The Jynx Discrimination Chat

[+Poochyena+]

I do! Just look at it! It really does look like an obese black woman! I'm glad they redid Jynx.
What do you think?

 

[yuki3056]

I think it was an over-reaction tbh I mean omg look at brock his eyes never open.....And what about shiny pokemon...That is like reverse discrimination by saying the majority colored pokemon are not special like the shiny ones are.....AND it is a freaking kids game/show/card game people just want to find something to protest or complain about.....Or maybe gamefreak and nintendo have some huge conspiracy trying to get black people to stop watching their show....AND get over it already we missed seeing a great pokemon....so what we miss out on porygon and dratini too.....

 

[coolcatkim22]

She's based off the ganguro fashion which was named after a mythical ice woman.
Besides, Jynx only weighs 89.5 pounds.

 

[luke]

Jynx was never intended to be the personification of a black woman. As mentioned, she was based on the ganguro fashion. It was ridiculous to say she was meant to a racial stereotype. Just another case of political correctness going overboard.

 

[yuki3056]

Here here guys but I like my conspiracy theory lol....Political Correctness is going to be the downfall of us all....War is better than PC(political correctness not this site lol) because with war you just let loose all the ammo you can find at another country but PolCor you pick a target and find any flaw in it, hell I could go and make PolCor statement about any show it does not mean this was the original intent of the maker does it? And we certainly are hypocrites in America, Blacks were once our slaves and now we are so scared of everything that might possibly offend them. All in all that seems worse, because it is showing we think they are easily offended which they are not I might add. And we do have a black president so I think it is safe to say discrimination is an issue but not to the extent we have to censor everything and anything. I know that may sound weird but it might offend them that we censor this stuff, maybe to them this is just another wierd pokemon like swinub or something I mean for real, also that shows discrimination by censoring it, towards asians because Brock isnt censored and he is very stero-typical so all in all yea censoring is worse the airing it.

 

[Lila]

She's based off the ganguro fashion which was named after a mythical ice woman.
Besides, Jynx only weighs 89.5 pounds.

Coolcatkim beat me to it, but yes, that seems to be one of the most likely inspirations for Jynx.

I think the whole racist argument is a little ridiculous since it's pokemon, but in many ways I can see why some people portrayed her as racist. I mean, those people should have done more research on Jynx or played pokemon to see that it's quite obvious that she's not actually made out to be portrayed that way, but take a look at a pokedex entry for Jynx: "It seductively wiggles its hips as it walks. It can cause people to dance in unison with it." and "Talks in a strange, incomprehensible language. It is known for its weird wiggling that causes people to dance."

I personally do not believe that those entries are racist, but it made the whole debate a little easier for me to understand. Of course, they changed Jynx's face to purple, which I think looks better anyway. Here are also some links that seem to explain what Jynx was based off of:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganguro If you scroll down you'll see even more resemblances. This fashion trend was also very popular when pokemon was first created.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zwarte_Piet Since Jynx seems to have some sort of connection to Santa in the anime. This one is a little unlikely, but the resemblance is there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuki_Onna - Like Jynx, this woman has no feet. Jynx is actually quite similar to a ghost in Pokemon Stadium, since when she faints, her body disappears and her clothing is left behind.

These could all be inspiration things that Jynx was based off of, although the most common thing I see as Jynx being based off of are those Nordic opera singers. You know, with the blonde hair and the elaborate outfits? This could explain why Jynx is portrayed as a larger woman with a lot of makeup who also speaks in an unfamiliar, strange language.

Anyway, on another note, I think the whole controversy around Jynx is why she didn't receive an evolution like Electabuzz, Tangrowth and Magmar. ;_; I guess Nintendo just wants to be more hush-hush about her.

 

[thedestinedblade]

I'm remember reading about this. Can't really say what the artist intentions were, but I can see how it could be seen as offensive.

 

[Kudra]

IMO, this is little more than an overreaction by political activists seeing Jynx as a possible form of discrimination. These days, there are too many political activists rambling on about anything that even looks like it can be considered as discrimination. Nintendo did the best thing it probably could have by refuting those claims and changing the character model to not be considered possibly discriminatory.

 

[yuki3056]

Still going back to my point, this whole thing made it worse instead of better. If they would have aired people would have complained, but they would have moved onto to something different. Honestly this whole thing should not have been an issue but it is the same as people who have never read Harry Potter and say it is about whichcraft and satanism, the main characters celebrate christmas and easter. I am postive satanist do celebrate them. The fact of the matter is people who are ignorant try to hide it by trying to do some "great" political duty, and in the end they seem even mmore ignorant then they did before they started the movement or whatever. Also it is a kids show, I am sure that Ash did not go OMFG it is a black woman.....So this whole thing makes everyone involved and definatly a prime example of why censorship is a bad thing.

 

[manomow]

Lila, that last link about the Yuki Onna, it is accualy the inspiration for Frolass.

 

[DoubleWide]

Remember, it was only one person who complained which sent 4Kids into a tizzy. And I'm guessing that there was a tiff about Mr. Popo in Dragon Ball.

The women from Nordic operas are called Valkyrie.

 

[Lila]

Lila, that last link about the Yuki Onna, it is accualy the inspiration for Frolass.

-Nods- Yup, but that doesn't mean that Jynx couldn't have been partially inspired by Yuki Onna. I mean, it seems most likely that Jynx is based off of an opera singer, but it could be a combination of things. :) Since Jynx was made in the first generation and Froslass in the fourth, it's a possibility.

 

[coolcatkim22]

And I'm guessing that there was a tiff about Mr. Popo in Dragon Ball.

When I look at how Mr. Popo is dressed. I always think he was based on another race but that just could be me.

 

[~MasterMind~]

we cant say it was and we cant say it wasnt we dont know for sure
but as said she was based on the ganguro fashion so i believe that is true

 

[Asmo-deus]

I've read about that, seriously, that guy who complained is really touchy. It's not really based on black woman.

 

[.:Kanto:.]

You notice that the complaining was from people who are in the U.S.A or Western countries :P

 

[Suzume]

These could all be inspiration things that Jynx was based off of, although the most common thing I see as Jynx being based off of are those Nordic opera singers. You know, with the blonde hair and the elaborate outfits? This could explain why Jynx is portrayed as a larger woman with a lot of makeup who also speaks in an unfamiliar, strange language.

This has always been what comes to my mind when I see Jynx. I never even thought that Jynx could be seen as a black woman until I read it on the internet. I'm sure that Nintendo didn't mean to offend anyone when they created Jynx, they just didn't realize how many things are considered racism in America.

 

[Spinor]

Seriously, this is crazy. It's just a kids' show. Even Mexicans don't rampage so much! If you've seen "Una Pelicula de Huevos", you'd know what I mean...


I need to rampage Ludicolo someday >:|

 

[Ichida]

The funny thing is that picking up on something like that is only reinforcing the differences between the races. What, so they decide to rampage on the one Pokemon that looks VAGUELY like a black woman? Is it offensive to see black women? Why hate on that when there are plenty of other racial types to pick up on in Pokemon? Ludicolo looks Mexican. Alakazam looks Arabian. Persian is... well, Persian. Xatu is Native American. Nosepass is an Easter Island Moai statue. Medicham looks heavily into the yoga. Tropius is a flying palm tree with bananas for a beard. Hariyama is a sumo wrestler. Starraptor looks like an emo kid. Empoleon looks like a French emperor. Roserade looks like a masked metrosexual superhero. Lopunny has the aesthetic of a playboy bunny. Snorlax is a big fat guy. Slaking is a big, fat, lazy guy. Ghost Pokemon may or may not be the reincarnated souls of actual dead Pokemon! Darkrai's a black ghost, wooooo.

Big deal. People, either complain about all of it, or none. Don't pick and choose what you hate, because that too, can be racist. :P

 

[Haza]

I do! Just look at it! It really does look like an obese black woman!

This is really sad that you would say that if thats what you think black women look like.