tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post5476915125998506736..comments2024-03-16T11:09:05.148-07:00Comments on TalkToYoUniverse: Teaching readers (and characters) to perceive diversity in fictional worldsJuliette Wadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-57076263850784527672014-04-27T13:26:13.685-07:002014-04-27T13:26:13.685-07:00Just keep going, Alicia. You will make it! Yes, I ...Just keep going, Alicia. You will make it! Yes, I try to avoid preachy as well. Thanks for sharing your experience.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-32856839191811020502014-04-24T18:45:43.872-07:002014-04-24T18:45:43.872-07:00Sometimes when I get frustrated at how long my wip...Sometimes when I get frustrated at how long my wip is taking, I remember that part of the reason I write is that there are issues - background issues, but real nonetheless - that affect the characters.<br /><br />I don't want - and don't have - preachy (those make very bad fiction), but chronic illness is there, and is dealt with. <br /><br />AliciaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-54944528987566786412014-04-17T09:03:56.109-07:002014-04-17T09:03:56.109-07:00Yes, Dorian, it's funny how there's has be...Yes, Dorian, it's funny how there's has been a conspiracy of silence around the issue of representation. Thank you for sharing your experience. I don't know the podcast you speak of, but the whitewashing really doesn't surprise me.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-62182627736752367512014-04-17T08:59:26.084-07:002014-04-17T08:59:26.084-07:00I think some of us who do fit into those "def...I think some of us who do fit into those "default" categories sometimes forget how little representation other groups get. Once, I had a dream that one of my characters was transgender, so I toyed with making it canon, but didn't think about it too seriously. I then mentioned the idea to a friend who is trans, and he got so excited. "There's not a lot of people like us in fiction," he pointed out, "and when there is, the fact that they're trans is always the most important thing about them. There aren't trans characters where it's just a fact, not made a big deal out of."<br />(Needless to say, I did go ahead and make the character trans, and have been doing my research to make sure I know what I'm doing. I still sometimes second-guess myself about if I'm being too subtle or making too big a deal out of it.)<br /><br />Another interesting point, with the comment you made about "If we are not explicit in the ways we portray diversity, they are far more likely to be ignored or elided by readers." Sometimes, even when you make something diverse, people ignore it, and it's super infuriating.<br />Have you heard of the podcast "Welcome to Nightvale"? While it has no canonical artwork, and the narrator is never given a full physical description, his love interest is marked as a person of color. Yet not only does the majority of fanart portray the narrator as a white male, but a striking amount of fanart also whitewashes his boyfriend. Really goes to show how far some people go in making characters "normal".Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13458682888250452383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-39438163212686379122014-04-15T22:45:34.972-07:002014-04-15T22:45:34.972-07:00Yes. It's the kind of explanation that relies ...Yes. It's the kind of explanation that relies on the assumption that all non-default characters are distracting, which in turn relies on a worldview that says "I just want to ignore that certain kinds of people exist." And it's a shame that people feel that way.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-71028620006107504092014-04-14T19:21:49.664-07:002014-04-14T19:21:49.664-07:00"I've heard people say that it shouldn..."I've heard people say that it shouldn't be necessary to specify things like skin color, ethnicity, sexuality, etc. in some contexts. I disagree, particularly given the strength of the expectation we are fighting against. If we are not explicit in the ways we portray diversity, they are far more likely to be ignored or elided by readers."<br /><br />I've run across a lot of people, including fellow writers, who have voiced this attitude, and a lot of the time when people say this it's because they really, really don't want to read about characters who are not white, straight, cisgender etc., but they don't want to admit it. So they create a false equivalency by saying "I don't want the author to tell me every time someone is white or straight either."<br /><br /><br />E.L. Wagnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05631080231126783838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-49154755766599129312014-04-14T18:07:57.197-07:002014-04-14T18:07:57.197-07:00Yes, thanks for adding that, OFloinn. There are a ...Yes, thanks for adding that, OFloinn. There are a lot of ways to do diversity badly (unfortunately). Getting out and observing the diversity of our world is a terrific suggestion.Juliette Wadehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02879627074920760712noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6320269312957801390.post-5044192502988005802014-04-14T17:42:49.321-07:002014-04-14T17:42:49.321-07:00...and to do this without tokenism and mere window......and to do this without tokenism and mere window-dressing.<br /><br />All a good reason why writers ought to get out and about and not stay in mom's basement. Lots of places to observe the human parade even around one's own locale. Heck, even on my own block.TheOFloinnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14756711106266484327noreply@blogger.com