• voracitude@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I’m sorry, how is the exploitation of little people as a tourist attraction equivalent to fantasy dwarves? The first one is a reduction of human beings and the condition they live with to a sideshow curiosity; the second is a story that was made up for entertainment. I don’t see how the latter is related to the former.

    • mathemachristian[he]@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      The tourist attraction is based on the stories. And the stories are based on little people being ascribe magical properties, like “rubbing their head brings luck” or someshit like that. The fantastical stories live in a real context. And a lot of the stories about dwarfs come from an ableist view on short people.

      • voracitude@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        Lots of fantasy creatures are based on a phenotype of human. Our ancestors didn’t know anything about anything so they made up a bunch of shit to explain it. If you plan to argue that the entire fantasy genre needs to go - no more elves, gnomes, halflings, hobbits, vampires, orcs, goblins, bugbears, etc - you’re gonna have a bad time.

        • mathemachristian[he]@lemm.ee
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          9 months ago

          If you plan to argue that the entire fantasy genre needs to go

          yes, by valve not putting in “dwarf” as a tag to make it easier for its customers to search for games the entire fucking genre dies. Put ASoIaF fans on suicide watch lmfao

          • voracitude@lemmy.world
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            9 months ago

            Hey, you’re the one saying the word “dwarf” is offensive. I’m just extending your logic, to illustrate for you why I think it’s a bad take. I’m glad you got it!

            (Narrator: They didn’t get it.)

            • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
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              9 months ago

              I think the people with the condition are the ones who said the term can be offensive, which is why valve was not gung ho on using it.

              I dont think its really up to you on if their opinion on their own insults is a bad take or not. Do you step in like this about other insults and slurs for other people?

              • voracitude@lemmy.world
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                9 months ago

                I think if you bother to look for some of the conversations on the topic you’ll find the community is quite divided on the term, in point of fact. There’s nothing to stop any given individual being offended by literally anything; personally, I choose to respect someone if they ask me to refer to them in a particular way (or not), but that doesn’t mean that person speaks for their entire community and it doesn’t give them alone the sole right to blanket ban a word or concept.

                • wildginger@lemmy.myserv.one
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                  9 months ago

                  So, to clarify.

                  You have a word that is hotly contested as pretty offensive to a group of people who deal with a lot of regular mockery and ridicule. A word so regularly debated on if it counts as reclaimed or insulting that it sounds like a conversation Ive had many many many times about such slurs as dyke, trannie, and faggot with other queer folk.

                  And youre shocked that a respectful company isnt chomping at the bit to use it to sell video games?

                  Just to make sure. Thats the stance you want to take right now?

            • mathemachristian[he]@lemm.ee
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              9 months ago

              No you are trying to extrapolate from what I said into some generic ideal that I supposedly have. That’s not extending someones logic, thats strawmanning.

              • voracitude@lemmy.world
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                9 months ago

                Let’s recap:

                1. This is a story about Valve not putting a “dwarf” tag on their Steam platform
                2. Your first post I replied to said there would be “able-ist connotations” to putting a dwarf tag on Steam
                3. I want to know what “able-ist connotations” there are to a tag on a video game platform for the word “dwarf”
                4. You replied with a video showing little people being exploited, with the comment “This kind of shit”

                If your own video and comment and the entire context of this thread aren’t relevant to your point, that isn’t strawmanning on my part; that’s you not knowing how to make a reasoned argument.

                • mathemachristian[he]@lemm.ee
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                  9 months ago

                  What ableist connotations are there between “dwarf” and “entertainment media”

                  Video of people being exploited for entertainment because they are the stereotypical “dwarf”

                  dont see the relation bro, it must be because you just hate fantasy in general and want to kill everything fun