My LJ pal Karynthia wrote the post below; and it resonated with me because I’ve finally stopped to think about the fandoms I’m interested in and how the few people of color are portrayed in their respective series. When you dip over to the fanficton section, there’s so much that irritates me. It took Karnythia’s post to spark my interest and thought processes about this topic.
Read and discuss
Dear Who batshit fanbrats,
When writing Martha comparing herself to Rose? You might want to leave off having her hate her skin, and hair, and race as not being good enough to attract the Doctor. Passages like:
It was more than just jealousy, jealousy of this girl, this friend, this lover I knew nothing about. It was the way he said it – the way his voice cracked and his smile slipped and his shoulders slumped, the way that even the turquoise heart of the TARDIS seemed to wane – that told me I would never be able to compete, compete with a name so fresh and chaste and so very English. I didn’t know of course, but it conjured up images of hair dripping over pearly shoulders like honey and a porcelain face, of cornflower blue eyes and damask lips he’d kissed a thousands times.
Catching my own reflection in the polished console – dark and incongruous – I cursed my deep skin and dense hair, the width of my nose and my rusty lips. I hated him for making me do that, for damning a heritage I should be proud of not ashamed of because it made me different. But I would be lying if I said he had been the first man to make me do it; they were always blonde.
People, there’s plenty of room in this fandom for all kinds of shippiness, and crack fic and just about any damned concept. Let’s leave off the tired racist cliches. Because they just make me want to hit you with a nail studded bat.
No love,
Black Who fan who is tired of racist morons in her fandom.
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Published by cypheroftyr
Tanya DePass is the founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago, which is dedicated to better diversification of all aspects of gaming. I Need Diverse Games serves the community by supporting marginalized developers, attendance at the Game Developer Conference by participating in the GDC Scholarship program, helps assist attendance at other industry events, and is seeking partnership with organizations and initiatives. Tanya is a lifelong Chicagoan who loves everything about gaming, #INeedDiverseGames spawn point, and wants to make the industry better and more inclusive for everyone. She’s part of the Rivals of Waterdeep actual play stream on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep, a partnered Twitch variety broadcaster; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics online, at conventions and as a public speaker..
She’s also contributed to publications at Green Ronin, Paizo and Monte Cook Games and is the co-developer for the Fifth Season RPG based on N.K. Jemisin’s three time Hugo award winning Broken Earth trilogy. She’s the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a Twitch supported RPG and Actual Play stream, airing weekly on her channel, twitch.tv/cypheroftyr. Additionally, she is a Senior Annenberg labs Civic Media Fellow at USC. She’s also the creator and Creative Director of Into the Mother Lands, a new sci fi afro-futurist RPG developed with a team of all POC and Black creators; live streamed on her twitch channel, /cypheroftyr.
She’s named as one of The Game Awards Future Class 2020, a diverse group of builders, thinkers and dreamers whose voices elevate and diversify our artform. It recognizes individuals around the world who represent the bright, bold and inclusive future for video games. She was also named as one of Gamers of the Year 2020 by Kotaku along with three of her contemporaries. She was also invited to the Xbox MVP program in February 2021.
Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021.
Tanya is the programming & diversity coordinator for OrcaCon and GaymerX. She also serves on the Board of Directors for OrcaCon and was named the Chair for Take This in January 2023. She often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. Her writing about games and games critique appears in Uncanny Magazine, Polygon, Wiscon Chronicles, Vice Gaming, Paste Games, Mic, and other publications. She’s the editor of Game Devs and Others: Tales from the Margins (2018, CRC Press) and contributed to The Advanced Game Narrative Toolbox. (2019, CRC Press)
Writer Bio for pubs: Tanya is the Founder and Director of I Need Diverse Games, a not-for-profit organization based in Chicago. She’s part of Rivals of Waterdeep, an actual play D&D show on twitch.tv/rivalsofwaterdeep; the programming coordinator for OrcaCon & GaymerX; and often speaks on issues of diversity, feminism, race, intersectionality & other topics at conventions. She’s on the Board of Take This as well as a Stream Ambassador, and was part of the inaugural cohort of The Game Awards Future Class. Her work to make the industry more inclusive has been highlighted in Game Changer, Directed by Tina Charles, WNBA star & olympian as well as filmmaker. The short documentary premiered at Tribeca 2021, as part of the Queen Collective; an initiative started by Queen Latifah, supported by Proctor & Gamble in an effort to get more Black women into film making. Game Changer was also featured as part of BETHer’s 2021 Juneteenth Programming on 19 June 2021.
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We just got to the end of the 2nd season and all I can say is, the third season companion is HOTT. I didn’t think that I could really find a companion hotter than Rose Tyler, but damn, I’m looking forward to her.