Writing diversity

I'm facing a similar issue with the book I'm writing. As a member of more than one minority group, diversity in literature is very important to me. But at the same time, I'm very conscious of the dangers of doing it wrong.

I think the key question is "How many different ethnicities can you write well?" Do you know enough about the Yemanite-Israeli experience to do it justice? How about being black? Or Muslim? If you aren't a member of that community, and you haven't lived with them, and you don't have close friends of that group, and you haven't done extensive research or interviews of people from that background --or at least read work written by people of that background --then what are you writing, other than your own stereotypes of what a person of that background might be like?

I've come to realize over the years that good writing takes hard work, and cutting corners always shows. For too long people have assumed they can write characters of any ethnicity without actually understanding what makes those people's experience different. For me, however, speaking as a (multiracial) black viewer, I can nearly always tell when there are actual black people on the staff for a tv show writing for the black characters, as opposed to people who merely think they know what black people are like. So my answer to you is to put the character in if and only if you're willing to put the effort and research in to make those characters real, three-dimensional and authentic, whether they are heroes or villains. But get a beta-reader from that culture to check your work.

posted over 6 years ago

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Chris Sunami‭

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I think humans are more than well-represented in your story so far. Even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who eventually crammed pretty much all of Europe plus Asia into a Sherlock Holmes story at some point, could only have so many characters in a single story. The more characters you add, the more development you need (even if the characters are minor, there will be some level of change to keep track of over the course of the story). If you think you can handle it, go for it! Just don't push yourself too far because you are worried about too little diversity. You already have plenty.

In answer to your second question, I think most audiences are capable of separating an antagonistic character from their race--unless this character is overtly stereotypical or in poor taste. It this case, you might get some negative attention for that character.

posted over 6 years ago

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trrrrillionaire‭

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You have to work to play against stereotypes (without using another), because readers recognize stereotypes (even if they are not part of that group) and many of us are offended at the writing, on our own behalf or on behalf of others. Or in the modern world (I'm from the USA) often on behalf of people we love: Extended family and friends can include any race, sexual orientation, religious status, political party, or social philosophy. Just because somebody is not black does not mean they don't get it.

First, make sure your character breaks the stereotype of their race or ethnicity; you have to make them an individual.

Second, make sure you don't just make them some other stereotype: A black man adopted and raised by rich white parents, never emotionally wounded or angered by racism directed against themselves. If he fits the stereotype of an upper middle class white guy, that is tokenism too: You have an "Oreo" characters (named after the cookie), black on the outside, white on the inside.

There are other switched stereotypes. A gay man should not be portrayed as if they are a female mind, a lesbian should not be portrayed as if they are a male mind. There are plenty of gay men with manly traits, and plenty of lesbians that are girly. Even though physical brain organization is different in males and females, and (lifelong self-identified) homosexuals show clinical signs of having the opposite gender organization, remember they grew up with different hormones in different bodies in a gender-split culture, so each is their own unique mix of male and female traits (as are most of us).

Likewise, I have met (through the atheist club on my campus, which allowed anonymous attendance) a female raised Muslim that was an atheist.

Third, don't make them perfect. Like other characters, you need to give them strengths and weaknesses; they can be the best at something, but don't make them perfect in every sense.

They need flaws (bad traits they can work to overcome) and limitations (things they cannot do even if they wanted to) like everybody else, or they aren't relatable or real. And the flaw is not modesty about how great they are, it needs to be something that can in some way defeat them or deny them their goals or happiness. In figuring that out, make sure the limitations are not drawn from stereotypes, either; for example women that don't have physical strength, or courage, or need a man to grant them power.

posted over 6 years ago

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Amadeus‭

3156 reputation 2 1399 613 37

It may feel you're overdoing it.

I don't think you need to represent every facet of humanity in there, you have enough it seems already. Overdoing it may result in each character being underdeveloped, strained to the point that it could feel like you did it just to represent them. So far, you've got a pleasant roster of multicultural characters in your story.

An unpleasant character cannot represent an entire race.

I don't think it would appear racist. It may appear racist if he's just plain unpleasant for the sake of being unpleasant. Fleshing this unpleasant person out, showing us his background, motivations, etc. can alleviate any stereotype. 2D representations, to me, are what causes stereotyping but allowing this character to breathe and stretch out their personality allows us to rip out the tag of being this group and identify this character as his own.

posted over 6 years ago

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Blender‭

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Diversity is not, and should not be, a box-ticking exercise. If you're inserting minority characters just for the sake of having them there, you're doing it wrong.

To address your specific questions:

Is it a problem is some group such-and-such remains unrepresented?

Nope.

I am a firm believer that bad representation is worse than no representation at all. As a bisexual, not once have I come away from a work of fiction thinking "That was good and all, but I'm offended that there were no bisexuals in it". I have come away from works feeling offended that the only bi character was a Depraved Bisexual (looking at you, RWBY Volume 5).

I can't say nobody will get offended if you don't include a specific group in your story. But a lot more people will get offended if you include someone of that group and they turn out horribly stereotyped, or are just there as window decoration and don't actually contribute anything. That last point is what I mean by "inserting minority characters just for the sake of having them there" - they need to actually be relevant to the story, and not just "token X". (See also: the Bechdel test.)

If I have an unpleasant character, and he's the only representative of group such-and-such, would that appear racist?

Only if you do it wrong. You need to make it explicit that their unpleasantness is totally unrelated to whatever minority group they happen to be a part of, and again, you need to avoid any stereotypes that would make it look like you're demonising that particular group. Again, if your villain just happens to be a Muslim, and his motive isn't connected to his religion, you're going to offend a lot less people than if they're a Muslim terrorist who wants to wage holy war on the Western infidels.

posted over 6 years ago

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F1Krazy‭

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