RPGaDay2020 Prompt 02 – Change
Prompt: Change
Change is a loaded word, as it means so many things. There's change going on in the world right now because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Calls for change spurred by police brutality, especially towards Black people, and specifically Black men. Calls for change in our government, from the top down. Calls for change by women in how the world at large treats them, especially men in charge- and a call to be equally represented at that level so that their voices are heard and respected. But what does it mean for tabletop games?
Steven Barnes once said that he had to sacrifice his melanin on the altar of his testosterone. That put a phrase to something that I'd felt my whole life. It's hard being a Black man in Fantasy and Science Fiction fandom. On the one side, your peers see it as a strange pursuit, and one that White people partake in. You also see few people in the hobby that look like you, or that can be mentors if you want to get into the industry. That is changing. And not just in my story- women, other people of color, all sexual orientations and gender identifications- diversity has taken the hobby by storm. And I think this is a good thing! My inner child smiles to see that other children won't have to make the gymnastic efforts to reconcile the cognitive dissonance of a hobby that doesn't recognize them or even want them in it. I can say that I'm proud of the vast majority of the community that has embraced these changes and realized the revitalization that comes from it.