BRHood: SUBMIT FOR OC HOUR!
SUBMIT FOR OC HOUR!
SUBMIT FOR OC HOUR!
SUBMIT FOR OC HOUR!
SUBMIT FOR OC HOUR!
SUBMIT FOR OC HOUR!
SUBMIT FOR OC HOUR!
SUBMIT FOR OC HOUR!
theelectricrose said: Maybe you can make this post a separate page like the ones linked at the top of your blog? It’d make it so that you don’t have to keep posting it.
BRHood: I’d have to look into that with a mod because I suck at html and all that junk and have no idea how to do it.
But I repost it as a way to remind people we’re still trying to get this going and to SUBMIT SUBMIT SUBMIT. Because we still only got like, one, submission. I would love to just reblog it, but since Missing E is entirely disabled thanks to David Karp being a butt, I can’t do that. Sorry if it’s repetitive, but I would love for more of our followers to submit their stuff.
BRHood: As am I, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have themes that are problematic. And again, as long as your reaction to being called out isn’t excuse after excuse, most people will easily forgive any transgressions. Also, if you’re worried about getting called out for things you don’t understand (ie, races outside of yours, gender, sexuality, etc), look into it. Tumblr has so many blogs that are dedicated to posting resources and information. If you just search in the tags, many blogs regarding it will come up and are great places to start.
BRHood: Reposting AGAIN. The premise is that we support people working on original stories, comics, webseries, films, and other medias to share their story. We want to support PoC who are working every day on making our entertainment less whitewashed, as well as get some attention to overlooked writers, comics, artists, etc.
So here is how this will go. Every week, I will select one person whose work(s) will be featured throughout the entire week. I will announce the artist selected every Monday. OC Hour will take place at 11 AM and 6PM (EST) every day. During those hours, we will post information regarding the artist’s works: story chapters, character profiles, artwork, panels, etc.
I also thought it would be a great idea if throughout the month, followers can submit fanart of the OCs. In which we will dedicate one Friday a month to posting fanart of the OCs. That, however, depends entirely on you, our followers. So, the more you guys put into this, the more fun it will be. :)
Now, of course, are the rules and guidelines for submissions for OC Hour. Because we gotta have them.
In terms of how to submit, it will go like this. When you submit, you are to send a link to your blog, an email you can be reached at, and a synopsis of your story. Try your best to make it a similar set up to writing query letters to editors (which you can google how to do so if you’re unsure). I just need a general overview of plot, setting, main characters, etc.
From our submissions, I will send FIVE PEOPLE messages asking them to send me the beginning of their work EVERY FRIDAY. So if it’s a novel/book, I will ask for the first chapter, the first episode if a video submission, the first few panels (or first chapter if plausible) of comics, etc. If you are unable to provide these by the time you try to submit your work, you will be disqualified automatically. Which is why, again, unless you are able to provide the first few chapters, episodes, etc of a story by the time of submission, please do not submit. Just wait. Your time will come.
From the five people I select, I will send you a message by MONDAY letting you know that your work will be featured in the NEXT WEEKS OC HOUR. Meaning, if I were, hypothetically speaking, letting you know on Monday March, 11, 2013 you were being featured, your week will begin Monday March 18, 2013. During that week, I will remain in contact you, preparing the submissions and posts for the week, and trying my best to get your story as much attention as possible.
NOTE: DUE TO A LACK OF SUBMISSIONS, OC HOUR WILL BEGIN ONCE WE GET MORE SUBMISSIONS. SO PLEASE GET YOUR SUBMISSIONS IN SO WE CAN GET THIS PARTY STARTED.
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Artist: Deshon Track: Why I Never Smile |
BRHood: An original poem regarding Shadeism/colorism. |
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| 17 notes | |
BRHood: When you say “race isn’t central to the plot” I question that. There are ways to write stories where race doesn’t matter or isn’t influenced by our modern understanding of it, so I kinda get it. But because of how race has ALWAYS been used as a hierarchy in societies, I feel like it’s impossible to create a story where it doesn’t exist somehow. Not to say it’s not possible.
There is no one answer for this, especially since we don’t know the plot or anything regarding this story. So it’s rather impossible to say what to avoid (aside from obvious stereotypes). But, as I always say, if you’re writing outside your race, COLLABORATE WITH PEOPLE FROM THE RACE YOU’RE PORTRAYING. Sometimes I feel like you guys want to avoid that, and it’s really not right to do that. You guys obviously want to try to write characters that wouldn’t be seen as offensive, but don’t want to collaborate with people from said race. It’s really no different than watching Black characters on a tv show that is written by all white men. When in doubt, collaborate. Ask Afro-Latinas how they want to see their characters portrayed. You have to interact with the people you’re trying to represent if you want to create characters PoC can relate to.
BRHood: I saw this after posting that response.
For starters, I understand what you mean because tumblr people do have a bad habit of blacklisting people and not giving them a chance to apologize/try to redeem themselves/etc. So I can understand the fear that if your artwork is deemed offensive, it may stick with you and people may write you off for it.
But seriously, I feel as though as a white man, you’re GOING to end up drawing something offensive. Whether you mean to or not. Whether you make yourself crazy educated in terms of race relations, sexuality, gender, disabilities, etc. Hell, even other PoC are going to fuck up because no one is perfect.
The focus is more on your reaction when it does happen and you’re called out. Again, if you admit the mistake and try better next time, no one will fault you. If you get defensive, go “it’s art so it gets a free pass,” or whatever, people will get annoyed and that’s when people will snap. That was the very reason I first reblogged your rant. Because it was sounding like “omg, don’t fault me for being ignorant” when you were making no attempt to try to do better or educate yourself. THAT’S the reaction people don’t take well to.
Again, want to avoid being tumblr enemy #1 after posting offensive artwork? Apologize, recognize the mistake, and just try better next time. That’s it. We’re not asking for a golden statue, or a million dollars to everyone who saw your art and was offended by it. Just a simple apology and recognition of what was wrong. That’s it.
I really want to draw again, but I feel like I can’t, because…well, one reason is that I don’t want to offend or disgust anybody.
Why do you think blogs like LayOffTheBleach or Escher Girls exist? Because they get offended by art that’s either white-washed(i.e. racist) or has…
I just read this response again, and you have a point. Maybe I should just draw and be done with it.
I’m just worried that if I’m only “close enough” in regards to a character’s skin tone, someone would say “SHADEISM”, and I admit that in the past, some of the characters in the fanart I saw on this blog were not THAT whitewashed. They still seems close enough in terms of skintone.
I also want to avoid people flooding my DA profile/Tumblr art blog with angry spam if/when I DO get called out for making a mistake.
If/when I upload any more art to Tumblr or DA, should I ask in the description whether “such-and-such” artwork is racist/ableist/sexist/etc. from now on?
BRHood:
For starters, people are GOING to call out all those isms if they see your work. If you WANT, you can put a “is this racist/ableist/etc” but it seems unnecessary when it’s probably going to happen anyway. That’s 100% up to you.
And with whitewashing, it’s really offensive for you to say “they’re not THAT whitewashed” when you’re not a PoC to determined what “THAT whitewashed” would mean. As a dark skinned Black woman, I nitpick at dark characters being even half a shade lighter because people try so hard to erase us from the media. All it takes is one whitewashed version that’s only off by a shade or two to get a pass before people look at that and go even lighter and lighter until it’s unrecognizable. Some people won’t mind a few shades lighter, others will. Again, that’s something you really just gotta deal with.
Same with the “flooding” of your art pages. If people were flooding your pages with praise, you’d probably appreciate it. As long as you acknowledge what you did and work to correct it, people won’t “flood” you. The people who get flooded are the “omg, it’s not a big deal, they’re only a shade off, who cares if her tits are hanging out when it’s something I can jack off to, it’s my art stop being so critical of it” complainers. We have said this 100000000000000000xs on DLOTB, but when we call someone out on whitewashing, we are not insinuating that you are racist, sexist, etc. BUT if you defend your behavior after being proven how offensive you are, that’s when you get those labels. And that’s when people tend to “flood” people’s pages.
I really want to draw again, but I feel like I can’t, because…well, one reason is that I don’t want to offend or disgust anybody.
Why do you think blogs like LayOffTheBleach or Escher Girls exist? Because they get offended by art that’s either white-washed(i.e. racist) or has sexy women in it(i.e. sexist, misogynistic, etc.). There are a lot of bad art blogs on Tumblr too. I have self-submitted some of my really old stuff to one blog or two, but I don’t want my most recent stuff on there.
Not to mention, if I draw a specific picture that’s “abnormal”, the Internet will judge me for making “fetish” art and try to dox me or run me off the Internet.
I’m gonna have a hard enough time dealing with same-face syndrome and drawing backgrounds more often. I don’t need people staring at me like I’m some kind of ableist, racist, sexist, or even cissexist for drawing specific things.
I hate to sound like I’m making “yet another excuse”, but I think, ever since I was involved more often with Tumblr, that all the social justice stuff has also scared me away from drawing.
“Just DRAW”, you may say. “JUST DRAW.”
But the thing is: there’s too many things I have to worry about when drawing. Not only stuff like:
- Backgrounds
- Getting rid of same-face/same-body syndrome(i.e. buying a book to help me identify what race a specific person that I’m drawing from life is)
- Actually starting on making stories/Making Comics
- Getting rid of fear of being judged or laughed at or verbally spit on or getting a critique so brutal it would make me lose my will to live
- Getting enough money to do all of those things
But also, I have to deal with avoid being:
- Ableist(If I draw a character with any type of disability, such as missing limb or blindness, people will think of it as a fetish pic and will be disgusted and then actual people with disabilities might me a figurative punching bag on which to vent their rage)
- Sexist(I currently draw more women than men, so people might think that I only draw that way because I see women as sex objects, which is honestly not the case. Also, again, see Escher Girls.)
- Racist(I mostly draw white characters, with a few characters of other races here and there. The problem is, I mostly draw white characters. If I don’t draw a crapton of non-white characters to balance it out, then I’ll be called a racist)
- Cissexist/Homophobic(I’m not trying to get into gender politics here, because, honestly, I don’t understand gender issues all that much. I try to avoid them because of the whole pronoun issues and not fully understanding transgender issues. But worst of all, I’ve never actually developed the sexuality or gender issues of any of my characters. And I fear being accused of being straight and narrow(minded) because of it.)
TL;DR: I’ve made too many enemies on the Internet(most of the time unintentionally). I don’t want to make any more by drawing stuff that might offend people.
That’s why I’ve been turning to food and cooking, because at least I can cook in the safety of my own house and not have to worry about offending people online.
BRHood: Yeah, okay, this is a lot of wtfery. And also, reminder that we do track the dlotb and damnlayoffthebleach tags.
For starters, no one cares if all you draw is white people. If you’re uninterested in expanding your repertoire to include PoC, that’s on you. If you want to go “all I draw is this and that’s all I can do” and not challenge yourself to get better, you’re doing yourself an injustice. Which if you want to do, it’s on you. Artists will be happy to lose the competition.
Now, if you’re drawing PoC and you’re whitewashing, ie you draw a Korra fanart and she’s light as hell/white skinned, THAT’S a problem. And yes, that is racist. Considering PoC have so little representations of them, we have every right to demand that people not whitewash the few Characters of Color we get. Crying “I’m afraid to draw a PoC because I may be called racist” is a pitiful excuse. If you mess up, just fix it. Learn not to do it the next time. Why is that hard? If you mess up drawing a fist your first time, don’t you practice until you get it right? Why would THIS be different?
Also, DLOTB doesn’t talk much about sexism and whatnot unless it’s people drawing racist, hypersexualized caricatures of characters of color. Which is another valid call out. If the only white people you ever saw in the media were racist stereotypes or caricatures lacking any depth and just there to be “the white one,” you would get annoyed of it. And also, no one cares if you draw mostly women. People are going to care if your women are ALL one-dimensional troupes, oversexualized, and obviously there just for dudes to jack off to. If you take the time to DEVELOP a female character, even her being sexualized could help create a good character people will LIKE. The Femme Fatale is popular for a reason.
However, you won’t be ABLE to do that if you don’t take the time to learn about gender issues. Saying “I don’t know about this stuff, so that’s why I make things sexist/racist/transphobic/homophobic/ableist/etc is again a lazy excuse. LEARN. There are WAY too many bloggers on tumblr alone with resources after resources of things pertaining to sexualities, gender, and race. Not learning is pure laziness. It’s showing that you WANT to live in ignorance. And if you actively choose to live in ignorance, anyone has the right to call you out on it.
And with that, this whole entire post of “I’m afraid to draw because I might fuck something up” is pure BULLSHIT. YOU CANNOT PLEASE ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME. Some people love and relate to JK’s Rowling’s Harry Potter. Some people can point out 100 examples of how racist, sexist, ableist, etc the book series is. Does that stop JK Rowling from writing? No. There is no such thing as a perfect art/story/movie/etc. Even people who love something will have at least one or two issues with it (unless they blindly admire something, which is again ignorant and terrifying because of how little they must think in order to do that).
Your works being problematic isn’t the end of the world. You learn from it. You take it in. You grow from it. If your response to criticism is “but I don’t know about this and I don’t want to learn so stop hating on me,” then yeah, you’re going to get hate. If your response is, “omg, I never thought about it like that. It was jacked up. I’ll keep that in mind in the future,” people will easily forgive your fuck ups. And better yet, YOU CAN ACTUALLY LEARN AND GROW AS AN ARTIST FROM IT. Which is going to do nothing but benefit you while also making you one less shitty person in the world that people who deal with oppressions have to deal with.
And in general, if you can’t handle any type of critiques without wanting to quit, you’re in the wrong business. I write. You think I don’t have a few characters who I think may be read as problematic? You think I’m not aware of some characters people may not take too kindly of? I’m preparing having to deal with a bit of backlash of trying to get more people represented. I’m aware of people accusing me of tokenizing characters and the like. I’m prepared to deal with it. And I will by accepting the critiques, and use the critiques to make my next work 100xs better than my first. But my response isn’t going to be “I’m afraid to write because people may tear my story apart.” If you can’t handle people not liking your work and giving hash critiques, then maybe you should give up art. Because ever artist gets a LOT of it. Even those revered as the best do. So if you can’t handle that, quit. That’s one less competitor artists have to contest with in a very competitive market.
BRHood: No probs. You should submit some of your future stuff for Fanart Friday. We don’t get a lot of the Patil Twins. :3 |
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cereal-murder said: but haven’t you guys linked to deviantart before?
BRHood: Not since our return I don’t believe. And if we have, it was a mistake. It’s a new rule we started a month ago after coming off hiatus.
BRHood: Wow really? I stopped watching after season 2 and I remember as more season came out hearing people upset about Egypt and Turkey. So I had no desire to watch it. But hearing this, I’ll pick it up again. Hetalia is hilarious!
ssuperhero said: But that’s so limiting and you lose literal tons of potential offenses. :( What if we repost it to our blogs on Tumblr (with credit) and then submit it? I know there’s a reason for everything, so why was this new rule put in place?BRHood: The point of only reblogging from tumblr is that the artists drawing it will KNOW what’s happening. It doesn’t make sense to post things from other sites where the artist may not see it. If we reblog it from them directly, they will be aware of issue and will have a better opportunity to correct it. Otherwise, we’re reblogging these pictures, are talking about how it’s so problematic, and the artist doesn’t even know it’s happening. It’s just pointless.
If you guys see stuff and you have a means of calling it out yourself (since a lot of it is from DA), then do so. If it doesn’t go well, then maybe you can screen cap the convo and submit it and we might post it (might; depends on what’s being said because it could help spark a discussion that may be needed).
DLOTB is trying to be more than just a “call out” blog. We’ve done the call outs, had the fights, and got our blood pressure high from dealing with the bullshit. Now we want to focus on encouraging positive PoC representation in the media and doing more in our respective communities. We’re done yelling at white people who don’t even see us yelling at them. If it needs to happen, that’s what White Whine Wednesday is for. But other than that, it needs to be people on tumblr.
And if you post it yourself and try to submit without the artist’s knowledge of it, we may or may not accept it. That will be up to our discretion.
BRHood: Which one is Parvati? Parvati is Indian. Whichever one is supposed to be her should be much darker than these two girls. |
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BRHood:
“Any whitewashed or Fanart Friday artwork from a site other than tumblr will be deleted, no exceptions.”
We’re serious about this. Please do not submit things that are not on tumblr.
