You know exactly why we're here: another white woman has taken a stroll through the racist fantasy land of ORC dick, and I wanna talk about it.

I have been meaning to write this essay for two days now, but every time I've sat down to start typing, I've just gotten angrier. So, I took the time I needed to just process my irritation so that the content I brought you was calm and collected.

Just kidding. I'm still pissed. But hey, let's talk anyway!

Orc's are not a new part of the fantasy world. In fact, they have been around much longer than I have. Their first notable inclusion in literature would have been in Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings, which debuted in the mid 1950s. He drew inspiration from Beowolf, which is obviously quite a bit older--like, by a few centuries--but prior to Tolkein, Orcs as they are today really did not exist. With that said, Tolkein was clearly not a monster smut writer... but he did create the mold for it.

Let me explain!

While Lord of the Rings is entirely a work of fantasy and was not intended to be an allegory, Tolkein acknowledged that it was heavily inspired by his Catholic faith and his experiences during World War I, where he served in the British army. Which can be clearly seen as you engage with the story. Once again--not an allegory--but many of Tolkein's artistic choices very clearly point to his faith and to a radicalized outlook on war, and humanity. And that includes the invention of Orcs.

Tolkein spent years wrestling back and forth with how to explain the creation of the Orcish race. In one version, they were created from stone. In another, they were once elves that have been corrupted. But one thing that remains consistent is that they were intended to be viewed as a distinct race that serve as an expression of everything evil and violent in war. They exist as a corrupt darkness that helps us see the light of the benevelent, and wholesome, elvish race. Which is important to acknowledge because:

• They introduce the concept that this monstrous race is irredeemable by virtue of its identity. By nature, Orcs exist to kill, steal and destroy (remember that I said Tolkein's catholic upbringing plays a role in this story), whereas elves exist to serve and protect the realm. A contrast that is fascinating because while Orcs cannot be redeemed, Elves can absolutely be corrupted. Reinforcing the idea that these creatures that were born out of darkness do not receive the benefit of context or humanity. They are embodiements of everything Tolkein wanted us to fear...and nothing more.
• Because they exist to inspire our fear, they also exist to incite our outrage and to ultimately be destroyed. As an embodiment of evil, their purpose is to be killed indescriminately as the heroes fight to overcome the actual evil they represent. Even in their evilness, they are expendable and unnoteworthy. They only exist to prove the hero is a hero.

What does all of this mean?

I spend a fair amount of time challening readers to engage with literature more honestly and more ethically. And whenever I challenge the inherent racism that exists in many--most--monster romance stories, I have a slough of commenters trying to explain to me how I am projecting my own imagined grievences onto literature that is wholely unproblematic. But the unfortunate truth is: Tolkien perfectly set the stage for white women to project Black men into their fantasies through the medium of Orcs (and other monsters). And I want to help you see how.

Throughout history, how often has a group of people been presented as wholly evil and irredeemable only to later be proven to be the victims in whatever war was being waged against them? It has happened over and over again. Marginalized people are painted as violent, aggressive, inherently barbaric or savage, which becomes an excuse to see them as a representative of the worst evils humanity is capable of...which, in turn, inspires people's outrage...and invites their violence.

Take a quick scroll through your history books and look at the way that oppressive regimes spoke about their victims prior to waging war against them. In every instance, you'll find that, prior to outright genocide, the great evils of the world have put in the work to convince every day citizens that their targets deserved to be violently opposed.

There is no circumstance where morally bankrupting an entire race is not rooted in racism. Even if it is taking place in a fictionalized world.

Even when it is fantasy, it reinforces the idea that some must be dehumanized in order for other's to have their humanity highlighted. Which is the nature of systemic oppression. It isn't based in the hatred of others. It is based in the desire to protect one's power. Hatred is a tool. Violence is a tool. Oppression is a tool. The goal is, and has always been, power. (That does not mean that racism is not hatred. It is. But when it comes to the systems that reinforce it, the goal is power.)

Now, where the nuance comes in with monster smut specifically, is the way that racialized oppression takes place in the real word sexually.

In Lord of the Rings, the Orcs existed to be conquered by the sword.

In monster smut... the weapon looks different.

In recent years, there have been a lot of conversations about the part that white women play in the oppression of Black people. Those conversations have been incredibly frequent, and very nuanced. But what I want to talk about right now is the specific way that white women participate in the oppression of Black men.

I'm getting there, I promise!

For a long time, white women have been dismissing the role they play in the oppression of Black men specifically because of the marginalized identity they also hold. They are women. The patriarchy robs them of power and seeks to dehumanize them. And I won't diminish that. However, any Black person can tell you that when it comes to Black people, their whiteness has always come first. White men have kept white women complicit in the violent oppression of Black people by waging their war against us in _their _name.

Emmett Till was killed by violent white men...in the name of a violent white woman.

This is important, because one of the primary ways that white women contribute to the oppression of Black men is by painting us as sexual deviants. They play a huge role in the sexualization of Black men. And in doing so, they accomplish two things. First, they use white men's hatred of us and infantalization of them to direct their violence. And two, they are able to reclaim some of the power that white men systemically steal from them by demonstrating their power over us.

And yes... I mean in the bedroom too.

Really think about it. One of the appeals of dark romance is that women get to step into sexual experiences where they are not stripped of their power and their humanity simply by virtue of consenting to it. (I am not saying that is the only appeal. Only that it is one of the appeals) There is power in consent. And for a lot of white women, that same kind of power exists in sexually engaging with Black men. We won't necessarily treat them better, because Black men are also corrupted by Patriarcy. But they get the benefit of engaging with men who are corrupted by a Patriarchy that doesn't grant them any real power. White women retain the upper hand, because at the highest tier of the American heirarchy, there is a mob of white men who are eager to see white women as a victim and Black men as violent, sexual brutes.

Keeping up?

White women actually create power for themselves from overly-sexualizing Black men.

Now what does any of this have to do with monster smut?

EVERYTHING.

In the same way that Orcs create a boogy man that justify the hero's violence, sexy Orcs create a monster that the damsel in distress doesn’t actually have to be afraid of.

Both of these characterizations of the Orc serve a single purpose... to give non-Orc's power.

Now, there is plenty more I can talk about here. I could point to all of the similarities in the characterizations of Orcs and Black men. I could talk about the way that we are both othered and sexualized. I could point out the coincidences in the ways we are described as brutal but kind, as sexually superior… as well-endowed. There is a lot I could point to. But I honestly think I’ve made my point fairly well without doing any of that. So instead, I will leave you with this:

Monsters are always a tool of looking at the “others” of society.

In the hands of Black and brown writers, those “others” are often a tool of healing, or redemption, or reclamation. They write monster smut to love on Black men. To redeem us. To speak about our strength and resilence. To let the world know that no matter how much the world demonizes us, they still love us… but in the hands of white women, monster smut is almost always an opportunity to fantasize about what it would be like for them if the men they were being abused by were actually beneath them.

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