I'm unsure myself! I've mostly seen it used to describe every character who is not white.
'person of colour' can vary slightly culturally - because what counts as white or not can change from place to place - but it basically means someone who isn't white. So, arabs, west asians, east asians, black africans, indians, latinos/latinas, black americans, native americans, people who consider themselves 'mixed' or half-white, half-not, whoever really - as long as they're not white people.
The reason that POC is used, rather than non-white, is really to have a term which isn't anchored with the word 'white'. It's supposed to be positive and affirming I think? An emphasis on what people of colour have, what they are - as opposed to what they are not, what they lack. I'm not an expert though, don't quote me on that.
<snip>
I asked my sisters, who are both half Filipino half white, what they thought of being considered that and my oldest says she doesn't know why she doesn't like it and they my second oldest thinks it sounds more racist and she rather be called a minority.
This is definitely something that there are multiple arguments over. So it's not like ther's a settled 'answer'. And even if you identify a certain way, you may also get pushback from others who would deny you that identity. Also, culture, heritage, current societal views, and a multitude of factors people can consider.
Well, to make it rather personal because eh, I'm a pretty light person. I'm of mixed heritage, though I look most like my Puerto Rican dad but I don't consider myself white even though most people would probably take me as such. Puerto Ricans, and really all Latino people come in the full range. 
One of my friends is of half Mexican and half Swedish heritage. We both have similar light-but-yellow skin tone of mixed heritage Hispanic people problems with our makeup. It's useful to know someone who understands. 
Ever since my haircut of doom she laughs at me for being annoyed at my wavy hair as much as I playfully teased her when growing out her curly hair.
In any case, there's just no simple answer.
I have the light-to-yellow skin tone! I've been asked on numerous occasions "what am I" and many people have assumed I have Hispanic ancestry. I've actually been called yellow and Mexican as a "friendly" (heavy quotes) joke by guys when I was younger. Of course younger self was too pensive and in want of acceptance to have called them out on nicknaming like older self would assuredly do. My little sister even looks more mixed than I do with her skin tone and her eye shape. I don't know the full extent of our ancestry but both of my parents look white
I make smiley emoticons at the topic, but it is does go to show the kind of issues such labeling has. People are more than just their ancestry. Ethnicity and race and ancestry. People will always be more than those categorizes, yet we feel the need to define and place people into groupings. These things are always so complicated 
But I dunno, how about the rest of you? How do you feel about the term POC?
And on a Dragon Age related note is the racism against elves and the other fantastical races what prevents "normal" racism in Thedas? I know characters have made xenophobic comments but I don't think I've ever heard an out right "my skin tone is better than yours" racist one.
What I don't get is how people come up with things like that? I mean, okay, dialogue and stuff can be interpreted in many ways, but this just seems so ... I don't know a word for it. Like she is trying really hard to put in subtext that just is not there.
I can't take this person seriously, especially if she really thinks she knows "the truth" about Solas even if the devs (and writers!) say otherwise, but I do wonder where all that is coming from. It would be very interesing to meet this person and see how she is in real life, just to understand that kind of behaviour. Although I usually tend to close sites like that, thinking "well, it's the internet, what did I expect" and go about other business, not thinking about it anymore, cause it gives me headaches and is nothing more than a waste of time.
About the POC-Lavellans: I don't think anyone has to justify their choices for their characters. It is a very personal thing. If the game did not even give us the option to create POC it would be a whole different matter of course.
Yeah, I don't like that kind of judgement. The creators of the games should definitely have more diversity, but the players shouldn't feel pressured into creating their characters a certain way. It should be an option, a choice for you to make, just like your character's gender, sexual orientation, age, and even "prettiness" should be. Would it be awesome if more people branched out from playing handsome straight white guy in his mid twenties? Yes, but that doesn't mean it's wrong if the player chooses to roleplay that character. It is an issue in my opinion, when as you said, the option isn't there and when game developers (and other writers and creators of fiction) keep spewing out that character.
Yeah. There's a difference between someone making a white PC and modding the game to make a canon POC white *cough*theIsabelamod*cough*
And if the majority of a person's PCs are white that is no business of anyone else. It's like judging someone for liking a het romance over a gay romance (I'm a fan of f!Hawke/Fenris and that gets a little bit of crap from fans).
Really? People peeve me off -.- it really isn't anyone else's business who you like to play as. I fully endorse people trying new things, new genders, new looks, and new sexual orientation for their roleplaying, but people shouldn't have to worry about other people's judgment because they prefer playing as a women or they only play the straight romances. You're missing out not trying new things, but it is a roleplaying game and you're choosing the role you want to play.
Last art post before I go to bed.
"Don't go." by nanananananablr. (Solavellan) Except it's Solas telling Lavellan instead of the other way around.
How much simpler would it have been if you only let her go Solas?
Retour en haut
