History SoYouWantTo / AvoidUnfortunateImplications

* Have multiple, varied examples of any given minority. [[WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}} If you must make the tribe chief bigoted and aggressive, make his daughter compassionate and open-minded.]] If your female protagonist is a proud warrior who's never picked up a saucepan in her life, place her alongside a peer or authority figure who's typically, confidently feminine--and whose personal agency ''doesn't'' [[RealWomenDontWearDresses suffer]] for it. Increasing the emotional diversity of whatever group you're focusing on is the easiest way to avoid stereotyping--and create new plot opportunities, as well.

* Don't use real people as "freaks", and avoid the [[SubcultureOfTheWeek Freaks Of The Week]] trope like the plague. Transgender people are real human beings with feelings and real lives. As are little people. As are women with unusual hair growth. As are people in that freakish little scary subculture that just got torn to bits on ''Series/{{CSI}}'' or ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''. And so on. If you absolutely ''must'' have someone treated as a "freak" for laughs or in using someone's "freakishness" to amplify their villainy, either pick something not realistic or among real people and refrain from the pitfalls of FantasyCounterpartCulture while doing so, or, in the case of amplifying villainy, pick something real but that ''does'' have an effect of violence or murder (e.g. serious alcohol abuse with the alcohol abuser becoming a violent drunk, uncontrolled intermittent explosive disorder, a severe and uncontrolled impulse control disorder, or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malignant_narcissism Malignant Narcissism]] ) as opposed to something that doesn't (e.g. being a punk or metalhead or goth, having autism or anxiety or depression, or even having an antisocial personality or LackOfEmpathy but without any drive to violence from it).

** Similarly, don't fall into the trap of justifying stalking or unironically playing it for laughs just because the stalker is female, or alternately, defining innocent behavior as somehow "more" creepy or stalkerish coming from a male than from a female. A woman you don't know breaking into your house and having ADateWithRosiePalms on your bed is just as creepy, possibly danger-implying behavior as a man doing so, and on the reverse side of the coin, a man asking you out for a cup of coffee or giving you his business card isn't more "scary" or "dangerous" than a woman would be, all other factors being equal.

* And finally, the most important of all: ''''' LISTEN AND ADMIT WHEN YOU MAKE MISTAKES AND TRY TO DO BETTER. ''''' We aren't perfect and have our own biases, whether or not we are willing to admit it at the time or even recognize that bias. When hearing criticism it is tempting to either lash back at the critics or ignore it. But ignoring legitimate criticism is a good way to ensure that the Unfortunate Implication will repeat in your other works. Not only is this hurtful, it would prevent you from growing as a creator.

* And finally, the most important of all: LISTEN AND ADMIT WHEN YOU MAKE MISTAKES AND TRY TO DO BETTER. We aren't perfect and have our own biases, whether or not we are willing to admit it at the time or even recognize that bias. When hearing criticism it is tempting to either lash back at the critics or ignore it. But ignoring legitimate criticism is a good way to ensure that the Unfortunate Implication will repeat in your other works. Not only is this hurtful, it would prevent you from growing as a creator.

* Don't use real people as "freaks", and avoid the [[SubcultureOfTheWeek Freaks Of The Week]] trope like the plague. Transgender people are real human beings with feelings and real lives. As are little people. As are women with unusual hair growth. As are people in that freakish little scary subculture that just got torn to bits on ''Series/{{CSI}}'' or ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''. And so on. If you absolutely ''must'' have someone treated as a "freak" for laughs or in using someone's "freakishness" to amplify their villainy, either pick something not realistic or among real people and refrain from the pitfalls of FantasyCounterpartCulture while doing so, or, in the case of amplifying villainy, pick something real but that ''does'' have an effect of violence or murder (e.g. serious alcohol abuse with the alcohol abuser becoming a violent drunk, uncontrolled intermittent explosive disorder, a severe and uncontrolled impulse control disorder, or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malignant_narcissism Malignant Narcissism]] ) as opposed to something that doesn't (e.g. being a punk or metalhead or goth, having autism or anxiety or depression, or even having an antisocial personality or LackOfEmpathy but without any drive to violence from it)

** Combined racist-sexual stereotypes are ''the worst.'' Yes, some people might still see them as funny. Many more see them as offensive or at the very least, stupid and pointless. This includes "race is somehow a gauge of penis size" (it isn't, outside of very vague generalities which are by no means universal and full of exceptions), that "race determines sexual submissiveness/availability" (no one race or ethnicity is universally more sexually submissive or "lusty" than another) or ''anything'' else that equates race to what someone is, is not, or does or will not do in sexual situations.

* Don't use real people as "freaks," and avoid the [[SubcultureOfTheWeek Freaks Of The Week]] trope like the plague. Transgender people are real human beings with feelings and real lives. As are little people. As are women with unusual hair growth. As are people in that freakish little scary subculture that just got torn to bits on ''Series/{{CSI}}'' or ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''. And so on. If you absolutely ''must'' have someone treated as a "freak" for laughs or in using someone's "freakishness" to amplify their villainy, either pick something not realistic or among real people and refrain from the pitfalls of FantasyCounterpartCulture while doing so, or, in the case of amplifying villainy, pick something real but that ''does'' have an effect of violence or murder (e.g. serious alcohol abuse with the alcohol abuser becoming a violent drunk, uncontrolled intermittent explosive disorder, a severe and uncontrolled impulse control disorder, or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malignant_narcissism Malignant Narcissism]] ) as opposed to something that doesn't (e.g. being a punk or metalhead or goth, having autism or anxiety or depression, or even having an antisocial personality or LackOfEmpathy but without any drive to violence from it)

** Suicide and suicidal thoughts may be the ultimate act of violence to oneself, but most suicidal people ''aren't'' a risk to anyone other than themselves, unless somehow interrupted mid-suicide ''and'' armed with a lethal weapon like a gun. This is actually one of the worst depictions with [[JustForFun/TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs some of the worst implications possible]] - portraying suicidal people as evil, dangerous, or only capable of being dealt with by professionals encourages people who believe these depictions to abandon them out of fear rather than be what they need most - friends who can watch out for them and discuss their feelings without judgment or the threat of arrest and incarceration.

** Is it for a {{Wangst}}y backstory or to make the viewers feel sad for/sorry for someone? Reconsider it. Look up TearJerker and think of ways OTHER than rape, because [[RapeAsBackstory Rape Is The New Dead Parents]]. RapeAsBackstory is overdone, and especially for throwaway angst, there's many other worthy ways it can happen than rape.
** Is it for BlackComedy? Then make it as absurd and obviously unrealistic as possible. You are CrossingTheLineTwice, so at least try to make it so obviously absurdly stupid, over the top, and FanDisservice that, while it's a joke, it's a joke at the idea of rape itself and/or at the expense of rapists[[note]]a couple of good examples of rape as black comedy concept (though your mileage may definitely vary) are Creator/GeorgeCarlin's "Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd" joke - e.g. no real humans involved, and the humor is not in the victim or saying anyone "deserved it" but in the absolute stupid absurdity of the scene itself; and the "how many times can we say rape" RunningGag of ''Manga/DetroitMetalCity'', where the "20 rapes a second!" joke is actually a bit of incisive snark at how lightly "rape" is treated as a concept in HeavyMetal.[[/note]] Use your trigger warnings, and (it should go without saying) be prepared for quite a few people to say "DudeNotFunny". Expect others to be triggered, upset or offended.
** Is it for RapePortrayedAsRedemption? Unless you do not care about being called out, censored or sued, avoid using the variant where someone is raped and this makes them "realize" how much they were engaging in risky behaviour, needs to settle down, acting provocatively etc... Any justification you may come up with will most likely fall flat on its face. Please note that victim-blaming is ''extremely'' likely to offend the audience, and even more so in the context of rape; the only possibly workable exceptions may be the UnreliableNarrator or a highly skillful BlackComedy. The rape or realization thereof being the HeelRealization moment for the ''rapist'' ''may'' be workable, ''as long as the victim is not being blamed by the narrative and the act of rape is not idealized or glorified or somehow sympathetic,'' '''''and''''' ''the victim doesn't exist solely for the redemption of the rapist.''
** Is it really intended for RapeAsDrama, with all attendant respect it deserves as a traumatic experience? Then '''[[ShownTheirWork do the research.]]''' Go to RAINN, go to sites for victims, read and listen to interviews with victims so the subject may be treated for what it is as opposed to a lazy angst catalyst.

** Gender doesn't trump morality. Just because a character is female doesn't make her automatically [[FemalesAreMoreInnocent harmless or kinder than any male]]. Her ladyparts alone don't justify her horrible actions nor do they make it "less bad" than if it was a man who did it. A villainess doesn't have to have a FreudianExcuse -- maybe she's just a selfish person who only cares about herself and what she wants, plain and simple. Conversely, a male character isn't necessarily more threatening or perverted than a female.
** The men/active - female/passive dichotomy isn't an obligation. Just remember that sticking to it at all times will need to be justified by the plot, else it may pass off as sexist even if you don't mean to be.

** Don't confuse 'strong female character' with 'a female character who is physically strong' - a 'strong female character' is a female character with a strong ''personality'', who has some inner depth and has an existence outside of being a plot device. If that's satisfied, she can be anything on the spectrum between an extreme badass and a UselessProtagonist with all sorts of {{Phobia}}s, and still be a great and powerful character. There is a fallacy that a one-dimensional ImpossibleGenius ActionGirl is automatically less sexist than a one-dimensional DamselInDistress ScreamingWoman. The truth is that both characters still come off as sexist because they are both the result of writing women as props or ideas rather than people, and both present worrying implications about the expectations the writer has of women. A common example is the character who is written as brilliant to make her a more appealing TokenRomance for the AuthorAvatar male character, so he can look cooler himself by proving himself 'worthy' of her love - usually characters like this will [[FauxActionGirl end up being useless in the final act, so the hero can take care of it, with their abilities and achievements included only for aesthetic colour]].
** Women make up roughly 50% of the people on the Earth. Unless you're setting your story in a time or place where the absence of women is justified, it doesn't make sense to make all your minor characters male, with the only women in the entire cast being important characters whose gender is important to the plot. These settings promote the idea that MenAreGenericWomenAreSpecial, which is offensive to everyone (and makes your female characters into glaring {{Chekhovs Gun}}s).

* For the straight yaoi and yuri fans, keep in mind that real gay and bisexual people exist, and some of them ''are'' also fans of yaoi and yuri as well. This doesn't mean that all of your stories have to have aesops about LGBT rights or be entirely 100% realistic - in fact, going off on an AuthorFilibuster about this or driving your characters out of character to do it is one of the worst mistakes you can make, because it makes you look like a white knight as well as showing off privilege. It does mean that having your characters be unexamined stereotypes of LGBT people will be noticed and taken badly, and it does mean you should understand at least a little beyond what you learn from porn or SlashFic or manga or whatever.

** In combination with the note on rape tropes above: rape and questionable consent are STILL rape and questionable consent (and have the same painful emotional and physical effects) if the rapist and victim are the same sex. And no, this doesn't incur love or a long-standing relationship. A part of the audience may find this deliciously kinky but, in general, romance novels, particularly the BoysLoveGenre, already suffer from the reputation of being low-quality smut so you might want to avert this if you want to be taken seriously as an author. This also applies to YuriGenre - yes, a woman ''can'' be sexually assaulted or raped by another woman, and the result isn't love or an ongoing relationship but fear, trauma and suffering - the same as if she had been raped by a man.

* Do not apply AlwaysChaoticEvil to ''any'' group of sapient beings -- race, ethnicity, nationality, age group, religion, gender, sexuality, species (whether you are writing SpeculativeFiction or not), etc. Ever. Even ideological movements populated by large numbers of true believers, or active conformists, inevitably have a handful of inactive conformists or quiet dissenters. Even ''[[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons the Wehrmacht]]'' had a handful of senior commanders who couldn't have been hung for War Crimes (admittedly among hundreds), and several actively good people were party members. For example, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rabe John Rabe]] helped protect Chinese civilians in [[UsefulNotes/WhyMaoChangedHisName Nanking/Nanjing]] during the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Schindler Oskar Schindler]] protected Jews from enslavement, rental, and death during UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust (as depicted in ''Film/SchindlersList''), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gert_Fröbe Gert Fröbe]] (who's now known for his postwar acting career in movies like ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' and ''Film/ChittyChittyBangBang'') also helped Jews escape.

* Avoid tropes like CrazyHomelessPeople and the LowerClassLout unless you really do want to engage the class and social issues of ''why'' ''some'' homeless people are "crazy," and why ''some'' lower class people are prone to criminality and violence. Do not make the mistake of depicting ''all'' homeless people as CrazyHomelessPeople or jokes or people who "just need to get a job," etcetera, or all lower-class people as prone to drunkenness, fighting, and violence. Finally, it's important to consider the conditions that could drive lower-class people to criminality or sex work.

* Do be aware that the attempt to avoid ''some'' UnfortunateImplications can create ''others,'' and occasionally worse ones. For example, if you aren't careful picking a victim character to avoid BlackDudeDiesFirst or DisposableWoman or BuryYourGays, you can end up with one of the ones you ''didn't'' pick if that applies. Trying too severely to avoid the UnfortunateImplications in GetBackInTheCloset and HideYourLesbians and similar tropes can backfire into AllGaysArePromiscuous, and vice versa. Misogynist or sexist toward women unfortunate implications are a huge minefield for this - carelessly trying to avert them without an idea of why they are problematic can make a work seem misandrist and applying {{Double Standard}}s - with racial implications being similar (e.g. having the white guy do the UncleTomfoolery in a case of PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy doesn't instantly make it not-racist).

* Have multiple, varied examples of any given minority. [[WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}} If you must make the tribe chief bigoted and aggressive, make his daughter compassionate and open-minded]]. If your female protagonist is a proud warrior who's never picked up a saucepan in her life, place her alongside a peer or authority figure who's typically, confidently feminine- and whose personal agency ''doesn't'' [[RealWomenDontWearDresses suffer]] for it. Increasing the emotional diversity of whatever group you're focusing on is the easiest way to avoid stereotyping- and create new plot opportunities, as well.

* There will always be racist people out there [[MisaimedFandom that try to use your work to confirm their (often unfairly biased) beliefs]]. As a writer you can try to make clear that they are clearly part of the MisaimedFandom. If you for instance write about a black character (and aren't black yourself), it is a good thing to look at sites like [[http://midnightbreakfast.com/writing-people-of-color this one]] to see how NOT to write a black character.

* Portraying disability is ''not'' easy - even if the portrayal of the disability is [[ShownTheirWork heavily researched]], even based off of [[WriteWhatYouKnow your own experiences as a disabled person]], it's ''not'' a universal experience for everyone.
** Most notably, these are actual ''people'' - they have their own thoughts, needs, desires, personalities, like literally everyone else. Many disabled people have grown up [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman being seen as "Broken" and patronised like children]] when [[DoYouThinkICantFeel they do in fact have feelings]].
** For portraying neurodivergence, you cannot just look at a list of common symptoms and apply that to your character. People with experience such as therapists, psychiatrists, advocates, and even the people themselves can tell you just how ''different'' neurodivergent people are from one another - not just "Neurotypical" people. It isn't uncommon for a highly researched and "accurate" portrayal of something such as say, UsefulNotes/BipolarDisorder to be met with someone with Bipolar Disorder to say "That's nothing ''like'' me..."
** The idea of "Curing" a disability can be very appealing, but it easily can be viewed as "Erasure" or even genocide by others. For some people who are disabled, having something that is inherently tied to who they are treated as a "condition to be cured" or compared to a "Disease" can be seen as insensitive. Many of them want to be treated as a person - not for their condition.

* Don't make evil groups or evil characters [[SpaceJews distinctive for an appearance feature that parallels a specific real world race or culture]] and especially do not make them parallel to said culture. Your "aliens" who happen to have hooked noses, wear hats that suspiciously look like yarmulkes, and who are greedy bankers aren't "cute" or "getting crap past the radar", they're a stereotype recycled.

* Portraying disability is ''not'' easy - even if the portrayal of the disability is [[ShownTheirWork heavily researched]], even based off of [[WriteWhatYouKnow your own experiences as a disabled person]], it's ''not'' a universal experience for everyone. Some people have

** For portraying neurodivergence, you cannot just look at a list of common symptoms and apply that to your character. People with experience such as therapists, psychiatrists, advocates, and even the people themselves can tell you just how ''different'' neurodivergent people are from one another - not just "Neurotypical" people. It isn't uncommon for a highly researched and "accurate" portrayal of something such as say, UsefulNotes/BipolarDisorder to be met with someone with Bipolar Disorder to say "That's nothing ''like'' me..." Not everyone with UsefulNotes/Autism

** Is it for RapePortrayedAsRedemption? Unless you do not care about being called out, censored or sued, avoid using the variant where someone is raped and this makes him or her "realize" how much he or she was engaging in risky behaviour, needs to settle down, acting provocatively etc... Any justification you may come up with will most likely fall flat on its face. Please note that victim-blaming is ''extremely'' likely to offend the audience, and even more so in the context of rape; the only possibly workable exceptions may be the UnreliableNarrator or a highly skillful BlackComedy. The rape or realization thereof being the HeelRealization moment for the ''rapist'' ''may'' be workable, ''as long as the victim is not being blamed by the narrative and the act of rape is not idealized or glorified or somehow sympathetic,'' '''''and''''' ''the victim doesn't exist solely for the redemption of the rapist.''

* Don't use real people as "freaks," and avoid the [[SubcultureOfTheWeek Freaks Of The Week]] trope like the plague. Transgender people are real human beings with feelings and real lives. As are little people. As are women with unusual hair growth. As are people in that freakish little scary subculture that just got torn to bits on ''Series/{{CSI}}'' or ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''. And so on. If you absolutely ''must'' have someone treated as a "freak" for laughs or in using someone's "freakishness" to amplify their villainy, either pick something not realistic or among real people and refrain from the pitfalls of FantasyCounterpartCulture while doing so, or, in the case of amplifying villainy, pick something real but that ''does'' have an effect of violence or murder (e.g. serious alcohol abuse with the alcohol abuser becoming a violent drunk, uncontrolled intermittent explosive disorder, a severe and uncontrolled impulse control disorder, or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malignant_narcissism Malignant Narcissism]] ) as opposed to something that doesn't (e.g. being a punk or metalhead or goth, suffering from autism or anxiety or depression, or even having an antisocial personality or LackOfEmpathy but without any drive to violence from it)

** There are definitely examples of works set in TheDungAges-based fantasy worlds which use the mysogyny and racism of their settings to skewer the way these operate in the real world, but there are also definitely examples of these sorts of stories which use oppression as superficial window-dressing [[DarkerAndEdgier to indicate that it's 'gritty']] (or even as titillation).

** If you are going to have a character rape someone else as a MoralEventHorizon, make sure to present it as such, meaning having the act coming from a character whose LackOfEmpathy is otherwise established in all other interactions with your story's character, as opposed to an affinity for paraphilias or plain lust for example. Rape coming from some random character out of nowhere will just cheapen the heinousness of the act or be seen as plain lazy writing.
** {{False Rape Accusation}}s ''are'' a thing, sadly. But this subject is touchy and it demands seasoned writing skills. One of the best way to treat it is to inspire oneself from a RealLife instance that clearly convicted the accuser as a callous liar out for shameless personal gain at somebody else's expense. The long-lasting effects a FalseRapeAccusation incurs, like how such a bevahior just might bar actual victims from being believed shouldn't go unaddressed. And also the long-term effects it has on the accused person's life and ruined reputation if it has been proven beyong the shade of a doubt that they were innocent and the whole thing was a malicious fabrication indeed.

** {{False Rape Accusation}}s ''are'' a thing, sadly. But this subject is touchy and it demands seasoned writing skills. One of the best way to treat it is to inspire oneself from a RealLife instance that clearly convicted the accuser as a callous liar out for shameless personal gain at somebody else's expense. Focusing on the long-lasting effects a FalseRapeAccusation incurs, like how such a bevahior just might bar actual victims from being believed shouldn't go unaddressed, just like the long-term effects it has on the accused person's life and ruined reputation if it has been proven beyong the shade of a doubt that they were innocent and the whole thing was a malicious fabrication indeed.

** Is it really intended for RapeAsDrama, with all attendant respect it deserves as a traumatic experience? Then '''[[ShownTheirWork do the research.]]''' Go to RAINN, go to sites for victims, read and listen to interviews with victims. Then, and only then, prepare yourself to write all of your understanding and emotions into your fully developed character, and prepare to devote considerable time in the work to this.

** If you are going to have a character rape someone else as a MoralEventHorizon, ask yourself whether it is truly necessary to establish their heinousness and irredeemability, or if something else would work just as well. If you are seriously considering it, it should be consistent with their characterization - they should have a well-established massive sense of entitlement, obsession with power and dominance, inability to see others as people, and other malignant traits that ''aren't'' perversion or paraphilia-related. Rape-related Moral Event Horizons are overused and will feel, at best, cheap and lazy, and if you insist on using one anyways, the focus should be less on the act itself and more on what led the character to commit it. Just making the character a gross, sex-crazed pervert is lazy characterization - there needs to be something deeply wrong with them that allows them to rationalize or justify it, or, barring that, to just not care about it or be concerned with the effect it has.
** Tread ''extremely'' carefully with FalseRapeAccusation - 99 times out of 100, you are better off not using it at all. If you do decide to, it must, again, be a believable part of well-established characterization. The character should have a well-established history of Machiavellianism and extreme callousness, a pathological disregard for the rights of others, an inability to recognize or extreme apathy towards the effects their actions have on others, and other traits consistent with a pattern of ruthless self-interest with few, if any compunctions about stepping on others for personal gain. Also avoid incorporating mental illness or trauma into the pathology behind it - while it is true that some disorders can have false accusations as a presentation, it verges dangerously close to sending a message that all accusations from the mentally ill or those with long histories of trauma are delusions or falsehoods made for personal gain, even if you sincerely do not intend to send that message.
** Stay away from the NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization. The body's response to sexual stimulation is ''involuntary'', so a person could feel physical pleasure- or even have an orgasm- and still not consent. A lot of people this has happened to feel confused by this, and they might even feel betrayed by their own bodies. Claiming that pleasure means they consented will ''not'' help them.

** If you're going to use historical bigotry, have some idea how bigotry actually operated in those times and places. See the second bullet about that point.

* There will always be racist people out there [[MisaimedFandom that try to use your work to confirm their (often unfairly biased) beliefs]]. As a writer you can try to make clear that they are clearly part of the MisaimedFandom. If you for instance write about a black character (and aren't black yourself), it is a good thing to look at sites like [[http://www.springhole.net/writing/offensivemistakes.htm this one]] or [[http://midnightbreakfast.com/writing-people-of-color this]] to see how NOT to write a black character.

* Have multiple, varied examples of any given minority. [[WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}} If you must make the tribe chief bigoted and aggressive, make his daughter compassionate and open-minded]]. If your female protagonist is a proud warrior who's never picked up a saucepan in her life, place her alongside a peer or authority figure who's typically, confidently feminine- and whose personal agency ''doesn't'' [[RealWomenNeverWearDresses suffer]] for it. Increasing the emotional diversity of whatever group you're focusing on is the easiest way to avoid stereotyping- and create new plot opportunities, as well.

** As a note on the SexualHarassmentAndRapeTropes above, beware of DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale. A woman ''can'' rape a man (objects, SexualCoercion, and especially with the advent of date-rape drugs and erection-inducing drugs) and the effects can be just as devastating for a male victim (in the same ways and sometimes in different ways) than for a female victim, ''especially'' if emotional abuse or drugs were the means of the assault (since men "aren't supposed to be" vulnerable to either in most male-dominated societies). Being "hot" is not a valid excuse for rape, either.

* Be '''extremely''' judicious when applying the RuleOfFunny. If you find yourself using this as a [[JustJokingJustification justification]] when called out for not doing your research, you've probably already invoked UnfortunateImplications. This is another good reason to have people related to the issues you raise vet your work.

** There are definitely examples of works set in TheDungAges-based fantasy worlds which use the mysogyny and racism of their settings to skewer the way these operate in the real world, but there are also definitely examples of these sorts of stories which use oppression as superficial window-dressing [[DarkerAndEdgier to indicate that it's 'gritty']] (or even as titillation). There isn't any reason to automatically assume a world where people can breathe underwater, walk on clouds, shoot fireballs out of their nostrils and use dragon dung as currency would have the exact same racial and sexual politics as 1950s America, and doing this would suggest, at least, a failure of your own imagination.
** If you're going to use historical bigotry, have some idea how bigotry actually operated in those times and places. Many people have written history books from the perspective of their own prejudices, casually erasing things they thought not worthy of paying attention to. Our cultural familiarity with historical settings often defaults to HollywoodHistory TheThemeParkVersion tropes, so what may seem like ridiculous PoliticallyCorrectHistory may actually be more accurate than the stereotype. Even in settings that ''were'' that bad for oppressed groups, it is respectful to the victims to portray something based on the real agonies they faced rather than just coming up with something generically dark and playing it for shock value.

** [[RealWomenDontWearDresses Depicting the more masculine of two women as the more competent one]] isn't progressive--it's still pigeonholing female characters into a rigid mold that they must comply with or be mocked. If anything it's ''anti''-progressive, since it implies that the only "acceptable" woman is one who acts, for all intents and purposes, exactly like a man.