Hello again internet friends!
I know it's been a while, but I've been incredibly busy with my life going around and around, but today I had some social commentary I just had to make on the subject of table top gaming and the slow creep of politics into the space.
I have noticed that in many table top gaming circles that there is a push to eliminate race from games. There are classic sub-races of what is generally called humanoids in games like Dungeons and Dragons, if you're not too familiar: Elves, Dwarves, Orcs, etc.
Now, I know where this comes from. And I agree somewhat that race is a social construct, and I agree that humans all belong to one species, and even one sub-species: Homo Sapiens Sapiens. This is observable in biology. Unless we aren't animals anymore!
However, there is a biological term for slight yet observable differences in species and sub-species, and that is phenotype; and phenotype was developed way back even before we had genetic testing as a biological tool. Speaking of genetic testing, we can tell eye color, hair color, and skin color from genetic testing of remains. And generally speaking, for good or ill, these are the things that we have used to define race among humans.
Also we must consider that yes, absolutely, the pseudoscience of Eugenics has been used to racially segregate groups of the population into superior and inferior races as well as biological stock, and I'm forever against such notions. However, the scientific mind in me can't throw the baby out with the bath water here, and while I look over all the information available to me, I can't help but take a more moderate approach. It's just how I function.
Now, I'm no biologist, but it seems to me that the term "ancestry", while it may be politically correct and shoot we are talking about a fictional game here, isn't quite the most accurate term to use if we are trying for accuracy and not political correctness. Since the "races" in games like Dungeons and Dragons have certain unique characteristics, and humans are able to breed with and have viable offspring with other humanoids, but mixing between other humanoids is someway forbidden (and I suspect that this is more to do with a game mechanic than anything else), I believe that to be more accurate, the term "phenotype" should be used.
Someone explained to me that the ability to do blood transfusions generally defines a species, but the blood types in humans (with me being of a quite rare blood type myself) kind of nullifies this notion, doesn't it? Blood transfusions between humans aren't universally compatible, this is known. Plus, for a game like Dungeons and Dragons where blood transfusions aren't necessarily a thing, we need to look at the classical examples of what defines a species: the ability to mate with and produce viable offspring (that is, offspring that can reproduce themselves). Here, it is at least partially demonstrable that yes, viable offspring can be had between humans and other humanoids in D&D - we have half-elves, half-orcs, and even quarter-whatever, but they always must be mixed with humans. Again, I think this is more a game mechanic than something that must be taken as scientific fact.
And finally, I really really REALLY wish politics could be left out of games. If we're doing things for the sake of scientific accuracy, sure, let's do that and progress our collective knowledge. But changes merely for socio-political reasons... I can't say that I'm in to that and it really ruins the fun of something that's supposed to be an escape or even a pressure release valve from all the politics.
#dnd #race #politicalcorrectness #dungeonsanddragons #5e #pathfinder #ttrpgs
