Race-coding

Synonyms:
See also:	Coded, Race and Fandom, Neurodivergent-coded, Queer-coding
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Race-coding in media and fandom refers to the practice of adding implicit cues or subtext to either individual characters or entire groups of characters within a form of media that lead the audience to draw associations with particular racial or ethnic groups. There will be no explicit canonical confirmation that the character(s) are being written as a particular race or ethnic group, and the concept often occurs in relation to non-human characters. However, in alternative or fantastical worlds where the setting is not Earth nor does an Earth as we know it seem to exist in that universe, human characters may be race-coded as well.

Creators may write fantasy, supernatural, or other non-human characters who are based on their own racial or ethnic group, using coding to create a subtext for the audience to pick up on, particularly those who share the creator's racial or ethnic group. Other creators may use race-coding as a part of writing diversely within a fantastical setting or to make sure that the tendency to default to reading characters as white does not happen with their work.

However, race-coding can also be used, deliberately or unconsciously, in a racist way. A number of discussions of race-coding are about how particular groups of characters who are associated with particular racial or ethnic groups through coding are also portrayed as villains or in a broadly negative way within a piece of media.

In addition to the general term of race-coding, specific terms like Black-coded, Indigenous-coded, or Latino-coded may be used, as might references to specific ethnicities or nationalities, though this seems less commonplace.

Use in Fandom

Authors and other creators may purposely or unconsciously code their fantastical, supernatural, or otherwise non-human races based on real-world ones. This is as true of fan creators as it is of original creators. Twilight is an often discussed example, where the protagonist vampires were all white and light-skinned and the the antagonistic werewolves were dark-skinned.

Discussions around race-coding in writing, particularly fantasy writing, occur with regularity in spaces for writing advice.

Characters Often Applied To

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

• Homestuck: Porrim and Kanaya Maryam as Desi, Dave Strider and family members as Black.
• Steven Universe: Garnet and Bismuth as Black, headcanons for Amethyst vary but she is also commonly understood as a woman of color.
• Teen Titans: Koriand'r as Black.

Criticisms and Controversy

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Stereotypes and Racism

• Steven Universe: Sugilite being the most unstable fusion of the main three Crystal Gems, Bismuth's introductory episode.

Examples of meta and discussions

• What is black coding? at r/CharacterDevelopment
• How do you tackle the issue of racial coding in a fantasy setting? Or, more broadly, how do you write racism and segregation respectfully during these times? at r/FantasyWriters
• How to code my characters' race/ethnicity (Serious) at r/Writing

Further Reading

• #Race coding at the Writing with Color Tumblr blog
• Dispatches from the Writing Trenches: Writing Social Justice into Fantasy, Racism Edition by Justina Ireland
• Fantasy Races and Avoiding Racist Portrayals, Writing with Color
• Which Cartoon Characters Are Invited To “The Cookout” by Demi Adejuyigbe for Dropout’s Smartypants, discusses the black-coding of characters like DBZ’s Piccolo