I need to rant about something: for anybody who follows TES lore communities, do you get fukking irritated that the current community is actively trying to define the Redguards as a Middle Eastern/Islamic like Arab race who just so happen to aesthetically look Sub-Saharan African. Personally, I have had numerous arguments with skyrimkiddies who are constantly trying to sell me on this idea due to the Alik'r warriors in Skyrim wearing loose flowing garments, a turban, and wielding a scimitar. This is obviously cherry picked and fallacious since Black North Africans/Moors are noted as wearing similar desert garb, but the thing that ultimately bothers me is why is it so important for the TES community to paint the Redguards as somehow not really being a black race.
Why selectively ignore the HUGE Afro-Caribbean influences in TES: Redguard, why selectively ignore the African American naming conventions with characters like Trayvond the Redguard, why selectively ignore all the West African influences, I.E "Yokuda” and “Yoruba". Even with the Alk'r Warriors which they use as proof of Redguards being black Arabs, their leader is literally named Kematu. And the whole athleticism trope which defines the Redguards is a well known Black Stereotype. Honestly, the only way I can rationalize the selection bias going on with the TES community on this subject is that they're trying to verify, to themselves, the idea that West Africans and Black ppl in general don't have a major medieval history to contribute to the Fantasy genre. This explains to me why they're so determined to paint the Redguards as black arabs/middle easterners.
even with mods
