{"id":8190,"date":"2016-11-21T10:42:50","date_gmt":"2016-11-21T15:42:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/?p=8190"},"modified":"2016-11-21T10:42:50","modified_gmt":"2016-11-21T15:42:50","slug":"thank-you-for-not-being-racist-and-the-distressing-anomaly-of-decency","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/2016\/11\/21\/thank-you-for-not-being-racist-and-the-distressing-anomaly-of-decency\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Thank you for not being racist&#8221; and the distressing anomaly of decency"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Marketing for digital models at Daz, Renderosity, Renderotica, and the ilk trades heavily in stereotypes. For example, there are the <a href=\"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/2016\/11\/14\/digital-vacuity-and-other-promo-pet-peeves\/\">stereotypes<\/a> of empty, objectified, conventional white cis femininity. There&#8217;s also the perennial portrayal of WOC as primitive and bestial, as well as the <a href=\"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/2014\/07\/29\/just-in-case-you-doubted-the-racism-and-sexism-driving-the-world-of-3d-content\/\">broken English<\/a> that appears along with ads for Asian characters. And there&#8217;s the sexism, racism, ableism, and transphobia <a href=\"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/2012\/08\/27\/poser-8-is-so-racist-and-misogynist-and-anti-androgyny-and-anti-trans-not-to-mention-ableist\/\">built into<\/a> the programs we use to make our art. In conclusion, it&#8217;s pretty racist out there.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s why <a href=\"http:\/\/www.daz3d.com\/feralfey\">FeralFey&#8217;s<\/a> products attract my attention. This vendor specializes in realistic poses for figures and regularly does packages associated with particular cultures\/ethnicities. To see what&#8217;s so refreshing and respectful about FeralFey&#8217;s stuff, check out their V4 and V5 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.daz3d.com\/voodoo-magic-poses-for-v-4-2-and-v5\">Voodoo Magic Poses;<\/a> compare and contrast this package with Capsces Digital Ink&#8217;s\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.daz3d.com\/capsces-madame-mojo-monique-6\">Madame Mojo Poses<\/a> for Monique 6. Both sets are linked to WOC characters, V4 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.daz3d.com\/maman-brijit\">Mama Brijit<\/a> for the Voodoo Magic, G2F <a href=\"http:\/\/www.daz3d.com\/monique-6\">Monique 6<\/a> for the Madame Mojo, but they each treat their subjects differently.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>FeralFey&#8217;s promo shots depict a WOC as active, confident, and powerful, while Capsces&#8217; promo shots depict a WOC as dehumanized, lacking in power, and pointlessly sexualized. FeralFey&#8217;s product promos have Maman Brijit dancing, invoking, drawing, and tipping her top hat in dramatic, full-body poses reminiscent of dancing. Her intense gaze and the strong angles of her posture demonstrate strength; even in poses named <em>Entranced <\/em>and <em>Enthralled,<\/em> her stances remain solid, balanced, and compelling. By contrast, Capsces&#8217; promo shots show Monique pretty much naked, with goofy body paint. The near nudity combines with the character&#8217;s arched back and high-heel foot poses to place her in the pinup category. More subtly, Capsces&#8217; decision to roll Monique&#8217;s eyes back in her head and open her mouth for many of these poses connotes an altered state of consciousness that may or may not be orgasmic. Plus there&#8217;s a snake or two in there for some reason. In other words, with unintentional double entendres like &#8220;parent snake[s] to Monique&#8217;s hip before applying pose,&#8221; Capsces&#8217; promos show the tired old conjunction between a WOC and a transgressive, excessive, bestial sexuality.<\/li>\n<li>FeralFey&#8217;s product shows the results of accurate research, while Capsces&#8217; does not. FeralFey&#8217;s promo text uses the correct vocabulary of Voodoo, and the product even includes accurate <em>veves<\/em> [diagrams] used to summon various <em>loas<\/em> [interceding spirits between people and deities]. Meanwhile, Capsces&#8217; product bills itself as &#8220;voodoo and witch doctor <em>inspired,&#8221;<\/em> which is code for &#8220;based on imaginary stereotypes.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Finally, FeralFey&#8217;s promo text describes Voodoo differently than Capsces&#8217;. Capsces&#8217; text settles for evocation of a stereotype, with &#8220;Monique&#8230;cast[ing] some dark mojo,&#8221; blah blah blah &#8220;voodoo,&#8221; blah blah blah &#8220;witch doctor inspired,&#8221; blah blah blah. Note the equation of Voodoo with &#8220;dark mojo,&#8221; which most consumers will probably translate as &#8220;incomprehensible black magic,&#8221; and &#8220;witch doctors,&#8221; most readily translatable as &#8220;evil wizards.&#8221; Basically Capsces says that Voodoo = evil magic. By contrast, FeralFey says only that &#8220;&#8230;the magic of voodoo enthralls the curious and ensnares the imagination.&#8221; There&#8217;s a distinction made between Voodoo itself and how outsiders perceive it. It might seem like puzzling sorcery to the clueless, but the information in FeralFey&#8217;s promo text reveals that Voodoo contains, in part, rituals to call on intercessors and\/or deities so that people can gain advice and help. In other words, practitioners of Voodoo do what many other people in many other religions do. In implicit rebuke to Capsces&#8217; exoticizing portrayal, FeralFey&#8217;s text insists that Voodoo is a religion like any other. Sure, it&#8217;s not perfect; FeralFey does use the adjective &#8220;visceral&#8221; in the description, which is code for &#8220;primitive,&#8221; but, overall, FeralFey&#8217;s Voodoo Magic Poses demonstrate respect and realism in opposition to Capsces&#8217; stereotyped, demeaning cliches.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<br \/>\nI was so overjoyed when I noticed the distinction between FeralFey&#8217;s stuff and everyone else&#8217;s that I sent a thank you note to them, saying much of what I noted above. In a sea of lazy, sloppy, unresearched, and racist characterizations, their [much more] respectful illustrations stand out as an example of what people should be doing. I get so sick of calling out racist bullshit that I&#8217;m thrilled to have an opportunity to congratulate someone for respect and inclusivity. I can tell that FeralFey works meticulously on all aspects of their creations, carefully crafting them for realism and respectful portrayal. I wanted to let them know that I recognized and encouraged their efforts. They wrote back and thanked me, which made me happy.<\/p>\n<p>At the same time, I have the same sort of meta-reaction toward FeralFey&#8217;s poses as I do toward Dead or Alive&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/2016\/08\/02\/dead-or-alive-too-hard-to-swallow-part-ii-the-genderqueering\/\">gender-unmarked<\/a> love songs or Queen&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/2014\/07\/17\/breaking-news-queen-not-as-misogynist-as-other-rock-bands\/\">respect<\/a> for women. In all of these cases, the respect and decency of the artists toward their characters is really rather basic. And yet, because we live in a societal cesspit of racism, heteronormativity, and misogyny in which people are denied basic humanity because of their race, sexuality, and\/or femininity, a modicum of authorial respect is mind-blowing. I don&#8217;t want to be surprised by Dead or Alive&#8217;s gender-free love songs. I don&#8217;t want to go into raptures over the love and equality in <em>Killer Queen.<\/em> I don&#8217;t want to write a thank you note to a digital artist for treating WOC like people. I want gender neutrality and equality of the sexes and respect between the races to be the standard, not the exception. And yet they aren&#8217;t, so my momentary happiness is outweighed by a greater structural disappointment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Marketing for digital models at Daz, Renderosity, Renderotica, and the ilk trades heavily in stereotypes. For example, there are the stereotypes of empty, objectified, conventional white cis femininity. There&#8217;s also the perennial portrayal of WOC as primitive and bestial, as well as the broken English that appears along with ads for Asian characters. And there&#8217;s&#8230; <a href=\"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/2016\/11\/21\/thank-you-for-not-being-racist-and-the-distressing-anomaly-of-decency\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">&#8220;Thank you for not being racist&#8221; and the distressing anomaly of decency<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[708,656,765],"class_list":["post-8190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-digital-models-i-like","tag-racism","tag-women-of-color"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8190"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8193,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8190\/revisions\/8193"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oddpla.net\/modernwizard\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}