This might be an ignorant question so I apologize in advance, but why does the house that experiences the most racism, Martell, have to be the token poc house while the only major houses who experience less or no racism get to be white?
hmmm, tbh i'm not even sure we should use the term 'racism' when speaking of people of westeros, i think more appropriate term would 'ethinicy' and in my opinion what the martells experience is xenophobia rather than 'racism'. i don't think that in asoiaf race works the same way as in real world. it's literally fantasy races: humans, children of the forest, giants, etc. rhoynar, first men and andals are all ethnic group of human race (in westeros). that's... what fantasy is, you know, lotr, dragon age and all that. so yeah, if the fandom considers the martells poc, then please go ahead and treat the starks the same way because:
Dorne has more in common with the distant North than either does with the realms that lie between them. "One is hot and one is cold, yet these ancient kingdoms of sand and snow are set apart from the rest of Westeros by history, culture, and tradition. Both are thinly peopled, compared to the lands betwixt. [...] Dornishmen and Northmen alike are derided as savages by the ignorant of the five 'civilized' kingdoms, and celebrated for their valor by those who have crossed swords with them.
or just start calling it what it is: xenophobia.
We were actually talking a while back about how Kevan describing Lyanna as a "wild beauty" may actually be a mark of xenophobia. Because he's not actually describing her in personality in that line, he did not see "wild" behaviour, he's describing her Northern features as something "wild" looking to him.