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Why Noelle’s Sow “joke” is a racist and dangerous stereotype and why you should care

tw: racism, slavery, anti-blackness, police brutality

I have seen countless people wondering what to think about the comments that Noelle Stevenson & their crew made on the twitch stream yesterday.

Disclaimer: I truly do not think Noelle (or the crew) knowingly and explicitly meant to be racist. However, impact matters more than intentions, and implicit racism/bias and racial stereotypes need our full attention because they travel in subtle and insidious ways in big fandoms like She-Ra. Especially when children are involved.

First and foremost: I am Black, an American descendent of slavery, and a teacher. Many of my students love She-Ra. I wanted to use this moment to teach them (and maybe some of you) the history of the slave stereotypes that Noelle’s Sow drawing evokes.

I think being informed is a huge first step in this climate. That way, you can learn the context and then decide in what ways you, personally, can hold Noelle and the crew accountable.

Here is a link to Noelle’s comments. They start at 56:50, and I have transcribed the relevant bits below:

Q: Do any of Bow’s siblings have names or occupations?

Noelle: “… Their names rhyme with Bow. So there’s like Oboe and he plays the oboe. And then there’s Gough and like Van Gough he’s missing an ear. And like he [Sam] would come up and just be like which one of them tills the fields? And I was like which one Sam? And he’s like Sow. [crew laughs].”

On their twitter, Noelle posted the picture that Rae Geiger drew that goes along with the crew’s inside “joke”:

While honestly, I could pick apart “Woe,” “Gogh,” and “Woah” for their own unique problems and stereotypes, I am mainly going to focus on “Sow” here.

[Image ID: In Rae’s drawing, Sow is wearing a straw hat and chewing on a straw. He has a bandana around his neck. He is smiling a wide dopey smile and is dirty and disheveled.]

This is the first image that popped into my mind when I saw the art. (You know, since my ancestors forcibly picked cotton in South Carolina on a slave plantation):

[Image ID: An old black and white photograph of a family of Black American slaves looking serious and forlorn as they pose for a picture in a field of cotton.]

BUT HE’S JUST A FARMER, you cry. Noelle said Sow tills the land, can’t black people be farmers?!

Yes, we can, but first, listen… Let me show you some of the most famous stereotypes of African American men from American history and literature. You’ll recognize all of the elements from the Sow art and insidious patterns that go along with each. I think it really IS that deep.

Keep reading

#shera #spop #she-ra #noelle stevenson #antiblackness

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me, looking at the current state of the world, crying:I wish none of this had happened…

Gandalf, materialising in my conscience, smiling kindly: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, besides the will of evil.

#wow...months later and need this even more🥺 #hopepunk

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SEND US TO SCHOOOOOOOL

STOP KEEPING US FROM SCHOOL JD WE WANNA LEARRRN

me, watching fantasy high: man, I'd love to dm a campaign set at a high school

me, watching escape to the bloodkeep: holy shit, dming an evil campaign would be so fun

me, watching the unsleeping city: WHAT this is the coolest shit ever, running a modern urban dnd campaign would be amazing

me, watching tiny heist: wow, dming a campaign filled with tiny folk would be so cool

me: wait. do i just want to be brennan lee mulligan? (the answer is yes)

#jdnd #lol what if we pull an avatar the last airbender and enroll in school in enemy territory #and it’s just footloose #....... #OK BUT WHAT IF THO

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Rub it in my face, why don’t you @keplercryptids

yes I DO live under a rock and her name is the Moon and she is always smiling but she teaches me nothing

#this post made me SAD #you made Aal SAD #Aal is crying in their sleep again and they don’t know why #but it’s because of YOU #it’s canon i’m adding it to the cry tally wiki page #jdnd

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me, looking at the current state of the world, crying:I wish none of this had happened…

Gandalf, materialising in my conscience, smiling kindly: So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, besides the will of evil.

#how dare you make me sob first thing in the morning #but also...y’all are right💜 #hopepunk

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Lup: sighing and watching from the deck of the Starblaster as Barry picks flowers

Lucretia: “Lup it’s your turn to do dishes”

Lup: “Go away, I’m pining”

Lucretia: “I thought your pining slot was at 6″

Lup: “That’s Monday Wednesday Friday, today is Tuesday”

Meanwhile: Taako and Magnus chill on the grass near Barry who is picking flowers and sighing

Magnus: “It’s kind of pathetic when Barry and Lup’s pining slots overlap”

Taako: “No one has done the dishes this week”

#‘no one has done the dishes’ hhgsdhdkjsgdgdhshgd #blupjeans #taz headcanon #taz balance spoilers

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I...hadn’t even considered that they might have other voices and now I am Concern😅

TAZ Balance Animated Show

I am so excited about the TAZ animated show, but I’m also really scared. I hope that the boys still do a lot of the voices. I don’t want to hear Magnus, Merle and Taako in different voices. For Griffin, I really hope he still does some of the bigger characters, like Angus and Barry, maybe Kravitz too. I can understand using female voice actors for the female characters. And bring in other voice actors for others. But please leave the Tres Horny Boys and at LEAST Angus with our boys. Please. 

#taz #taz tv show #balance #animated

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RIP Randall, Durla, and Big Beefy Bitch. Tender forehead kisses for them all

No kisses for Haluk. Fuck him.

oh god

had a very good but very emotionally draining dnd session

the party beat their first big baddie and im just 😭😭😭

#jdnd

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about to fail my gender presentation 😔😔

assigned at BIRTH?! holy shit this presentation is so overdue do you think they accept late work

#bahahahahaaaaa #shitpost #gender humor

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fr think of all the baller designs you could do JUST for fantasy wheelchairs!! then what about fantasy service creatures?? you could give characters fuckin seizure alert dragons!! make fantasy sign language a thing!!! that could be useful for the whole party, hearing and Deaf alike!!! give a blind character enchanted gloves that let them understand any text they run their fingers across!!!! give a Deaf character a pair of enchanted pendants that let the wearers communicate telepathically—think of the cool relationship moments that could create!!!!! THERE IS SO MUCH AWESOME POTENTIAL FOR DISABILITY IN FANTASY AND FANTASY WRITERS WHO DONT UNDERSTAND THAT—or just don’t WANT to understand that—CANT BE MY FRIENDS so THERE

The thing with Yennefers storyline is that yes, there are some people who do not want their disabilities and would do anything to be rid of them. I am financially stable and fortunate enough where my disability does not affect me as it may others, so I am able to work and go to school without problem. Where the issue comes in is that this is often the only portrayal of disabled ppl in media, is that they want some magical cure and are unable to live with their disability.

yeah, i mean, that's definitely part of it. there's also a lack of disabled actors, writers, directors, producers etc to tell a varied range of stories featuring disabled people. also, in a fantasy setting, you could build in magic accessibility that would make disabled people's lives easier so that you wouldn't even need to touch on magical cures, but so few fantasy settings go that direction and it's frustrating.

#fantasy ableism is so dumb #like come on you’re just prejudiced and uncreative #hshgsjdkdjdsgsjskshkhasssdgdghhhghh #ableism #witcher #imma rb this to my dnd blog idec #the pendants thing is an idea i actually wanna use in my own campaign #i have a Deaf npc who i’m like 99.99% sure one of my pcs will fall in love with #but she doesn’t know fsl (fantasy sign language) #SO HE CAN CHOOSE TO GIVE HER THE MATCHING PENDANT #SO THEY CAN COMMUNICATE #AND FALL IN LOVE #and inevitably be ripped apart by fate skdjdhgsdkfjsh oops #and then hopefully be able to find each other again later KJAHDGDKSKJSSGHSH #saving the world is rough business y’all

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I’m adopting this as a callout post for myself and also reblogging it as another callout post for you. Why are we still awake.

Callout post for myself:

if you want to get up early in the morning, then you have to go to sleep before midnight. It's not hard. It doesn't have to be hard. Please. Get some sleep.

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I can’t read cursive handwriting

#classic #shitpost

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SOKKAS WEARING HIS LIL TWO-FINGERED MITTENS💙💙💙

F U R S

#i forget how much i truly love atla until it happens to pop up on my dash #sokka #katara #atla #accessible fanart #accessible art #image description

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not to be dramatic but we desperately need a punk movement to come in and wash away this Instagram model airbrushed picture perfect trend. it’s so damaging……teens, young adults, kids, the Grown….all of us need to just. we need to be sweaty again. we deserve it smeared eyeliner…..idk just. it’s okay if ur hair is greasy please just relax & then get mad about stuff that’s important to you.

#hopepunk #GET GREASY GET MAD

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[id: a screenshot of Dylan Saunders playing Jafar in the Starkid musical “Twisted”. It’s zoomed in on him standing behind Jasmine, his face visible over her shoulder as he looks at her with an expression of both horror and terror. End id]

Guys JD is bullying my pacifist life domain cleric who reprimanded the party for thoughtlessly murdering an attacking grick and is fully prepared to raise four baby drake-basilisks using only nature checks. Leave Aal alone they can’t help being a himbo with a strong maternal instinct

(ID: a screenshot from our dnd discord. Linzzz says: "Guys jd just stole so much gold from me." Tess says: "we need a guillotine emoji.")

the best part about dm'ing is just how fulfilling it is to build a world for players who really appreciate you, you know. (I'm JD if that isn't obvious lmao)

#also we’ve already established that aal would sing the dragon to sleep #i’m gonna learn that avpm song specifically for that situation #jdnd #himbo cleric rights!

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[id: another screenshot from discord. JD says “hmmmm 10 seems good lol. sorry i just stole 140g from you, I’ll pay you back sometime”. End id]

We must hold the ruling class accountable

(ID: a screenshot from our dnd discord. Linzzz says: "Guys jd just stole so much gold from me." Tess says: "we need a guillotine emoji.")

the best part about dm'ing is just how fulfilling it is to build a world for players who really appreciate you, you know. (I'm JD if that isn't obvious lmao)

#tbf i DID agree that my character should be much poorer than their original build #especially given the historical and cultural contexts of the world and their life #and the fact that money is new to this world’s economy #but now i don’t have enough for tofu nuggets #jdnd #callout post

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!!!SHE’S!!!!SO CUTE!!!!

The Lady Flame!

Reblogs > Likes

#taz #taz amnesty #taz aubrey #aubrey little #image description #accessible fanart