Apparently, Using Food to Describe Skin Tone is Racist?

[miss.monocle]

It hadn't crossed my mind until after a couple years of me using those sorts of lines in writing, so I don't really blame writers who don't know why it can be offensive. It's just one of those cases where a lot of people don't know and I'm sure don't mean the offense behind it. Though however pure the intention, it is still up to the affected communities to interpret it. Some people might not care, others may not like it. The best we can do is just listen to such communities and realize when we've made a writing goof like that.

It also just sounds way better when using other descriptors, but I'm also a firm believer in addressing only very particular features rather than just always restating the colors of characters.

[IndigoShirtProd]

For me personally, I usually only bring up race/skin color when a character is first being introduced or if it's relevant to a scene. I'd rather rely on other physical features to convey story, like the eye. Eyes are great for conveying emotion. And plus there are only a few cases where a character's skin is important to a story.

[joannekwan]

Here's an excerpt from the first article post I linked above:

But POC call each other…

Folks can’t do what POC do amongst each other, particularly what’s done within their race. I can call myself a delicious brown sugar honeycomb (okay I wouldn’t) and that’s my prerogative as a Black woman.

The whole “he wants that chocolate” line has even been jokingly passed between my Black friends and I as well. But obviously conversational jokes are not the same as a writer describing their character as such. And again, within circles…

It's kind of like the N word. People who aren't Black shouldn't use it despite its prevalent usage within the Black community.

Like, as an Asian person I sometimes joke with my white spouse and ask him if he ever had "yellow fever" (he hasn't, btw). It's that intimacy and knowledge between him and I that lets me feel comfortable enough to joke around with the term.
But if a stranger randomly told me they have 'yellow fever', I would immediately get creeped out and run because to me it would seem that they have a fetishistic view of Asians and are ignorant enough to use the term so casually.

[miss.monocle]

I usually like to add in the skin tones just so the reader is aware. I want readers to know that they are represented, as there are issues in fandom where people will debate more the skin colors of ambiguous characters, which can really lead to some racist encounters. But, since I am white myself, I usually like to have that representation, but I don't make it the whole character. I also don't try to make the story about race or bring elements of other races in unless I do a lot of research or consult others who are a part of such race. That way any rep is accurate and such characters aren't just tokens. Such rep can be pretty important, just like I enjoy when a character's sexuality is very clear but not all encompassing of their character.

[IndigoShirtProd]

This this right here.

[Inspector_Spinda]

It's kind of like the N word. People who aren't Black shouldn't use it despite its prevalent usage within the Black community.

Like, as an Asian person I sometimes joke with my white spouse and ask him if he ever had "yellow fever" (he hasn't, btw). It's that intimacy and knowledge between him and I that lets me feel comfortable enough to joke around with the term.But if a stranger randomly told me they have 'yellow fever', I would immediately get creeped out and run because to me it would seem that they have a fetishistic view of Asians and are ignorant enough to use the term so casually.

it's like calling people a bitch. you can ball your best friend a bitch, but not a stranger.

[thedude3445]

Using food to describe people's skin tone at all is weird and cliched. I would avoid it in most circumstances regardless of how it makes people feel in a racial context. Describing people as food comes off as.... Odd.... You aren't supposed to eat people...

Anyway there are a gazillion ways to describe skin tone that don't involve food, so avoiding that will help improve your writing abilities.

[Kiweevil]

Y'all are welcome to call me a marshmallow any day of the week

[Random_Guy]

Okay, marshmallow.

[elyss]

It can be gross to use food to describe skin. Growing up, people compare your skin to food and how much they want to eat it, which is beyond repulsive. It comes off as fetisization. "Can you be my cocao queen?" or "My mocha goddess" Both are gross and it's your job as a creator to recognize when it makes sense to describe someone's complexion as a food. Honestly I've never seen anyone do it right. Doing it more often then not makes me roll my eyes or pull out entirely depending on the degree of it.

Not racist, but is often gross to encounter. I won't say it's easy to find alternatives but also why not just say the skin is dark and the skin is light? I gain nothing as a reader when an author tries to deep dive into the eccentricities of someone's skin color.

[Kiweevil]

That video makes me all kinds of uncomfortable. I thought this was some sort of distant nightmare of mine, turns out it was just a repressed memory. Shame on you.

[DasIstWunderblyat]

To a cannibal people are food anyway. Having one describing people's skin tone as food won't be far fetched.

[Kiweevil]

I love the insinuation here that people who write out foods in comparison to skin tones are just closeted cannibals, fantasizing about different flavors of human.

[Aims]

Well, this took an unexpected turn...

[IndigoShirtProd]

Really? This is exactly where I thought this conversation was going.

[indagold]

I think my joke went over your head because I was essentially implying this sounds like something from a shitty porno. I don't know how you construed this as me saying this was fine lmfao.

[NickRowler]

This thread reminds me of this and the idea someone calls people wheat and toast.

[JWZagst]

I've always used food for certain skin tones, and usually no one finds it offensive. The key I think is in how you word it. For instance, in my most recent novel, I described a person of color as: His chocolate skin flowed taut over his muscular physique, which displayed his prominent shoulders and chiseled jaw. His eyes were hazel but took on a golden tone in direct sunlight, and his black hair was pulled back into short cornrows.

[joannekwan]

Eh, it's hard to tell tone via just text. If I wasn't explaining to you, then I was explaining to anyone else reading who might have missed the joke and thought it was a valid counterpoint.

[DeleteThisAccountFag]

That was quite an enlightenment article. I feel kind of bad though, even though I never actually used food to describe skin color, I did actually named every major female lead after a sauce or spread. I thought it would be a fun easter egg for people who discovered it, but... I'm not sure now.

But still, one thing I hate about this and other articles of the same ilk is white shaming, particularly this line:

When writing about a character of colour (ESPECIALLY if you’re a white author)

Is this really necessary? To point out white people like that? Isn't that racist in itself? Because I surely see it as being racist, yet people get away with it as if this is acceptable (maybe it is? I sure hope not). Imagine you spin it around and say "ESPECIALLY if you are Hispanic". I used that example as I am Hispanic and yes, that would anger me if I read that, but I find it equally appalling to be used on anyone of any skin color or any other trait. It's just sounds hypocritical to have them proclaim how racists something is and shame white people on the only basis being... well... their skin color.

So despite finding the article well meaning, it comes off as bossy and forceful. Hence why I can't support articles like these.