Responses
i could go on more, nitpicking at details and explaining how the writing is tone deaf but i think the comment in the post best explains it: realistically jaxx is not equipped with the writing skills to handle such a delicate subject. to dumb it down, she doesn’t have the writing abilities to make a yaoi schindler’s list, so she should’ve just play it safe and stick to brokeback mountain lol
anyone who doesn’t understand why it was tone deaf, the top comment on this post might give better insight: https://www.reddit.com/r/Manhwa_BL/s/2bUvIDhdoh
i see many people defending this by mentioning other series with fucked up plots. the biggest issue is that most of those are set in a fantasy/fictional world with generic, non historically accurate characters and settings. like many have mentioned, if this was set in imperial jp ww2, or nazi germany, it is equally not okay. this could’ve really just been about two hot cowboys, or if jaxx realllyyyy wanted a slave trope (ig?), it could be set in a vague unidentified western setting without real historical implications. at least that could just be passed off as typical korean yaoi pornslop. (a good example is The Fallen Lamb, where it clearly is set and inspired by westerns but the scope of the setting is very small and vague, and the plot is clearly fictional with no mention of real history)
but the specific mention of civil war america, characterizing a poc slave as “proud/snarky” like a badly set up porn scene is too tone deaf in relations to actual history. realistically, a native american slave would never act so “quirky” i’m sure any fellow native readers must felt the ick reading that last line, similarly to how i would feel in context of yellow fever and asian exotism (as an asian person). the characterization really disrespects the actual events of history, and romanticizes and white washes white slave owners and even the free states of civil war us. just cus mc freed his slaves doesn’t make him exempt of the fact that he even owned any to begin with. while the characterization of his family shows it was never about being anti slavery but about family name status.
i hope the post i linked can give more insight to understanding the nuance of this situation. and i see many people not willing to elaborate to help fellow readers understand and jumping straight to arguing.
i DO also recommend, though, anyone who doesn’t understand these concepts to really educate yourself on actual history as this comment can only do so much to convey the subtleties of real life historical nuance. that is something you either get or you don’t