#that i can call the heteromorph discrimination an allegory to racism

[itsnothingofinterest]

Alright, latest chapter’s out and it’s discussing a very heavy and serious topic; heteromorphic discrimination (which is a blatant allegory for general racism, now more than ever). Which is why seeing people simplifying a lot of the arguments presented down by saying things like the heteromorphs using their oppression to just justify violence or that this prejudice isn’t as bad anymore is…a tad concerning. So time to do my duty as a League stan and play Villain’s advocate.

First; the idea that they’re just rampaging pointlessly to vent their rage and justifying it with past oppression. This is an especially idiotic take when Spinner keeps mentioning how they’re here for Kurogiri, something at least Present Mic knows as well. And I’ve mentioned more than a few times how Kurogiri is basically the only one with any chance of turning this war around from an otherwise 100% certain hero victory. So if these people are, in fact, putting their hopes in Shigaraki and Spinner to change things; then far from aimless rioting, this attack is the only strategically viable move they could’ve made.

Next is the idea of things not being so bad that they need to put their hopes in Shigaraki; a weird claim to make (even ignoring how real world parallels make it laughable) when this same chapter gave multiple people revealed to be scared for heteromorphic quirks. Including Shoji. To say nothing of the existence of the CRC.

And just in general; whenever you might look at a villain’s motivations rooted in some way the setting sucks and be tempted to say “oh things can’t be that bad”, they are. Pretty much every time. The only exceptions I can ever really think of belong to people who became heroes and escaped the sucky-ness with the position’s celebrity status. Which, like, is good enough for guys like Shinsou or Shoji I guess; but I don’t think there are enough open positions for the 15,000 people here to use that method.

And I already shared my initial thoughts on this; but even Shoji’s own call-outs feel unfair and ignorant of the circumstances. Like, saying they’re not considering the safety of the hospital patients when the heroes evacuated them last war? What, is he seriously expecting the villains to evacuate this hospital then? How would that even work? Heck, the heroes only evacuated the hospital after they entered in (obviously), but are any of the villains even in the Central Hospital yet? This feels like calling the villains out for killing their opponents instead of sending them to jail like the heroes do while ignoring the question of what jail they’d send them too. What other option were they expected to take besides leaving Kurogiri to rot?

Also, just want to point out that the heroes are the ones who took Kurogiri from Tartarus to put him deep in a building surrounded by the civilians Shoji is calling Spinner out for not considering. So who’s endangering the civilians here? Because the villains don’t exactly have many options low in collateral, but the heroes do and they choose to bring a high-profile villain to a civilian hospital knowing the chances that other villains would come for him.

#bnha #bnha 370 #spinner #kurogiri #shigaraki tomura #paranormal liberation front #PLF #mezo shoji #class 1a #hero society #hitoshi shinsou #present mic #There are probably more points to talk about this with this chapter but I'm leaving it here for noe

[codenamesazanka]

one thing i can’t get over is how excellently Horikoshi tackles The Mutant Metaphor, a staple in science-fiction, especially superhero science-fiction, the idea of using mutants/super-powered power to stand in for an oppressed minority group. Which one? Any one you want: non-white people, queer people, Jewish people, disabled people, etc.

The issue with this metaphor, though, is that the creators often don’t think. They want to make an anti-discrimination statement (which is good), modeling the fictional oppression after irl oppression (which has always been what speculative fiction is about - holding up a mirror to our reality) but in doing so, they end up comparing a irl minority group to people who have supernatural and often destructive abilities - which is also often the reason they are feared and hated. Needless to say, that’s bad, because irl, oppressed minority groups aren’t different from everyone else, aren’t dangerous, and have done nothing to warrant fear and hate.

But here comes Horikoshi with his quirks and heteromorphs, making the metaphor his own, and doing it well. IMO, it’s one of the best of very few examples doing it right. He has thought it through; he delved into all the implications and consequences, big and small; he’s made it allegorical to real dynamics and experiences, while adding it’s own unique elements. He did this by simply making the majority of population in his universe superpowered, then followed the logics of how that would change society.

My favorite element of this logic, my fav aspect of his metaphor is how he’s made the differences between the people in his world a social construct, which I think is the root factor that many writers miss and why their metaphors fail. The problem isn’t that some people are inherently dangerous or bad or irreconcilably different - that’s bullshit, people simply aren’t; the problem is that they are wrongly perceived to be, and that perception is what allows for justifications of their oppression. That’s what a social construct is (in simplified terms): the way humans conceptualize a thing, the way humans invent arbitrary categories and classifications, rules grounded not in objective reality but in how people choose to view the world, shifting it to their liking, then structuring their lives, beliefs, and institutions based on it.

This might seem weird to say about My Hero Academia, where people do have wildly different types of abilities, whether it’s literally looking like a lizard or being able to kill with a touch. Quirks and the differences they make in people aren’t a social construct - they’re real. Yes, but see— when nearly everyone has a superpower, the standards change, the threshold is moved, a new norm is created. Building from that basis, what does become a social construct is how quirks are perceived, how they’re reacted to, how ‘human’ they’re believed to make someone, how they’re valued or not.

One way this manifest is the fuzzy borders of what make someone a heteromorph. We’ve seen the characters called heteromorphs - they have quirks that alter their bodies, making them look like cement, or have bright pink skin, or multiple arms. But how altered does an appearance have to be to make someone a heteromorph? Jirou looks ‘normal’, but her earlobes are jacks - does she count? What about ReDestro, who has a big nose and pointy ears (which, btw, doesn’t seem to have anything to do with his Stress quirk)? Is Hawks with his wings a heteromorph?

Moreover, this is all based on surface level traits. As i’ve pointed out in a previous essay: Spinner is called a heteromorph because he looks like a lizard man, and his skin is replaced by scales; but Endeavor has fireproof skin and organs like extremophile bacteria you find in a volcano, which is not ‘normal’ either. But one gets targeted by the CRC.

Heteromorphs are discriminated against in society, presumably because they don’t look “human”, and so some people just don’t considered them human. (There are other hints of these prejudiced criteria tho - the CRC uses the word 汚れ kegare which means “unclean, impurity” (translated in the official Viz version as “sin”), which is a concept often connected to the Japanese religion of Shintoism, and was/is used to discriminate against the irl minority of burakumin.)

But what is “human” in a superhuman world? Spinner is as human as Hawks, who is as human as quirkless Deku, who is as human as Iida - i’m pretty sure at a genetic level, none of them have more ‘human genes’ than the other. and yet the perception of how their quirks (or lack of) affect them is what informs their different experiences in life.

Anyways, i’m eager to see Spinner’s Heteromorphic Discriminatic Arc. Please, Horikoshi-sensei 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

#i love u spinner #nalslastworkingbraincell #Heroes and Villains #Hero Society #bnha society #bnha #mha #heroaca #this is also why #to me personally imo i think #that i can call the heteromorph discrimination an allegory to racism #i just think the way things work #and everything about spinner’ story #is similar to my experiences #in regards to race #which is a social construct without basis in genetics or biology btw #hmmm i changed main points halfway through #sorry about that #heteromorphic discrimination arc let's go

[prince-liest]

Hi! Random question since I saw your post about the Damocles sequel: Do you think Spinner would bond with D!Hawks over their mutation quirks? They don't have any canon interactions so it's hard to guess how they'd interact, but it made me curious since Spinner has experienced discrimination over how lizardlike he is and Hawks is pretty petrified of people knowing just how birdlike he is. One the other hand, I don't think Hawks' public persona would necessarily fit into Stain's hero ideals...

YES!!!!!!!!!!

God, okay, so - confession: the Sword of Damocles is Swinging was originally going to be almost entirely focused on Hawks and the League of Villains until I had way too many other ideas that I wanted to include and it ran away from me. I had concrete ideas for the shared themes between Hawks and Dabi, Shigaraki, Toga, and Spinner - though unfortunately only Dabi and Toga made it into Damocles. I am really hoping that I can get more Spinner into the sequel, Nearly Headless Doesn’t Count.

I think that Spinner is very much a follower. He clings to the ideals of others and the images they represent - whether it be Stain’s ideas about society, or Shigaraki’s validity as their leader. While Stain and Shigaraki fill a lot of the void Spinner feels in himself when it comes to society’s lack of acceptance of him, I think he might find a very unique sort of commiseration with Hawks that none of the other members of the League would be able to offer him, because Spinner is the sole heteromorph of the organization. Aside from Magne (now dead), it’s unlikely that any of the other members would be able to relate to the very unique self-consciousness you get when people hate you for your body. Hawks is also such a headstrong and charismatic personality type that I feel like Spinner could very easily be pulled in by his magnetism, and start looking for validation in Hawks. If he believes that Hawks is truly dedicated to the League and Stain’s ideals, then Hawks could very much turn into a role model for Spinner, of a free and liberated heteromorph that is fighting for the freedom for people like them to exist without persecution.

Hawks, on the other hand, would be absolutely miserable. He glommed onto Miruko so hard and fast in Damocles in part because he genuinely hasn’t ever had anyone to relate to and confide in about his heteromorphic traits. He hasn’t really done so with Miruko, but she feels safe the same way a doctor I shadowed suddenly felt safer to me when she said ‘my wife’. But even Miruko is a) a rabbit, and thus not particularly appreciative of a raptor, and b) mostly doesn’t feel like she has to hide much of her heteromorphism. (She of course has other forms of discrimination to deal with, being brown and a woman, but I’m putting heteromorphs into their own category called ‘I don’t want this to be an uncomfortably racist allegory for racism.’) Spinner is Hawks’s first long-term interaction with someone that has a genuinely uncanny animal quirk. Spinner is somebody that would genuinely connect with Hawks on this, that could sympathize with his struggles and might himself actively be seeking validation from Hawks. Spinner is going to inspire Hawks to do things like slip up on clipping his talons because it makes him more relatable, which is simultaneously a physical relief and results in Hawks terrorizing himself. Spinner is someone that Hawks wants to get close to and foster trust with.

Spinner is also a genuine, murderous villain that Hawks knows he needs to betray to prevent the deaths of thousands of people.

(Nearly Headless Doesn’t Count is going to dive into the ‘I have more in common with my enemies, the bona fide mass murderers, and am being treated better by them than the people I work for’ rabbit hole that originally spawned Damocles if it kills me.)

#thank you so much for this question #I have wanted to talk about this for AGES but it never occurred to me to do so #also I'm so fucking wordy y'all I'm sorry #bnha meta #my writing #long post #officially dumb #replies #personal #fic meta #hawks meta #spinner meta

[codenamesazanka]

After a few good nights of sleep, lots of love and support from lovely followers (<3333), getting most of my brain obliterated by the new chapter, and eating half a bag of candy that was supposed to go towards trick-or-treaters, I can look back and reflect on this dumdum dabi debacle and go what the fuck.

I had completely forgotten that I first called Dabi a ‘fantasy-racist’ in half-jest/half-serious for a dumb post. I should've kept to that sentiment! Sadly I let myself get carried away, and allowed...whatever this shitfest was to occur. I regret that.

This is a whole long-ass essay that I really shouldn’t be publishing. I’ll probably regret it next week, and I just know there’s gonna be so much mockery. I might even deserve it, for posting vulnerability on the internet when I know nothing good ever comes of that. There's nothing I can say to make the people who disagree with me listen; nothing I can do to bridge the divide or alleviate their anger/bitterness/need to wish misfortune upon me. Explanations, sharing of experiences, retorts - not gonna matter. But I promised melodrama in the schedule, and here it is.

I will say, for the nth time, that I don’t make light of irl racism, not at all. Never. I saw a fictional microaggression and the fictional juggernaut plot/theme behind it was familiar to me, so I shared what I thought of it. Via Dabi.

Then some people decided Dabi, anime boy, being called a fantasy-racist - fantasy - is more damaging and harmful (to...?) than me (actual person who faces irl racism btw) thinking, non-maliciously, he gives off echoes of irl microaggressions I’ve experienced, saying so, and getting mudslung for it.

My usual word for fictional depictions of prejudice in things like DnD has always been “speciesism,” because [social construction of race vs real biological differences]. Describing it as ‘racism’ in that context would compound the erroneous idea that real world races are biological, different like orcs or elves. I was the killjoy at a lot of campaigns.

But in the world of HeroAca, Spinner is just as human (and a Japanese “character of color”) as anyone else; his discrimination is, in my opinion, based on a human-invented classification that could not satisfactorily describe all the variations of how body-altering quirks and traits may manifest. Unlike many other works of fantasy/sci-fi, there’s no “justification” for why people want to exclude him: he (and his quirk) is not dangerous - he’s so weak; by himself, Spinner never was a threat to anyone. Same goes for the social category of ‘Heteromorphs’ he belongs to: individuals might have amazing powers that can cause harm, but that’s no different from a non-Heteromorph who has a similar quirk. They’re human, but some treat them as sub-human.

I was fascinated. One of the rare times I felt a work had depicted prejudice with this nuance, and that can actually be called an accurate allegory to racism - and it was from a silly shonen manga, the theme focused on a nerdy green scalie man. Anti-heteromorph discrimination; for short, for a tongue-in-cheek descriptor, “fantasy-racist”. I’ve always added ‘fantasy’, because I can and do differentiate serious irl issues from bnha fanshit. I’ve made sure to add that adjective every time; if I had missed it, it’s by accident.

I did target Dabi for this, partly because I saw him as an overrated character that needed to be made fun of, and partly because his behavior fitted: he uses animal insults for Spinner, Tokoyami, Hawks, and it’s clearly learned behavior from a conservative home. Him calling Spinner ‘Lizard’ was one time, that’s true, but the carelessness is from living in a culture that ultimately hasn't acknowledged people like Spinner as fully human. For Spinner, his whole life had been people calling him a ‘lizard freak’. It hollowed out his heart. I imagined the insult stings, everytime. Even if Spinner let it go, objectively the act itself was still a (fictional) microaggression. Every other interaction Dabi has with Spinner has been, imo, kinda condescending. It’s a headcanon-projection, but what is having a favorite character if not relating to them in irrational ways? And if the story will address this type of discrimination and pain, why not follow the logic and watch it unfolds, keeping an eye on how the message and details are handled?

So I called the one who microaggression’d Spinner - Dabi - a fantasy racist, as a half-truth snark, with imo proper reasoning.

People objected, and one of the reasons given ended up being something I absolutely could not stand: dismissing the remark as innocently ignorant; as the same level of rude as everything else Dabi says. It’s not a big deal, no one should dislike him for just that, this is making things up to slander him. Dabi can be excused because he had it hard too.

The characters and situation are fictional, nothing but ink on paper. But the spirit of it, the essence, the dismissal, reasoning, resentment at it being brought up, the mockery - Much too familiar to me, too close to home.

That’s a ‘me’ problem, I know. My personal take, my freudian damage, my baggage I should’ve kept locked up. I could’ve handled and explained it better. People will not and do not have to give it weight because it’s a children’s story. There’s no harm done, ultimately, not to ‘Spinner’, this fake entity.

It should follow, then, that there’s no harm done to Dabi either, when I tongue-in-cheek call him what he is. Not even a 'real' racist, never - just a fictional one within the context of his world, the context of who he is inside HeroAcaLand.

But, like I said, people acted like Dabi, anime boy, being called a fantasy-racist - fantasy - is so much more damaging and harmful than the experiences I’ve gone through that led to me saying, without real judgment, he gives off echoes of irl microaggressions I’ve seen, vibes of prejudiced jerks I've known, and I’ll point this out in meta or fics because that’s my truth.

I first was told I’m disrespecting actual victims of racism, then finally someone accused me of being white and caring more about fictional furry racism. Anon said I was throwing a (fictional) victim under the bus. Finally, someone claimed I was trying to start a ship war? (What, didja run out of good and actual points to use for discrediting me?) As if my interest in allegorical oppression narratives - as a glimpse into the stories a culture tells itself, the ahistorical myths it perpetuates, the portrayals of marginalized experiences it broadcasts to the world - had been in life-long preparation to win a tumblr.hell anime argument about a ship.

I had never been under the illusion that Spinaraki would become canon because the characters are two guys and this is fucking Shonen Jump. This was never about being envious or hating Dabi (I actually don’t, not enough for this nonsense) to ‘support’ my ship; nor was it about trying to predict, get right, and own anyone over a manga that recently gave us a “fist bump to the earth”.

It had just long rubbed me the wrong way that fandom was reluctant to acknowledge a fantasy microaggression for what it was, when there’s no harm done to just accept it happened, and instead made excuses too similar to the way real microaggressions are dismissed, similar enough to give me hives tbh. Labeling Dabi a ‘fantasy racist’ - fantasy! - was me irreverently pushing back against that. Not my best decision, I’ll confess; not at all the best application of my brain; but neither was it something I was trying to force people to accept. It’s my observation and interpretation that I’m allowed to have as a reader, and I’m happy to let others disagree. If I did come off as aggressive and forceful (I know I snapped a bit in my explanations 🙇🏻‍♀️), I sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding.

I apologize for a lot of things, actually. I lost my temper a few times, and I got patronizing; I’ve made fun of asks and I’ve greatly irked quite a few people. In my attempt to prove I wasn’t white and to provide context for why I was not ‘making shit up’, I let things get a bit too personal, unloaded unnecessary backstory, and made unfair reaches. I started treating “fantasy-racist” as a serious thing, when even I didn’t mean it to be. I’ve definitely made a bigger deal out of this than it ever deserved, and I know I’ve made people uncomfortable by implying, in their eyes, their favorite character is evil and irredeemable for being a *fantasy*-racist.

(Which, that was never my implication; I don’t believe that at all. If I hate and condemn as hopeless everyone for any ‘small’ (and actual, irl) racist thing they’ve ever done, I would need to sever all my connections to this world. The thing about having experienced and dealt with racism, to me I think in my personal opinion, is needing to learn the mandatory survival skill of not letting anger empty out your heart, and to keep optimism that people and things can change regardless of how bleak the road might seem.)

For all my faults, though, I don’t think I had ever directed hate towards anyone personally or specifically - always either at the character, or the floating general fandom sentiment. I don’t ever wish for anyone to have a bad day - besides the fact that I’m kinda superstitious and I’ll feel guilty-sick knowing I brought misfortune to anyone, that’s just not the kind of person (and blog) I want to be. If I’ve hurt anyone, I’m immensely sorry and I hope you’re feeling better, especially on this Halloween night. 🎃

But towards me, particularly and specifically me, what I got— The accusations of true harm, of actual racism; of lying, of doing all this for a silly ship, of having brainrot; The gossip and vagueing, the wish for one of my fav characters to die presumably so I’ll have Real Sadness in real life; The involvement of other people that had nothing to do with this, the emotional effort friends and followers had to extend towards me to make sure I’m okay (for which I’m eternally touched and grateful for!); and - though likely unintentional on my detractors’ part - all I’ve been made to feel these past few days: unease, uncertainty, doubt; the anxious rumination whether I do deserve the hate, if I was being childishly malicious, if I was committing all that I was accused of, wondering if I shouldn’t write meta anymore if I got everything so wrong and biased—

In the end, mostly, I feel amused, flabbergasted - and just a bit hurt that somehow anime fiction man is the victim to be protected from my supposed cruelty and hysteria, his honor and dignity of more importance and worth.

Maybe it is, and maybe he is! No idea. He resonates with more people than I ever will. But how I see it, is that while Dabi, (admittedly well designed) lines on a paper, will never meet me, will never hear and take to heart my insults, (though I guess his fans can, on behalf of this fictional, nonexistent character),

I saw and heard very clearly all of the hate given to me, and it’ll be floating in my blood and flesh mind’s eye and ringing in my skin and cartilage ear for a while. At least until the end of the year.

I started this blog because of the pure and sheer adoring love I had/still have for Shigaraki Tomura. These past three years have been so much fun, following his story, becoming enamored with other characters. I've made friends (<333), I’ve met real cool people, and I’m overjoyed beyond words that people apparently like hearing about my ideas. When I began, I swore the blog’s vibes would be as nice and cheerful as possible. I wanted to be (and hopefully have been) somewhat informative, and to share (at times questionable) knowledge with others. I have always tried my best to be objective and self-aware; if I can’t, I acknowledge my bias, shortcomings, limitations. (If I ever annoyed anyone with my excessive ‘I think’s and ‘maybe’s, that’s why.)

It’s been a little hard to keep that going, though I know I'll toughen through. I just wish my sincerity could’ve gotten through and this could’ve been settled quicker and with a lot less stress on everyone’s part.

Anyways, if you actually read through all this, that’s super amazing and kind of you. I hope I didn’t give anyone secondhand embarrassment. I hope I don’t give myself future-secondhand embarrassment. Happy Halloween.

#dumdum debacle #nalslastworkingbraincell #this is such a bad idea #but I needed to write this #if only for my own sanity #not necessary to reblog

[codenamesazanka]

I don't get it! Can fictional characters not be called out on racism?! Dabi is 100% racist! Whether it's "casual" or "totally in your face bigot", it's racism! I've literally had a lady at target call me and my friends spics because she didn't want to stop for us at the cross walk! (Slur for Hispanics)

And I dunno if I understood this right, but poc can't be racist? Is that what that other anon was trying to get at? Cuz if that's their argument then i don't mean to burst their bubble but poc can most definitely be racist to other poc.

First, i’m really sorry that happened to you and your friends. Even scarier that you imply you were pedestrians and she had a car. It’s always a bad shock to be randomly shouted slurs at, and I wish that you could’ve been spared that. I hope you and your friends are okay!!! (also. yeah, shit like this is always at like an target. its so weird. is it the red? making assholes rage even more??? color theory…)

Technically, it’s ‘fantasy racist’, because I do make a point to acknowledge that it’s an fictional issue and fictional prejudice. It’s an allegory for irl discrimination, and I do apply irl parallels, but still, I don’t want to be accusing a thing of something it’s not. Dabi is a fantasy racist, and I think I’ve been consistent about that key adjective.

But yeah!!! He’s a dick to heteromorphs. 100% complete asshole. I just think it should be acknowledged? I wanna see him get made fun of more.

*

Not quite sure what that anon means either, but yeah, you’re right. Racism is pervasive, structural/institutional/cultural, and insidiously part of the world we live in and often even in the thing we do, intentionally or not. To exist in this world (particularly in America, which I assume is the context me and anon and my friendly-argument-opponents are coming from) is to be exposed to it, be part of it, perpetuate it, whether we want to or not. So unfortunately anyone can hold racist beliefs, unconsciously or internalized or completely unaware of it if not taught to identify and combat it - thus, PoC can sadly be racist to fellow PoC (especially since it’s really too wide a term to encompass all the different dynamics between the many racial minority groups in America/the West. Enacting the tangible, structural consequences of those racist beliefs does go usually one way in America (white supremacy suppressing non-white people), but within that are multiple directions it can go and that’s where PoC can get entangled.)

I like to think being a person of color means I have been more aware of the taint I hold and can combat it, but it’s really a ongoing life process and there are many things i haven’t uncovered and addressed within myself; so, if you excuse the too-long paragraph, yeah, PoC can be racist towards each other. I don’t think it’s the end of the world or that it’s irredeemable if so, I think it just means we have to work even harder on ourselves.

Thanks for the ask!!! I hope you have a good day!

#nalslastworkingbraincell #asked #ask #answered #anon #anonymous #Still very sorry that happened to you and your friends and I’m sending good vibes #dumdum debacle