apxlonia added and of course! The more possible points of view can be asked for, the better it is!
Another thread to keep company to the LGBT+, the mental illness and disability, and language translations ones.
The goal of this thread is letting you discuss, share thoughts and ask for advice about the portrayal of OCs from cultures, races or ethnic groups both real and fictional, so which are either different from your own one or a minority existing in a real world context, or from a fictional setting in which different cultures and races exist and can have similar dynamics.
Since it's also rather common to own OCs from different backgrounds, you can also volunteer to give advice to other users about your own Country and culture (you'll be featured in the list below), debunk the most common misconceptions, stereotypes and tropes you come across, or just share fun facts!
A few rules:
- No racism and xenophobia allowed, of course! Also, no anti-religious and anti-atheist discourse: religion is a big part of many cultures, so it can belong on the thread too, it's also fine not to want to discuss it since it can be a touchy subject, but openly attack any side and I'll block you with no regret.
- No LGBT+phobia, ableism, sexism, slurs and all that kind of nasty stuff either. You can write about heavier stuff, but spoileryour textin code view or with WYSIWYG off, or black it out like this making sure both the text and the background are the same color (or it will peek through in dark themes like this!).
- No vague-posting! Let's focus on the big issues instead of specific users who did something inappropriate or questionable.
- Be nice and safe! If something someone said here offends you but you don't reach an agreement in a few posts, please move over to your own DMs if nobody else is being involved. Also, please don't ninja other people's questions: if you're coming across this thread for the first time and someone just asked a question, please wait at least one day before adding another one - you can sub and come back later, while the other person will have a slightly higher chance of getting an answer.
- Ping or DM me if you need anything you can't ask here! I'm honestly not the most informed person on these topics, so I'll gladly leave the spotlight to someone else for your questions, but I'll try to help as much as I can.
- Edit (25/3/2020): If any of you is from a region that is contested between different States/Countries/in politically delicate situations and wants to appear on the list, I'll try to keep the region separate in every different existing part and then you can tell me which sides you want or don't want to be featured on, since it's the most neutral way I can think of doing it. If this happens, please don't attack each other over it, things are probably hard enough already.
- Edit (21/7/2020): Mods are accepted and encouraged! (see point 3 here)
Already touched on topics (suggestions on - feel free to correct anything!): ETHNIC AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN OCS DISCUSSION - THREAD RESOURCES
Country/culture volunteers list:
Doc format here (suggestions on): ETHNIC AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN OCS DISCUSSION - THE OFFICIAL LIST
Toyhouse format below:
Countries/cultures:
Argentina: mei_the_flower (born and raised in Argentina, Argentinian parents and Italian ancestry)
Bedouin culture: hajjyoda (born and raised in Canada, Bedouin parents + English and Arabic)
Brazil: @B_oloruim (Southern + music, wildlife and regional differences), ChanteRyuutai (Southern + Minas Gerais, do not DM, ping on forum), Dragongirl222 (Brazilian and Polish raised in the USA, familiar with folklore)
Cambodia: chromosome (mixed, situationally white passing, living in America), houndings (mixed, non white passing, living in U.S, 2nd generation immigrant)
Canada: CuckooHoopoe (born in Iraq, raised in Canada + Arabic names with origin, meaning and Arabic spelling) , Goldenqilin ( + native-born black with a St. Lucian background), NinjaNightCrawler (Alberta), @Percycore ( + Halifax region, cadet units and military traditions), Xhat ( + Ontario province, Italian-Canadian background, Indigenous Peoples of Canada, Canadian justice system)
Chile: reinapepiada (Venezuelan living in Chile)
China: Akeya (American-Born Chinese, lived in China), allseeinghelga (Chinese, living in SEA + food from southern China), Allyz (Mainland), @angelfayc (second hand info from a Chinese/Thai friend), @devonlyx (living in Malaysia; use "ethnicity/religion question" title if DM), @friedeggtarts (Chinese American, lived in China), Inspector-Spinda (Chinese American born in China, living in NYC), PenTem (Chinese American, always lived in the USA), @sanduke (Mainland, living in the USA), Siyu (born and raised in the USA), SpiritX (Chinese British, born and raised in UK/Britain), @VictoryVManga (Chinese American, born in the USA)
Cornish culture: triggerbolt (+ language)
Cuba: Xen (Cuban American, born in the USA and living in Georgia)
Finland: bassokissa (born in Moskow area, living in Finland), Half-Life (North Karelian born in Central Region)
France: fuelli ( + Alsace region, language, names, history)
Germany: AyomaHideki (born in Russia - Siberia - and living in Northern Germany), Jules
Ghana: AlienIsInternet (born and raised in Southern USA, one side of the family from Ghana)
Haiti: JamieMations (only questions, born and raised in the USA, stereotypes about Haitians, rules and superstitions)
Hong Kong: Allyz, CYGNET (half Indonesian living in Hong Kong)
India: @devonlyx (Chinese living in Malaysia; use "ethnicity/religion question" title if DM)
Indonesia: marquise (half Indonesian living in Hong Kong, semi-fluent in Bahasa Indonesia), PainterFight, @rizza_macka (native Indonesian), @SpacePuffer
Iran: PaperTsubaki (half Iranian, raised in Canada)
Iraq: CuckooHoopoe (born in Iraq, raised in Canada + Arabic names with origin, meaning and Arabic spelling)
Italy: Banya ( + Campania region, mostly Naples, and Puglia region), Gattoleone ( + Emilia Romagna region, mostly Bologna)
Japan: @devonlyx (Chinese living in Malaysia; use "ethnicity/religion question" title if DM), @Kasedori (Asian Studies Major with Japanese Studies focus, esp. Medieval culture, samurai culture, and influence of the supernatural and Buddhism), PaperTsubaki (some language and culture)
Jewish culture: @beetlejews, Bloof (atheist), @jukeb0xes (casual Reform Judaism upbringing in the USA), merf (Ashkenazi, observant jew + biracial as black/white, LGBT+ topics and religion; mention you're from this thread)
Jordan: hajjyoda (born and raised in Canada, Bedouin parents + English and Arabic)
Korea: Enelnimn
Latinx culture (general): @angelfayc (mostly Puerto Rican one), sixofswords (mainly Puerto Rican)
Malaysia: @devonlyx (Chinese living in Malaysia + Sabahians or Sarawakian natives; use "ethnicity/religion question" title if DM)
Malta: PaperTsubaki (second hand info from a 2nd gen Canadian)
Mexico: ChaosControl (Jalisco + brown middle class with lower class experience, food, architecture - Spanish Colonial -, traditional clothing, ancient civilizations, religion, local witchcraft - La Santa Muerte -, geography and translations), good (mixed not white passing Mexican born in the USA and visited Mexico often), roseeater (born in the USA and visited Mexico often, Jalisco specifically)
Morocco: Virgichuu (+ official and used languages)
Native American culture (general): ananas (Nanticoke, general east coast native knowledge, relatives in Roanoake), @angelfayc (relatives involved in the Trail of Tears)
Pacific Island culture (Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian): moungazz (Tongan and Māori, born and raised in Aotearoa - New Zealand - and in a predominantly Pacific Island community)
Pakistan: sleepyamaurotine (Pakistani raised in Canada - but can ask parents/relatives -, please title DMs as "ethnicity/religion question")
Philippines: Aquacanis (+ capital city), Dann (born in the USA raised in the Philippines + Modern Manilleño -City Dweller-, politics, myths, legends, history, nationalism, not Indigenous People)
Poland: @apxlonia, Dragongirl222 (Brazilian and Polish raised in the USA, familiar with folklore), Hannibalus, lordsatin (living in the USA), Mudzi (living in Sweden), @Ske1th (living in the Netherlands)
Puerto Rico: @angelfayc (born and raised in Florida, parent born and raised in New York by Puerto Rican grandparents), sixofswords (born & raised in PR)
Russia: AyomaHideki (born in Russia - Siberia - and living in Northern Germany), bassokissa (born in Moskow area, living in Finland), @ScaledSeraph (Russian-Slovenian), Wenldy
Scotland: Spacebounce_Toons (from the Southern parts)
Singapore: Jxckalito (Singaporean-Chinese)
Slovenia: @ScaledSeraph (Russian-Slovenian)
Spain: elmellois (white Spaniard; born, raised and living in the south - not Andalusia), kanelita3 (white Spanish, born, raised and living in Andalusia)
Sweden: Mudzi
Thailand: @angelfayc (second hand info from a Chinese/Thai friend), Caesura (Thai-Chinese + assimilation of Chinese ethnic group in Thai majority, translations and accurate Thai names), @devonlyx (Chinese living in Malaysia; use "ethnicity/religion question" title if DM), Ledokol (Native Thai living in rural central Thailand, speaking sort of Suphan dialect with Theravada Buddhist background)
The Netherlands: Donut-Toast (Born and raised, white Dutch person - South Holland), @Ske1th
Trinidad and Tobago: PaperTsubaki (half Trinidadian, raised in Canada)
Uruguay: @B_oloruim (Brazilian, visitor)
USA: AlienIsInternet (born and raised in Southern USA, Virginia, related Black Culture and one side of the family from Ghana), ananas (Delaware, mixed white, black, and native), @angelfayc (Florida, father from New York with Puerto Rican parents, mother from Oklahoma with Native relatives), Crossroads (Texas), Jovian (New England, particularly Massachusetts), fluffypettis (Texas), good (mixed not white passing Mexican born in the USA), @ReesesBitsAndPieces (Texas, Messianic Jewish), ROTTENDECOMP (born in Southern Illinois, often in Central Florida), SnowdropWhiskey (born and raised in south east, especially Alabama Appalachian culture, history and myth debunking), @VictoryVManga (Chinese American, born in the USA), Xen (Cuban American, born in the USA and living in Georgia)
Venezuela: reinapepiada (Venezuelan living in Chile)
Vietnam: OhMyLawdimPM (2nd-Generation American-born Vietnamese, no Civil War topics)
Religions:
Agnosticism: Gattoleone
Atheism: ananas (Raised areligiously by athiest/agnostic parents), @angelfayc, boaaekin (Raised areligiously by atheist/agnostic parents), Gattoleone, Goldenqilin
Aztec gods: ChaosControl
Baha'i: PaperTsubaki
Buddhism: Caesura (Thai POV), chromosome (SE Asian Buddhism, mixed Cambodian living in America POV), @devonlyx (use "ethnicity/religion question" title if DM), PaperTsubaki
Christianity: Aquacanis (Catholic Church, upbringing and schooling, Filipino POV), Allyz (Asian Baptist Church), ChaosControl (Catholic Church, Mexican POV), Dann (Catholic Church, Filipino POV), elmellois (Catholic Church, Spanish atheist POV), Gattoleone (Catholic Church, Italian atheist POV), PaperTsubaki (Japanese Christianity), salida (Catholic Church, Mexican-USA POV), SnowdropWhiskey (Anglican Catholic Church, Roman Catholicism, Calvinism - specifically Southern Baptist Church -, has related formation and regular contact with priests who can help answer, south east USA POV), VanillaMouse (Eastern/Russian Orthodox Church, USA POV)
Hellenic polytheism: fluffypettis, jaytxt (primarily Apollo and Dionysus)
Hinduism: @devonlyx (use "ethnicity/religion question" title if DM)
Islam: @devonlyx (use "ethnicity/religion question" title if DM), CuckooHoopoe (familiar with both Shiaa and Sunni, Iraqi-Canadian POV), @rizza_macka (Sunni, Indonesian POV), sleepyamaurotine (Sunni, Pakistani POV), Virgichuu (Sunni, Moroccan POV)
Judaism: @beetlejews, feeblebeeble (semi observant/Latino; mention you’re from this thread), @jukeb0xes (casual Reform Judaism upbringing in the USA), merf (observant Jew, attended to a Jewish day school + experience with relatives of different denomination and religions; mention you're from this thread)
Messianic Judaism: @ReesesBitsAndPieces (Texas POV)
Pagan branches: @CharlieMouse
Pastafarianism: Gattoleone
Polytheism: @Empxleon (Greek and Nordic Pantheons)
Satanism: @angelfayc
Shinto: PaperTsubaki
Slavic Native Faith / Rodnovery: Hannibalus
Witchcraft: ChaosControl (specifically La Santa Muerte)
Subcultures / Transcultural phenomena / Specific historical moments / Other resources:
Asian Studies: @Kasedori (Major with focus on Japanese Studies, with medieval and samurai culture, and some Han Chinese culture in its approach to the supernatural)
Canada, Halifax explosion: @Percycore
Cuba, rule of Fidel Castro: Xen
Disconnect both from your relatives' original culture and the one you live in: CuckooHoopoe, Dann, @sanduke
European children of Chinese parents: SpiritX
German Subcultures: AyomaHideki (Russian/German; living in Northern Germany and living the classical Heidjer German with partial knowing of Plattdeutsch)
Iraqi wars, both rich and poor, civilian and mechanic/engineer POV: CuckooHoopoe
Mixed race and white passing, or mostly white passing: Inkibea (fluctuating, Mexican-Puerto Rican and white with Celtic background)
Mixed race and not white passing: Arlatius, good (born in the USA from Mexican parents)
Mixed race POC of ambiguous race: Arlatius, Crossroads (+ not looking like your single mom, and growing up poor), merf (black/white; mention you're from this thread)
USA, 1st or 2nd Generation Asian-Americans: Akeya (American-Born Chinese, has lived in China), Dann (born in the USA, living in the Philippines since 9 yo), PenTem (American-Born Chinese, always lived in the USA), @exmoray (born in China, living in the USA since 10 yo)
USA, German-Jewish immigration in 1900s New York: @jukeb0xes
USA, street life/homelessness/hustlers/drugs/sex work + poor Black and Mexican communities: Boyfriend
White (Italian) immigrant to the UK, lived in the north of England as a child, now living in Scotland: boaaekin
Posting this blog here, mostly for the benefit of white and majority ethnicity writers with questions they'd expect would be common enough to hear for bipoc creators: https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com - I haven't checked most of it yet, but I've already found some great posts and anyone might take inspiration for discussions and/or expand on anything that's been said there!
Hi! I'm a Chinese-American born in the US! If anyone has any questions about ABC (American-Born Chinese) people feel free to hit me up ^ ^ I've also spent some time in China, so feel free to ask me anything about straight up Chinese culture as well!
Hello everybody! I've got three changes to point out:
1) I've made a google doc copy of the list I'll link in the thread and you can already find here: ETHNIC AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN OCS DISCUSSION - THE OFFICIAL LIST. Suggestions should be on (let me know if anything is wrong), so you can add yourself on your own if I'm away (I still have to manually accept those, but you don't have to hope I'm going to write you in the right spot) and once you're linked there you'll still be easily found if you change your username. I won't delete the one in the thread for now, but I think it's better to have a backup just in case.
2) I've added another section in the other doc (ETHNIC AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN OCS DISCUSSION - THREAD RESOURCES) for links to resources you'd like to share about any topic connected to the thread! You can also suggest there with links you find useful, I've already added those to Path to Equality, Writing with Color and the BLM carrd.
3) Officially announcing that I'm willing to accept mods, as in users whom I will share those docs with, so they can edit them directly (DMing a gmail is required for that and I promise I won't pester you, semi-fake accounts you made just for this purpose are completely acceptable, the one the docs are on is also just for this purpose), and are maybe particularly willing to participate in discussions? I'd prefer it if the mods happened to be BIPOC, since I'm already pale and white and blond and with light eyes and of the local majority and I've never faced racism nor colorism in my life, but it's not required.
3.5) I'm not adding anymore "@ Added!" messages for your browsing convenience and I'm deleting those that are already there, sorry for annoying y'all with them
Ohh I'm gonna have to take the time to look through everything! I enjoy being diverse with my characters , but most importantly, I don't want to portray a group wrong or play into stereotypes.
If anyone is reading this and hasn't volunteered their knowledge but wouldn't mind sharing their experiences in the following cultures, I'd love a more firsthand account: African- British (especially if you're from the south, specifically more populated areas), african/hatian-louisiana (and/or someone who practices voodoo), pacific islanders, and native canadians?
Also I apologize if I am incorrect in using the term "African-british" I want to be sure I'm using the most correct term possible , so please correct me if need be! I just want to be sure to acknowledge that in many countries there are sub-groups of people who are a part of that country, but they have a unique experience due to their parents culture or the color of their skin.
(On another note, I with I could offer some knowledge in exchange but the whole stereotype of white Americans not having a culture is kinda true. I don't have traditions or strongly held beliefs. I'm not even able to talk about my beliefs because I'm such a casual pagan lol
Socal doesn't have culture, just like, the culture of being a Californian and being in contact with a bit of culture from Mexico given our large Hispanic population. )
i'd like to ask if anyone who frequents this thread knows about how a mixed race upbringing tends to go? specifically on how cultural stuff like values, religion, celebrations, etc tend to blend together at the home and how they affect children growing up. I'm not of mixed race myself so i have absolutely no clue how any of this plays out and id really appreciate it if i got some insight on this.
wallstaples i can help you out! i am half-asian half-american, and a lot of the irl friends i had were the same too. it really depends on the particular parents, and whether they think it's important to teach the values/culture/traditions of their homeland. so some people i know were raised knowing and practicing "foreign" holidays and traditions, and others were just purely...american. if that makes sense.
a lot of the time us mixed kids suffer from something called cultural dysphoria (look it up! it's interested and sad imo) like in my case, i looked too asian for the american/white kids and too american for the asian kids, so it was hard for me to make friends growing up (as is the case with a lot of others!) it was a weird mix of not feeling american OR asian. it's funny during thanksgiving we will have a ham and turkey on the table along side fried rice and sushi. and like with my dad, he always complained we had rice with dinner (lol) and my mom would be sad we didn't eat enough fish. people would also comment that it was weird that we had a christmas tree out, but right next to it would be a shrine for my deceased grandpa. so being mixed a lot of the time is just mashing two cultures together as well as they can fit.
if you have any specific questions, please feel free to dm me!!
@lockharts thank you for your answer! i knew about cultural dysphoria but i didnt know about some of those other things so it was pretty helpful :D
also FRAT-RAT brings up something ive been thinking about lately. even if theyre pretty rare, its nice as a mexican to see mexican characters in media (like dib and his family from invader zim, basically the entirety of el tigre, sombra from overwatch, etc) but ive noticed that a lot of mexican characters, whether they be videogame, cartoon or original characters follow the same theming or tropes. mexican characters are SO often tied to day of the dead and reference nothing else. ive seen a ton of characters whos design inspiration is sugar skulls or just day of the dead in general and its genuinely so annoying to see this because it makes it seem like thats all people know about our culture? there are so many other celebrations that are important to mexicans that are completely unrelated (or just other cultural aspects) that people could use. this is particularly annoying to me because my family has never celebrated day of the dead for whatever reason so i have no personal connection to it and its weird to see so many people who arent latino use this as a design concept because.... its probably the first thing that comes to mind and thus easier?
I personally really love what mario odyssey did with the sand kingdom because, even tho the characters are as stereotypically mexican as could be (skeleton people with hats and ponchos) the colors and architecture of the buildings are pretty and look quite close to what buildings in mexico actually look like, and the ruins are a fun reference to the real life mayan ones in yucatan (the director apparently went on a trip to mexico and it shows). Most of the time though, this stuff is incredibly trite to me and i would really like to see other aspects of our culture referenced :P mexico itself is very diverse: every state has its own uniqueness and i really hope people will look more into all that mexico has to offer instead of just defaulting to That One Mexican Holiday.
CashlessDrake07 i didnt play mario odyssey myself but ive seen videos and screenshots and i really liked the look of the sand kingdom! Also i often celebrate los reyes magos as well! I dont get any gifts but we have rosca with hot chocolate. Ive also celebrated dia de la virgen de guadalupe and la señora de la asuncion in august (my family is from jalisco)
fun fact: a lot of things associated with the entirety of mexico come from jalisco. Mariachi music, tequila, the mexican hat dance and many other iconic things originated there