1/? I didn’t want to get onto this disk horse but I will. I hate to say it guys, in pop fantasy orcs are racist caricatures of black people, among other things, such as East Asians, and First Nations, and I’ve been saying it for years.

2/? If you don’t see it that way, that’s fine (read: you were blind to it) but I’ve seen way too much in Orc rp spaces, and in the portrayals of orcs in fiction to, and the parallels to the ways racists talk about and think about people of the global south. Black people are-

3/? Portrayed as huge, strong, violent and mentally less capable than white people. Destructive, invasive, corruptive as if by nature. Not to mention as slaves or servants (usually to a dark master) never creating anything of their own. As a black man I see this everywhere.

4/? It used to be more prevalent, black and dark as evil, but as the perspective on dark people have shifted so too has the perspective on orcs. They’re still stupid, and huge, and strong, but now they’re sexually dominant and sexually aggressive, and sexually desirable.

5/? The most egregious offenders of orcs as racist caricatures are Warcraft, and D&D, and the plethora of fantasy novels that were inspired by them. But, racism is abound in the fantasy genre.

6/? and y’all, I love Orcs. But the people who make stories with orcs are so racist lol. That’s why I rehab them. I think that there are respectful, tasteful, and great ways to portray Orcs. When I’m writing, Orcs are just another kind of people, as I feel they should be.

The truth is that i doubt i'll be changing anyone's mind, but I hope that there's some education in what I said, and at least that it makes people think, and maybe come to a better understanding in the future

https://ko-fi.com/mandromeda  I accept ko-fi donations, especially but not exclusively if you would like to debate me

1.5/? I refer to tolkien later in the thread! Before you start thinking I'm just saying wild and crazy things, please read my whole thread and give me delicious attention by liking and also following