#reverse. orientalism

[actualarcanist]

On Kanjira and Orientalism

During the Natlan debacle that had spilled over to R99, some people have pointed out that brown women like Kaalaa barely have a tan, which suggests a problem with colorism that when considered in the context of how pale Jiu Nianzi is and the lack of POCs in 2.2, is most definitely an ongoing problem with Chinese gacha game, up to and includes R99. However, some have also asserted that the portrayal of Kanjira as illiterate, homeless, and a thief is Orientalism. Upon some thought, I'd like to discuss this idea with more nuance and care.

First, Orientalism goes beyond "you're depicting a culture in a way I dislike". It's about depicting a culture as below the ability to develop like the West does, and thus is doomed to remain barbarians forever. In other words, stereotyping alone is not Orientalism; the insidious Chinese spy is an extremely harmful and sinophobic stereotype, but it is NOT Orientalism, as it suggests that Chinese people DID develop into Western Imperialism - in fact, the whole POINT of the invincible Chinese spy is the idea that they are TOO terrifyingly developed.

So, back to Kanjira. Is she whitewashed? Absolutely. Is she having a pet snake a gross stereotype? 100%. Is her existence Orientalism? I don't think so, because we also have Kaalaa who IS developed along the line of Westernized academia, and Shamane showing that maybe the old ways aren't as barbaric as Westerners would like to think. The idea that we can't show an Indian child as illiterate and homeless also gets dangerously close to sanitize representations at the expense of the very cultures and peoples you want to represent. If we can't talk about poverty in Global South, we can't talk about how to address it.

There is a very fine line between policing harmful stereotypes to represent people with respect...and flat out censoring and sanitizing people's culture and experiences for the sake of your own feelings and respectability in front of Westerners. I'm not saying Kanjira or the people who criticize her portrayal is necessary one way or another, because it depends highly on the context; what I AM begging you to do, though, is giving more thought about labeling something as a stereotype, before you start saying shit like "Well martial art is a Chinese stereotype, no one should show a Chinese person doing martial arts in media EVER AGAIN". Don't commit literally the exact same kinda cultural genocide you claim to oppose, because the fact that you're doing it from the direction of leftism and wokeness instead Fascism and bigotry makes no difference to your victims.

[moonssugar]

i love when people say you can't examine the jedi order's flaws or discuss them or ever portray them as bad because that would be misrepresenting buddhism and would be bad because thats a minority religion (in the west) as if real life buddism isnt as flawed as every single other religion in existence. people also forget two other important things: first that theres another religion that starts with a c the jedi are also partially based off of and secondly the reason the jedi has buddist influences in their worldbuilding is because of this pesky thing called orientalism that star wars happens to be full of to the brim. also the idea that examining the jedi critically 1:1 equals slandering its influences is such a example of the inability to distinguish fiction and in universe things from actual reality

youre defending a half assed orientalist idea of actual religion in its poorly executed fictional amalgamative form...why?

[anonymocha]

indo college orientation au because im the college orientation struggler

partner said that kaalaa is the type of senior who looks kind and nice and warm (she is) but if she gets mad at you its over !

[benetnvsch]

caved in and developed my kunikidazai warrior cat AU finally kasdj-

Kunikida would be the deputy of whatever clan the ADA and Dazai was a kittypet (very very briefly) before going rogue before going warrior (he's still comfortable in human areas hence the collar + bandages since he often goes to humans when injured).

Kunikida's warrior cat name is Goldenwish and Dazai's is Dogheart after Kunikida used it on him as an insult when they first met and Dazai (thinking it was cooler than the name he was using) was like 'OH sure alright :)'

now they have a silly bond as two of the strongest warriors in the clan and are a deadly duo when faced together :)

[kingslayerstew]

every good ship needs a nonsense au

[lebn]

When classic meets modern….daydream💤

[spontaneousglitterbees]

wonder who they're talking to... 🤔

[AU Masterpost]

[medi-melancholy]

i s2g if my childhood geology special interest leads to me guessing a major 2.1 plot twist,

[keeps-ache]

ouhhh i'm turning into my grandmother [chewing on wriggley's gum]

[kalashtars]

trying to romance gale after three seperate runs of romancing astarion and I keep having to remind myself not to choose the morally ambiguous options in dialogue

[northwestofinsanity]

Heads up that if there’s WiFi in the service department lobby I’ll be camping in tomorrow, I’m probably going to spam reblog at some point while I wait to find out whatever the hell’s got my car acting weird all of a sudden. (If not, shameless fanfic writer time…)

[bookwyrminspiration]

trying to figure out what a sign you don't know means is hell on earth actually I think it's impossible

[aesthetic-lillie]

god can someone explain how to use insurance cards at appointments all that. im getting absolutely no guidance rn

[lilliangst]

biblically accurate, semi-realistic candace or kandake, who was a nubian queen

image renders:

Incoming yap about the current genshin problem:

As a Chinese person swarmed by western media, Liyue means so, so much to me. Seeing the culture that I've been taught to be ashamed of all my life being represented so accurately and positively makes me incredibly happy. It was the first time I saw the famous landscapes that I've visited in person and recreated a fantasy game. Seeing characters wear clothes with similar designs to what I’ve worn and eating similar foods to what I’ve eaten, is indescribable. The euphoria I felt when I first climbed atop of Qingyun Peak and heard the music is something I wish I could experience again.

That being said, Sumeru was a mess, and Natlan is just depressing. What I would give to have people from SEA/SWANA, Latin America, Africa, and Indigenous groups etc. to feel the same way I did when strolling through Liyue.

HYV’s colorism isn’t just stifling their character designs; by whitewashing real-life people, real cultures and even their deities, they are inadvertently whitewashing history. They are taking from actual ethnic groups: learning their history and struggles, then retelling these narratives after replacing their people with bleached protagonists in orientalist clothing.

All this because of what? Out of touch beauty standards? The possibility of lower sales? Dehya is extremely loved in China and her fans donated thousands to a children’s charity in her name. Other Chinese companies like Lilith Games and Bluepoch don’t have this problem. Dislyte is able to consistently pump out gorgeous character designs with varying skin tones and Reverse:1999 makes accurate designs and does in-depth research into the cultures of their characters.

It’s a basic lack of respect.

I've heard that Iranian players were extremely happy and touched by their representation, and that's amazing. And most European, Chinese, and Japanese players are fine with theirs. I just wish this extended to the representation of people with skin tones that are darker.

HYV has shown that they are capable of making characters with darker skin tones and interesting designs, but they will only do that for npcs and enemies. Orientalism, culture mash-ups and inaccuracies across regions is unfortunately common in the game, but the problem with the unchanging pale color of playable characters reflects an obvious and sinister bigotry. I do personally believe that a lot of this has to do with the meddling of higher-ups; many playable characters look like they’ve been white-washed at the end of the process, and just from an art/design standpoint, they fit darker skin-tones much, much better.

It is impossible for Genshin to be a fully “fictional fantasy game” because they chose to bear the responsibility of incorporating real life cultures into their world-building. The criticisms about Sumeru and Natlan are what they brought upon themselves. If you don’t want to represent properly, don’t do it at all. You cannot take everything from a culture and leave their people out of it. They deserve the same respect and research as the region representing your own nation.

For the people who have seen themselves represented in media over and over again, or for those who do not care about being represented at all: even if YOU don't care, others do, and they have a damn good reason for it. This is a big deal, it isn’t too much to ask for, and I will be blocking racists. Peace.

[batboyblog]

What Joe Biden has Done for LGBTQ+ People

I wanted to list out everything The Biden Administration has done for Queer people in the last 3 and a half years, but according to GLAAD it'd been 337 moves (and I noticed they missed a few things...) there was just no way to list every ground breaking first Queer person ever nominated to fill this or that job, every ally with a historic LGBT rights record nominated for a top job, every beautiful statement of support, every time he tried to get Congress to pass the Equality Act (support it!) So I've gone through and done my best to pick the ones I think were the most important, but everyone should check out the full list!

Day 1: Signs executive orders banning discrimination and ordering a full review of all federal agencies policies to better include and support LGBT people

Pete Buttigieg becomes the first openly gay person nominated and confirmed for a cabinet level post as Secretary of Transportation

Revokes Trump’s 2018 ban on transgender military personnel

Department of Housing and Urban Development implements LGBTQ protections in housing, becoming first federal agency to implement Pres. Biden’s executive order

First President to recognize and proclaim Trans Day of Visibility

Department of Justice Civil Rights Division issues an official memo that the Supreme Court's Bostock decision against LGBT workplace discrimination also applies to education through Title IX

HUD withdraws a Trump Administration proposed rule change, and reaffirms trans people's rights to seek shelters matching their gender identity

HHS announces the withdrawal of Trump Administration rules that allowed discrimination by healthcare organizations against LGBT people.

The State Department and later Homeland Security announce babies born to Queer couples overseas will be American citizens if one parent is American, in the past the child only qualified if they were genetically related to the American citizen parent.

The Justice Department files against a West Virginia law banning trans students from school athletics

Department of Veterans Affairs announces it will offer gender confirming surgery for transgender veterans. There are an estimated 134,000 transgender veterans in the U.S. and another 15,000 transgender people serving in the armed forces.

President Biden Signs a law making the Pulse Night Club a national memorial

The State Department creates an X gender marker for passports and other documents, allowing gender affirming identification for non-binary and intersex people for the first time.

The Census Bureau for the first time issues a Survey with questions about sexual orientation and gender identity

On the 10th anniversary of the repeal of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Veterans Administration announces that soldiers discharged for homosexual conduct, gender identity or HIV status qualify for veterans' benefits

Dr. Rachel Levine becomes the first trans person confirmed by the US Senate when she was nominated to be Assistant Secretary for Health, she also became the first trans flag rank officer when she was sworn in as a 4 star Admiral for her job as head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, his makes her the highest ranked trans person in government

Holds the first ever vigil in the White House for Transgender Day of Remembrance

HHS announces rule change to reinstate and expand protections against discrimination in the Affordable Care Act, including denying coverage for gender-affirming care.

Social Security Administration reverses a Trump Administration policy and allows benefits claims by surviving partners in same-sex relationships, whose partner died before marriage equality was legal

President Biden signs the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (a bill he helped originally craft in the Senate) which for the first time has grant programs dedicated to expanding and developing initiatives specifically for LGBTQ survivors of domestic violence

The TSA announces new technology and policy shifts to improve the customer experience of transgender travelers who have previously been required to undergo additional screening due to alarms in sensitive areas.

The Social Security Administration allows people to edit their gender and name on records for the first time without legal and medical documentation

The US Air Force announces it'll offer medical and legal aid to any personnel families affected by state level anti-trans youth bills.

Karine Jean-Pierre becomes the first Lesbian to serve as White House Press Secretary

on 50th anniversary of Title IX The Department of Ed strengthens protections for Students against sexual harassment and discrimination

Veterans Affairs announces survivor benefits now extended to partners from relationships before marriage equality was legalized in 2015

President Biden signs the Respect for Marriage Act into law enshrining protections for marriage equality for same-sex and interracial couples

The Department of Ed announces new rules around athletic eligibility under Title IX, declaring blanket bans on trans students violate the law and setting up strike standards for schools

The White House announced a suit of new protections for LGBTQ people, including a new job at the Department of Ed to combat book bans, a joint DoJ Homeland Security effort to combat violence and threats and HHS evidence-based guidance to mental health providers for care of transgender kids

President Biden signs an Executive Order directing HHS to protect LGBTQI+ youth in the foster care system, a rule they later passed requiring Queer foster children to be placed in affirming homes

The Biden administration joins families of transgender youth in Tennessee and Kentucky in petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court to review and reverse a circuit court ruling allowing a ban on mainstream health care to be enforced

President Biden Signs a EO expanding on past EO on equality and helping underserved communities

The Department of Education's Civil Rights office opens an investigation into the death of Nex Benedict. President Biden in his statement said: "Every young person deserves to have the fundamental right and freedom to be who they are, and feel safe and supported at school and in their communities. Nex Benedict, a kid who just wanted to be accepted, should still be here with us today. Nonbinary and transgender people are some of the bravest Americans I know. But nobody should have to be brave just to be themselves. In memory of Nex, we must all recommit to our work to end discrimination and address the suicide crisis impacting too many nonbinary and transgender children.”

[moodyseal]

Meg and Apollo tarot card designs for @ferodactyl <3 I'm not an expert when it comes to tarot cards (this was actually the first time I looked into the full deck) but hopefully I got it right!

The explanation of the cards' symbolism is under the cut because it's a bit lengthy oof

Meg's card is the Knight of Swords, one of the minor Arcana, I think? Upright, the Knight of Swords refers to a person who is action-oriented, determined and unstoppable in what they set their mind to; however, when it's reversed the card also indicates a person who might be blind to the consequences of their actions and charges into things without having fully considered their options. Meg's choices throughout TOA point to her being exactly this sort of person: while her determination and lack of hesitation were exactly what was needed to balance out Apollo's occasional self-doubt, her impulsiveness was also what got them both into trouble multiple times. The fact that, eventually, she learned how to rely on others and slow down when needed goes hand in hand with the warning this card poses.

Apollo's card is instead one of the Major Arcana, and it's Death. The Death card is a symbol of change: it indicates a time of transition and new beginnings that are sometimes unexpected and difficult, but still necessary. Reversed, the card indicates that the person is resisting that change, and unwilling to let go of the past, which makes the journey all the more painful as the transformation that they're going through is inevitable and cannot be reversed. One of the major points in Apollo's character arc, and the biggest change he goes through, is the transition from the god he used to be to the one he would be in the future. It's a slow change, and one he didn't fully lean into at first—after all, if he chose to give up all that he had been up until then, what would he have left? However, ironically enough, death is exactly what set things in motion, and let him finally shed away his past beliefs to embrace his new sense of self.