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this is a bit of a difficult topic to broach because it primarily concerns how other people view select pieces of my work irregardless of my intentions, the work itself, or other things i& #39;ve created, but i wanted share my thoughts anyway since it does concern me-
and to preface i know that nothing i say can take away discomfort i& #39;ve caused in my depictions of characters, and for that i am sorry, even though i know i can& #39;t always control how people respond to my work. this is regarding fanwork depicting mccree as a werewolf/violent overall
im personally aware of the affects that media stereotyping can have on marginalized groups, and of the fact that dark-skinned men have historically been depicted as less than human in an effort to criminalize their existences. i won& #39;t deny that it is a problem, or that the way-
i have drawn mccree, someone whom fandom depicts as dark-skinned, couldn& #39;t contribute to it. i do think that conclusions that i think him or dark-skinned men in general are less human, or even that the presence of stereotyping is inherently harmful, needs some nuance-
(if you& #39;re someone who is already irritated that i& #39;m discussing this or are ascribing bad intentions, this thread might not be for you) overwatch as a franchise is largely made up of characters who fit into cultural/ethnic stereotypes, which most agree isn& #39;t great. the reason-
stereotypes are harmful are because they reduce people into overly simplistic tropes, even if those tropes have ground in material reality. ie, stereotyping asian people as largely STEM-oriented, despite statistical truth, limits how asian people are expected to act.
however, that& #39;s not to say that any representation lining up with a stereotype is inherently bad. there are many examples in film and television of that not being the case (moonlight, the half of it, creed) and while the argument could be made that subversions of stereotypes are-
better left to the marginalized groups they affect, i personally think that any writer interested in writing for diverse casts can have a valid take on them (like in the case of some disabled characters). imo, all that it really takes is to depict someone with many facets.
in the case of mccree in particular, there is much to his character to suggest a fun werewolf!AU. he has the van helsing skin (a reference to a werewolf character), and his VLs have him confident and sometimes brash. simply because myself and other artists-
have drawn such an AU does not mean we have not also drawn mccree as gentle, soft, and loving, or that we value an animalistic depiction of him any more than the former. for me personally, i know i enjoy seeing my favourite characters (i have drawn hanzo and others similarly)-
bearing their fangs and covered in blood. why? idk i& #39;ve liked it since i was a kid i think its cool. and i know there& #39;s a lot of people that won& #39;t entertain an innocuous explanation or think that my intentions and wider work/context don& #39;t even matter-
and thats fine. i& #39;ll just keep writing my favourite characters from a franchise that admittedly is rife with tropes as multi-dimensional as they can be, while also plausible to how canon presents them. have fun, learn, improve, that& #39;s all from me folks
https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💨" title="Staubwolke" aria-label="Emoji: Staubwolke">
and while i& #39;m always open to concerns about my work, i would really prefer they be taken up in DMshttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😅" title="Lächelndes Gesicht mit offenem Mund und Angstschweiß" aria-label="Emoji: Lächelndes Gesicht mit offenem Mund und Angstschweiß">it feels really weird to be subtweeted like some celebrity by people older than me.
anyways, apologies for the spam! and thank you for reading.
anyways, apologies for the spam! and thank you for reading.
