Date: 25 July 2008 02:33 pm (UTC)
Intent is what doesn't really matter when people say they hadn't mean to be racist, sexist, homophobic, classist, ableist, elitist... if this is what is read by the people who have the best reason to complain of it. Intent, there, is only a way to claim their own privilege, very often.

Often, but one cannot always discount the biases of the offended party. If I am determined to view the world as against me because of my gender/orientation/religion/etc., then things that are not necessarily offensive become colored by my perception. No one has the right to tell me not to be offended, but the source of the offense comes from my bias, not his/her action. Naturally, extremes do not work in this way. Cross burning is racist, full stop. But if I'm running to catch my train and a black man pushes past me and that action prevents me from catching the train, his action makes him inconsiderate, but not immediately racist or chauvinist. If I choose to interpret his action as anything other than inconsiderate without additional information, that comes from my biases. Again, you can often discount intent, but not always.

Having a story where a lesbian dies and her girlfriend goes crazy isn't in itself homophobic. It is because there's a history of the very same trope being used overwhelmingly any time lesbian characters are featured

I kind of think that "Character goes crazy/acts extremely irrationally when his/her romantic interest dies" is a universal trope.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting

If you are unable to use this captcha for any reason, please contact us by email at support@dreamwidth.org

January 2025

S M T W T F S
   1234
567891011
12131415161718
19 202122232425
262728293031 

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags

Tags

Powered by Dreamwidth Studios
Page generated 3 Jul 2025 03:56 pm

Style Credit