Diversity in Fiction.
Apr. 9th, 2011 06:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
misslj_authorI've been thinking about this for a while but it came to a head today after a discussion with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jerusalemorbust last night and a discussion between meredith_shayne and myself this morning. (Both of whom I hope will comment here. :D) The subject being multiculturalism and interracial relationships in novels and characters that are in some way disabled and characters that are over the age of 25. (Warning: this post does contain a bit of self-absorbed hyperbole alas.)
It's been on my mind so much, personally, because in writing my Archangels novel, I am very aware that choosing to have each of the ten Archangels be a particular race, I am putting myself out there to be potentially inflammatory and/or offensive. It's on my mind that I could be called a racist or accused of cultural appropriation. Not to mention the religion thing, but I'm choosing to ignore it for the simple reason that I ignore it in the book. They're Archangels, they have a job to do, there's no praying or reading of scripture or anything like that. They just happen to be made by God – and God means different things to different people – there's no pontificating about any religion because that's just not what I want to write about.
So, I have white, Maori, Indian (from India), Chinese, black, Russian, Columbian and Cambodian characters. I've asked a few people about describing these characters because I want it to be very clear that they are not the default of white, male, mid-twenties, because they can switch gender as they choose, they aren't all white, and, as Archangels, older than time itself, they really aren't in their mid-twenties. My main concern is stereotyping: I don't want to describe them too much but I don't want to scrimp on it, either.
They are, in their natural state, creatures of light and energy. They take human shapes so as to do their duties and interact with humanity and also, the pesky side effect of their natural state tends to blind and melt the brains of humans. So it's a protection for human eyes as well as a means towards interaction without too many problems. Of course, there are problems, because otherwise there would be no story, but that's not what I'm going to talk about here.
I don't want to do PoC a disservice or show disrespect in how I write these characters. They're all likable characters, they all have flaws. (She says with great modesty!) I don't want the colour of their skin or the race their chosen forms are to be a deciding factor in whether or not they're likable. In short, I am genuinely terrified of being disrespectful.
Then there's able bodied versus not so able bodied. I'm working on a sequel to City of Gold right now, and my two main characters are older men, one of them has less mobility than his partner. This is due to a war injury and because of it, his hip and knee play up. Now, that sounds all fine and probably, to someone who doesn't suffer this sort of pain and the debilitation that goes with it as it gets worse, nothing worth mentioning.
I want to say right here and now, that's bullshit. Chronic pain is, to be blunt, a bitch. I know; I live with it. Every. Single. Day. The pain and frustration my character suffers is familiar to me, because I deal with this myself. The atrophy of muscles, the irreparable damage to cartilage and nerves makes mobility difficult, makes joints sometimes unusable. This is hard for me to articulate here, actually – it's easier for me to do in fiction because I can separate myself from it, in a way.
The character doesn't talk about it unless asked directly and unless it's someone he knows very well, he'll just say it's a war wound and change the subject. (Setting is the Byzantine Empire, the year 1131AD.) Why doesn't he talk about it? Because he's ashamed.
I know what that feels like too. My own situation makes me ashamed to say the words, "I'm disabled." I hate that I feel shame when I say this, but the reaction to these two little words is either pity – and I don't want pity – or disgust. Neither reflect the reality of my life, but there we go. Now, I, like my character, don't want to go into the nitty gritty of it, but it wasn't a war wound for me. It is what it is, I live with it daily and I don't particularly like explaining it – even to medical professionals because there's always that lingering shame of it and that whatever I say will be met with pity and/or disgust.
And it is, each and every time. Even in, I'm afraid to say, some of my friends. I know they don't mean it, and I know it's not conscious. I know that the pity they exhibit is genuine compassion and they wish they could help or something, but... having this, living with this does not mean I need to be treated as any less a person. So yeah, it's a bugbear and I can completely understand why authors would feel concerned that they might give offence when writing a character with a disability that they themselves don't have or have direct experience with (i.e., caring for a relative, working in support for that disability, etc.).
Which brings me to my point, in a long winded way – how do we, as writers, approach these topics that we, personally, may not have experience with, without giving offence to readers who do ?
People are people and love is love. Age, race, religion, disability, sex – none of this should matter. Unfortunately, because of societal conditioning, it does. And that's terrible.
jerusalemorbust last night and a discussion between meredith_shayne and myself this morning. (Both of whom I hope will comment here. :D) The subject being multiculturalism and interracial relationships in novels and characters that are in some way disabled and characters that are over the age of 25. (Warning: this post does contain a bit of self-absorbed hyperbole alas.)It's been on my mind so much, personally, because in writing my Archangels novel, I am very aware that choosing to have each of the ten Archangels be a particular race, I am putting myself out there to be potentially inflammatory and/or offensive. It's on my mind that I could be called a racist or accused of cultural appropriation. Not to mention the religion thing, but I'm choosing to ignore it for the simple reason that I ignore it in the book. They're Archangels, they have a job to do, there's no praying or reading of scripture or anything like that. They just happen to be made by God – and God means different things to different people – there's no pontificating about any religion because that's just not what I want to write about.
So, I have white, Maori, Indian (from India), Chinese, black, Russian, Columbian and Cambodian characters. I've asked a few people about describing these characters because I want it to be very clear that they are not the default of white, male, mid-twenties, because they can switch gender as they choose, they aren't all white, and, as Archangels, older than time itself, they really aren't in their mid-twenties. My main concern is stereotyping: I don't want to describe them too much but I don't want to scrimp on it, either.
They are, in their natural state, creatures of light and energy. They take human shapes so as to do their duties and interact with humanity and also, the pesky side effect of their natural state tends to blind and melt the brains of humans. So it's a protection for human eyes as well as a means towards interaction without too many problems. Of course, there are problems, because otherwise there would be no story, but that's not what I'm going to talk about here.
I don't want to do PoC a disservice or show disrespect in how I write these characters. They're all likable characters, they all have flaws. (She says with great modesty!) I don't want the colour of their skin or the race their chosen forms are to be a deciding factor in whether or not they're likable. In short, I am genuinely terrified of being disrespectful.
Then there's able bodied versus not so able bodied. I'm working on a sequel to City of Gold right now, and my two main characters are older men, one of them has less mobility than his partner. This is due to a war injury and because of it, his hip and knee play up. Now, that sounds all fine and probably, to someone who doesn't suffer this sort of pain and the debilitation that goes with it as it gets worse, nothing worth mentioning.
I want to say right here and now, that's bullshit. Chronic pain is, to be blunt, a bitch. I know; I live with it. Every. Single. Day. The pain and frustration my character suffers is familiar to me, because I deal with this myself. The atrophy of muscles, the irreparable damage to cartilage and nerves makes mobility difficult, makes joints sometimes unusable. This is hard for me to articulate here, actually – it's easier for me to do in fiction because I can separate myself from it, in a way.
The character doesn't talk about it unless asked directly and unless it's someone he knows very well, he'll just say it's a war wound and change the subject. (Setting is the Byzantine Empire, the year 1131AD.) Why doesn't he talk about it? Because he's ashamed.
I know what that feels like too. My own situation makes me ashamed to say the words, "I'm disabled." I hate that I feel shame when I say this, but the reaction to these two little words is either pity – and I don't want pity – or disgust. Neither reflect the reality of my life, but there we go. Now, I, like my character, don't want to go into the nitty gritty of it, but it wasn't a war wound for me. It is what it is, I live with it daily and I don't particularly like explaining it – even to medical professionals because there's always that lingering shame of it and that whatever I say will be met with pity and/or disgust.
And it is, each and every time. Even in, I'm afraid to say, some of my friends. I know they don't mean it, and I know it's not conscious. I know that the pity they exhibit is genuine compassion and they wish they could help or something, but... having this, living with this does not mean I need to be treated as any less a person. So yeah, it's a bugbear and I can completely understand why authors would feel concerned that they might give offence when writing a character with a disability that they themselves don't have or have direct experience with (i.e., caring for a relative, working in support for that disability, etc.).
Which brings me to my point, in a long winded way – how do we, as writers, approach these topics that we, personally, may not have experience with, without giving offence to readers who do ?
People are people and love is love. Age, race, religion, disability, sex – none of this should matter. Unfortunately, because of societal conditioning, it does. And that's terrible.
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no subject
Date: Sat, Apr. 9th, 2011 09:46 am (UTC)This is the crux of it for me, because the simple fact is that our society sees people with a disability as lesser, and this bleeds into any portrayal we see in the media. I don't think the writers of these characters are even aware they're doing it for the most part, because the attitude is so ingrained. I have yet to see anything with a disabled character where it's not implied that they need to be fixed in some way. And of course you get the stereotypes: the poor, brave disabled person who overcomes such terrible obstacles and yet can still manage to smile, such a sweet girl (excuse me while I vomit), and the bitter and twisted disabled person who hates the world and everyone in it. My other issue is one of emphasis, although this can vary depending on a person's situation, since I acknowledge the fact that a person who becomes disabled later in life will be in a different mental position than someone who is born with a disability; generally, I feel that there is too much emphasis placed on the disability, with whatever it is consuming the person's whole life and their every waking thought, which of course it doesn't. But I think that an able-bodied person just can't imagine that it wouldn't consume your every waking moment, and so these are the pictures with which we get presented. It's very annoying.
But yes. In sum: my issues, let me show you them. :)
As for how we do it without offending people, first of all I think you have to accept that there will always be someone who doesn't like what you've done, and you need to be prepared to listen to that person if they tell you why they don't like it. Apart from that I think to write about these topics takes a huge amount of sensitivity, awareness (of self as well as in general), tact and openness.
no subject
Date: Sat, Apr. 9th, 2011 10:05 am (UTC)This is a pair of tropes that make me cringe without fail. Yes, life can be hard. But it can also be good. Some days are better than others, not every day involves some Great Struggle.
awareness (of self as well as in general)
I think that's a good point, actually. To have that awareness, not just of a potential readership but of the self and how we react to prejudice of any kind, either as passive audience or participant (be it perpetrator or the one being prejudiced against.)
no subject
Date: Sat, Apr. 9th, 2011 08:01 pm (UTC)How we react to prejudice and also our own prejudices, and how they might be colouring what we put on the page. I really think awareness is the key; if you keep in the forefront of your mind that writing these characters takes more than just getting the big picture things right, then you'll do all right. I don't think it's impossible for an able-bodied author to write a realistic disabled character, I just think that to do so takes a lot more effort than people realise.