Problematic Character Designs

I'm a huge fan of research. As an admin, if I see a bio that fits a certain mold but seems a little off, I'll prowl the bowels of the internet until I can wrap my head around what I think they're trying to accomplish. When I have a handle on it, I have no problem sitting down with someone and having a discussion about what their goals are for a particular character and how we can adjust their profiles to better accommodate what they are trying to achieve. Usually, these conversations go pretty well.

A few years back, I owned a wolf site where there was an epidemic of characters joining as "Schizophrenics". I use quotes, only because they were diagnosing their characters and labeling them as such when really all they wanted was their characters to be plagued by voices no one else could hear. Whether they manifested as ghosts, or angels, or apparitions as different animals, we let them have it and run with it. Grumbled a little bit as a staff, but we gave it to them.

What we found was that a lot of characters start with certain goals in mind, but as they became more integrated with the site they started to find their niche and evolved out of the original descriptions the players provided in their characters biographies. A lot of those characters "outgrew" their voices as they developed naturally over the course of threads and settled into a more comfortable mold.

----

I start with that anecdote simply because I believe, that as writers, we write to in order to confirm, validate, or change our perspective on the way we view the world. A lot of times, we find something that's interesting or curious until we play with it long enough to form an opinion and discover how it relates back to our own lives. Whether we ever admit or realize why we write what we write, we still write simply because it's our way of expressing ourselves.

I stand by the opinion that to "restrict stereotypes" or "avoid archetypes" cripples ourselves as writers and really hurts our members in turn. If someone needs to play a "Fat, trolling gamer," it might be worth having a conversation about it to see whether or not there's malicious intent behind it, but if not, let them play it. Is the language strong and a little insensitive? Perhaps, perhaps not. That opinion will be different to everyone who encounters it. But if that is the language necessary for a writer to convey their perspective, who are we to ask them to conform to a "politically correct" mold? If they can validate it through a thought out biography, why not let them have it?

So they want to play a racist, sexist, bible thumper. Woah. That just hit three lines of "don't ever bring these subjects up in public conversation ever," and most of us would be pumping the brakes with our fingers over the "Ban" or "I can't believe this became a problem" or "Hell no, I don't want to go there" buttons. Its easy to see something as "controversial" and want to shove it into a shoe box and lob it into the depths of our closets never to deal with it at all, ever. Unfortunately as admin/owners, we do have to deal with it and make the judgement call as to whether or not this is something our members are mature enough to handle.

In that scenario? I'd definitely be reading through the profile with a fine tooth comb to make sure the character has a history that properly reflects the personality. If it's well thought out and there's a cause in the history that's effected the way they behave, I don't have a problem with them. There are people that way in the real world and we can deal with them in the RP world the same way we deal with them in real life. Maybe threads with that character are shorter because the other characters give up on them and make excuses to leave. Maybe that character finds other like-minded characters. Maybe another character changes their perspective down the road. We won't know until they get immersed in the game, but if they're solid walking into it, they're probably good to go.

----

My bottom line would be this: Every character should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

If there's something that looks a little out of place, we owe it to our members to have the conversation and educate each other on the situation. If they're portraying something that's inaccurate, its our job to say, "Hey, I think this is actually the word you're looking for," or "Did you know that culture was actually a little more like this?" When we open the door in a respectful way where we listen what our members are trying to accomplish and work with them to achieve it, both the staff and members tend to walk away happy.

And remember: A character's starting profile may not reflect who they will become.

A character may start out feeling a little extreme or eccentric, but they're on a journey where their experiences will shape them beyond the foundation set by an audition. A lot of us just want to start with something shiny for the sake of jump-starting our characters. After they're a little more established in the game, chances are they won't need their "iffy" training wheels.

 

I think that a few nuances of my original topic are being missed again. The topic of stereotypes is relevant but not the whole story, right? And again, I am not talking about characters who hold prejudiced views. That's fascinating but off-topic. (Would happily participate in that thread!)

I was talking about problematic depictions of marginalized groups - this certainly can involve commonly held stereotypes. But it can mean a broader misunderstandings or appropriations. Like my example about a transgendered character - the writer seemed to lack a fundamental understanding of what that was, even using - without intention to harm - outdated and perjorative language.

Whenever complex topics like this come up there are always a few responses that seem defensive - that by just asking 'how do you feel?' it seems instead to evoke a response of you-can't-make-me. :/ Just know - it's not my intent to tell anyone what to do. (Although it is certainly my intent to share what I know about the realities of even well-intended racism, sexism, etc.)

Anywho. I doubt anyone would suggest some kind of blacklist of stereotypes? I think what's being expressed by those who choose to moderate problematic descriptions is to do exactly that - be aware of and moderate characters who represent a disrespectful, harmful, or less-than-complete view of a certain group of people.

As ever, intent != impact. We can mean well and still be doing harm.

 

I used to be quite strict with applications, but I have decided to take a more back seat approach. If there are cultural issues, I just try to make sure it is respectful and fits in the world of the site. If someone later comes along and is offended, I try my best to explain to the offended person that this is only a game and not meant to attack their personal beliefs and ask them how they would best explain their issue if they were talking to the person who made the character, and I then use what they said to ask the other member if they would be as kind as to make edits, within reason. There is always going to be something out there that hurts someone else's feelings, but the best thing you can do is try and navigate it professionally and delicately so that neither party feels attacked, and never allow the offended party to directly call out the other, because that rarely ever ends well.