Fighting Stereotypes...

This is the place for discussion and voting on various aspects of werewolf life, social ideas, physical appearance, etc. Also a place to vote on how a werewolf should look.
Post Reply
Grey
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 148
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 1:12 pm
Gender: Male
Mood: Happy

Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Grey »

We’ll say in a more progressive future were-wolves are allowed to live openly in human society. But they would still have to prove they are able to interact with humans as any other group would.

What are some general Stereotypes the Were-Wolf Community would need to address?
Life's too short to be sad. So go roll around in the grass.
User avatar
Volkodlak
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 944
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:05 am
Gender: Male
Mood: Bored
Location: Slovenia

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Volkodlak »

They will need too adress stereotypes hollywood give them such as aggresivness,evilnes and savagery, but stereotypes are just part of problem there is racism, prejudice and distrust of humans against them
Image
User avatar
Terastas
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 5193
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:03 pm
Custom Title: Spare Pelican
Gender: Male
Location: Las Vegas
Contact:

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Terastas »

First, consider who contributes the most to generating and perpetuating stereotypes: White supremacists and the American Taliban. With that in mind, the most commonly repeated slander against werewolves, I have no doubt, would be that they are devil-worshipers.

The next, following the A.T.'s constant insistence on treating everything they find offensive on an equal level with everything else they find offensive (their latest shtick is to compare homosexuality to pedophilia, bestiality, slavery, bank robbery, and of course, the persecution of Christians), werewolves would also have to endure frequent accusations of being criminals, sexual deviants, or anything else the American Taliban has sticks up their asses about.

Beyond that, however, I think the hardest stereotypes to overcome would be those related to things we are still debating ourselves. Chief among them, how much wolf is actually in a werewolf.

Me personally, I prefer to think of werewolves as being fully human and only appearing canine, but the most common interpretation is to think of them as being literally half-man, half-wolf. Which, in turn, would lead to werewolves having the same expectations that we have of canines in general.

Which would, depending on the person's opinion of werewolves, range from the mild and plausible (sensitive hearing, allergy to chocolate, etc.) to the offensive and ridiculous (chasing squirrels, humping legs, etc.).
Image
Grey
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 148
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 1:12 pm
Gender: Male
Mood: Happy

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Grey »

Well said Terastas.

I for one have never liked the Amoral, or cruel cause their wolves, and wolves are cruel notion. In my opinion, if a were-wolf could maintain their human side while in full were form, or transform into a full wolf, I think allowing humans to see we are not just mindless killers would help. It would say a lot for people to see a child pet you.
Life's too short to be sad. So go roll around in the grass.
User avatar
Volkodlak
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 944
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:05 am
Gender: Male
Mood: Bored
Location: Slovenia

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Volkodlak »

first nice post terastas

Grey: as for seeing child petting you would make them more at ease when you are close too them, but they will not accept you yet for that you need time and more kind actions when changed witch would be possible if they(werewolfs) are like Terastas prefers them: fully human and only appearing canine and that is how i like them too.
Image
User avatar
Terastas
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 5193
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:03 pm
Custom Title: Spare Pelican
Gender: Male
Location: Las Vegas
Contact:

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Terastas »

It would also play into the "werewolves = half-canine" misconception. Which, granted, would certainly be preferable to the "bloodthirsty monster" image.

Only real problem there is that indulging the former stereotype won't make the latter go away either. The fact that there are studies actually showing the children of same-sex couples doing better academically than those in traditional families hasn't stopped the American Taliban from insisting that gay marriage amounts to child abuse.

The dilemma is that werewolves wouldn't have to convince everyone that they mean no harm for the stereotypes to go away; they'd have to convince the A.T. that embracing werewolves would actually be profitable to them somehow. 99% of the crap the A.T. pushes, they know damn well is completely false but continue to push anyway in the pursuit of an agenda, which means any negative misconceptions about werewolves would continue to be pushed as fact for decades no matter how thoroughly they are rebutted.
Image
User avatar
Volkodlak
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 944
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:05 am
Gender: Male
Mood: Bored
Location: Slovenia

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Volkodlak »

So we can agree that werewolfs would have to fight uphill battle with stereotypes and people that will push them out all the time.There is another problem, but this will be alittle offtopic, but besides stereotypes White supremacists, the American Taliban and others will also say they dont belong too our society and should not have same rights because they arent even humans because part of them is animal so werewolfs could end up with animal rights.
Image
Grey
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 148
Joined: Wed Oct 15, 2008 1:12 pm
Gender: Male
Mood: Happy

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Grey »

True.
Life's too short to be sad. So go roll around in the grass.
User avatar
Terastas
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 5193
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:03 pm
Custom Title: Spare Pelican
Gender: Male
Location: Las Vegas
Contact:

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Terastas »

lovec1990 wrote:So we can agree that werewolfs would have to fight uphill battle with stereotypes and people that will push them out all the time.There is another problem, but this will be alittle offtopic, but besides stereotypes White supremacists, the American Taliban and others will also say they dont belong too our society and should not have same rights because they arent even humans because part of them is animal so werewolfs could end up with animal rights.
Absolutely.

Unfortunately, we're seeing a lot of that now too. The A.T. is notorious for their definitions of things being completely black and white yet still fluid and subject to interpretation.

Case in point: Their definition of "citizenship." They've spent the last five years ranting and raving that Barack Obama doesn't have it because he MIGHT have been born in Kenya, but disregard it as a non-issue that Ted Cruz was born in Canada.

Whether or not werewolves count as human or not, that will be one of the A.T.'s most ardent talking points, regardless of how much research is done and how much the evidence speaks to the contrary.
User avatar
Volkodlak
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 944
Joined: Tue Aug 07, 2012 12:05 am
Gender: Male
Mood: Bored
Location: Slovenia

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Volkodlak »

i think werewolf could be classified as human with extraordinary medical condition if we are talking virus based werewolf but as it was said A.T. wont like it and will try too convince public that they are not humans or even that they are animals.
Image
User avatar
Uniform Two Six
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 1142
Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2006 8:56 pm
Location: Hayward, CA

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Uniform Two Six »

Terastas wrote: 99% of the crap the A.T. pushes, they know damn well is completely false but continue to push anyway in the pursuit of an agenda...
Slight disagreement:
Yes, 99% of the cr@p the Christian Coalition pushes is pure garbage. No, they don't know it. When dealing with religious whack-jobs (particularly politically active ones) never underestimate the human capacity for self-delusion. They are immune to reason. They are immune to facts. They are immune to reality in general. And the scariest part is that they believe.

And bestiality would be the one they would latch onto and milk for all it's worth, in my opinion. If they can conflate the gays and bestiality, werewolves are obviously better material.
User avatar
Terastas
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 5193
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:03 pm
Custom Title: Spare Pelican
Gender: Male
Location: Las Vegas
Contact:

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Terastas »

Uniform Two Six wrote:
Terastas wrote: 99% of the crap the A.T. pushes, they know damn well is completely false but continue to push anyway in the pursuit of an agenda...
Slight disagreement:
Yes, 99% of the cr@p the Christian Coalition pushes is pure garbage. No, they don't know it. When dealing with religious whack-jobs (particularly politically active ones) never underestimate the human capacity for self-delusion. They are immune to reason. They are immune to facts. They are immune to reality in general. And the scariest part is that they believe.
That's true of the dumb trailer trash they pander to, but the vast majority of their leaders are two-faced charlatans that have concluded it would be most profitable for them to pander to their misconceptions.

Case in point: A good number of the congressional representatives who pushed the "legitimate rape emergency override" theory were gynecologists, people who should know BETTER THAN ANYONE that there is no such thing. Then there's Eben Alexander, the neurosurgeon who knocked himself out with sedatives and said he woke up in Heaven, even though he should have known (as every single one of his colleagues told him) that he was having a drug-induced hallucination.

Take it away Bill!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olfFNq8b1_E

I'm sorry, but if these people were as dumb as they would have us believe, they couldn't have earned those degrees. They learned the truth, then concluded it was to their best interest to disavow it.
Image
User avatar
Uniform Two Six
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 1142
Joined: Wed Sep 06, 2006 8:56 pm
Location: Hayward, CA

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Uniform Two Six »

Terastas wrote: I'm sorry, but if these people were as dumb as they would have us believe, they couldn't have earned those degrees.
I once saw the following quote as graffiti on the wall above a urinal in a college bathroom:

Education is no defense against stupidity.

(In the halls of higher education, you get a somewhat more sophisticated class of petty vandal, I've found).
Faelan
Posts: 3
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 7:48 pm
Custom Title: Little wolf
Gender: Female
Additional Details: Have many pets, does a lot of charity work
Mood: Happy

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Faelan »

Well if we're talking stereo types we really should bring up the loss of control on the full moons, as well as the dark image that folklore and Hollywood have given them, along with them now being a sex symbol. Oh and that other one... Murder stereotype :D
User avatar
Terastas
Legendary
Legendary
Posts: 5193
Joined: Thu Nov 25, 2004 4:03 pm
Custom Title: Spare Pelican
Gender: Male
Location: Las Vegas
Contact:

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Terastas »

Faelan wrote:Well if we're talking stereo types we really should bring up the loss of control on the full moons, as well as the dark image that folklore and Hollywood have given them, along with them now being a sex symbol. Oh and that other one... Murder stereotype :D
Those would probably be disproved before werewolves could even begin to integrate into society. If they lost control and became murderers at the full moon, integration wouldn't even be an option. They just wouldn't go away either due to the aforementioned persistence of bigotry.
Drachona
Dealing with the Change
Dealing with the Change
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Mar 24, 2016 9:35 am
Gender: Male

Re: Fighting Stereotypes...

Post by Drachona »

You could probably start by handing them Curt Siodmak's screenplay for The Wolf Man (1941) and say "Nothing in here is true". Or you could just say "pretty much everything in movies, books, and old historical accounts is false". Usually, when people ask me to talk to them about werewolves, I tell them to just forget everything they know so that they can start out fresh. Things like losing control during the full moon, silver bullets, aconitum, hairy palms, craving raw meat, being inherently violent, stealing babies, the concept of transference through bite, the war with vampires, imprinting, being inherently ripped like a body-builder, being able to smell minute scents from a mile away, being as strong as Superman, running faster than a cheetah, only being able to be killed by someone you love, having fur on the inside of your skin, connections with devil worship, etc., would all have to be dealt with. It's actually really easy: just treat werewolves like people, subject to a wide range of personal beliefs, experiences, and choices. Probably the only stereotype that is essentially true is our strong (but still varied) horniness. That's why there are so many stories about it. Many are just fantasies, but some are based on real encounters. Trust me, I know.
Post Reply