βoh like an animal?β But generally speaking, I would strongly advise not using that word. Itβs a βput the person before the conditionβ sort of thing. Person with albinism or PWA is preferred. Albino is such a gross, degrading and inhuman thing to call someone. Thatβs 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.
9. Stereotypes to avoid
If youβve 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 βevil albinoβ caricature. This oneβs the most common oneβalbinism is often portrayed as an evil condition. One that makes the haver of it unsympathetic and villainousβthe most common example is Silas/The Evil Albino from the Da Vinci Code. We arenβt evil or mean because we have albinism. If you meet a mean person with albinism, itβs just because theyβre a mean person, not because the condition made them that way. Another one is the βMagical Albinoβ myth. This one started in more secluded parts of Africa I believeβpeople 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, donβt give the one character with albinism magic. Not really a stereotype but please donβt make your characters incompetent because of their albinism. Being visually impaired/disabled doesnβt make one stupid. Donβt make your character with albinism the cookie cutter evil, dastardly character without a heart who has magical abilities. Another thing is, donβt let the character be an outcast unless itβs genuinely important to the story. A lot of PWAs are isolated enough as is, so unless itβs a genuine part of the story, Iβd 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. Itβs all different. Just put a little bit of thought into it. Donβt be lazy. Albinism is also an extremely fetishized condition. Itβs often chalked up to the looks, and thatβs not all we are. Itβs easy to fall into the pit of fetishism, but if you think youβve crossed that line? chances are, you have. Even based off of the βfrequently asked google searchesβ about albinism you can tell itβs extremely fetishized. Please just treat your characters with albinism as normal people and not sex toys used for their βunique looksβ. I assure you, no person with albinism wants to, or should be okay with being fetishized like that. Itβs gross.
Anyway, yeah! Thatβs all I can think of. Iβll probably reblog this if I think of anything to add. If you have questions, shoot me an ask! Iβd be more than happy to help. Iβm 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 weβre represented, therefore how horribly weβre thought to be, but please give this a read through.
(i donβt 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 wayβthis isnβt proofread and this is just me freehanding it. i canβt see my keyboard too well :c)
