#damian wayne whitewashing | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

devine-fem · 14 days

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This is the post about Damian Wayne being whitewashed that will probably go ignored because it dives deeper than pointing at a Damian Wayne and urging DC to draw him darker. I don’t particularly care about likes but I feel like we should emphasize whitewashing in detail and not just pointing at Damian and being like “he should be darker than this!”

What is whitewashing?

Whitewashing is deeper than the color of someones skin, it boils down to the way they act, are perceived and is portayed over all. If you take away a character’s cultural roots in any way then you are whitewashing them.

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Let’s start with The Brave & The Bold. No one talks about this but this is a perfect example of whitewashing. In the Brave & The Bold writers took Damian Wayne and just emphasized the Wayne in his name. Damian’s culture did not fit their narrative so they entirely erased it.

Bruce Wayne married Selina Kyle and after had a baby, no, that baby was not Helena. It was Damian. Damian Wayne and only Wayne. He had no connection to Talia whatsoever. They erased Talia and the Al Ghuls entirely from Damian’s story.

This is an example of how his whitewashing goes deeper than skin. He’s now entirely white, drawn as white and lives as a white kid. They changed the way he acted, was perceived and portrayed.

Then because that’s not enough. His identity was a very blatant copy of Tim Drake. He takes Tim Drake’s suit, he takes Tim Drake’s backstory and he takes Tim Drake’s iconic catchphrases, its extremely jarring. This is another example of whitewashing, taking away his personality and to fit a white character.

The Tim Drake curse.

Another example of whitewashing would be the continuous attempt to make Damian Wayne more relatable by watering down his personality and making him reflect Tim Drake. Tim Drake was Robin for so long and so loved that it has a lasting effect on other characters as well. As long as Damian wears that “R” that was celebrated at its highest when the character wearing it was fair skinned then I doubt he’ll ever escape this. This is whitewashing because erasing his personality is also erasing his roots on the most basic level. In his stories, he becomes an average highschool student, pursues romances, indulges in feel good family fun, gets bullied, and wears suits and changes his hair once again to reflect Tim Drake. I don’t even have to mention how light he is.

The Three Horsemen of The Pale-skinned Apocalypse.

On the left we have a portrayel of Damian Wayne with light skin and blue eyes. Not only that but in this comic, they didn’t even get his culture right… the writer must had thought he was japanese… he’s not… he’s part Arab and Chinese but genetically dominant and visually POC.

In the middle we have a Damian Wayne called “Ian.” It’s just Ian. This is an example of whitewashing because if you didn’t know; Talia named Damian after the word “Damianos” which means ‘to tame’. To erase his cultural roots in his name then you are whitewashing him. And Jonathan Kent, a visually and socially white character regardless of the immigrant-kryptonian allegory, did not get this treatment. Those characters seem to never get this treatment as we know.

On the right, we have Damian’s newest installation, the one DC twisted their comically large spoon into their Witch’s caucasian cauldron and used their magic to zap Damian with that Tim Drake curse. Damian’s eyes are green, not grey or blue and his hair is thicker than that, not straight and thin. Nor does he act like this. This is an example of whitewashing. You are changing how he acts, is perceived and portayed.

How to avoid this?

It’s simple actually, just exercise the way he was originally portayed which sadly has never been wrote exactly right since he was first introduced but as you can see:

This Damian Al Ghul-Wayne flaunts his culture in the way he dresses and acts. This Damian Al Ghul-Wayne speaks his native languages when it’s convenient to him. This Damian Al Ghul-Wayne is connected to Talia and grew up in the league of Assassins. This Damian Al Ghul-Wayne made his own Robin suit.

He has brown skin, he has soft green eyes, and look at his monolids, his hair is also thick and his face is dinstinctly shaped as well. The easiest way is just to portay Damian as he is; An Arab-Chinese kid.

For example, this artist made a conscious decision to study the way Damian Wayne looks before drawing him. Even adding distinct features like a nose bump which we never get to really see from him.

Why does whitewashing happen?

The idea that a person of colors’ features and culture are not appealing to the audience and needs to be altered to fit the norm in order to be palatable.

In fandom.

If you portray Selina Kyle as Damian’s mother then you are whitewashing him. If you change the way he acts in fanfiction because you don’t like it then you are whitewashing him. If you draw Damian Wayne lighter than what he’s supposed to be than you are whitewashing him. If you demonize the Al Ghuls and put the batboys in place of them then you are whitewashing him. If you change the meaning of Robin for him then you are whitewashing him (this does not include reverse robin AU’s for example) and if you make him do any action that’d align him with what an American kid is supposed to be doing then you are whitewashing him. But let’s say you make a AU where the point is his personality is different or his upbringing is different, this is not whitewashing, this is having fun. To have an initial subconscious mental bias when it comes to a POC character is different, entirely different.

And about other races… Damian Wayne is one of the few Arab-chinese portrayels in Media, please do not alter this, even if its to make him any other variant of POC. Damian Wayne is Damian Wayne and if that’s not interesting enough for you then use a different character that is that race. <- do not fight me on this.

We as a collective should focus on portaying Damian Wayne. It’s deeper than skin. It’s crazy because its really not that complex…

In conclusion, be mindful of why you were invited to this Damian Wayne function…

#just was a lil tired #of no one wanting to put in effort #damian wayne #damian wayne meta #damian wayne whitewashing #batfam #dc comics #super sons #bruce wayne #talia al ghul #al ghul family

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thedrunknextdoor · 2 years

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people arguing over fanon vs. canon batfam is so funny considering the comics wouldnt know character consistency if it hit them over the head with a steel bat

#pre 52 this new 52 that IT ALL MEANS NOTHING!!!!#batfam #tim drake #jason todd #dick grayson #bruce wayne #damian wayne #duke thomas #stephanie brown #cassandra cain #EDIT: i cant believe i have to say this but this post is solely about personality and not representation #dont fucking whitewash characters

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arabian-batboy · 9 months

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The only good thing about this show is Damian being a total mama's boy.

#They can whitewash him as much as they want but this part of being an Arab boy will not disappear no matter what.#6 episodes down and they didn't make Talia the big bad #now we need to survive the next 4 eps #people who watched the first 9 eps didn't mention anything about her being evil #but no one watched the 10th and final episode yet and I'm scared...#Damian Wayne #Talia al Ghul

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punkeropercyjackson · 7 days

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'We need more white male protagonists who're genuinely deep but not treated as the narrative's most important part and not coddled by everybody in-universe and that have a truly diverse cast!!!'You guys couldn't even handle Jason Todd

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gaytoadman · 1 day

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Funny little idea: Cass, Damian, and Duke gc

Duke sends a lot of pictures of food and movies he likes

Damian basically talks crap about the other batkids and sends pictures of them falling and stuff

Cass sends aesthetic pictures and emojis

#dc #batfam #dc comics #batman #dcu #duke thomas #damian wayne #cassandra cain #I realized its just the poc #minus dick but he’s been whitewashed in everything so…#also a few others

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danothan · 3 months

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lemme complain abt a non-issue for a second, does anyone else feel like being a hater over flatline’s redesign?

she went from hot topic teenage anime girl swag

to millenial that would befriend you to sell essential oils

simone di meo when i get my hands on you.

#i do think it’s cute that she’s got a little pink drink in both versions tho #she’s soo pink-coded #(presumably) strawberry-flavor enjoyer #flatline #nika flatline #damian wayne #dc #danbles #panels #i hated damian’s redesign at first but i’m okay w it now bc he looks like the anime boy of his dreams and i can support wish fulfillment #literally if they didn’t whitewash the hell out of him it would be fine #ohhhh di meo when i get my hands on you.

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idknwhatputhere · 10 months

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"say hi mommy, hi mommy"

"WHO TF IS THAT WHITE BABY?"

"He is your baby Alright? He is Just light-skinned"

#dc comics #dc #robin damian #damian wayne #talia al ghul #IAM CALKING YOU UP DC #harley quinn #whitewashing #harley quinn show #they could even get his yes color right

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keeppostingwatermelons · 21 hours

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My Ask's are now open! i'll edit your favorite character with a palestine flag!

#free palestine #free gaza #palestine #damian wayne #robin #also i had to un whitewash him. fuck DC let him be half arab!!!!!!

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bubblegum-and-ciggarettes · 2 years

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Missed these two

#dc #dc comics #robin #superboy #Jonathan kent #Clark kent #alfred pennyworth #superman #saved by the belle reeves #they whitewashed Georgia sm #Damian too Ofc but Georgia was black #damians such a nerd #dramatic af #they slayed #Damian wayne #jon kent #super sons #supersons

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damnianalghulnotwayne · 9 months

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ppl make a good point when they say making Damian pale isn’t whitewashing. i just get annoyed when ppl make him a Brucie junior with blue eyes and a button nose and such. he IS half white so it’s not crazy for him to be pale or take after his dad a bit, but i think it’s CRIMINAL when ppl give him blue eyes or dont a LEAST draw him with a wicked ass, cool ass BREATHTAKING nose. as long as y’all get those eyes and nose right i’ll leave u alone

#that’s the bare minimum for me #i DO love the dark skinned damian designs AND he’s still valid if he’s on the paler side #i saw someone talking ab this and i was like ‘ur so right babe’#i just HATE when ppl erase his arabic features #ik dc wanna make him mini bruce BUT i wanna make him mini talia #and if they can’t gimme that the LEAST they can do is give him brown/green eyes and at least SOME of his mothers features #also there’s a criminal lack of acknowledgment of his chinese heritage #he’s 25% chinese and arabic #so i wanna see some of that too in his AND talias designs #also the person pointed out the ‘damien’ vs. ‘damian’ spelling and i was like 🫢 bc i DID NOT know that and it was rlly educational #so n e ways stop whitewashing damian by FIRST spelling his name right #damian wayne #damian al ghul #talia al ghul #stop white washing damian #i’m obsessed with interesting noses if u couldn’t tell

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rad-batson · 1 year

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@satanscutestdaughter as someone who spent legit hours trying to find the perfect face claim for my boy…….same 😭😭

#i tried so hard #I couldn’t whitewash him I just couldn’t #there was no other option so I had to go ai headshot style #save my boy #damian wayne #batfam #dc

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woundedbabyangel · 1 year

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Did the ai art trend on Damian and Raven

#damirae #Robrae #robin teen titans #raven teen titans #rachel roth #Damian wayne #Dc universe #robin and batman #damian al ghul #damian x raven #damian x rachel #ai art generator #Anime style #I tried to make dami darker but the ai whitewashes everything its hardddd

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arabian-batboy · 7 months

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While I don't like how white-washed he is here, I gotta admit that I'm really enjoying Damian with longer hair and I would love for it to continue being a permeant part of his design by other artists.

Also people who thinks he should always have that ugly spikey hair because all the Batboys must have their own signature hair-style as the only thing that differentiate them from each other and Tim already has copyright for longer hair are sooo boring, how about you advocate for him to not be whitewashed instead?

#not targeted at anyone #but some people are really annoying #like its so obvious that you don't care about whitewashing #if Simone drew Damian the same exact way except with spikey hair I doubt as many of you would care that he's whitewashed.#damian wayne

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punkeropercyjackson · 1 month

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My least favorite genre of Batkids posts is ones that say all of Bruce's kids have dark hair like him yet somehow are about all of them except the one who's literally black yet are also about a character who's not even DC lol

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thebatbaes · 1 year

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[ Talia al Ghul in Robin (2021) #12 ] [ Damian Wayne in Robin (2021) #10 ]

#Damian Wayne #Talia al Ghul #Robin (2021)#Pretty Eyes #Remember when all we had was whitewashed Dami so we had to edit every single panel to make him look more like his mother's son?#I love when artist actually care enough to make him look more like his mother #Damian Wayne is not white

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lunityviruz · 8 months

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Bitches will literally be like: "let artists draw the way they want" "You can't tell people how to draw things!!!!" When it comes to whitewashing but lose their minds when a person draws a character with slightly darker skin.

#rants n rambles #if you reblog this and be like “just draw the character the way they are!” ill kill you #dc #marvel #damian wayne #yall whitewash the fuck outta him #genshin impact #kaeya alberich #genshin impact xinyan #xinyan

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