Not only are we far more likely to get our own stories “right”, there’s power in a piece of art being by a queer person, for queer audiences; by a Black person, for Black audiences; etc.

That said, the reason I’m more interested in hearing marginalized voices tell our own stories is because of how few opportunities we get to do so, esp. when it comes to projects with major studio/publisher backing.

Now I think it’s super ass rare to find a white person with that kind of range lol. Like Teena Marie rare. But it’s not completely out of the realm.

And yes, consulting with and deferring to Black people in doing such a project is key.

And where storytelling is concerned, I think it’s *possible* for some white people who really “get it”, who are enculturated, learned, and respectful enough to tell a Black story well enough, in a way that isn’t voyeuristic or consumptive.

So yes, while I don’t think a white person will ever fully, 100% understand the “Black experience,” I actually think white people should be trying to. All the fucking time.

Cus I think on the flip side, “good” white people have a tendency to not grow around race/racism because they “don’t understand.” It can be used as a cop out or shield from doing their anti-racism work. “There aren’t any Black characters in my book because that’s not my experience 🤷‍♂️”

But I think regardless, it’s actually very important for white people *to* engage with the reality of racism regularly: to understand how racism might make your white experience of something different than that of someone of color.

It’s the only way things will change, societally, imo

I think experiencing oppression on a different axis (gender, sexuality, ability, etc.) is helpful in illuminating what racialized oppression might be like. Without that, if you’ve never really experienced any kind of oppression, it’s certainly more difficult.

I think there are many aspects of racism that a white person doing their anti-racism work is capable of “getting” well enough—what it is to be dehumanized, to be marginalized, to be unprivileged in a privileged space, etc.

Meanwhile Araki, Gege, Titie Kubo and Tatsuki Fujimoto are just doing their thing.

Again most just want their Anime Tastes to align with their Politics but never any further to criticize the author.