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A token character is a character in a story, myth, or legend, that only exists to achieve the minimum compliance with assumed normality for the environment described in the story. For example, a token wife is a wife who has no depth of character, or identity of her own, but only exists because the character, that she is married to, is expected to have a wife.
A token character can also be used by writers to pay lip service to rules or standards, when they otherwise have no intention of doing so, such as by obeying anti-racism policies by including a token black character, who, despite being present often, nevertheless does nothing, and has no function in the plot. In this situation the creation of such characters is referred to as Tokenism.
Token characters may represent various groups, which vary from the norm (usually white/heterosexual/physically atrractive, frequently male), and are otherwise excluded from the story. They can be based on ethnicity (black, as well as Hispanic, Asian or Jewish), physical appearance (overweight or otherwise conventionally unattractive), sexual preference (non-heterosexual) or gender (female character in a male-dominated cast). Token characters will either be relegated to the background or exhibit stereotypical behavior, usually to render them inoffensive to readers or viewers. Such a character may also be disposed off relatively early in the story (either by being killed or voted off in a reality TV show) in order to enhance the drama while "conserving" the normal characters.
The "token black" character is ridiculed in the movie Not Another Teen Movie. In the movie, one character, when asked a question, answered: "I'm just the token black guy! I'm just supposed to stand here, stay out of the conversation, and say things like 'shit!', 'damn!' and 'that is whacked!'". Later, he does just that.
The television show South Park includes a token black character, aptly named Token Black.
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