#white coding

come off as white coded, if such a thing exists. Is this a legitimate concern, and if so what’s the best way to handle this? (2/2)

White Coding and Avoiding Problems With It

White coding is most definitely a thing. Anything and everything can be coded for any one group on the planet— it’s just mostly spoken about for marginalized groups because it impacts marginalized groups the most.

You’ve already got a huge advantage for writing this by being part of the group you’re representing. The fetish-y vibes that an outsider would have with this will be far less, just because it’s hard to fetishize your own culture (it’s possible, it is very much possible, but self awareness helps).

My first question would be if the monster even is that bad a person. If he’s not that evil, or even evil at all, then the whole “forced to redeem the devil” part of the stereotype is gone.

My next question is asking if plot spends an extended period of time focusing on his self improvement. If it’s a major plot point or even a full arc, then there’s a little more to worry about. If it’s a slow, background thing in other arcs, it’s less.

You can also get into how whiteness creates monsters, which would be an interesting play on the concept. He’s a monster because he’s White, and he becomes less of a monster as he learns to dismantle the ignorance that comes with whiteness. Especially British, with all their colonizing.

All in all, really just focus on making sure that him becoming a better person is background. If the whole plot focuses on that, you have something to worry about. But if it’s slow character development, it’s fine. I’d welcome more roadmaps for allies learning how to be respectful, tbh.

And thank you for the ask! Man oh man I LOVE the Blade of Marmora. Talk about iconic…mmmmm. But I never got the sense fighting prowess is tied to race.. Shiro is a perfect example. 

But I agree that people tend to use white as their base metric when making comparisons and what’s interesting is a lot of times they aren’t even aware they’re doing it. This is due in large part to white appropriation and POC erasure practiced throughout history. 

Since it’s on topic, let’s look at empires. European (white) empires practiced brutal, thorough smear campaigns and erasure against POC empires in effort to validate their justifications for empire- Believed Moral Superiority. 

Europeans needed to be able to claim direct heritage to any major, successful empires so they could say they were heirs to this grand tradition. But most successful empires built between the Greeks/Romans and the Europeans were built by POC. While Europeans were trying to scratch a living out of shitty soil, POC were building empires equipped with advanced technology and warfare. 

But after picking themselves up out of the ground, Europeans started working towards their own empires. Empires they justified by saying it was their rite, their heritage to build because they were directly descended from the Greeks and Romans. But in order to legitimize that claim they had take care of empires they clearly could not have descended from. 

So Europeans started smear campaigns- saying other empires weren’t TRUE empires (aka most West African empires) or other empires were in league with the devil (aka the Moorish empire). Europeans started white washing- saying that Not White empires probably definitely were white (aka the Byzantine and Ottoman empires). Europeans altered and destroyed artifacts to suit their narrative- like removing the -definitely not white- noses off Egyptian statuary. 

European empires changed how history is told and began the long tradition of white washing still seen in Hollywood today because they had to justify and legitimize their claims of Moral Superiority. They had to have the best and most direct heritage to the great empires that came before them. Any empires that they were obviously not related to had to go. 

And today, when we see nods and emulations of empires past the instinct is to assume they’re referencing white empires. In other words, saying the Galra is 100% white coded is essentially buying into centuries of dedicated smear campaigns by white people.  

These biases are on full display.

The common Squirey is often seen roaming the plains of New Wirral, searching for opponents to battle. Despite their cute appearances, they are dedicated warriors and driven by an innate desire for self-improvement.

[ID: The monster Squirey from the game Casstte Beasts. It is a brown furred, bipedal young monster with a bit of metal on its head for a helmet, a golden strap across its chest, and a short spear in its hands. Its face is slightly pointed, and it has two large claws on each hand. End ID.]

Alright, that's a cute little design.

Now the problems become glaring:

The Palangolin is the mature form of a Squirey who has remained true to their principles, and has become a knight of great virtue. Palangolins wield striking golden halberds, which they use to defend their allies in the heat of battle.

-

If a Squirey gives in to their dark impulses whilst training, it is destined to become a Manispear. Hiding its face beneath a black helmet, the Manispear fights without restraint or self-control.

[ID: The monsters Palangolin and Manispear from the game Cassette Beasts. Both are bipedal creatures with brown fur, long thick tails, and wear armour. Palangolin is skinny, with warm brown fur, and wears armour over its chest, lower arms, and lower legs, with the visor of a helmet worn like a crown on its head. It weirlds a gold and red halberd for its weapon. Its wears a golden necklace, and its chest has shadows on it implying breasts. It is labeled in quotation marks, "Virtuous". In contrast, Manispear is very heavyset, at least three times wider than Palangolin, with very notably darker brown fur, with a helmet completely covering its face, armour on its lower arms, feet, and a small metal skirt around its thighs. It weilds a spear for a weapon, and is marked in quotation marks, "Evil". End ID.]

So just right up front we have:

Colorist racism, equating having darker skin with being evil, and having lighter skin with moral purity.

Fatmisia, equating being skinny with being morally pure, and being fat with being evil and cruel.

Gender essentialism, demonizing men as inherently violent and cruel, saying that you (Squirey) will be evil if you grow up to be a man, which makes you inherently an MRA (the name is literally a pun on manosphere), so the only moral thing you can grow up to be is a woman. (Because despite being able to choose they/them pronouns, this game expects you to assume everyone's genders based on their appearance. Boobs = woman, flat chest = man in this game.

Question: For some of my white writers on this app, genuinely, why do a lot of you guys make it clear to us non-white readers that your reader is hinted to be white? Not everyone reading your stories are white. The descriptions such as, long hair, messy bun. pale skin, freaking PINK NIPPLES, etc. Isn’t a reader insert supposed to be for ALL to enjoy, unless you warn your audience that you are targeting a certain audience? I’m sorry if I’m being aggressive but this continuous thing with reader have subtle and NOT-so-subtle hints that the reader has white traits is oh so tiring. It is hard being a person of color to come across a bunch of fics that cater to white readers. I am not telling yall how to write, which it may seem like it, but it is more so of me sharing how weird that is. And I am not the only one who feels this way. We just want a change, a change where the reader is for all to envision themselves without being hammered in the face with white vision. Another example is saying, “he runs his fingers through your hair” is honestly annoying. Idk man, ion know what else to say at this moment. But please, whoever feels the same as me, please share your thoughts. Have a lovely day.