• Pyro@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Calling black people “ebony” is like calling white people “porcelain”. It’s romanticising their skin colour. It may make sense for things like porn, but please don’t refer to any group with that sort of name in a normal context. It’s incredibly weird.

        • Pyro@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Yes, but you’ve also said that referring to people as “black” is dehumanising, and then you were asked what word you’d use instead.
          At this moment it isn’t unreasonable to think the context has changed from porn community titles to your personal thoughts on how to refer to a specific ethnic group in any situation.
          That’s how I (and I assume many others) read the situation.

          • Pyff Daddy@lemmynsfw.com
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            1 year ago

            Yes, but you’ve also said that referring to people as “black” is dehumanising

            No. Myself, and the commenter who was being responded to, said that referring to Black people as “blacks” is dehumanizing, which it is, and the context being asked for was an alternative term for an NSFW community. Hopefully that clarifies the issue.

      • DokPsy@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I believe you’ll find that it’s Ebony and Ivory. … Side by side in perfect harmony

    • Stinkywinks@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Pretty sure they prefer black like native Americans prefer Indians. Can we call people white? I’ve never heard anyone wants to be called ebony. I only know the term ebony from porn

      • Pyff Daddy@lemmynsfw.com
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        1 year ago

        “Pretty sure they”…

        Nope, I’ll stop you right there. And the context is porn. Note, again, the term being discussed is not Black, which is perfectly kosher, but referring to Black people as “blacks”, which is considered dehumanizing.

        As for alternatives, the existing PoC-run reddit communities are called Ebony, GoneWildColor, GWBlackGirls, etc. Hopefully that gives you some insight.

        • pascal@lemm.ee
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          1 year ago

          When I lived in Kenya, basically every one called me musungu which is used for westerns but means literally “white face”, I don’t think I felt dehumanised, but that was years ago before Chinese people invaded Kenya.

        • Stinkywinks@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Yeah because the majority of blacks use reddit and ebony porn sites. So do you call them ebonies?

          • Pyff Daddy@lemmynsfw.com
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            1 year ago

            Not exactly sure what you’re asking, but no, collective nouns aren’t generally pluralized in English, nor is the term appropriate outside of a porn context. Are you a native English speaker?

              • Pyff Daddy@lemmynsfw.com
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                1 year ago

                It’s far more acceptable than “blacks”. It also avoids the issue of associating general search terms for groups of people with sexualized contexts as has unfortunately been done to Asian women and others.

                  • Pyff Daddy@lemmynsfw.com
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                    1 year ago

                    Brazilian isn’t a race, and Black isn’t a nationality. Incredibly, it’s even possible to be both. I hope your confusion has been cleared up.

            • Stinkywinks@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Blacks and whites. Indians and Asians. Look, it’s plural. Add an S, guess it’s dehumanizing? I think the term daddy is dehumanizing. Please, only use dad. Do not add another dy.

              • Pyff Daddy@lemmynsfw.com
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                1 year ago

                Yes, generally referring to groups of people as pluralized adjectives is considered dehumanizing.

                Note that Blacks and the Blacks are both considered offensive and should not be used. Black people is the preferred plural form of Black.

                https://www.archives.gov/research/catalog/lcdrg/appendix/black-person

                [A]im to use Black as an adjective, not a noun. Also, when describing a group, use Black people instead of just “Blacks.”

                https://nabjonline.org/news-media-center/styleguide/#styleguidea

                This is for the exact same reason you would not refer to a singular Black person as “a black”. If you still have trouble perceiving the issue, consider how jarring the term “a gay” would seem in print.

                • Stinkywinks@lemmy.world
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                  1 year ago

                  I didn’t say “a black”, context matters no? Everyone thought saying Indian was offensive and came up with native American, until realizing that is more offensive? Just because it’s plural doesn’t make it dehumanizing. Black people says blacks, I don’t hear them say a group of black people.

                  • Pyff Daddy@lemmynsfw.com
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                    1 year ago

                    Are you under the impression that race and nationality are equivalent? If you’re asking whether the term is considered dehumanizing, that’s been answered for you, and if you’re asking why, that’s been answered as well. In English, racial and ethnic terms are generally used as adjectives, and we don’t use adjectives as nouns when referring to groups of people.