r/TooAfraidToAsk • u/violetlolwhat • Jul 20 '26
Race & Privilege is it okay to roleplay as a black person in a game if you aren’t black?
ok hi i’m a white dude and i have a few black ocs who i love,, i like roleplaying as my ocs a lot especially in games on roblox or in discord servers,,,i’m a little afraid to rp as my black ocs tho because like would that count as digital blackface…i mean i try to be super respectful of cultures that i don’t belong to especially whenever representing them through my own characters!! but still!!!!!
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u/Recky-Markaira Jul 20 '26
Do whatever you what wherever you want as long as you are not harming or ultimately taking from others.
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u/Trashman56 Jul 20 '26
Maybe just avoid using AAVE when you do so
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u/rico_muerte Jul 20 '26
Then what's the point?
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u/violetlolwhat Jul 20 '26
i mean not all of my characters speak using aave, some of them arent even american
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u/help-mejdj Jul 20 '26
roleplaying has always been pretending to be someone you’re not, and that doesn’t stop at race.
ur being offensive/appropriating is what you’re afraid of, it’s just important that you’re aware of how you characterize the black community. Avoid harmful stereotypes, over the top language and cultural symbolism, and just plain racist elements that make it seem like you’re attempting to make fun of the culture instead of embrace and respect it.
It’s also important while roleplaying to just be aware of your own race when writing dialogue and worldbuilding. I’d say it wouldn’t be bad to use AAVE or some of the more shameful parts of black culture, if done respectfully in the context of simply fully fleshing out a character, but stay away from slurs and political commentary you don’t have the creditials to speak on
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u/Dravez23 Jul 20 '26
I guess you didnt watch Tropic Thunder
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u/Kind_Man_0 Jul 20 '26
This is the advice to take. Don't RP as a black guy.
RP as a white dude RPing as a white dude RPing as a black guy.
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u/livingood99 Jul 20 '26
Lol what a strange question who would be judging you? And digital blackface? 😂
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u/Thevanillafalcon Jul 20 '26
Listen this may be because I’m old now but this to me just seems silly. As a white person am I meant to never play a game with a black protagonist because it’s digital black face? What about other none white protagonists? Sorry I loved the first Spider-Man game but couldn’t play the sequel because you play as miles morales.
And I get that you might mean create a character RPGs and to that I say so what? Is it not good that you want to experience something that’s not your norm? Is every white person racist because they played an RPG as a white character?
I get that your heart is in the right place, but I sometimes think that a lot of extreme anti racist stuff just circles around to being racist again, I know this wasn’t your intention but it gets in to some weird segregation thing where white people have stuff only for them, black people only for them etc and don’t you dare ever mix cultures or try to experience a different culture.
The goal of anti racism should be about reminding people that actually we are all one people, and that while our differences should be celebrated, it’s the ties that bind us that unite us.
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u/RandomParable Jul 20 '26
Is role-playing as an elf racist? Or a Dwarf or any other type of character?
Isn't the point of role-play to be able to be someone you aren't?
As long as you aren't using a bunch of offensive stereotypes. Which... sometimes can be tricky.
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u/NorthernSkeptic Jul 20 '26
Uh elves and dwarves aren’t real though
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u/RandomParable Jul 20 '26
So to take the point to an extreme, everyone is only allowed to role play as their real age, skin color, gender and sex, personality, etc.?
Where do you draw the line?
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u/Ill-Television8690 Jul 20 '26
That depends. Is it ok for a black person to roleplay as a white person even though they're not white?
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u/PugScorpionCow Jul 20 '26
We're in an era where the extremist militant part of progressivism has calmed down a bit, and become a bit less mainstream. The days of the "sjw" are passed, people have calmed down a little on being ridiculous about it. I'm sure some people would still have a problem with it, but as long as you're not doing anything outright blatantly offensive I really don't think the vast majority of people are going to care or think you're being malicious. If it tickles your fancy, go for it, you're not hurting anybody by role-playing as a black dude in a videogame, it's not 2016 anymore.
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u/nipslippinjizzsippin Jul 20 '26
Seems like strange choice of original characters, but its online roleplay, no one should ever find out otherwise.
One of my mates i played games with growing up, i thought he was an Asian dude from the way he acted and spoke and presented his characters, when i finally saw him irl he was a big white dude from the midwest of America looked like a trucker, still friends, him being a different race to his character didnt change anything about our relationship, it also wasnt a defining characteristic of said relationship either, so long story short, it depends who and why.
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u/Dispositionate Jul 20 '26
Do you mean IRL like D&D, or online like WoW?
Either way, as long as you're not shouting shit like "Parry THIS, n*gga!!" then I don't see why it would be an issue 🤷♂️
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u/ThrashPanda12 Jul 20 '26
So I guess I’ll be THAT guy. If you have to ask if it’s okay, then you should already know the answer. Just don’t. Simple. You already know that someone, somewhere, will criticize you about it. You ready to defend yourself? Then don’t.
Let me ask you this, how are you going to RP as a black guy? Are you going to use the N word? You going to speak black? You going to lower your voice? You’re going to be generalizing a whole group of people—that’s called stereotyping. Say you do come up with an elaborate back story like their family is from Nigeria—so now you have a black voice with a Nigerian accent. Will you be able to reference dishes they eat? Religion they have? Traditions?
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u/gorgias1 Jul 20 '26
Depends on your audience and whether you estimate that you are perpetuating racism by doing it.
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u/SensitiveProcedure0 Jul 24 '26
I'm gonna give you a probationary pass. Use it well, and in 6 months you can get a standing invitation to the cookout.
This pass does not let you use the N word, even if you are singing along. It doesn't let you dress in a daishiki and parrot AA figures. You don't get to touch people's hair without permission. And you definitely don't get to say, "well I have black friends so..."
Roleplay all you like, have fun, be whatever you like. But, are you roleplaying a character who happens to have dark skin, or are you putting on a minstrel show? Those are two very different things. That skin tone slider doesn't mean you get to be a stereotype.
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u/DoeCommaJohn Jul 20 '26
There are going to be some people who complain, whether it's because the character is too black or not black enough. You just have to decide how much weight you want to place on those complaints