Implications of Social-Construct terms of "Humanity" and "Beast"

[Kirisu]

I still think it's weird how Au'ra from the Steppe aren't considered beastmen when some of the beast tribes are a lot more integrated in modern society and more civilized than they are.

That comes from them being native to Othard, and in the Hrothgars case, Ilsabard. The phrases "Beastmen" and "Beast Tribes" originated from Ul'dah, when the Amal'jaa rebuffed their aggressive expansion into Amal'jaa lands. The Syndicate was quick to slap the label on them because they could then impose taxes and security tolls on the trade routes for keeping the roads safe from "Them."

The terms then spread to the other three city-states and was applied to their own indigenous problem-children and the rest is history.

Miqo'te are a tribal culture too and probably narrowly dodged the bullet because 1.) they look comparatively human next to eorzea's other indigenous peoples and 2.) because they folded in with the "Civilized" world where others did not.

Comparatively, the Au Ra and especially Hrothgar immigrants actually faced considerable scrutiny and likely persecution when they first appeared in Eorzea. We know Sidurgu's tribe was more or less exterminated to a man because they were mistaken for Dragonkin by Ishgardian forces, while the Hrothgar were feared and ostracized as beastmen until they gained a measure of mastery of the Eorzean common tongue to make themselves understood.

Meanwhile in the Far East, the connotations of "Beast Tribes" is something we Eorzeans carried with us East, the Kojin, Lupin and Namazu are not branded so and in fact, the latter two blends in quite seamlessly with the local Spoken, while the former prefers isolation on the sea floor but maintains cordial relations. Viera lastly, though tribal. Are much too isolated outside of their native lands to receive the Beastman Brand, and are perceived more as curiousities than an actual people.

It's important to remember that despite the species' player population, Viera don't actually leave their forest homes in droves, in fact you'd be lucky to spot even one in a lifetime.