GENUINELY, how are these illiterate people think that whitewashing is bad but blackwashing is okay??? Like respectfully saying both are the fucking same and it's racist you DUMB fuck. Especially those genshin players who thinks it's okay to blackwash characters just cause they're from natlan and sumeru. I get that people that live there are tan and shit but pale people in that region irl also exists?? It's like Disney cartoon princesses getting black washed in the live version.
I am also bitchy and wanted to say this guy is a fucking racist I called him out for blackwashing a MF pale character and that mf replies saying "Black people aren't operessed, I am half white and I think it's okay" while using big ass words to idk sound "mature". THE ONLY SENSE THAT DUMB FUCK WAS MAKING WAS NONSENSE! He shortly blocked me and deleted my comment after I clocked him using his own words. (No one asked but I'm dropping his tiktok account cause I feel petty and I want people to argue w this illiterate one.)
@totallynotsquish
Messages
L rage bait and racism against whites doesn't exist
Next
We live in a world where ppl think reverse racism is a thing LMAOOO
Finaly someone sane in this insane thread LMAO
EXACTLY LIKE WTF??
Idk if this is relevant to what you posted but I just want to say I hate it when people act like it's okay to say one thing/do something to one race but not the other, I'm white as freak and American and where I live a tan is the beauty standard and because I'm white as freak my family would always say I look unhealthy and I look like a ghost constantly (daily basis) my mom is also white which is where I got it from but she has spent thousands of dollars every few months for years just to get a tan and I've had times where I hated my skin, I've had people say out of nowhere "it's not the same of how black people feel about their skin or why you complaing when black-" idc if it's the exact same or not, it's still bad that my family said crap like that, it's like when parents say " well at least your not homeless" or something but your still poor? I just hate it when people under(whats the word?) because "compared to (insert) its not as bad so it's not the same thing/ dosent matter as much". I could also go on about my freckles and how I got bullied for them like crazy and then it became a trend and alot of people like me got uncomfortable but no one cared and continued doing it anways? But dreads and black hair is a no no? Becahse they got harassed for it in the past? Like is it not similar? "Well black people couldn't get jobs so it's not the same" girl just because I didn't suffer as much as black person for their hair dosent mean I didn't get bullied for my freckles? Like what in the gaslighting? And dont balck people wear blonde wigs? And I'm starting to think that people think it's okay to say this crap if your white but not if your black, like "reverse" racism is becoming a thing now I guess, what a werid thing to become normalized
OMFG FINALLY A PERSON WHO'S AWARE ISTG THIS REVERSE RACISM YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IS ACTUALLY SOME DAY GON BE A THING
Yes! It’s such double standards from everyone, like just because it ‘didn’t’ happen in the past doesn’t mean that it is alright now to make fun of or ignore/degrade someone just because what they are getting harassed or bullied about isn’t as ‘important’ as it wasn’t such a big deal of in the past
Oh so that was what you were talking about, and yeah it's great there's another that thinks it's werid to because I swear the people calling me crazy because "white people are not gonna be oppressed only black people" like that would've been true if people weren't gaslighting everything because a person is white, yeah I'm not opressed at all but these randos are really giving me suss vibes, that I can't help but see the similarities of what was happening to black people and I say something and they say I'm overreacting but what if people get to used to this and it gets worse? Like i can see it happening already
THANK YOU THANK YOU!!
They be acting like I should be grateful that people ONLY comment on my skin because "at least I wasn't a slave " I'm serious when I say that people have told me that. Also when I posted a video of genshin and I produced the blue Asian boy name wrong someone legit said in the comments "the fact that you couldn't say his name correctly screams dumb white woman and is culture apportion (how is that word spelt again?)" Like I'm sorry I don't speak Chinese, the genshin boy must feel so horrible that a English person couldn't produce his name correctly, like boi
This is valid crash out honestly. Whites are equally bashed for being a "dumb American" for not understanding something. I hope you do good bro stay safe.
It’s srs so sad how ppl really called all white women/men dumb and stupid just because they aren’t able to say a Chinese name correctly, it’s fine to make mistakes and be unable to pronounce names correctly, also it’s not like the Genshin boy is gonna be offended because you can’t say his name like.. also ppl always say whites are more privileged and problematic, like isn’t that just how YOU preview them as and the certain ppl you’ve meet, it’s not like they met the whole white race population now.. also it’s all about skin color to everyone, like don’t bring it up if ur just gonna say things like this..
Oh yeah also I rembered the time where I came across a video saying "this chacrter name is a black person's name and this black name comes with lore or somethjng but they made him white because rascism " my name irl is litteraly alliya, my mom called me that because of the black singer alliya she liked, I'm the whitest person alive, by that youtubers logic its rasict how my mom named me after a black person but I'm white and look nothing like her
it is not happening by the way, an entire race was enslaved, lynched, and murdered en mass. the richest people in the world are white men. it’s never going to happen and it’s weird you fantasize that it will
To late it already happened, one of my late white grandparents was enslaved by afraicans, if you don't belive me look it up, it was a real thing we're hundreds of white christain women were being sold off to rich Africans, it's werid how you think I'm fanatzing about this, I'm not I'm just really worried and can see it happening because it's happend in the past and no one said anything/or has said anything because some people belive "only black people were enslaved" they might have been the majority but it's crazy that people forgot about the others who have suffered like yourself
Also there are millions of white slaves rn what are you talking about? Rn we have the highest amount in history of slaves because of things like human traciffing, they do not discriminate but a quick google search will tell you that alot of them are white women, but I guess you forgot about them? Like what
but when people are talking about black discrimination and poc discrimination, why do you feel the need to bring up yours? what was the reason other than to invalidate the other side. are you bringing awareness to this issue outside of this obscure mangasite thread? it’s easy to think that because it has happened to you means you don’t need to care when it happened to other people. this is like when women talk about feminism but men bring up “b-but male suicide rates”. that’s what you sound like. you don’t see me bringing up my past where in my country, korean missionaries were kidnapped by the taliban. i was also bullied for my appearance growing up, people pulled their eyes back to make fun of my slanted eyes and called me “ that yellow girl”, some of my bullies were black as well. but i have the conscience to separate what happened to me and my people and systemic racism. white people in america don’t realize when they’re more well off and privileged in america. black people are way more likely to face police brutality, microaggression, discrimination and violence, more than any other race in america, STATISTICALLY. what happened to you and your grandmother is tragic, but it should not be used as a counter to say racism against black people is the same, and that white people will be the next oppressed group. if you truly believe we are heading that way, you have gotten too used to being in a privileged position, because black people and many dark skin people still face many of the same discrimination they did back in the 90s, 80s, 70s, and so on.
btw that’s just misinformation, india and china have the highest rates of human trafficking and slavery, but i guess you forgot about, too huh? geez it’s so useless arguing with white women, you guys think you’re the most oppressed group on the planet. you’re treating this like the oppression olympics, always bringing strange counter arguments to historical damaging events like the african american slave trade. do you care about the chinese kids making your clothes for 2 cents a piece? do you care about indian children being sold a child brides? i can outwoke you rn. how about the ughyrs? what about north korean women? what about the islamophobia that muslim people face, that was partly pushed by american propaganda? what about when germans killed the jewish? german people were white. do you see how bringing up stuff like this is not constructive to the discussion
My pervious comments were agreeing with what you said about how my struggles arent as bad as black people, but my whole point was that I hate that people say that because my experiences weren't the exact same as black people that I'm overreacting and why am I bringing up my struggles when black people had it worse, its not to invalidate the other side at all when i bring up my strugggles, no one is gonna forgot that black people have it tough just because I said I hate how people made fun of my freckles or white skin, I just wanna say that it's wrong how people said that about me, also you said why do I feel the need to bring up my experience when we're talking about black people, this thread was not started to talk about black people at all but to talk about people like me who are white who get crapped on because "compared to black people-"
Ngl you talk as if blacks are victims while whites are abusers.. they can be any wake up bro world's already past that slavery.
okay then let’s go back to the main issue, because whitewashing is a product of mainstream media erasing black and other poc, while blackwashing is just taking some representation back. if you read my other comments below, i work in the creative industry where it is incredibly hard to get shows and productions greenlit to feature more than a quarter cast as poc. when people say “black people should just make their own black characters” my question as someone in the industry is… how? i’ve seen executives turn down so many character designs because 1. too dark 2. too many dark characters 3. they’re scared the target audience will complain. one of the industries i’ve worked for which is the video game industry, famously has a large amount of anti-woke, anti-poc, anti-anythingthatisntwhite. it’s disheartening to see when people push aside the struggles of black people when they want to draw a character they like, look like them. they can’t “just make a black character” in the current world of mainstream media.
i’m not saying that omfg have some reading comprehension. white people still BENEFIT from the racial discrimination against black people. and black people are still very much victims? not all of them act like it but when black people want to be treated as victims, for very valid reasons mind you, then we should listen to them
When I said "we have the highest amout" I didn't mean white women make up most of slaves rn I meant in the whole history of the world this current time we are in we as the whole world have the most slaves then ever before, not that white women make up most of the slaves but it's true they are the most sought out for because they sell higher(a survier has said this that she saw that white young virgins sold the most) I know that most are in India and China. Also you bring up child labor but everyone (the majority) has a phone (like yourself and me) and I'm very sure you have used Amazon or a family member has and they are not innocent either, you act like child labor is a thing people choose to "support" but everyone has brought something that got done by using child labor, very few people are innocent of this whether they realize it or not, it's like a vegan saying they have never ate animals/used animal products before, u nless both of their parents were vegan whi ch is very unlikely then they are not 100% vegan since birth, so unless your parents know every company's secret child basement and choose not to but form them then I guess you have brought something with child labor
i see you understand my original point of why it’s not constructive to bring such topics up in this discussion, right? i didn’t bring them up to one up you? i brought them up because you’re just saying anything. again you’re doing the suffering olympics cause you bring up the cost of white women slaves
Yes, but every single one of your paragraphs victimizes black..
You're talking like all the other races also didn't suffer discrimination..
What about other race then?? I think few of the people has suffered racism not just black. They should also be treated as victims why are you antagonising only the whites.. I don't get the way of you sperating blackwashing and whitewashing in two different categories when they're almost the same.
okay 1. it’s bc black people are victims of whitewashing. i’m defending a race that’s getting hate for something deemed harmless at the end of the day. yes it’s best it doesn’t exist but it exists for a pretty valid reason. 2. i did bring up other races facing discrimination 3. you brought up white and black people, why are getting mad a me for not bringing up other races when i did, multiple times, i literally brought up the racism i faced myself, and 4. THEYRE NOT THE SAME THE DO NOT ORIGINATE FROM THE SAME INTENTION. how many times do people need to nail it in your head that they are fundamentally not similar in their reason for existing. you get why, i just explained a billion times why, i work in the industry, i can see it happening in real time. you don’t wanna read you just want me to agree with you
I get your point and this is not to dismiss your experience and what you've seen in the industry, but no one is getting angry at small studios for blackwashing(if they are saying "fixed" or anything like that though then yeah people will get angry) at least compared to things like Disney because Disney has more then enough moeny to make there own and I get some people are fine with the lazy blackwashing but alot of people aren't including black people, also you underestimate the amount of small companies making black charcters despite the struggle while Disney takes the easy route of using white charcters, here are some youtubers who make manga/animation with black charcters that have thought and effort put into them while diseny color changes snow white for some reason,
Youtubers who make manga/ animation with black charcters
-kaycem
-whytmanga
-andru
-mangaka Brandon Chen
- cory kenshin
-legendary mojo
And more that I don't have listed rn, and all theesw people started out with nothing and still were able to bulid up and create black charcters and yes these black charcters are sussceful
I don't care if black washing is racist or not but I know for me blackwashing is lazy when rich companies choose blackwashing over creating their own charcters when I know many people who create black characters and aren't rich because they like putting in the effort of learning how to create a black charcters but a company won't seems werid to me, also I think black washing is 100% racist when people say fixed when posting it online or say something about how it's better now?
ASIAN GIRL FROM ONE CHING TO ANOTHER CHONG
WHITEWASH BLACK CHARACTER W NO CORRELATION TO WHITE = BAD
BLACKWASH WHITE CHARACTER W NO CORRELATION TO BLACK HISTORY = BAD
BLACKWASH WHITE MISCHARACTERIZED BLACK HISTORICAL FIGURE = FAIR (VICEVERSA)
RACISM = BAD
BLACK PEOPLE= GOOD
WHITE PEOPLE= GOOD
ASIAN PEOPLE= GOOD
ABUSER = BAD
okay but you’re equating that one type of blackwashing to saying all blackwashing like that is bad. fyi, anything that is “fixing art” is bad. when a black person wants to draw themselves as their favourite character, that is also considered blackwashing and you’re grouping that type of fanart/headcanon with a practice in the art community that is generally bad no matter what, like “fixing bad art”. that doesn’t mean all fanart that draws characters as black is trying to “fix” the original. do you think headcanons are trying to “fix” the original canon too? again you’re not having nuance here and equating a history of systemic racism within the film industry to black people drawing their favourite characters as themselves. a lot of people think hoyo should’ve make their characters darker because they originate in regions from brown and back people, but that doesn’t mean they changed the canon or can do anything about the canon anyway. genshin is still going to feature the characters in the way that they are. of course you can call out “fixing art” but what you’re calling out isn’t that. i understand how you came to the conclusion, but i don’t think you should have crashed out as much as you did over someone headcanoning tighnari darker. if you still don’t get it, that’s fine, but next time block them instead of fighting in the comments or threads. i’m sure you’ve learned by now that you’ll either agree nor disagree and both are very strong about their opinion. leave that space alone and they’ll leave you alone
I think you sent this to the wrong person, I didn't make this thread so I don't really care that they made tignari black unless to fix him which I don't know about because I didn't make this thread, I just related to the thing the thread person said about how people don't take certain issues seriously because it's not the same as black people issues but I think we've already agreed on that and of not oh well I've said enough already, i will say though when companies make a charcters with black names or based of black people in some way and make them white , I think it's fine it's their choice (some people say cultural apportion but unless they obviously doing it because they rascist then I don't see it as that) my irl name is litteraly alliya and my mom named me after the black singer she loved and yet I look nothing like her and am white as freak and some people would say I'm cultural apportion, it's kinda funny
alliya, aliyah, alia, aliyya are all commons names across many countries so idk who’s saying it’s cultural appropriation to you, that’s their problem and quite weird. but i didnt reply to the wrong thread, they were just also replying under yours, then i subsequently replied to their comment under your thread. so you might’ve gotten the notif anyway, sorry abt that!
oh wait sorry you’re right. all the display names are mushing together and starting to look the same don’t mind me that was for op
Yeah I know it's so crazy, that's why I've posted so much in this thread because I swear people be saying crap just because my skin color "you look like a sick "your name is alliya and yet you american white women" like not to victimize myself but
Also it's fine I'm just happy that you weren't as crazy as some other people I talked to about this sensitive stuff, like I think we found some middle ground
yeah honestly i tend to get really heated about topics im passionate about start wilding on the keyboard, but then i mellow out and realize not everyone has to fight to agree with each other. this happens every time smh anyway good day to you
Also you should follow my Instagram, I post art stuff and planning on making a webtoon soon, you said you were apart of that industry and I'm going to enter(kinda already in just not full time) I've been grinding art seriously, it's @alliyacookies with a black cat profile photo
This sounds werid but lowkey you should follow my Instagram, I post art reels and am planning on making a webtoon soon and if you like art I've been grinding and post my progress it's at @alliyacookies
i don’t have an instagram or meta account thats not set to private (don’t wanna post my work out of spite for meta), but i checked your stuff out and you’re doing pretty good! can’t wait for the webtoon to come out
Oh my thanks so much, I'm very inexperienced in art rn but I'm learning everything and planning to hopefully start my webton in 2026 after I get the fundamentals down (at least used to it) there's a Manga program I'm thinking of joing but don't have the confidence rn and my Instagram is my way of keeping myself accountable and checking my progress so I don't beat myself up over "no progress", thanks for checking it out
I think it's so sad that despite so many ppl being patient and carefully explaining the differences, you still believe that blackwashing and whitewashing are the same thing. What a waste of time for everyone involved.
well that is the case 90% of the time even after slavery, the most racist and ignorant people in the world are whites
A sane person in a thread filled with freacks
i believe you are asian from reading your previous comments, so i wanted to comment on this as a fellow asian. if you truly want to know and understand why people react differently towards whitewashing versus blackwashing, it’s the history of both and how much damage it has caused. this will require an open mind about marginalization and culture stealing, and how hurtful it is to poc communities. whitewashing has had a vast and expanse effect on culture, specifically in media and how representation is shown. many movies have been accused of whitewashing, such as m.night shyamalan’s “the last airbender” live action, where almost no one in the main cast was east or central asian, what the original characters were in the show. or when hollywood tried remaking “ghost in the shell” but scarlett johansson played motoko kusangi. i’m giving examples of when asian people were robbed of proper representation in major hollywood films about asian people, to hopefully help you understand that when it’s frustrating to us, it’s 100x worse for darker skinned people. coupled with the extensive racism and history of enslavement, representation of black people in american entertainment started out as minstrel shows, where white men painted themselves black and mad a mockery of them. this did not get better when white actors did the same on television. at some point america realized it’s not socially acceptable to paint faces to look a different race, but they still didn’t want to hire black actors, so they decided not to cast them at all, along with not casting many other poc actors. the term whitewashing also extends to white people stealing culture and passing it off as their own or repackaging it in a “better” way, like yoga and meditation from india, the slicked back bun from both brown and black people, “face sculpting” aka guosha from chinese people, “spa water” aka agua fresca from mexican people, and more. whitewashing is the act of taking and taking but never giving back to the communities they benefit from. this extends to mainstream media because the roles of poc are often taken away, but rarely given out. even when they are given, they’re minor supporting roles.
in cases like genshin: natlan and sumeru borrow form cultures that feature a diverse and predominantly darker skinned poc, so hoyoverse, a chinese company, borrowing from these cultures but making all their characters pale skinned is taking away representation. hoyoverse is loaded, their estimated net profit being between 4.2 and 5.6 billion usd. they have the ability to market and make characters that can properly represent the cultures they’re borrowing from, but choose not to. they take and take but never give proper representation to the people who are from those cultures. sumeru’s issue was mainly the colorism, as they did everything else right. it was actually crazy how well represented persian, egyptian, and indian culture was in most cases (i say most with a heavy dose of salt), but not the skin tone for some reason half the cast are from the desert, but none of them are darker than cyno or dehya? natlan’s issue was just racism, as they jumbled together a bunch of elements from north africa and latin america, slapped together a bunch of tribes, fumbled their characters and the natlan archon quests, and made almost every single character pale. iansan, kachina, and ifa are the only remotely “darker” characters in natlan, and they only get to be 4 stars. at least sumeru allowed dehya and cyno to be 5 stars, but her kit is trash and cyno’s is barely average. ororon is based off an african deity, oluron, who is a dark skinned black man, but genshin decided he should be an emo, pale teenager? again, hoyoverse has done nothing but take and borrow from cultures, and has done a piss poor job at representation.
now it’s time to talk about blackwashing and its historical and damaging effects. it’s almost nonexistent. in cases like the recent “the little mermaid”, there was no narrative purpose to keeping ariel a white woman, so there is no reason to be upset any other actress of colour played her. mermaids have appeared in tales all over the world, it’s not unique to white people. in many cases of people black people blackwashing their favourite character, it is for the black community and for themselves. because of the lack of representation and poc characters (especially dark skinned poc) often being side characters, poc fanartists take it upon themselves to draw characters in their race. in the case with tighnari, their reason for blackwashing, such as relating to the character or thinking he would make more sense as a darker skinned man, will never be as harmful as hoyoverse taking whole cultures and spitting them back out to be marketable for their anime waifus. hoyoverse represented chinese culture in a fantastic way with liyue, being well researched and honored the chinese people. not only do they have the ability to represent a culture well, they are loaded, so what’s their excuse? at the end of the day, the damage black people do with blackwashing is so minimal and not actually harming anyone, versus the culture vulture nature of where whitewashing originated from, and hoyoverse is guilty of this!
I get the lack of representation. I don't get why characters like kaveh, alhaitham, tighnari, sucrose get blackwashed
why the hell not, who is it hurting? you? hoyoverse doesn’t care cause they don’t care about black people anyway! why does it bother you so much? it could be someone from that culture who is darker skinned and wanna see their favourite character from their culture the same skin tone as them. as for sucrose, idk, but i do know her va is a woc. again, there is also a majority of pale skinned genshin characters, why can’t some of them, who are from the culture that feature a lot of dark skinned people, be represented in the skin tone they are from? it’s like a head canon, something that will never affect the game but something you and the community can enjoy. once again whitewashing is based on racism and blackwashing is based on the desire for more representation
Yes but you can't just say whitewashing is bad blackwashing is as equally good and bad both has its pros and cons distinguishing them like that feels like angels Vs demons or good Vs evil
let me put it this way: people blackwash because they can and aren’t harming anyone. people whitewash to dimish the representation of poc. it’s ignorant to think blackwashing is just as bad as whitewashing. blackwashing is a modern concept that is not born out of malice, racism, and colourism, but whitewashing is. can you give meaningful reasons as to why you think blackwashing should be considered equally as bad, that would not be dismissing black people? i also notice how you only validate the opinions who agree with you. don’t ask a question next time if youre only looking for people to praise you for your ignorance. find an echo chamber on reddit.
Again, I apologize if I disrespected anything. I see the need to feel represented but I don't believe it should be done by blackwashing other characters why not make one that specifically black. Yes, I validate their opinions cause most of them speak fact alongside their opinion. I don't think I have disregarded anyone's opinion except for the ones that's only full of insults. Please look at this situation viceversa white doesn't necessarily bad black doesn't mean necessarily good they are like ying and yang
Also idk why you're saying ppl can blackwash cause it isn't harming anyone while whitewash can't?? That such a hypothetical sentence.
Hypocritical*
omg think about it for one second. whitewashing = taking. blackwashing = taking back. again black head canons don’t take away from the original source. do you know how hard it is to green light a fully black cast and production? i’m speaking as someone currently in the industry of animation and you see this systemic racism everywhere, so when i see people argue that blackwashing is just as bad as whitewashing, it’s trivializing years and years of racism and colorism from main stream media and its refusal to represent dark skinned people. i work in conceptual media, ive productions half projects or erase whole characters because they are “too dark” and companies are too scared to have too many dark skinned characters unless it’s for a stupid remake. you don’t see many original dark skinned characters in my area of industry. you and many people people who agree with you argue that “black people should just make their own characters” but you don’t see black creatives in the industry. you don’t see black people in the media that are main characters and important as white people. i remember one time i’ve worked at a video game company before as an intern student, assisting in character design. time and time again the darker skin characters are discarded by executives. so when you tell black people to just “make their own characters,” how? just let them make their anime waifu black and get 100 likes on tiktok max, who is it hurting, as someone speaking from the creative industry. it’s tiring
and if anyone is confused as to why i mention so many industries, im currently in the animation industry, my major is illustration, and my internship as a student was in video game development
Honestly based on their replies alone, you couldn't really change their mind. I was about to share my insight from a sociological perspective (I'm a sociology major) but I figured it was a waste of time.
Just share ur opinion, it’s really not that hard, your not here to change someone else’s opinion but to share, because you really had wasted ur time and life being on this platform and writing this
Js share if you want your major doesn't matter your view does
you’re right, but i’m like… so done with this take. i am interested in your perspective as a sociology major. there’s only so much i can say from my experience in the creative industry as a woc, albeit i don’t believe asian people get as mistreated in school and in the workplace.
Yes but the og character is NOT BROWN OR TAN??? HOW IS THAT TAKING BACK THAT CHARACTER WAS PALE AS ASH SINCE BIRTH??
All you're doing is finding good and bad instead of actually seeing both are almost the same thing
There's actually an existing subfield of sociology called black sociology! I wanted to apply that, along with my own opinions, but I'm actually on a class right now so I figured it was not a wise idea to create a long ass synthesis. Because like I said, it'll be a waste of time.
and all you’re doing is taking the bad out of something nuanced and happening for reasons i just explained above. it would be great if blackwashing never happened, we can agree on that right? but sadly it does, and for reasons i just explained above. please from one yellow girl to another just stop
gagged
reika, thank you so much for your take on this. I 10000% agree with what you said, that was a refreshingly educated argument from your side :))
Instead of arguing with someone who is ignorant pookies you should read Sangyang:The Wanderer
https://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/sangyang_the_wanderer/
Are you the author or what you're always promoting this manhwa I've seen you everywhere on this site ╥﹏╥
It's on my to read list tho
I could never create such a masterpiece. I am not smart enough. If you see me everywhere, maybe it’s a sign pookie (⊙…⊙ )
Yes yes.
It is indeed, a masterpiece.
So sorry this ended up being way longer than I expected! (っ °Д °;)っ
Based on your replies you are probably missing some important context. The term "whitewashing" was developed to critique a racist practice in Hollywood where they cast white actors to play non-white roles. They would have the actor don blackface/redface/yellowface/etc. to play the character or change the character entirely to be a white person (for example, in the film Doctor Strange, the character The Ancient One was originally an Asian man. However, in the film they rewrote the character to be a while woman). The former is less likely to occur nowadays, but the latter still happens sometimes.
This was/is a problem for a lot of reasons. Firstly, in the case of a white person dressing up as a non-white character, it often allows for misrepresentations of the race/culture they are portraying. Films that used this trope often had no people of color on set and often pushed harmful stereotypes of the community/race they are depicting. Due to the cultural impact of Hollywood films, these stereotypes pushed by the film would serve to reinforce racist perceptions of these communities, which would affect how the people in these communities were treated by White Americans on the interpersonal level, as well as affect legislation that impacts them. Secondly, it took away a job from an actor of color, in a market that already does not have many roles that are available for them. Yes, things have been getting better, but if you look at the statistics in Hollywood, the overwhelming majority of roles still go to white people. Often times, unless a role is explicitly written to be for a person of color, the casting agent doesn't even consider non-white actors for the role. Due to this scarcity, it can be extremely difficult for actors of color to get a job in Hollywood.
"Blackwashing", on the other hand, is not really a thing. What's actually going on is "race-blind casting" for race-neutral roles. Certain characters do not have a race. For example, the Little Mermaid is based on folk tales that are found in several communities across the globe. For all intents and purposes, her race is "fish". Therefore, it's not really a problem if they cast her as a someone who isn't white. The actress who plays Ariel, Halle Bailey, did not get the role to fill a diversity quota or whatever weirdos on the internet claim. She got the role because the director of the film was moved to tears when he heard her sing. To be honest, I have not seen this term in the context of film critique in any way other than to tear down actors of color for having the audacity to accept a race neutral role.
Like most academic films studies terms on the internet, "Whitewashing" has been run into the ground by people who have no idea what it means. The phenomenon that you are describing with the Genshin fanart does not seem to even remotely reflect "blackwashing". I admit that I know nothing about Genshin, but the character in the picture you posted has no distinct Black features other than the fact that their skin has been darkened. What you are describing is closer to Colorism than "Blackwashing". Colorism is a whole other separate issue. The term was coined to critique that fact that media often gives preference to light skinned individuals over dark skinned individuals.
To be honest, I'm not really sure why you were so offended by this person's depiction of that Genshin character. From what I understand about the game, there are not a whole lot of characters with dark skin. In my experience with fandom, the reason why people change a character's race or darken their skin tone is often done out of desperation for representation because the original work has little to no characters of color. In addition, this is just one guy on the internet posting his fanart online. The character is still canonically pale. I don't really know the context of your conversation, but it really seems like you just randomly started shit with this guy because you didn't like his fanart lol.
TLDR: Whitewashing is a racist practice in Hollywood with a long history of harming communities of color. It cannot be compared to fanart that darkens a character's skin tone.
It's really not that deep that character in the picture doesn't portray any historical figures or anything. He's just made black for no reason. Which is feels like the racist term of blackwashing
I know it isn't that deep- that's my whole point of the long ass reply I wrote
I just wanted to say that not every form of blackwashing is representative some of them are in fact racist
I understand, but my whole point is that whitewashing is a term used to describe a specific type of racial injustice in Hollywood, but has been diluted on the internet. Most cases when whitewashing/blackwashing is brought up is not what the original term was referring to. So when people are more mad about whitewashing, it's because they are often talking about the original definition of the word, not what certain parts of the internet turned it into.
Also, I don't know much about Genshin- how was this portrayal racist?
in my opinion it’s not racist because the character they’re complaining comes from a fictional culture genshin made that is a combination of egyptian, persian, and indian culture. why they’re so up that og creators ass abt a darker skinned tighnari, who is a character that is outside a lot, in a hot and sunny region, beats me, they want to be ignorant just be to ignorant. i suggest not arguing with them further because they do t come to be educated, they just wanted other people to agree with their bigoted take
Wait the character in question is Brown? Their mad that a fanartist made a Brown character even browner?
yes bro
Hey, not tryna be rude or anything but that’s not a ‘darker Tighnari’ but a black Tighnari, no matter how much you are outside, you cannot be that dark if you aren’t naturally black, not to mention his character studies medicine and something in that industry, so he def would’ve took care of himself whenever he goes outside, like sunscreen, also where he lives is full of tress and green lush, so he also gets lot of shade, I don’t understand why you think they want people to agree with their ‘bigoted’ take, it’s a question, not something you shame someone for because they don’t have the same views as you. It’s really not being ignorant, ur just not understanding their view.
Buddy as someone whose family is from one of the countries this character is based of off, we can absolutely be that dark. Where on earth did you get the idea that only Black people can be dark? I'm not Black and I'm literally the shade of the edit!
Also, sunscreen does not protect you from getting darker, it protects you from UV radiation. You can still tan with sunscreen.
I see, I understand that you can be born that dark or be that dark that was my mistake but he is light as shit, it just doesn’t seem like he would get ‘tan’ like that, because my brother, paled skinned, no he is not white, he’s been outside most of his life, but he isn’t that ‘dark’, and you being the same shade as his edit I understand where I said was a mistake there, but did you start pale as paper like Tighnari was? Sorry abt the question though
My guy literally said that character studies medicine..
Actually just go search tighnari to see his real skin shade
Maybe I'm colour blind but the original skin shade is not fucking brown
Right.. their character is white as shit, their race is mixed brown yet they aren’t born with brown skin color
i understand their view because it comes out of a place of ignorance lol
Hey bud!! Let’s part away our views for this one sec and let me spread/advertise Barbarities! its peak
Right.. u clearly don’t if ur calling it ignorance, lol read Barbarities! Sponsored by no one
i do because i notice they’re not taking into account any nuances of the issue, such as the issues i see in the creative industry! that’s called ignorance
You're good, I understand that it was probably a misunderstanding.
But I think we're getting sidetracked. The main point of OP's post was that they were mad that people care more about whitewashing than blackwashing. They then presented a situation where there was no blackwashing, because the character in question is Brown. Again, the fanartist didn't give the character any Black features- they didn't change the texture of their hair, they didn't change any facial structures, and they didn't change their clothes to be more culturally Black. They simply changed the skin color. And as established earlier, people from the cultures that this character is based of off can be that skin tone.
I think a lot of confusion in this comment section comes from the fact that OP is using these terms incorrectly. (This is not particularly their fault because I see it misused all over the internet). Again, whitewashing is a term from academia, more specifically film studies. It describes a specific practice of large Hollywood studios and other large media companies. It is not when a fanartist lightens a character's skin tone.
When I said the character is Brown, I meant that the character is culturally Brown. People from South Asia and the Middle East are often referred to as Brown.
you are so smart and eloquent i want to be as patient as you are
Oh shit, ngl I didn’t read any of this properly maybe, but thanks and I def got sidetracked, the only thing I really paid attention to was the title
I inspire to be as patient as they are, but one day you’ll learn
Whitewashing = stems from years of racism and hatred for poc.
"Blackwashing"= a recently made up word that stems from blk people just wanting to see themselves in media that doesnt portray them enough and isnt done as a form of hate towards white people.
Its so annoying when yall treat it like its the same thing when its not. Get a grip
Rather than black washing the whites wouldn't it be better to bring out a black character?
Tighnari in the pic doesn't even portray anyone but he's blackwashed
I don’t get it. If black people feel like they don’t have enough representation, then please, they can go ahead and make their own characters or oc, it’s really not hard, it doesn’t have to be good or what not. Changing a character’s race and skin color just because u want ‘more’ representation doesn’t do anything and doesn’t spread the ‘representation’ you want. It’s really double standards at this point, because you are still changing a characters race for YOUR liking, also the characters people change to black isn’t always white people, there is always Asians and Indians, yet no one ever seems to care to say anything and it’s normalized now.
U say it so easily like people will listen, anytime a video game where the mc is made blk people say its too woke. If its a fantasy show, same thing and it ends up having bad production and cancelled. Genshin for example will profit off of brown culture etc and barley anyone is brown Plus if u still think blackwashing, or whatever that is, is the same as whitewashing....u lack critical thinking.
its not like theyre changing the actual character, and it just a fanart thats done to not be harmful to white people. And i just explained how its not the same thing Like, are you illiterate? One is done out of hatred and racism...and the other is done for people to see themselves in media that does terrible rep or no rep at all. Stop treating it like its the same thing, its mad irritating. Lets instead talk about how stupid it is for genshin to have a city based on Sub-Saharan Africa and is described as hot etc but even the damn npc's dont have a lil melanin and isnt genshin like a racist company too?
You posted this, yet don't take into account multiple things. You brought up Disney princesses getting "blackwashed", but there are hundreds of instances of people of color being white washed in media. In the film based on Stephen King's novel Firestarter, the character John Rainbird (who was Native American) was "whitewashed" in the film and played by George C. Scott (a WHITE man). Or even Gemma Arterton playing as a black character from the novel The Girl with All the Gifts.
Not only that but it is often that Hoyoverse has expressed colorism, even going as far as making characters based off of dark-skinned deities from Nigeria pale as fuck.
Not to excuse blackwashing or whitewashing. I am not saying it should be a thing, but people like you making posts just complaining about others wanting representation in media at all, is NOT helping. Rather, please speak up about how both are not okay and encourage totallynotsquish to make characters of their own than take the representation Tighnari has.
Come here I'll give you a kiss. The thing is Disney princesses were already portrayed to be fair and kind. In the little mermaid live action Ariel didn't felt like Ariel at all her red hair wasn't even proper red like the cartoon. Snowwhite was mischaracterized she's not supposed to be a girl boss she was supposed to be a kind-hearted naive sweetheart who only has nothing but kindness to offer despite the cruel world but her kindness resulted to pay her back. Disney should've hired proper actors if they wanted black characters princess and the frog would've been perfect. The characters are mature and strong-willed. Tiana and Lottie are some of the best written characters.
I am not aware of the film so forgive me I can't make comments on it other than that your points are all valid
Don't care + check tha pfp
cool pfp.... heart emoji....
Tbh.. cared enough to comment and checked it out..
#immature nice finding the cool drawing tho
oh my comment got deleted?
or theres like a comment limit idk
no, mggo only shows a certain number of comments on exp post, so ur comment and the other older comments r not showing anymore
yeh a comment limit
thx
nuuuu i actually took my time to comment :(
IT'S OKAY DIVA I'LL REMEMBER YOUR VALID POINTS TILL MY LAST BREATH
whitewashing means to erase an existing culture, to be racist. the "blackwashing" are just ppl wanting rep
Not really getting more ‘rep’ from already made characters, they can always make their own characters..