In any event, if you don't understand why a person of color doesn't appreciate being put in the same category as a "non-human sentient," I don't really know what to tell you. They are an established part of the Potterverse, sure. But putting them and people of color in one category, and white people in the other ... come on. :(
(Actually, after I posted I followed a few more links and came across the text at flamewarrior's journal, together with more discussion that helped -- so no need to go Googling.)
Anyway, having taken a look at that discussion and thought about it a bit, yes I can see your point and why it's offensive, so my apologies there. Clearly my brain (and possibly the mods too) has been so warped by fantasy and scifi where 'alien races' are basically treated as humans with blue skin or funny ears, and the characters form relationships ad lib, that I'd overlooked the obvious fact that the characters aren't human even if the actors are!
I suppose the comm definition actually lumped together two usages of the word 'race' -- the real life one, and the speculative ('sentient nonhuman') one -- as if the synonym alone made it sensible to apply 'miscegenation' to either. Which is admittedly ridiculous. I'd guess the mods' definition mapped to 'sex with exotic people' -- which I hasten to add is still an idea one can take issue with, but not as bad as equating it to sex with animals?
Have you taken the time to look at the community? Did you see that the "miscegnation" tag covered Neville/Parvati and Luna/Dean and Percy/Anthony Goldstein (??!!), but also Crouch/house-elf and Aberforth/goat?
I didn't look at the postings, actually, as kinkfic isn't the sort of stuff I generally like. I do remember looking at the Neville/Parvati piece when it was linked from one of the daily comms before this kicked off, and thinking something along the lines of "wtf? Miscegenation is a kink that needs to be warned for? ... meh, Americans". Put me down in the fairly large category of people who thought, before this, that it was just a technical term that the Deep Southerners used because they objected to the concept, not that it was something they coined specifically in order to object to it -- and were therefore hesitant (I think reasonably so) to say it should be changed without getting more information on how people other than zvi reacted to it. I can only think of a couple of times I've actually encountered the word other than the above, once in a human/alien context, once in a Kid Creole song.
As for Aberforth/goat (it was Harry/goat, apparently, according to the discussion I saw?), that's clearly ludicrous and suggests that the poster didn't get it. I still think criticising the mods for equating it to bestiality generates unhelpful confusion, though, because they clearly didn't mean that -- at least not in the fantasy context. If you wanted to criticise them for letting the poster tag the piece that way, fair enough, although I gather that tag's now been removed from it.
no subject
(Actually, after I posted I followed a few more links and came across the text at
Anyway, having taken a look at that discussion and thought about it a bit, yes I can see your point and why it's offensive, so my apologies there. Clearly my brain (and possibly the mods too) has been so warped by fantasy and scifi where 'alien races' are basically treated as humans with blue skin or funny ears, and the characters form relationships ad lib, that I'd overlooked the obvious fact that the characters aren't human even if the actors are!
I suppose the comm definition actually lumped together two usages of the word 'race' -- the real life one, and the speculative ('sentient nonhuman') one -- as if the synonym alone made it sensible to apply 'miscegenation' to either. Which is admittedly ridiculous. I'd guess the mods' definition mapped to 'sex with exotic people' -- which I hasten to add is still an idea one can take issue with, but not as bad as equating it to sex with animals?
Have you taken the time to look at the community? Did you see that the "miscegnation" tag covered Neville/Parvati and Luna/Dean and Percy/Anthony Goldstein (??!!), but also Crouch/house-elf and Aberforth/goat?
I didn't look at the postings, actually, as kinkfic isn't the sort of stuff I generally like. I do remember looking at the Neville/Parvati piece when it was linked from one of the daily comms before this kicked off, and thinking something along the lines of "wtf? Miscegenation is a kink that needs to be warned for? ... meh, Americans". Put me down in the fairly large category of people who thought, before this, that it was just a technical term that the Deep Southerners used because they objected to the concept, not that it was something they coined specifically in order to object to it -- and were therefore hesitant (I think reasonably so) to say it should be changed without getting more information on how people other than zvi reacted to it. I can only think of a couple of times I've actually encountered the word other than the above, once in a human/alien context, once in a Kid Creole song.
As for Aberforth/goat (it was Harry/goat, apparently, according to the discussion I saw?), that's clearly ludicrous and suggests that the poster didn't get it. I still think criticising the mods for equating it to bestiality generates unhelpful confusion, though, because they clearly didn't mean that -- at least not in the fantasy context. If you wanted to criticise them for letting the poster tag the piece that way, fair enough, although I gather that tag's now been removed from it.