ok so 'cosmetic' disabilities have been a hugee issue where people are slapping disabilities onto kits for pure visual effect or fancy cosmetics-- when they have genuinely super negative effects on cats and that's! not okay!! i use the term 'cosmetic disabilities' to refer to disabilities that are commonly abused solely to give characters cool or unique visual features without regard to how this negatively affects the character. --- FIRST AND FOREMOST if you are adding a disability/disorder to a kit on a litter you run, you MUST research it yourself. --- this project is going to be focusing on the three biggest proponents of 'cosmetic' disabilities that ive noticed, and new rules concerning them: - albinism - ocular albinism - male tortoiseshells (specifically with klinefelter's) it will be also touching on a wider discussion about cosmetic disabilities. ---- ALBINISM -- albinism does not present with pink eyes. albino cats, nor humans, have pink eyes. this is a very common misconception. the 'pinkness' is due to the loss of pigment combining with certain lighting conditions. cats and people with albinism often have blue eyes. i'm honestly unsure about cats, but i do know people with albinism can have a few other eye colors as well, even brown ! it is super important to do research. you can press space / click on the project to view suggested stylized alternatives to represent the pinkness in certain lighting without spreading the misinformation that albino cats have pink eyes. these are just quick stylized suggestions. because the pinkness is due to 'specific lighting conditions' and to prevent abuse for cosmetic appeal, it shouldn't really appear in unshaded refs or images of the characters, such as in an open litter for example. please be mindful that albinism has a LOT of negative consequences for the bearer and it is not a fun "naturally pink eye disability!!" tldr >> cats with albinism can no longer have pink/purple etc. eyes >> they can have a pink tint to their eyes, but this should NOT appear in open litters. >> if you have a cat OR a kit in a litter w/ albinism and pink eyes please change it as that's not how the disability works ---- OCULAR ALBINISM -- similarly to albinism, this does not cause pink eyes. actually, i've attempted myself and asked others to attempt to find any documentation of somebody or a cat with ocular albinism (and not full albinism) with the pink tint/fade to the eyes seen sometimes in full albinism, and i have honestly failed. i have not seen any indication that ocular albinism can actually give this. additionally, ocular albinism has severe visual repercussions that i rarely see represented tldr >> ocular albinism does not cause pink/purple etc. eyes >> ocular albinism can NOT have the pink fade / tint seen in cats with full albinism until somebody shows me documented cases (preferably 5 separate ones as seen in the rules but EVEN LIKE. ONE? WOULD BE NICE) of a cat or human with ocular albinism showing the pink tint >> if you have a cat OR a kit in a litter w/ ocular albinism and pink eyes please change it as that's not how the disability works ---- VITILIGO ---- vitiligo has become more popular and there's been concerning cosmetic representation surrounding it a user has very kindly informed me of the existence of the tumblr user (be warned they DO swear on this blog and i havent checked it indepth so im unsure the content warnings, just want to give credit) who's blog points out (they have vitiligo) that vitiligo representation should not present as "cutesy" shapes like stars, swirls, hearts, etc. as it's dehumanizing and it presents the disorder like it's an aesthetic additionally please just dont use it as a symbol of any story element or anything (including ghost stuff) it's a disability not a visual storytelling device if you have a character with vitiligo i kindly ask you reconsider their appearance to not. do that. and if you have a litter with a kit in it with vitiligo i ask the same. going forward litters with vitiligo that presents this way will not be accepted + in n+c
---- AMAB TORTOISESHELLS --- this one is! going to be slightly more controversial of a ruling because unlike how albinism doesnt cause pink eyes, male torties do absolutely exist! however all i see is people abusing Klinefelter's Syndrome - a very severe disability that has literally nothing to do with male torties - as an easy thing to slap onto a kit for this 'fun cosmetic feature' I never see cats who are not 'male torties' with Klinefelter's Syndrome, despite the fact that it should be equally as common-- this signals entirely that it is a disability being purely used for its cosmetic appeal. I have talked a lot about my decision with a section of the community and I've come to the conclusion that we will be banning Male Tortoiseshells from this roleplay. This ruling is attempting to prevent both Klinefelter's and Chimerism from being used in a manner that is purely for cosmetic appeal without actual regard to the disability. you can still 100% have cats with klinefelters or chimerism, they just cannot be male torties. it may be temporary or permanent, i'm unsure, but all i know is right now these conditions are being misused - and please understand i've also had male torties in my litters too, but i just think it's gone too far. if you want a male tortie/calico THAT BAD, make them trans lol dont give them a disability that can harm them i will note that there have been some mistakes in the past of litter mods calling cats that arent tortie/calico, if you disagree with a ruling feel free to go to head litter mod :) if you have a cat who is a male tortie it's fine as long as you don't brag about having the last male tortie as that's really gross behavior if you have a kit in an open litter of yours thats a male tortie please consider changing it if possible but if its not its fine --- i would like to point out there are other cosmetic disabilities suffering the same fate at the moment. what particularly comes to mind to me is blindness. while most blindness will not result in clouded eyes, a lot of blindness in litters often will look like this. i want the community to just overall be more mindful about how they're using disabilities in their litters or kits theyre applying for. where is the representation of other types of blindnesses? disabilities that DONT cause some visual change? there are so many cosmetic disabilities that are just being overused right now and i just want people to be mindful going forward. please dont. misuse disabilities just because they LOOK cool to you :( OH P.S if you have klinefelters yourself or have chimerism or anything then go ahead and have male torties idc thats a you thing
