Changing skin colour

[Mairen]

No one is going to know what you look like offline vs what your animal crossing character looks like. if you want your character to have a darker skin tone color, that's what all those options in the game are there for!

 

[SheepMareep]

My apologies; you seemed kinda prejudice before.

Although, keep in mind that goes both ways. People toss around "cultural appropriation" a lot these days. The mere fact that a white girl has box braids already draws the ire of black girls because "that's not a white hairstyle." Despite that, black girls straighten their hair, which isn't possible for them naturally.

My point is, white or black, people demean you for your look.

Idk how when I was criticizing racist behavior the entire post but maybe I just dont see it myself didjdnixjs

But yes no definitley it's a weird period in which we are all learning what is and is not okay on all sides. And it definitley varies depending on where you grew up and the people around you which makes it even more difficult to be consistent.

Although your last point is true it's also more tilted to people who have darker skin tone than light skin tones. (In which people who have darker skin tones are criticized more.) I know plenty of people who arent mad at the hair styles per se but more so that its unacceptable for THEM to wear it but a white person can without discrimination ykno?

 

[Thyl]

How many of us playing elves in MMOs really have purple skin and elf ears? Exactly.

I think games exist for you to express yourself however you want. There are people in AC who want to keep their character similar to the way they look in real life, but there are also people who treat their AC characters as complete own personalities and it is totally fine. Also let's be honest, with all the possibilities we now have in New Horizons, why should we keep our characters always the same? I do miss my red hair occasionally and am happy to change to that in-game when I feel like it.

I do not see how you finding darker skin beautiful would be any harmful towards dark skinned people unless you do something racist with it.

 

[Blueskyy]

When it comes to playing AC abide by one rule: You create the rules that bring you the most joy. This more so applies for solo play. Multiplayer does have a bit more to abide by.

 

[Mello]

Although your last point is true it's also more tilted to people who have darker skin tone than light skin tones. (In which people who have darker skin tones are criticized more.) I know plenty of people who arent mad at the hair styles per se but more so that its unacceptable for THEM to wear it but a white person can without discrimination ykno?

I.. completely agree with this. It's actually infuriating how this happens so regularly, honestly.

 

[Brookie]

As a black woman, I do agree it KIND OF rubs me the wrong way. It's not really fair that you an just turn it on and off. Though it is also refreshing to see someone who appreciates and loves the essence of darker/tan skin tone. Many non-brown people would be so against being that in game or even find it kind of gross. I'm 50/50 with this.

 

[stiney]

Although, keep in mind that goes both ways. People toss around "cultural appropriation" a lot these days. The mere fact that a white girl has box braids already draws the ire of black girls because "that's not a white hairstyle." Despite that, black girls straighten their hair, which isn't possible for them naturally.

White women aren't penalized for wearing their hair natural the way black women are. Natural and curly styles are considered unprofessional by many people. There is a long history of racism and bigotry that leads to why black women might choose to straighten their hair. White women wearing box braids isn't at all the same as black women straightening their hair.

 

[marea]

Same. I don't really have anonymity because my circle of friends are fellow streamers/viewers and hence they know what I look like from my streams. So that adds to me feeling like a fraud if they ever saw me change my skin colour.

Are all your viewers your friends, or can anyone watch your streams/vids? I wouldnt do that if strangers had access to your vids. Some people might get it wrong and start arguments. I would just do it during my private play time or with friends to avoid the trouble. Or just make it very clear this is an oc and not you.

 

[Lilatrix]

So I'm Asian but not super light skinned so I usually play with a medium light skin tone in ACNH (first colour on the bottom row). However, sometimes, I really want a darker character cuz I think some outfits would be very pretty on a darker skin tone. However, I find it weird or fake for me to change my skin colour to something it isn't in real life. But I sometimes see people with characters who are darker and I keep thinking how pretty and adorable they look and I get kinda sad that I can't make my character look like that because it's not me.

Do you guys play as a character with your own skin tone and do you ever change your skin tone in the game? Do you think it's okay for someone to use a different skin tone other than their real one? It's just been a thing that I've been thinking about lately and would like to hear what other's have to say about it. I don't know if this is going to be a controversial topic, but please be respectful and kind to each other when discussing this!

TBH, I don't associate my self-insert characters as a carbon copy of me IRL, Hime (my island rep) is pale. (I'm a southeast asian in a tropical island so I'm naturally more tanned.)
I don't get the gatekeeping of skin tones, it's there, available to choose for whoever wants to. As long as you don't do caricatures or racist stuff, be free who you want to be, your OC, your other self, or just be different. You're free to be whoever you want as long as you're respectful.

In a world where we never get to choose whoever we are or whatever you look, go crazy in Animal Crossing. It's one of the only place where freedom of how you look happens. (MMOs and other customized games included)

As a Half Filipina/ Black woman I also use the medium-ish skin tone. I don't think that there's anything wrong with using a darker skin tone if you want to do so. It's just a game/fantasy which is why I like to make my characters decked out in clothes and different hair colors in games because it's harder to do that in real life because of certain restrictions in life.

Post automatically merged: May 6, 2020

As a black woman, I do agree it KIND OF rubs me the wrong way. It's not really fair that you an just turn it on and off. Though it is also refreshing to see someone who appreciates and loves the essence of darker/tan skin tone. Many non-brown people would be so against being that in game or even find it kind of gross. I'm 50/50 with this.

I definitely can see where you're coming from Brookie. Im half filipina/black and more often than not when people find out they consider me black only which is actually sad. I find it very endearing from those who are non-brown that like darker skin colors.

 

[Mello]

White women aren't penalized for wearing their hair natural the way black women are. Natural and curly styles are considered unprofessional by many people. There is a long history of racism and bigotry that leads to why black women might choose to straighten their hair. White women wearing box braids isn't at all the same as black women straightening their hair.

I'm very much aware. And while you're not wrong; that wasn't what I was talking about. You cannot deny the hypocrisy, nor can you excuse the inane claims that white people (or any other race) using "their" hairstyles is disrespectful, inexcusable, unacceptable cultural appropriation. I wasn't saying it's the same. I was essentially saying that circumstance shouldn't excuse people for misconduct.

 

[UglyMonsterFace]

As a black woman, I do agree it KIND OF rubs me the wrong way. It's not really fair that you an just turn it on and off. Though it is also refreshing to see someone who appreciates and loves the essence of darker/tan skin tone. Many non-brown people would be so against being that in game or even find it kind of gross. I'm 50/50 with this.

My brother and sister are darker than me and they experienced colorism from our own culture and I was the lighter skinned sibling and everyone praised me. And you know what? I found my brother and sister to both be the most beautiful people when I was a child and this separation that adults put on us actually made me hate my lighter skin. I was lighter than what is "normal" for my ethnicity. People usually wouldn't believe I wasn't mixed. It gave me a lot of identity issues as a teenager. A darker skin tone was so beautiful to me and for a while I tanned to the point of damaging my skin so I would be more believable as my ethnicity. So I understand the impact of colourism and prejudice and it truly sucks. I understand why it would rub people the wrong way. But I really do believe dark ebony skin tones are gorgeous, especially with bright coloured clothes! And I love even super pale ghostly complexions. And everything in between. There's so much beauty in every skin tone really and I appreciate it all ^_^ I would never find it gross to have dark skinned people in a game! Gosh, how awful to be so hateful and feel that way. I'm glad I haven't met these kinds of people here. Anyway, I appreciate and respect you for sharing your opinion

 

[Lio]

I understand why it would rub some people the wrong way. IMO, I think it would be sort of strange if you were playing your character as if it were yourself. In this case, I would definitely think it was weird if someone's ACNH character had dark skin when they had lighter skin in real life. But if you're playing as an OC or something... I think it would be less weird. Like, my character in an MMORPG I play has dark skin, but she isn't 'me'. She's her own person, so I don't think there's anything wrong with her having dark skin.

I'm Asian, so I play with a tan (?) skin tone in ACNH, but I also have pink hair. So while it's not necessarily a carbon copy of me, I would still not play with a skin colour that wasn't my own because this character is supposed to be me in the Animal Crossing universe.

That being said, this is all my own opinion. I think as long as you're being respectful, you should play as you'd like.

 

[ForgottenT]

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Well not always, but you catch my drift.

As far as I'm concerned do as you wish, or make an OC second villager, and make that one however you want, and you can keep your main character as yourself.

Personally my character is supposed to represent me, but it doesn't exactly look like me as I am now, I'm bald, but in the game I have the way long lazy male hair, it looks like my hair when I was a teenager though, but it's blue while my real hair is brown, so I guess my character kinda looks like I did when I were younger, but with blue hair lol.

 

[UglyMonsterFace]

Are all your viewers your friends, or can anyone watch your streams/vids? I wouldnt do that if strangers had access to your vids. Some people might get it wrong and start arguments. I would just do it during my private play time or with friends to avoid the trouble. Or just make it very clear this is an oc and not you.

There are always new comers to my streams although I haven't streamed AC for a while so they don't really get to see it. I play AC with my viewers who have become my friends off stream though.

 

[stiney]

I'm very much aware. And while you're not wrong; that wasn't what I was talking about. You cannot deny the hypocrisy, nor can you excuse the inane claims that white people (or any other race) using "their" hairstyles is disrespectful, inexcusable, unacceptable cultural appropriation. I wasn't saying it's the same. I was essentially saying that circumstance shouldn't excuse people for misconduct.

OK, I am trying to understand right now. Is what you are saying that you think it's hypocritical for minorities to adapt to the majority's aesthetic, while saying that the majority shouldn't use the minority's aesthetic? IE, black women who straighten their hair shouldn't say white women shouldn't wear braids?

If I understood that right, I don't agree that it's hypocritical, because of the history of oppression associated with those power dynamics (I'm speaking to the US right now as it's the context I'm familiar with). I don't see a member of a minority culture complaining of the majority culture appropriating the minority culture as misconduct. I think the context does change things entirely.

 

[Mello]

If I understood that right, I don't agree that it's hypocritical, because of the history of oppression associated with those power dynamics (I'm speaking to the US right now as it's the context I'm familiar with). I don't see a member of a minority culture complaining of the majority culture appropriating the minority culture as misconduct. I think the context does change things entirely.

I feel I should inform you that the meaning of "hypocritical" doesn't change conveniently just because of a history of oppression. A history of oppression doesn't give people free license to say and act however they wish without any backlash or criticism. Look at how blacks destroyed H&M a year ago because of the black child in a monkey shirt. H&M should've been mindful of the implications of that decision, but did blacks have to react the way they did? No, yet many people claimed they were justified in their response. This is a drop in the bucket of unnacceptable behavior that people think is justifiable because of a history of oppression.

Anyway, this is veering too far off the OP's topic so I'm going to leave it at that. Have a nice day.

 

[ScaryGhosts]

I didnt read the replies, but its really funny that you posted this because I was thinking the same thing, except i have incredibly pale skin and play as the lightest character, but i also think that the dark skin tones are very pretty and have contemplated changing my skin tone, but it feels a bit morally awkward to me.

 

[Lilatrix]

OK, I am trying to understand right now. Is what you are saying that you think it's hypocritical for minorities to adapt to the majority's aesthetic, while saying that the majority shouldn't use the minority's aesthetic? IE, black women who straighten their hair shouldn't say white women shouldn't wear braids?

If I understood that right, I don't agree that it's hypocritical, because of the history of oppression associated with those power dynamics (I'm speaking to the US right now as it's the context I'm familiar with). I don't see a member of a minority culture complaining of the majority culture appropriating the minority culture as misconduct. I think the context does change things entirely.

I've literally met Sooo many racist/prejudice black people that absolutely despise white people. Especially on Twitter/Facebook/Instagram its really toxic honestly. My own black father is racist himself he told me specifically that if I ever get married one day to a white guy that he would disown me and not go to my wedding. But people think that they cant be racist/prejudiced because of a history of oppression.

 

[Uffe]

I can tell you that any game where customization of hair, eyes, skin is possible, I have not once tried to make a character look exactly like me. I don't have blond hair or green eyes, but that's what I've given my villager in New Leaf, and New Horizons. I think that's a part of the reason the creators of Animal Crossing went this route, rather than having Rover ask you a bunch of questions. I remember people here would talk about how they wish they could come out as a different color than white in Animal Crossing. Now that option is given, and I think it's because they were listening. The way I see it, do whatever you want. Like someone said, you're not going to meet the people you visit in real life, and I don't think it's right for anybody to tell you how to play the game so long as you're not going out of your way to offend people.

 

[Maiana]

But I sometimes see people with characters who are darker and I keep thinking how pretty and adorable they look and I get kinda sad that I can't make my character look like that because it's not me.

As someone who is black, you make your character how you want.
Personally it does not rub me the wrong way as long as there is no racist intent behind it.

and besides, i've been playing with a lighter skin tone in previous Animal Crossing titles for YEARS, and that's not how I look at all. I say you do you as long as you're being respectful about it <3