Origi-fic racial meta
Jan. 27th, 2010 02:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jessara40k_ljI didn't think too hard about race when I wrote Antoinette but I've been thinking on and off about what sort of implications there might be.
Antoinette herself is very much mixed race in my head. All I know for certain is that her maternal grandmother is the equivalent of full Japanese. Her father's genetically modified for enhanced strength and reflexes, and while I know that he's a blue-eyed blond that doesn't preclude him looking like a latino. However I know that if I met her in real life I'd see her as white - I didn't realise the actor who played Dr Bashir on DS9 wasn't white until I saw his photo in a chromatic casting meme (despite seeing the episode with his clearly asian parents) - and I know that she might well read as white, just deeply tanned when I introduce her. Antoinette is bisexual, but prefers women.
Her first consort, Sarah, is a pale redhead, the woman Antoinette married purely for love, and unacceptable to Antoinette's Family because she's a commoner. (Better to have a white woman whose background isn't suitable than a non-white IMO) I deliberately made her barely pretty while the two darker women are (or depending on your viewpoint were in Rafiyah's case) more attractive than that to counter the common assumption that white women are more attractive. She's also in a job that's often seen as male (IT) and has a very strong interest in computers that can be seen as a more male characteristic. I gave her my own social obliviousness, and I assume she's bisexual, but I'm not sure where on the range of bisexuality she falls.
The second consort, Rafiyah, is the darkest of the four - her mother is either a dark skinned arab equivalent, or a mix of that and dark skinned african equivalent, while her father is almost certainly a mix of the equivalents of native americans and sub-saharan africans. Before she was scarred she was very pretty, with the sort of personality that elevates pretty to beautiful, she's also the closest to being born to the same social rank as Antoinette - Antoinette's Family is the equivalent of royalty, Rafiyah's is the equivalent of simple nobility. That was deliberate, to make it explicit that the nobility equivalent in that world is of all races, but it could also be unfortunate, since Rafiyah's Family does not practise the sort of sexual equality that Antoinette's does. She's the one out and out lesbian in the relationship, and she's sexually very submissive, but knows how to take charge and work with people out of bed.
The eventual final consort, Jasmine, is currently a slave. She isn't as dark as Rafiyah, but dark enough that she'd never be mistaken for white, and she has no idea of her parentage. As a pleasure slave she is outright beautiful amd knows it, but she has very little self-confidence in anything else. She isn't assertive in any way and she's certainly bisexual, with perhaps a slight preference for men.
Possible racial issue in the story: Rafiyah's Family is dark skinned and patriarchal enough that she doesn't control all of her own money, even now.
Mitigating factor: her father is liberal enough to ask her about who she 'marries' and to allow her a lot more freedom than he could - but that seems partly to be about her.
Possible solution: write or reference a Family that is even more patriarchal, and make them very pale.
Possible racial issue in the story: the two more dominant women can be seen as white, while the two more submissive women are darker.
Mitigating factor: Rafiyah's submissive streak is mostly sexual and she's going to be in charge of running the household.
Possible racial issue in the story: the woman who's certainly going to give birth and the woman who'll probably take on the responsibility of raising the children are both darker.
Mitigating factor: one of the women who can read as white might carry children of her own.
Possible racial issue in the story: Jasmine is a slave, and she could never be mistaken for white.
Mitigating factor: none in this story, but the first slave I introduced in this world was supposed to read as white.
I don't know if this is naval gazing self-indulgence, or something else, but any comments will be screened initally. I'll unscreen them after I see them unless I find them offensive, or you ask me not to. I might misjudge whether something's offensive or not, and if I do then I apologise. I'm not making this post for people to assure me that there's nothing potentially offensive in the issues I recognised, and any comments about that will remain screened as well. I'm aware this policy will slow any discussion that might arise, but I'm not interested in hosting a fight, and if you want a more rapid discussion of any points that arise in the comments you always have the option of taking it to your own journal and leaving a link. I'll edit this post to include any links to further discussion.
Antoinette herself is very much mixed race in my head. All I know for certain is that her maternal grandmother is the equivalent of full Japanese. Her father's genetically modified for enhanced strength and reflexes, and while I know that he's a blue-eyed blond that doesn't preclude him looking like a latino. However I know that if I met her in real life I'd see her as white - I didn't realise the actor who played Dr Bashir on DS9 wasn't white until I saw his photo in a chromatic casting meme (despite seeing the episode with his clearly asian parents) - and I know that she might well read as white, just deeply tanned when I introduce her. Antoinette is bisexual, but prefers women.
Her first consort, Sarah, is a pale redhead, the woman Antoinette married purely for love, and unacceptable to Antoinette's Family because she's a commoner. (Better to have a white woman whose background isn't suitable than a non-white IMO) I deliberately made her barely pretty while the two darker women are (or depending on your viewpoint were in Rafiyah's case) more attractive than that to counter the common assumption that white women are more attractive. She's also in a job that's often seen as male (IT) and has a very strong interest in computers that can be seen as a more male characteristic. I gave her my own social obliviousness, and I assume she's bisexual, but I'm not sure where on the range of bisexuality she falls.
The second consort, Rafiyah, is the darkest of the four - her mother is either a dark skinned arab equivalent, or a mix of that and dark skinned african equivalent, while her father is almost certainly a mix of the equivalents of native americans and sub-saharan africans. Before she was scarred she was very pretty, with the sort of personality that elevates pretty to beautiful, she's also the closest to being born to the same social rank as Antoinette - Antoinette's Family is the equivalent of royalty, Rafiyah's is the equivalent of simple nobility. That was deliberate, to make it explicit that the nobility equivalent in that world is of all races, but it could also be unfortunate, since Rafiyah's Family does not practise the sort of sexual equality that Antoinette's does. She's the one out and out lesbian in the relationship, and she's sexually very submissive, but knows how to take charge and work with people out of bed.
The eventual final consort, Jasmine, is currently a slave. She isn't as dark as Rafiyah, but dark enough that she'd never be mistaken for white, and she has no idea of her parentage. As a pleasure slave she is outright beautiful amd knows it, but she has very little self-confidence in anything else. She isn't assertive in any way and she's certainly bisexual, with perhaps a slight preference for men.
Possible racial issue in the story: Rafiyah's Family is dark skinned and patriarchal enough that she doesn't control all of her own money, even now.
Mitigating factor: her father is liberal enough to ask her about who she 'marries' and to allow her a lot more freedom than he could - but that seems partly to be about her.
Possible solution: write or reference a Family that is even more patriarchal, and make them very pale.
Possible racial issue in the story: the two more dominant women can be seen as white, while the two more submissive women are darker.
Mitigating factor: Rafiyah's submissive streak is mostly sexual and she's going to be in charge of running the household.
Possible racial issue in the story: the woman who's certainly going to give birth and the woman who'll probably take on the responsibility of raising the children are both darker.
Mitigating factor: one of the women who can read as white might carry children of her own.
Possible racial issue in the story: Jasmine is a slave, and she could never be mistaken for white.
Mitigating factor: none in this story, but the first slave I introduced in this world was supposed to read as white.
I don't know if this is naval gazing self-indulgence, or something else, but any comments will be screened initally. I'll unscreen them after I see them unless I find them offensive, or you ask me not to. I might misjudge whether something's offensive or not, and if I do then I apologise. I'm not making this post for people to assure me that there's nothing potentially offensive in the issues I recognised, and any comments about that will remain screened as well. I'm aware this policy will slow any discussion that might arise, but I'm not interested in hosting a fight, and if you want a more rapid discussion of any points that arise in the comments you always have the option of taking it to your own journal and leaving a link. I'll edit this post to include any links to further discussion.
