#kinda speed typed this coz I'm multitasking rip

[nibeul]

Probably unpopular opinion: clone x reader insert or OC (always a femm OC) is one of the most fetishising genres of fics/art when it comes to the clones, especially as the majority are overwhelmingly very sexual and will almost always have the clone being overly “dominant”, or will infantilise the clone. I’ve seen this problem explode with Boba Fett now too where he is almost always the commanding “daddy” in fics with femm readers and it’s so nauseating.

ooooh, I've talked about this on my blog before (I don't remember if I hit this directly, I know I definitely answered a couple asks about it after discussing the fetishization of clones) and people did not like that. that was the first time my inbox was absolutely flooded, and I still remember waking up to 20+ asks about all that fun stuff. I won't say I outright hate reader inserts/OC inserts (I've seen it done tastefully maybe once or twice), though I tend to avoid them because I don't. need to dig through all that again, especially not when there's racial trauma to accompany it.

most of this comes from the fetishization of MOC, hence it's a racial issue. you don't see that same treatment with Anakin and Obi Wan (there is some woobification with the latter, but still it's not the same as the clones are treated), and it's made worse by the fact that the clones are literally enslaved by the Republic. There's also this thing where the clones are seen as interchangeable (I saw someone describe them say "they’re all loyal, brave, tough-as-nails soldiers with good hearts and tragic stories" which is a really broad generalization that lumps them all together and erases them of individuality), further enabling people to see them as... well, boy toys.

the only reason your ask would be considered an "unpopular opinion" (I wouldn't really frame fetishization as an opinion since it's dealing with the treatment of MOC here, ngl, it's more so a big issue that absolutely needs to be addressed) is because this fandom is predominantly and overwhelmingly white. Star Wars has always catered to white people, hence the fandom is reflective of that. Additionally, because of the way women in the larger part of the fandom are treated, it's easier for white women (who tend to be the people writing these fics/drawing this art) to pin fandom issues on the guys which allows this fetishization to continue.

With all the reader/oc insert stuff, you have one of two outcomes: 1) the "dominant" man, then 2) the "baby" man. both of these play into racist stereotypes but in two different directions. The first comes from the brown man stereotype where they are seen as aggressive, overprotective, big and scary, yada yada, you get the idea. The second is a stereotype you often see with Asian men, actually (since Māori are an Austronesian group, I think it does apply here, especially with how it's perpetuated by the fandom) where they are viewed as submissive and childlike (which.. is actually a much bigger stereotype for Asians in general, but I'm not gonna get into that right now). Additionally, the white saviorism can pop up here where the clones are viewed as poor souls in need of desperate help and... yeah, you can see why that's not good.

plenty of BIPOC creators—such as myself—have brought up this larger issue buuuuut we are often met with white people who continue to insist that we're reaching and that it's "not racist" (which, btw, if you're white, you have absolutely no say in what is and isn't racist. If BIPOC are saying something is racist, chances are, it's racist). As a result, this issue is drowned out because BIPOC simply don't have the numbers to push it on our own and white people are perfectly happy shutting us down.