News

Posted on: Fri Dec 12, 2014 10:27am

Pollik (#20588) I love you gwen

Posted on: Fri Dec 12, 2014 10:35am

Gwennafran (#22320) I love you gwen
Pollik (#20588) sorry pinged the wrong person >.

Posted on: Fri Dec 12, 2014 11:22am

For a site so gender friendly I'm surprised to see all the complaints about the "feminine one" - but anyway! I look forward to seeing the colorations and hope the SP shop get's the good one!

Posted on: Fri Dec 12, 2014 4:52pm

First of all I am not going to ping every single person who took it upon themselves to throw their uneducated and ignorant hats in the ring, because it's very clear to me that people would rather point fingers at the person doing the callout than listen to the content of what they have to say. I called out a racist act and suddenly everybody was tripping over themselves to justify what is actually, quantifiably racist as if the real world doesn't exist or have an impact on the internet. So I'm just going to address things here with no pings, because pinging again would create a lot of circular arguments and furthermore give the impression that I am attacking people here. I'm not, and for the record, pointing out harmful behavior which has actual consequences is not attacking somebody. It's saying what needs to be said. Nobody likes to hear that they did something racist, but we all have to accept that Western society is fundamentally built upon racism, and we absorb that from the time we are born in ways we don't realize. We must question ourselves and trace our logic to prevent from further perpetuating racist power structures and do what we can to not further oppress marginalized people with our actions.

First off, I said literally none of that bit about Europe and Christianity, that was all you, but nice try. The fact that being expected to treat marginalized people and their cultures with dignity and respect screams "NO FUN ALLOWED THAT'S WHAT'S BEING SAID HERE TOTALLY NO FUN EVER" is really concerning, to be honest. It also demonstrates a real lack of understanding of the reality in Europe that many groups face: being racialized as nonwhite to justify and excuse their oppression. (For example, Polish people and Irish Travelers would be considered white in America, but not in their origin nation-states, because they have been othered to excuse their disempowerment.)

I also like how I'm expected to stay chained to my computer for updates to a pixel pet website, and the fact that I, you know, have a life and a job and other things to do with my time besides desperately monitor a voting event that happens EVERY MONTH closely enough to hunt down the artists INDIVIDUALLY is apparently supposed to invalidate my argument. That's just amusing to me.

Anyway, I'm still trying to understand how you got "no cultural ever allowed ever" from my comments explaining why that was disrespectful. But just to break it down for you, here it is again: This item set allows people to "Play Asian" or engage in yellowface, the act of assuming an "Asian" identity or appearance (in quotes because it's not reflective of any actual real world identity or culture, it's a caricature) just for a fun visual or roleplaying experience that they can decide to take off or change at their convenience. This is extremely harmful because it commodifies the identities of actual east Asians, in this case Japanese, and reduces them to fun costumes that can be worn by non-Asians for fun and amusement and then taken off later without having to experience the struggles that east Asians face. A Japanese person cannot decide that they want to stop being Japanese, they cannot 'take off' their own appearance, and to wear cultural artifacts simply for a cute look is really disrespectful for reasons that I hope are obvious given that context. Check out this article for a different breakdown of why this is inappropriate using a real-world example: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/25/cultural-appropriation-katy-perry_n_4337024.html

Also, this is literally a sexy geisha costume, which does real-world harm. Identities are not costumes. CULTURES are not costumes. This is different from being in Japan and being invited to wear yukata at a festival or event, this is different from a Japanese person giving you a yukata or kimono to wear as a GIFT. In these cases a Japanese person is VOLUNTARILY welcoming you and inviting you to participate, whereas in this situations and other situations of cultural appropriation the non-Japanese person decided for themselves to get in on it without asking anybody if it was okay or appropriate. Often this has disastrous results and looks like a caricature of the originating culture, and I think this is very true here. You wouldn't break into a stranger's house and eat all their food, so similarly I really hope you understand why it is inappropriate to coopt someone else's culture without asking just to put your own 'fun twist' on it and call it 'Japanese inspired.' To provide some evidence and show you the visual match, here are some costumes that are supposedly 'geisha' attire. These are also designed with similar intent, for somebody to be able to put it on and take off as they choose for an event or just a fun time.
https://verynoice.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/CHERRY-GEISHA-COSTUME-38677350.jpg
https://images.halloweencostumes.com/products/3134/1-1/tokyo-treasure-geisha-costume.jpg
https://i01.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/1799156985/-font-b-Geisha-b-font-font-b-Costume-b-font-trimmed-bright-blue-satin-that.jpg
https://i0.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/007/350/culture4.jpg

And for more on the "it wasn't INTENDED to be racist," I didn't MEAN to hurt anybody," "It's Japanese INSPIRED, it's an HOMAGE," I would suggest you read this: https://jezebel.com/lily-allen-doesnt-get-to-decide-if-her-new-video-has-a-1463811287 and then check out this political cartoon:https://lefthookjournal.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/cartoon-lalo-honoring-you-001.jpg to help you understand why this is hurtful, and harmful, regardless of the intent. Not to mention that beneath a conscious goal or intention you have layers of internalized racism that often manifests in presenting incorrect and in this case, absolutely cartoonish impressions of Japanese culture. In other words, it perpetuates racism. It has real-world consequences. If your idea of fun is masquerading as another race then I would wager you may have a serious problem you need to address. If your idea of fun is participating uninvited in someone else's religious holidays and events, as was suggested earlier, then you ARE engaging in cultural appropriation and you ARE doing something terrible that harms actual human beings. Are your feelings and your pixel art really more important than marginalized human beings? I would certainly hope not.

Posted on: Fri Dec 12, 2014 6:07pm

I feel so sorry and bad for Celestial - all they did was enter a contest. TLDR to the Keyboard Warrior - for real.

Posted on: Sat Dec 13, 2014 12:38am

mollusk (#2895)

Don't worry about me, hun :) I've been enjoying watching color artists bring my creation to life and that is just a great thing for me to see. It's not often that I get to watch other artists put their own touch on something I drew. Not to mention, I've met some really great people through this experience!

Posted on: Sun Dec 14, 2014 9:41pm

rollingjules (#49893)
*falls asleep*
zzzzzzz ***!
*snorts awake*

I'm sorry, were you saying something? I nodded off there for a second....
Sorry to say, not going to read a novel that is simply trying to validate and justify your rudeness. You are very well entitled to your opinion, but if you are offended by mine or are telling me or anyone else to keep quiet, that makes you a hypocrite. Is your self-righteous indignation really more important that being a decent human being?
You control what offends you. It's your choice whether or not someone intended to be offensive or not. It's not her fault you find offense in this and it is not right of you and yes, it is being a bully to try and make her feel bad for something she did not do with any intention of malice.
"He who takes offense when offense is not intended is a fool. He who takes offense when offense /is/ intended, is also a fool." -Abraham Lincoln

You can still have an opinion- no one is stopping you- but it's still rude the way you went about expressing it- and whether you agree or not is moot- because that is MY opinion.

Celestial (#36796)
You deserve it hun, you're a fantastic artist and a great person. Good on you for not letting things get to you and congrats again for the awesome art win.

Posted on: Sun Dec 14, 2014 9:49pm

Oh my god you actually just quoted Abraham Lincoln, that proves without a doubt on top of everything else you really have no idea what you're talking about. Your opinion is NOT VALID if it is based on incorrect statements and beliefs. I hope you all enjoy your new racist cesspool because you're all disgusting, and you've all proved that through your glowing comments.

Posted on: Sun Dec 14, 2014 9:50pm

Also it is not fantastic to promote the sexualization and marginalization of an entire group of people and if that was a fun time for you then you're unequivocally a scumbag.

Posted on: Sun Dec 14, 2014 10:03pm

rollingjules (#49893)
If you have more to say to me, more to complain about- more to yell at me about and more to try to use to pretend that you're not bullying- please send me a private message. You're rather domineering the news post on a subject for which it does not belong. If you have further complaints about this art and this issue, I suggest you take it to the forums.

It's your choice to be offended or not. Your choice. YOUR choice.

This is the last reply here from me to you because this has gotten out of hand and you have crossed the boundary from rude to just plain mean. I was attempting to talk to you cordially and you responded with anger and offense. That is your own doing, not mine. How is calling anyone names not the sign of a bully? The guise of anonymity does not excuse you from such behavior.