Diversity Wisdom from Interviews with Monster Girls

Hey all, I know it’s the end of Pride Month and all, but better late than never. I really like this quote from Interviews with Monster Girls, from a conversation in episode 4 between Takahashi (human teacher) and Himari (human student with a vampire sister):

Himari: Lots of people who talk to me about my sister say she doesn’t seem like a vampire, that she’s just like a normal high school girl. You seem very interested in demis’ natures, so what do you think of that? Do you think my sister doesn’t seem like a vampire?! Are you not that interested in her human side?

Takahashi: … It’s true that she doesn’t behave the way I’d expect a vampire to. But if you asked whether that makes her unlike a vampire, I’d say it doesn’t. Hikari does want to suck other people’s blood, but she settles for blood bags. And even though she has a vampire’s keen sense of smell, she loves food with strong scents. That human side is what makes her like a vampire, and it’s what makes her unique. It isn’t how you’re born that makes you like or unlike something. It’s how you live with what you are. But that doesn’t mean it’s ok to neglect an understanding of a demi’s nature. The concerns unique to demis are caused by their natures. You can’t look at things in only one way. You should look from both angles. If you just see traits unique to demis, you’ll miss their individuality. If you only see the human side, you won’t see their troubles. Both are precious.

What I like about Takahashi’s account here is that it applies to everyone, not just demi-humans. If you peg someone as X (gay, Muslim, whatever), you can miss the things that are unique to them; if you ignore X (e.g. “I don’t see color”) you miss the things that that person has to deal with that you may not. You need both.

As I say on my Twitch streams:

“Remember: Whether you are black or white, gay or straight, left or right, there is someone who cares about you, and the world is a richer place because you’re here.”