Celebrating Diversity: New Horizons Character Designing Event

[Halloqueen]

I don't play as myself in video games for the most part, so none of my New Horizons residents really represent me personally. However, my island is themed around world history and and the various cultures of people around the world. It's a celebration and showcase of humanity in microcosm.

I had two different player characters in mind for this event and it was kind of difficult to choose which one I wanted to go with, but I ended up choosing Jasmine. I like to give my characters little backstories, and in Jasmine's case, she's a history professor.

The pink of the tweed jacket and tweed pants, along with the white shirt underneath and the blue tie and shoes, were chosen to symbolize the transgender flag. The rainbow hat is obviously meant to symbolize the LGBTQIA+ flag. Finally, with Juneteenth becoming recognized as a federal holiday as of this year, and since this character is a history professor, I thought having her hold a Pan-African flag would be a nice way to wrap everything together conceptually.

As for the pose, I didn't want to just wave the flag around so I kind of tried a bunch of different reactions until I found one that struck me.

Of all my residents, she felt the most appropriate to feature because it's so very important for us all to always keep learning history. History gives us context for why things are the way they are now, and knowing more about a situation can help us better formulate solutions. It can help us to shatter preconceived notions and it can help us humanize those whom societal pressures discourage interaction with or whom matters of distance or circumstance prevent us from interacting with. It can emphasize the importance of nuance by showing us that rather than strictly black and white, our world is full of various shades of gray.

For those of us who are part of oppressed groups or who are allies in our various struggles for equality and justice, history can show us the horrors that have occurred and which could again befall us if we ever get too comfortable and become lax in our vigilance. History can teach us which methods of resistance are most effective in producing progress. History can also provide sources of hope when things are bleak in our own time.

Many problems in our world can be resolved if more people learn to empathize with one another and acknowledge our shared humanity. History can, if we let it, help us along that path and help us to tear down the walls between us. Though history is filled with many terrible things and can understandably and justifiably cause resentment, deepening our knowledge can also help us to see that for however different we may be, we're all still humans, and our human diversity is fascinating and beautiful.

 

[justina]

I love everyone’s entries so much!! Everyone clearly put a lot of hard work and thought into this event

It was a struggle deciding what to do but in the end I decided I wanted to represent stuttering and bring some awareness to the struggles of it.

My character is wearing a teal ribbon for stuttering awareness. Stuttering is one of the biggest medical mysteries in the world. Nobody knows what causes this, and there is currently no cure. It’s something that can’t be controlled and can be very scary to speak or have a normal conversation. An interesting thing is that a lot of people think they stutter “sometimes” but this is called cluttering. Stuttering is a condition that happens all the time. Most people take talking for granted but it’s really a struggle when you stutter. Some things we can do to help is to never finish someone’s sentence when stuttering. We never want to make someone feel bad about it because it’s something out of their control. It’s estimated that about 1% of people stutter. Stuttering is really something that makes many people unique and is not something to feel ashamed of.

 

[BungoTheElf]

Originally I was just going to have myself in a cheongsam but I haven't worn one in so long so I feel like it wouldn't properly represent me/being diverse. Soooo... It's my mom! My family is Chinese American, though my parents and their families are refugees from the Khmer Rouge. I have a lot of respect for how hard they are able to work and how far they have gotten in life when they have started with so little and had to restart their lives, even learning a whole new language. In general refugees and immigrants work really hard and even pick up the more laborious jobs so I always find it ridiculous when people bring up the "immigrants are stealing our jobs" argument. Anyways, although my family is Chinese, we always eat a ton of different kinds of foods my mom makes from different cultures (asian especially) such as: Cambodian, Thai, Japanese, and Korean. I let my mom chose some of the clothes and customize the character!

 

[xSuperMario64x]

here's my entry! it's a bit all over the place but all these things mean a lot to me so I wanted to represent as many things as I could

so all these things make up who I am as a person of multiple diversities, just one out of so many different and amazing people. I'll list all the different things below:
1. the hat represents the new symbol of autism awareness/acceptance. for a long time autism awareness has been associated with the color blue and the jigsaw puzzle piece, but since those symbolisms are used by Autism Speaks (which is a hate group, won't go into detail here) the autistic community has decided to use the infinity symbol as well as a rainbow or gold color instead. I am proudly autistic, and since I'm able to, I like to be a verbal advocate for autism acceptance!
2. the hoodie is the demiboy flag. I just came out to everyone on social media yesterday as a non-binary trans guy and I was, thankfully, met with many kind words from friends and family. I finally feel liberated and I can be who I want to be, and not be someone I'm not. so the hoodie represents my ability to express my true self, and embrace who I am.
3. the flag is a combination of the ace flag (bg) and the cupioromantic flag (inside the heart). these aren't as big of a deal as my gender identity but I still have a lot of pride in being ace and aromantic, especially since within the LGBT+ community it's often questioned or ignored. I can't change who I am so I embrace this as well!

for me these things are a big deal because each part of my identity, in one way or another, serves to impede my life within modern society. - - autism is still largely misunderstood because it is only viewed from the outside, from the view of neurotypical/allistic people who don't understand it, and it is often seen as a debilitation, when in reality it's just a different way of thinking and processing the world. and with the proper accommodations autistic people can perform very well and live happy lives!
- I've been horrified by the amount of anti-trans legislation passed in the US recently, so I came out in hopes that my family and friends would pay more attention to it and speak out against it.
- as for the flag, I am showing my pride for my LGBT+ status in spite of people who try to say that pride month (and lgbt+ pride in general) has no right to exist. I also need ace pride because until i found the community I felt like something was wrong with me; though I knew I didn't need fixing, I had no one to relate to and share my experience with. heck even now I get frustrated with myself sometimes, bc being aro/ace will make it difficult when I inevitably put myself out there to find a partner (I'm sure being trans will make it hard too). until then I just hold out hope and take pride in who I am.

anyways yeah, I really enjoyed making these designs for this contest! and I really like seeing all the other entries, they're all fantastic!

Spoiler: pic with username

I wasn't sure if I needed to include this, but just in case.

 

[Rika092]

Okay so I was going to submit an entry that is more along the lines of my ethical identity (I was born in China but grew up in America), but there are so many already amazing entries for that, so i wanted to do something different, and i hope this is acceptable:

So the topic that I want to address is the lack of gender representation in the corporate workforce. Hence my outfit, and appropriately so, the setting of the picture. And no, I'm not talking about explicit gender discriminations, but the more subtle, unconscious bias. While there are generally more equalized gender representation at lower levels of the roles, men dominates in senior management positions at the top by large margins. There are data suggesting that only 10-15% of fortune 500 companies have female CEOs, and women representation is even less on the board of directors. Moreover, women only earn between 70-90% of what men do for comparable work. None of these issues are adequately addressed even today. If a male coworker pushes back on certain things, they may be seen as strong and capable, while women exhibiting the same behaviors could be labeled as aggressive, pushy..etc. While a lot of these issues are beyond my control or influence to be addressed currently, I aim to continue to develop my career so that one day I could be the one breaking the invisible glass ceiling. I will not be submissive just to conform to other people's perceptions of how women should behave at work, and I hope that one day I will be in position to inspire and enable more and more women who have ambitions to advance their career to the top. Go girl power!!

 

[Equity]

First Impression​

Take a moment to look at this picture. What were your first impressions?

This character design is meant to be an experience and comes with a little story. I designed a character such that she doesn’t quite look human to represent how first impressions can be misleading.

Green skin colour: No human has a green skin colour. As such, this colour represents the impression that some people may have gotten during their first encounter of the “other” in which the “other” may have seemed “alien-like” (whether it’s about their ethnicity, physical appearance, religious faith, political orientation, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, etc.).

Egg shell hat: I’m sure that many of us have felt pressured to conform to societal norms such that we become empty shells. The egg shell hat also represents how from the onset of our birth, we are taught to fit into a “mould” (be like your peers to fit into society). However, the cracks on this hat (as well as the character) are there for a reason…

Cracks (dress and face paint): The cracks on my face and dress (body) reveal a different skin colour – that of a human – and are meant to represent a metamorphosis. It can viewed as my character breaking away from social norms and finally being able to be herself. It’s also meant to show how our perception of the “other” can change as we get to know them better.

Spoiler: Metamorphosis complete!

(If the first picture can't be considered as an entry because it's not human-like, this picture will be my other submission!)

Under the rough exterior was hidden a Canadian-born Vietnamese girl. I’m wearing an Áo Dài to pay respect to my ethnic origins. I dressed her up with the pink one because it especially reminds me of the outfit I used to wear when I used to go to chợ tết (New Year Celebration festival) with my family! I’m also holding the Canadian Native Flag by Kwakwaka'wakw artist, Curtis Wilson to pay respect to the indigenous communities (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) living in Canada.

Spoiler: More detailed explanation to why I chose this flag

As Canada Day is approaching and with the recent news about the discovery of unmarked graves from former residential schools across Canada, I wanted to raise awareness about the historical and present-day injustices that indigenous communities have faced/are facing. I believe it’s important to recognize that I currently live on unceded indigenous lands, as I believe that this is one of the first steps towards reconciliation and inclusivity.

As such, I tried reproducing as well as I could the Canadian Native Flag more details about the flag can be found here] by Kwakwaka'wakw artist, Curtis Wilson (I was limited in space, so I couldn’t include all the elements). I hesitated between reproducing this flag or the flag of a specific community close to my city. I’m aware that it’s rarely used. In fact, I’ve never seen it being used before (I recently discovered this flag myself). Some people may not wish to identify Canadian citizens, and I do not wish to be disrespectful towards any indigenous community. However, I chose this flag to include both indigenous peoples (First Nations, Inuit and Métis) and non-indigenous peoples in Canada. One sentence from the artist especially resonated with me: “I strive to help us think of inclusiveness in Canada instead of exclusiveness or as the title suggests: ‘Standing together in support of each other.’”

 

[Shellzilla_515]

I just want to say congratulations in advance to those who will make it to the banner! I've been counting the number of people who submitted their entries and if I'm not wrong, 87 people participated! I tried comparing this number to the fighter roster of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Not counting the DLC fighters, there are 76 playable characters. If we throw in the DLC fighters, including the final one that has yet to be announced at this time, there would be 88 playable characters to choose from. We were short by just one entry, but the fact we got close to this number is absolutely incredible! Please correct me if I'm wrong with any of these numbers.

There's something I've been working on the last few days as a bonus for this event. I was aiming to get it done today, but due to technical difficulties, I was nowhere close to being done, despite spending hours doing it (thanks, potato laptop). I'm not quite sure when I'll be done, but hopefully I'll be able to do so before this thread gets locked. I really want to show this to the wonderful people who participated.

Not only was it fun to participate in this event, but it also helped me learn new things and being more aware of the various issues that are happening around the world. It sounds bad that these issues exist, but I personally see this as an opportunity for everyone to make the world a better place.

Edit: Looks like the banner has been updated! Congratulations to deanapants, Valzed, xara, Kattea, and jadetine!

 

[Jeremy]

Thank you to everyone for participating in yet another event on The Bell Tree! All of your entries are amazing and have done a great job at celebrating diversity in our community!

The remaining entries will be marked as accepted with bells sent out tomorrow.

Our final round of submissions has ended with @deanapants' and @Valzed's characters earning the most votes.

The final overall votes for remaining entries ended with a tie, so we had to find a way to fit a total of five characters in the banner! The three characters added to the banner with the other two are by @xara, @Kattea, and @jadetine.

Good work, everybody!!

 

[CylieDanny]

This was such a fun event, it really gave me courage to confess about myself to others, and that was really hard to do

But seeing how amazing, and open, accepting everyone is here, plus all the little messages made it worth it. All those little reactions meant the world to me, and just knowing people were reading it was enough to make me beyond happy, and proud ♡

Learning about everyone hearing some wonderful, heart warming stories, and people talking about their selves, their culture, their struggles, how they identify. It was amazing. Putting so much thought into your outfits too! You guys had amazing stories. I read all of them ♡♡

Congratulations to all the winners, you totally deserve it! Your stories were inspiring, and wonderful

Stay excellent guys! This was an event to remember

 

[S.J.]

Congratulations everyone, and thank you for sharing your stories! Your reps all look so sweet on the banner! @xara @jadetine @Valzed @deanapants @Kattea

 

[Xara]

ayo i forgot the final round ended tonight . i’m too tired and stuffy to form many coherent thoughts, but this event was absolutely lovely. i had a lot of fun creating my entry once i finally figured out what i wanted to do, and seeing what everyone else came up with + getting to know you all a bit better was an incredible experience that i’ll always cherish. thank you again staff for all that you do, and it’s an honour to be up there with @jadetine, @Valzed, @deanapants and @Kattea .

 

[Yanrima~]

Congratulations to the winners!

And especially thank you TBT for the fun events! Looking forward to the future fun events The Bell Tree has in store!

 

[deana]

I was already so touched just by the likes but to also actually have enough to be in the banner I am honoured! Thank you everyone who liked my entry and congrats to my fellow banner peeps right now Valzed, xara, Kattea, and jadetine !!!

 

[Dunquixote]

Congrats @deanapants @Valzed @xara @Kattea @jadetine! Your reps all look adorable! I love all of your outfits!

And great job everyone — even if you weren’t in the banner — for finding the courage to share your experiences and views on diversity and for the creativity at designing something that represents you, your experiences, family/friends, or views, or something else entirely.

I really enjoyed this event. I think even though this community is only a small part of the internet world, I think an event that promotes diversity and acceptance like this can make a difference in helping make the internet, as well as the world in general a better place that is accepting and tolerant of everyone regardless of race, gender, sexuality. It definitely helped widen my perspective and awareness.

Thanks everyone for sharing your stories.

And thanks staff for your hard work organizing this event.

 

[DaCoSim]

Congrats guys!!! Everyone looks amazing!!!!

 

[Zerous]

Congratulations to the winners, as well as everyone participated!!!
Ik its been said a lot, but its been so heart warming to read through everyone's posts and see so many facets of diversity represented ☺
Although thank you to the staff for hosting this again this year

 

[Antonio]

Congratulations to the winners, I love seeing all these entries from everybody.

 

[Nefarious]

Congrats to all the winners, very well deserved! Also a huge congrats to everyone that shared themselves through this event too, took a lot of courage for some to open up like this. ^^

Thanks staff for the wonderful event! Got to connect more to friends and fellow members, and maybe even a little bit of myself too, thanks to it. Looking forward to the next one coming in July. The secret has been plaguing my mind lately...

 

[Rosch]

Congratulations to everyone!

Whether you made it to the banner or not, the most important thing is that you have been brave and willing enough to open up and share your stories with others. We have such an amazing community here.

 

[.: Meri :.]

Congratulations to the final round winners!! @deanapants, @Valzed, @xara, @Kattea, and @jadetine, you're all looking great in the banner, and thank you for sharing your stories!

Big thanks to staff for hosting this event, it was really cool! I'm glad I was able to participate, and I really enjoyed reading everyone's entries! Sometimes it was hard for me not to give a like to everyone's entries, though. ;; Great work to everyone else who took part, too—I know that it can take a lot of courage to share stuff like this.