Fans Are Disappointed That Overwatch Still Doesn't Have A Black Woman Hero

Scrooge McDuck · Nov 10, 2018

AztecComplex said:
Dr.Phibes said:

Indians can't be black either, apparently.

Click to expand...

Click to shrink...

Mexican can't be black either or something to that effect.

Kindly stop being this defiant about something you demonstrably has little knowledge about. Do you think this is merely a matter of shade of skin? That when my skin is darker than this melanin concentration, then I qualify as a black person? Do you also see Hanzo and think he's white? Ask most people from India if they identify as "black".

Cort · Nov 10, 2018

This is easily solved if down the road they add in a hero that is essentially Doomfist's adversary.

Chindogg · Nov 10, 2018

infinite said:
Yeah, no shit. People are gonna have things they want and Blizzard isn't above criticism. What you're doing here is you're pretending that the people asking for a Black Woman character in the game are A) making unreasonable requests and B) are hysterical and disproportionately outraged. Going by that Kotaku article this thread is created from there's nothing that indicates to me that this isn't anything more than mere disappointment. No one is calling Blizzard racist company for not having black women in the game. No one is demanding that Blizzard's offices be picketed and protested until their demands are met. You just have a few people on social media who are disappointment with what could have been and what hasn't happened yet. there's no reason for such a response

I made no such statements, but I can see that continuing this conversation is only going to lead to bad takes and assumptions so I'm just going to disengage.

Biestmann · Nov 10, 2018

rras1994 said:
We do have some stuff in the OP but most people in this topic have basically decided to say they are wrong and don't know what a black character is - which is unfortunate as I feel that last link was put in the OP for people not to do that.

To be fair, the write-up itself seem unsure about Pharah's and Ana's race-belonging. Why is that? Because the concept of race is not based on science, and thus open for interpretation. The whole concept lends itself to miscategorization. The only way to solve the issue is to add a greater variety of black characters to ensure close to everyone can feel represented to at least a degree.

Derpot · Nov 10, 2018

rras1994 said:
We do have some stuff in the OP but most people in this topic have basically decided to say they are wrong and don't know what a black character is - which is unfortunate as I feel that last link was put in the OP for people not to do that.

Yeah, and I also think that if people must go through mental gymnastics to prove that a character is a black woman, well... to me, it means that there is an issue with this representation.

FUNKNOWN iXi · Nov 10, 2018

Cort said:
This is easily solved if down the road they add in a hero that is essentially Doomfist's adversary.

His sister who sports a massive rocket foot to kick ass with. Could call her Doomfoot.

hurroocane · Nov 10, 2018

Chindogg said:
There's a reason for that.

Ryna said:
Unfortunately, I'm aware.

Are you talking about the usual internet backlash or did I miss something else?

mikeys_legendary · Nov 10, 2018

And once again, black women get left behind by society. People in this thread saying its not worth being upset about because the game is already diverse. SMFH.

I wonder if they're avoiding making a black woman playable because she might sell less costumes. Doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility for Activision tbh.

Biestmann · Nov 10, 2018

hurroocane said:
Are you talking about the usual internet backlash or did I miss something else?

Probably is. Remember the meltdown when Tracer was revealed to be homosexual in a comic? Their forums turned into a bigotry chamber.

Deleted member 6230 · Nov 10, 2018

Chindogg said:
I made no such statements, but I can see that continuing this conversation is only going to lead to bad takes and assumptions so I'm just going to disengage.

Your statements came across that way to me and other posters in this thread. You can clarify your argument like most people would instead of saying the people that are engaging with you are making fallacious arguments

Tabs2002 · Nov 10, 2018

Ste said:
When I see these posts I start to think that maybe the only way to please everyone is to include a character creation thing in every game. There are so many races on this planet that aren't in most games like Eskimo and aborigines etc that it would be very difficult to satisfy everyone.

Black women aren't some niche group, there are hundreds of millions of them in the world. According to Google, the total Inuit population is 151, 000. Please stop making these disingenuous comparisons.

rras1994 · Nov 10, 2018

Biestmann said:
To be fair, the write-up itself seem unsure about Pharah's and Ana's race-belonging. Why is that? Because the concept of race is not based on science, and thus open for interpretation. The whole concept lends itself to miscategorization. The only way to solve the issue is to add a greater variety of black characters to ensure close to everyone can feel represented to at least a degree.

Yeah, it's a social construct which is why you should listen to how others categorise themselves. Like there isn't a biological race concept between white and black people either. Lumping all PoC people together as one group I think is a problem as 1) these groups can very much discriminate between each other so lumping them together can mean these issues do not get addressed and 2) they have varied cultures and issues that means it would feel like representation either. And let's be honest, it's mainly a bunch of white people on this thread that are claiming these characters are black, I'm white and I don't really feel comfortable claiming Egyptian people are black just cus they are darker then me, when I don't think I've ever come across an Egyptian person claim themselves as black, mostly middle-eastern or arabic. Telling other people what they are feels wrong to me, specially when race as a whole is a societal construct, which means we actually have to listen to what those different groups call themselves.

hurroocane · Nov 10, 2018

Biestmann said:
Probably is. Remember the meltdown when Tracer was revealed to be homosexual in a comic? Their forums turned into a bigotry chamber.

I actually don't remember the internet meltdown - in my bubble of the internet everyone was thrilled about it.

Ahh ignorance is bliss. :/

Chindogg · Nov 10, 2018

Biestmann said:
Probably is. Remember the meltdown when Tracer was revealed to be homosexual in a comic? Their forums turned into a bigotry chamber.

That and shippers. When Gency was becoming canon Chu had to back off of it on Twitter due to rabid Pharmercy fans blowing up his mentions. Now any time there's a possible pairing becoming canon, Chu has to go out of his way to walk it back. The most recent was him saying Ashe and McCree were "strictly Platonic" on Twitter after the video showed McCree with the picture of him and Ashe.

Aly · Nov 10, 2018

mikeys_legendary said:
And once again, black women get left behind by society. People in this thread saying its not worth being upset about because the game is already diverse. SMFH.

I wonder if they're avoiding making a black woman playable because she might sell less costumes. Doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility for Activision tbh.

Tbh I thought the same thing. That black women are seen as less desirable or attractive and that influences decision making. Wouldn't be the first or only time I've seen or heard that. Someone that looks like Ashe on the other hand is an easy sell:Geez this thread is depressing to me :(

Budi · Nov 10, 2018

hurroocane said:
I actually don't remember the internet meltdown - in my bubble of the internet everyone was thrilled about it.

Ahh ignorance is bliss. :/

You've chosen your company well. But yeah, there's always a group(s) somewhere that do get pissed because of inclusion and representation. Official Blizzard forums aren't immune to that either, since it attracts all kind of people playing the game.

Biestmann · Nov 10, 2018

rras1994 said:
Yeah, it's a social construct which is why you should listen to how others categorise themselves. Like there isn't a biological race concept between white and black people either. Lumping all PoC people together as one group I think is a problem as 1) these groups can very much discriminate between each other so lumping them together can mean these issues do not get addressed and 2) they have varied cultures and issues that means it would feel like representation either. And let's be honest, it's mainly a bunch of white people on this thread that are claiming these characters are black, I'm white and I don't really feel comfortable claiming Egyptian people are black just cus they are darker then me, when I don't think I've ever come across an Egyptian person claim themselves as black, mostly middle-eastern or arabic. Telling other people what they are feels wrong to me, specially when race as a whole is a societal construct, which means we actually have to listen to what those different groups call themselves.

You know, I can't say I would agree with you in this particular case, but I can't say you are wrong either. Personally, I believe the cultural development of the region lent to them categorizing as ME or arabic, but geographically, they are incredibly close to their 'black' neighbours. Ultimately, we both want a greater variety of characters for everyone to feel represented, which I think is what is really important in the context of this discussion.

Vela · Nov 10, 2018

Derpot said:
You know what, maybe we need more black women who would give their opinions on the matter.

Yeah such as all the ones listed in the OP and on social media

GhostTrick · Nov 10, 2018

AztecComplex said:
Exactly. And Farah and Ana not considered black women is news to me. They've been in my mind since day one. And they're actual African women. The hell....

I got news for you: There are Arabs in Africa. Especially in North Africa, which Egypt is part of.
That part of Africa is predominently populated by "Arabs".
So if you see someone with a brown/tanned skin, with an arabic name, odds are really high that this person is an arab.

So yes, it seems there's no black woman representation in Overwatch. Hence why people are asking for it.

MCD · Nov 10, 2018

Game still got a long road ahead. Black females and more diversity will come no doubt.

Derpot · Nov 10, 2018

Vela said:
Yeah such as all the ones listed in the OP and on social media

Yeah, sorry, I meant in the thread itself!

Rust · Nov 10, 2018

I'm more than happy to swap out that terrible, faux-stereotypical and quite insulting character of Junkrat for a black woman. I'd even suggest they create an Aboriginal woman, but considering how horrible Blizzard is to "Australian Culture" (reducing it to Mad Max and Crocodile Dundee pastiches), I don't think I'd trust them.

Dog · Nov 10, 2018

Bound to happen, give it time.

DigitalOp · Nov 10, 2018

y'all some fucking assholes here

GhostTrick · Nov 10, 2018

DigitalOp said:
y'all some fucking assholes here

Wtf

DigitalOp · Nov 10, 2018

GhostTrick said:
Wtf

You can't read the thread full of assholes?

GhostTrick · Nov 10, 2018

DigitalOp said:
You can't read the thread full of assholes?

Yes. It's just the "y'all" part which makes me thought you were talking about everyone :""")

Lukemia SL · Nov 10, 2018

GhostTrick said:
Yes. It's just the "y'all" part which makes me thought you were talking about everyone :""")

They definitely aren't talking about everyone and if you see red tags above his posts then you definitely know who he is talking about.

*not sure what colour the tags are in Dark mode*

Vela · Nov 10, 2018

Derpot said:
Yeah, sorry, I meant in the thread itself!

Sorry i was suggesting or adding to your post, not negating what you were saying

Pablo Mesa · Nov 10, 2018

they release 1 character every 2-3 months, just give it time. sooner or later every possible character fans wants will gets its representative

that being said, help me out here, honest to God question, does not Phara count as a Black (Dark Skinned) Woman ? or when people refer to a black women it also needs an specific nationality?

Omegamon · Nov 10, 2018

Pablo Mesa said:
they release 1 character every 2-3 months, just give it time. sooner or later every possible character fans wants will gets its representative

that being said, help me out here, honest to God question, does not Phara count as a Black (Dark Skinned) Woman ? or when people refer to a black women it also needs an specific nationality?

Saying they are egyptian isn't enough, apparently

data west · Nov 10, 2018

Still no indigenous character either. They also had an indian man character they could have added instead of white cowgirl

Silky · Nov 10, 2018

Chindogg still pushing that tired ass "fans are ruining the OW lore" argument as if this were a GameFAQs thread lmfao

Anyway the last thread where we had this discussion was shit with people saying something along the lines of "OVERWATCH HAS THE BEST REPRESENTATION OF ANY GAME OF ALL TIME" so I know for a fact Era's enthusiast gaming population doesn't have the foresight for this conversation.

I'll just ape what I said the last thread:

Sometimes I wonder why even bother going into threads like these where I am well aware of the responses that are going to be given by hardcore enthusiast mouthbreathers

My comment was intended to be mostly about the tweet about Blizzard and their strange fear/ineptitude of handling PoCs within a variety of their titles -- not just Overwatch. This is the same company that makes out some bullshit lore excuse in Warcraft about how humans are only like, white dudes in Azeroth yet certainly aren't afraid to take shitty tropes from PoCs as a way to portray their characters (Trolls, Pandarens). The same company that couldn't be bothered to quell their garbage Diablo playerbase about why Tyrael is (for some reason) the first and only black character in the history of Blizzard -- let alone that character being the primary angel that your PCs interact with through the majority of the game. I've already laid my bed about how Warcraft handles itself regarding representation and have conceded that it will probably never do anything about it (enjoy your shitty cute-ified female worgens btw), but now with Overwatch being this brand new IP and allowing Blizzard to actually do something about representation , it sucks that they are yet again falling into the same bullshit trappings that they're stepping into with Warcraft.

Doomfist is cool! Sombra is cool! The Amaris are cool! Orisa is cool! It's a shame that they're using Orisa's design motifs and the culture intergrated into it pretty poorly compared to Doomfist but it is what it is. It's a decent effort. It's nowhere near "the most diverse cast in all of gaming" lmfao fuck off.

It's disappointing that Blizzard's concepts that feature darker skinned characters are scrapped in favor of more of the same "Korean MOBA-style female character" that they've been peddling for the majority of their female body types (tracer/mercy/dva/widow), but that's the way the game works. "That's how development works" doesn't make it any less disappointing.

Let people be disappointed. You are literally losing nothing out of your daytime if youjust, let people remain disappointed instead of trying to silence them with some "actually this is okay!!!!!!!!" bullshit.

Almeister · Nov 10, 2018

Cap G said:
This is like saying Genji is not Japanese because he is mostly a robot.

Orisa is portrayed by a black woman. She speaks with an African accent, hails from an African culture, and has African sayings in her voice clips. Orisa is very clearly a black female omnic character.

All I'm saying is Blizzard can do a whole lot better representing black women than with a robot horse that is neither black nor a woman. I like the concept of Orisa - a cool robot built in Africa, where like with Wakanda it challenges cultural stereotypes of not associating Africa with advanced tech, but as a representation for actual people? Nah.

Red Arremer · Nov 10, 2018

I mean, it's not wrong. But if at least we could get official confirmation that she's an albino (which she looks to be), she'd be a bit more awesome than just being a pretty white lady. Because then at least she'd be another rare minority, and it would offset her being white a little. Not enough to excuse a black woman still not being a thing, but it'd be a little better.

Smash Kirby · Nov 10, 2018

Cokesouls said:
more females

Spinky · Nov 10, 2018

This does suck, but I'm sure they'll rectify it... eventually. Overwatch's cast is already bursting with personality and extremely diverse. Wish more games were like it in that regard. Tekken is the only other really good example I can think of. Although they only just got a black female character seven mainline entries in, so uh... yeah...

Would've much rather had a black woman than Wrecking Ball's lame ass.

Danteyke223 · Nov 10, 2018

Eeehhhh I dont know what to think of this. Im a little weary the way Blizzard handles diversity in Overwatch. Sure there is in it, but they seem to be going off stereotypes of nationalities and geographical locations / culture. Sure i want to see a black female hero in Overwatch... But i also wish it would not be the most stereotypical thing. Like im Hungarian and all they would do is put the character in a vaguely robot suit that looks like a Hussar and speaks with an eastern european accent i would be kinda meh about it. Sure it would represent Hungary but in the most generic way.

dreamlongdead · Nov 10, 2018

Even though Overwarch has done a solid job of diversity, the female Heroes do skew toward European/Caucasian. The different cultures in Europe do lead to diversity, but Asia is repesented by just China, India, and Korea when it comes to females.

I don't think it would be too much to ask for a African-American woman or one from sub-Saharan Africa itself. Especially when even a few games from Japan have included them.

Sombra does count as a black representation, despite her language and customs not being African. So, that's a good step at least.

Pablo Mesa · Nov 10, 2018

dreamlongdead said:
Even though Overwarch has done a solid job of diversity, the female Heroes do skew toward European/Caucasian. The different cultures in Europe do lead to diversity, but Asia is repesented by just China, India, and Korea when it comes to females.

I don't think it would be too much to ask for a African-American woman or one from sub-Saharan Africa itself. Especially when even a few games from Japan have included them.

Somber does technically count as a black representation, despite being culturally Mexican. So, that's a good step at least.

ill ask it again, when people ask for a black female representation, do this also requires an specific nationality? cause going by skin color alone we could count Sombra, Phara, Ana and Symmetra

Xiaomi · Nov 10, 2018

They have like the next 6 heroes in the works. With the conscious tendency they have towards diversity, there is a good chance one of those characters is a black woman. Give them some time.

That said, I think it is an important issue and I want them to rectify it asap.

dreamlongdead · Nov 10, 2018

Pablo Mesa said:
ill ask it again, when people ask for a black female representation, do this also requires an specific nationality? cause going by skin color alone we could count Sombra, Phara, Ana and Symmetra

Symmetry is Indian, though.

Egyptians are dark-skinned, but that doesn't necessarily mean all of them are black.

I'm happy to see these characters in the game. They greatly add to diversity, but that list doesn't count as black.

Rogue_Espada · Nov 10, 2018

reasons for some users getting banned is really stupid. good job mod team.

Nintendo · Nov 10, 2018

I'm surprised that R6 Siege did it first.

EkStatiC · Nov 10, 2018

It will happen.

Meanwhile is always funny to see fans ask for more from the game with the best diversity in it's cast.

Ps. i still don't believe how dog owners haven't started a march against blizzard hq when the first animal in the game announced to be a hamster and not a dog.

Spinky · Nov 10, 2018

Rogue_Espada said:
reasons for some users getting banned is really stupid. good job mod team.

Inb4 ban.

Richietto · Nov 10, 2018

I can see why someone would be dissapointing in no black woman but the game is diverse and a black woman WILL come soon enough. Also I still don't see how anyone can be upset over Ashe being white. Like yeah her concept art had her with dark skin but I'm sure she had many concepts with both colored and white skin, and frankly the concept we did see looked like FemMcree. Current Ashe is a much better design.

I saw someone on twitter say it was disgusting they made Ashe white... like Lordy.

psychowave · Nov 10, 2018

"just give it time!!" pretty shitty that black women have to sit down and wait for something that almost everyone else already has, tbqh

sinny · Nov 10, 2018

They should start with some heroes that doesn't have perfect bodies, i don't care about the skin color but It's really shitty that the only "fat" character it's a negative stereotype, he even has a pig's mask...
Mei was a step in the right direction, but just like doomfist it's like they made one and said "well, here's our qota..."

edit: a black woman who doesn't look like a model would be a great next hero

sandboxgod · Nov 10, 2018

I always felt that Overwatch has a nice diverse cast actually

Fans Are Disappointed That Overwatch Still Doesn't Have A Black Woman Hero

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