Thread by @SlLENTPRINCESS

🧵 why link's vai outfit is built from orientalism and racism

an educative thread written by an actual arab descendant who's still actively engaged in arab culture t.co/vWIojeyRnz

nintendo has long borrowed arabic culture for aesthetic reasons in tloz games. we can point out how there was an excerpt of islamic prayer in the oot fire temple, or how the original gerudo symbol was a moon and a star, or how the term Sheikah comes from arab "sheikh"

the gerudo are a caricature of arab stereotypes:

originally perceived as thieves, huge pointed noses, the face veil, the sexualized outfits, as well as their dark skin and light lips being taken from minstrels

all of this points to racial fetishism of SWANA culture

now, onto the sexualization of the gerudo. gerudo town is built like a "harem", and men are constantly seen around town, trying to sneak in, as it builds into the sexual fantasies that these women are always sexually available

in botw, link himself must be succeed in sneaking in as a man. that by itself builds into this orientalist fantasy

the vai outfit isn't something any person from any culture would wear, ESPECIALLY not in the desert. it's based on the belly dancer outfit, which was invented in egypt by a business man who wanted to market traditional dance to western tourists. it's made to APPEAL to orientalism

the veil and other headscarves are culturally worn by muslim women, usually as a sign of modesty. that said, link's veil cover his face while his hair is majestically exposed, which, alongside his unveiled body, subverts the message of modesty into explicit sexualization

this orientalism and sexualization has been openly welcomed and promoted within the zelda fandom, as the vai outfit is often seen and drawn as a fetish

this is not a callout thread, but an educative one. the vai outfit is extremely offensive to the culture it's inspired from, and it's up to us to take a step back and demand better from nintendo

but, for that, we as a fandom must stop thirsting over it

(this thread was written by bea but posted by her friend carrot. bea is still not here)