I’ve been trying to avoid this whole “let’s depict Rose Quartz as skinny because I have no concept of demography and fat body representation means nothing to me” thing, because the only real way to win this war game is not to play, but hot damn I keep seeing stupid fucking posts and articles on this topic that are using my friend’s art of Rose (depicted as her actual, fat, body type) in comparison with fucking “beach body ready” Rose and it’s really
Pissing me off.
I realize people are going to draw what they want to draw. If people want to draw Thinspo Rose Quartz for some harebrained and shitty reason, they’re going to do it, and no one can stop them. Once it’s out in the world, though, it is fair game for commentary and criticism. This is true for all media – the media we like as well as the media we do not like.
(pinches bridge of nose) But see, there seems to be this prevailing notion that folks should be entitled to draw Thinspo Rose without taking any flak, without having to face the fact that they are taking a canon fat (and very tall) woman character and reconfiguring them to conform to Western “default” standards of feminine beauty. They want to draw Thinspo Rose without having to consider the problematic ramifications of doing so, and
That
That is not
That’s just not going to fly, friends.
Draw what you want. Draw Rose in the style of Pablo fucking Picasso, if you want. But for the love of fuck stop with the faux-innocent cultural relativism.
Of course, I do want to add something pertinent before people think this post justifies the harassment Paige has received: it’s one thing to openly talk about any problematic implications of something, but it’s another thing to bully someone about it, and anyone who truly cares about social justice does not condone that in the slightest.
Whether people think my freshman-level art crit rant is a defense of the harassment the person all this stemmed from faced is irrelevant, as I’m talking about a post that appeared yesterday featuring a comparison between my friend’s art and art that literally showed an anorexic poorly-rendered-manga Rose saying, in goofy-ass font, “Beach Body Ready!”
What’s interesting is that you think this post needed a disclaimer.
I agree with the fact that anything can be criticized and nothing should be protected from being confronted with others’ views on itself. But what is important, is uh… decency? Like to give constructive criticism and explonation why you don’t like something and have civilized conversation. Tumblr community can so often get really agressive over their own views. I mean anyone can, so in any kind of conflict people should just… talk first. Not attack.
First, I agree generally with the idea that we can talk out most disagreements without resorting to yelling. But here’s the thing: I’m not here to police people’s anger. I am not here to regulate how people feel about this whole explosion of fuck. People are going to respond to this in a variety of ways, from “decent,” “constructive” criticism to a volley of shits and fucks and assholes. Thinspo Rose has a lot of people pissed right the fuck off.
But also, I would like to confront this idea of decency in relation to fat body erasure in this context.
Decency is borne out of mutual respect, for individuals as people. Constructive criticism comes from a setting of collegiality. Fat people are not respected. Fat people are considered to be “indecent” by the very virtue of their existence. “Constructive criticism” for fat people comes in the form of numerous diet recommendations and comments on their body – all for the “benefit” of their health, of course. When fat people are depicted at all, they are either depicted as prime examples of gluttony and waste or as insecure, depressed, and wanting to fit in – to lose weight – so much that they develop eating disorders. Fat people are often referred to outside of fictional media in the context of an “epidemic.” With all that extra bullshit on the side, can nobody currently drawing or sharing Thinspo Rose legitimately understand why folks might be upset at this characterization?
What makes Rose special as a character is that she is a fat person, she is confident in her body and she is strong. She’s probably an actual queen from Home World. That this is a rare portrayal of fat in US media is kinda fucking depressing. So, sorry not sorry.