#weewolf

I kind of feel like you're gatekeeping here

I want to talk about this. The Oxford English Dictionary defines gatekeeping as “the activity of controlling, and usually limiting, general access to something.” If people from marginalized cultures want to protect their cultural traditions to keep them from being lost or taken out of context by outsiders, then yes, I suppose that is a form of gatekeeping. But it comes from a need to protect traditions and cultures that are in danger of being wiped out, not from a desire to keep other people from having access to things.

Let’s look at smudging. Smudging is a sacred ritual that is performed in a very specific way, under specific circumstances. When non-Native people start burning sage outside of those circumstances, without following the proper steps, this becomes the commonly accepted version of “smudging.” The original ritual and its cultural significance is replaced in the cultural consciousness by the bastardized version, and the original is in danger of being lost. So yes, Native people have a right to protect their original tradition.

Featuring a needy werewolf Keith, a charming vampire Shiro, Lance who is back after a week and a counter. What else do we need?