Important

At this point a lot of us have probably seen posts about how The Witcher changed the hair texture of characters and how this constitutes whitewashing. Thanks to @some-stars and @realwitchertime for the posts linked above.

And the show runner, Lauren Hissrich, actually responded to this discussion.

The showrunner basically admitted that they changed the hair texture due to complaints. And you know what? Since Season 1 came out I have seen horrendous amounts of racism directed towards the characters but especially Triss. This post alone has many links talking about racism in this fandom.

And despite what many may think, it’s not just toxic gamer bros. It’s the artists who will draw all-show characters except game triss. It’s all the people who fought for their lives on this post to try and explain why Anna Schaffer’s hair was wrong for the role. It’s all the people who ignored complaints from fans of color and told them to “stop running their escapism” and “it’s okay to be silent”

Our fandom’s racism directly contributed to this issue. We directly caused this issue. So let’s take responsibility for it. Here are some ways we can try to make sure whitewashing like this doesn’t continue happening.

1) Tweet at the creators of the show and talk about the importance of textured hair in media. Talk about how you appreciated Triss’ hair in S1. The changes were made due to complaints. Do the opposite.

2) Keep demanding action. Hold the creators accountable and make sure they know that the whitewashing is not acceptable.

3) Make content of characters of color in the show. There are so many people who ignore the majority of characters of color or outright exclude them and simply by appreciating the diversity present it sends the message we want more. Let’s talk about how gorgeous Fringilla’s hair is. Let’s talk about Triss’ natural hair being gorgeous. Let’s discuss Dara’s future and how the character getting a bigger role would be interesting as hell. If we diversify our experience with fandom it has a waterfall effect and can help increase diversity within the show itself. Remember that content creation is not just writing fic and creating art (although I love all my writers and artists out there!!) it’s also headcanons, drabbles, shitposts, memes

4) Reblog content with characters of color! Liking isn’t going to do shit on tumblr. Be sure to reblog so the content gets spread and everyone can have a good look at all the wonderful things people have created.

The creators and actors of The Witcher have shown that they are willing to quiet regularly interact with fans and take criticism and advice from them. For better or worse that is the situation. So we have a responsibility to let the creators know that not only do we value diversity but we want more of it. 

There are very few fantasy series as popular as the Witcher with so many poc in the main cast. Let’s not lose this. Let’s get some momentum going and make sure the world of The Witcher continues to grow in richness, not fall to racist pandering.