[CW: Fetishization on the Basis of Identity (Race, Transness, Etc.)]

I'm mainly talking about this in the context of race, but it applies to other categories such as trans people as well. My main issue with this is that this type of openness to accepting fetishization on the basis of identity enables toxic tendencies.

What I mean is that, for example, I'll sometimes see black men play into disturbing tropes like the "BBC" shit and this idea that they can tie their race into the notion of being some kind of sex god. And it's worse when you get white women who unironically identify as "snow bunnies" as a way to entertain this trope (which is just racist), and these black men who don't realize the problem with this will eat it up.

This isn't pleasant; it's just dehumanizing. This isn't just a problem for straight people either. Gay men, for instance, can have this toxic shit going on too. I understand that, especially when you're a part of a marginalized group, it can seem tempting to celebrate what seems to translate to you being a desirable person, even if it's on the basis of a creepy fetish, but that will ultimately do more harm than good.

I just hope these people come to realize that they're not taken as being a desirable "person" in these circumstances, but rather, a desirable object. These fetishists do not care about their humanity, and it is, first and foremost, their fault that this is a problem to begin with.

      • FunkyStuff [he/him]
        ·
        6 months ago

        Mostly the 196 comm. I honestly am not sure that the comm itself is gonna have many examples of chaser behavior, but if you go to /r/196 on reddit you'll always see a bunch of chaser posts on the front page, and the comm was meant to be a lifeboat for the subreddit. The weird thing about them IMO is that there used to be some pushback against chasers, but eventually there was a bad faith tactic of painting chasers as puritans who just didn't want to see any horny posts, so now anyone who points out the chaser behavior in that community is accused of being a transphobic puritan or something to that effect.