White Writers Writing Non-White Characters: Why I Vote Yes, for Commercial Fiction
By Guest | July 29, 2017 |
Please welcome back author Elizabeth Stephens, who’s here to further the discussion of a somewhat controversial but important topic: Should white writers craft protagonists of color, or vice-versa? A little about Elizabeth from her bio:
Elizabeth Stephens–a self-acknowledged weirdo who has been writing since the age of 11–is a mixed race (black and white) romance and science fiction author and reader of all things that feature tough leading ladies. Her newest release, The Hunting Town, came out July 16, 2017 and is a small town, mafia romance. Last year saw the publication of Saltlands, book two in her dystopian romance series which began with Population. She is a big fan of inclusion and her books always include kick ass ladies of color.
Her day job is in communications for public and private sector clients across Africa.
When she isn’t writing or day-jobbing she can most often be found reading, drawing, throwing pottery, watching horror movies, and protesting for causes that she hopes will make the world a better place for all.
Learn more about Elizabeth and The Hunting Town on her website (where you can find a free self-publishing guide), and by following her on Twitter and Facebook.
White Writers Writing Non-White Characters: Why I Vote Yes, for Commercial Fiction
I recently came across an article in which an author advocated that white writers should not feature characters of color as leading protagonists in their novels. This author made some compelling points that I believe are critical to consider for all writers of literary fiction looking to portray characters outside of their race. Are you a white author trying to tell the story of a disenfranchised Mexican immigrant? Maybe reconsider.
However, are you a white author of erotica looking to cast a dark-skinned black woman as your leading lady? Please, write on! Because when it comes to mainstream, commercial, and genre fiction, I would wholeheartedly challenge this author’s assumption. Characters of color do just as much for minority empowerment as the authors who write them. Thus, I urge this author and others who share the same opinion to place a small asterisk in their argument. Here’s why:
We need to acknowledge some (frustrating) facts.
“…[I]t will take more than a survival instinct to survive The Hunting Town: the town of mischief, mayhem, and murder.”
We don’t relate to authors like we do to characters.
I am a young reader of color and I’ve got my nose pressed between the dog-eared pages of a book. I don’t know who the author is and I don’t care. At my age, an author is about as elusive to me as Santa Claus – I know they must exist because the books do, like my presents, but beyond that they remain a figment of my imagination.
Who I do care about however, are the characters. These characters are as real to me as my friends, but I notice that among them, there aren’t any people that look like I do. In television, in movies, and in books, I constantly find myself fighting to identify with the protagonists. To have more of them – and not as side characters, but as leads – would boost my confidence. Imagine if Katniss Everdeen had been a black girl. For once, how empowering might it have been to see little white girls in Katniss costumes on Halloween regardless of Katniss – or her author’s – skin color? Maybe at my young age, seeing more principle protagonists of different races and backgrounds and abilities would give me the confidence to write more too.
We should do the best we can, and remember that nobody’s perfect.
At the end of the day, the most we can ever do to protect others is to self-reflect and acknowledge our own privilege in all of its many forms. In an ideal world, the percent of mainstream fiction across the world – not just that featuring characters of color – would better reflect the demographics of the country itself. In this world, everyone would have equal opportunity to contribute.
As readers in this world, we would be able to dig into a book about an Asian woman written by a black man and not worry about the opportunity he took away from an Asian woman. As authors, we would be able to do our research into the lives of others and walk in their shoes without worry that we’re stepping on their toes. And as young readers, we would read so many books, featuring so many different types of people that by Halloween, we could dress up as whatever and whoever we wanted.
What do you think about timidity for writing protagonists of other races? What — if anything — makes you uncomfortable, and why?
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
I’m a white female, and cast a white man as protagonist in my supernatural-suspense WIP. But my important second-POV character is a black man, a news anchor who befriends Mr. Protag and tries to warn him of the peril.
A long-time friend, a gracious black man in the age range of my character, has cheerfully checked bits of dialog to make sure my guy didn’t come off as either “too white” or “too ‘street’.”
(The suspense is on the back burner for now but I hope to get back to it.)
PS: Thank you for this post. It validates my desire to make racial diversity a part of my work.
Janice, your point about sensitivity readers is key. I’ve hired and will continue to hire them so I don’t commit the same errors you are watching for…
Every time I create a lead character, my concern is to fully understand her nature and background, her pain and her hope. Having worked closely with lots of fiction writers, I believe most of us work hard to find the truth and reveal it–with fresh and challenging twists.
So I am grateful for this post, Elizabeth, and I champion your call for leading characters of color. I’d include characters with challenges or any other attribute that puts them in a minority position.
It may be that we writers need to step up and take more responsibility and more action, even if it means we take more heat.
The question then becomes–how and where do we did deep enough into another culture to be competent to present a true complex character. I love a good question. Something to aim for.
Well said!
Well-said and many great points. I agree with this statement, absolutely:
“It may be that we writers need to step up and take more responsibility and more action, even if it means we take more heat.”
Thank you for sharing your perspective on this issue. Your post is both timely and informative. I have read the article cited and others on the topic because it is important to understand the feelings of others. As an author of historical fiction often set in the pre-civil rights South, it would be dishonest and historically inaccurate to omit persons of color from my list of characters. Race relations, often sordid and chilling, always complicated, have driven the cultural, social, and political climate of the region since colonial times. While I have not written a person of color as the single protagonist, I have included persons of color and mixed-race as strong, often heroic, secondary characters. This was not so much the purpose of including them, but simply how the characters evolved or how they revealed themselves during the writing.
I do not claim to be able to stand in another person’s shoes to completely know what she knows or feel what she feels, but I do have some experience working with persons from many different cultures and ethnicities. One thing that always broke my heart as a public middle school educator was how much some children struggled with the historical facts surrounding their particular heritage. Some black children didn’t want to hear about slavery and the Civil War. They hated thinking about ancestors as slaves. They hated thinking about the horrors of the Jim Crow era. Vietnamese kids tuned out when studying the Viet Nam War and the “boat people”. Afghan children became very quiet at the mention of the British Empire or Russia. Native American kids hated the units on the French and Indian War and Westward Expansion. Hispanic children struggled during the units on the Texas Revolution. The post-9/11 era has become very difficult and complicated for Muslim children. I mention all of this to simply share my experiences helping children deal with issues that were personally painful to them. In no way am I suggesting that these issues not be addressed through fiction. I am simply encouraging authors writing YA lit to be cognizant of how some readers may react and to make authors who have limited experience with young people aware of another piece of the puzzle. It is not one that I have seen mentioned in articles on publishing. Your thoughts?
Appreciated your thoughtful reply, LInda. This is a difficult but timely topic.
You make good points, so I have to ask… why do you have a generic white woman on the cover of your latest book ‘The Hunting Town’?
I was going for something line drawn so therefore not a real person, but a caricature of a person. And I actually tend to think she looks quite a bit like me (not white) but I suppose that’s open to other interpretations.
Thanks, Elizabeth. I’ve written protagonists and secondary characters of color, and I’ve heard concerns that because I’m a white woman, I should not try protagonists of color. (I write YA.) I understand where this comes from–there’s been a lot of privilege and ignorance written in the name of artistic freedom. I get that there are only so many seats at the publishing table, so if I as a white woman take a seat writing a black heroine, for example, is that truly fair? It’s not an easy-answer question. I’ve been told not to do it because critics and others (in this political climate especially) will skewer me. I try to reconcile the abundance model/ideals in my head with the realities we all confront. I believe that if whites do as you say–reflect, acknowledge privilege, and do the right kinds of research–good things can come artistically of that. Right now, I’m back to a white protagonist in my latest WIP, while her best friends are characters of color. One problem I have with a very popular story, 13 Reasons Why, is that the book’s very white, and I’m not really sure where things are set in America. However, the Netflix series did a great job with diversifying the cast and making characters so robust and interesting. Personally, I’ve never lived or worked in a default white landscape, so I couldn’t write “all white.” My side project is a partially free novella available via Radish, where my protagonist is a biracial teen boy. I wrote about my decision to take on this project while subbing out/writing white protagonists with the traditional publishing industry. There is a question of whether in the scarcity model that is traditional publishing, should white authors be the ones writing protagonists of color? Right now, I feel most comfortable writing white protagonists with characters of color as secondary and tertiary characters. I do hope that there will be more artistic openness to my writing protagonists of color in the future, and I haven’t given up hope that as Dr. King says, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” https://lynhawks.com/why-caleb-now/
Great post and so timely. The discussion about cultural appropriation is one that we need to have as there are many people who feel that some ethnic and racial groups have been marginalized or wrongly presented in the arts, whether it’s writing, film, painting, etc.
I’m of the opinion that a writer should have the artistic freedom to write whatever inspires them to write. But having said that, I also expect the writer to research what they don’t know, so that their story is credible. To misrepresent another race or culture is irresponsible. I’m sure many of us can cite films or writing that have given us the wrong impression of certain cultures and/or races. It’s why we are having this discussion today.
Diana, I was going to post my own comment, but you and Teresa above, have really summed up my thoughts perfectly.
It’s so important to be sensitive to all cultural and racial groups, and as writers (just like actors), it is our job to slip into the shoes and skin of someone else to create relevant, fresh stories that need to be told in the best way possible. But it must be done well, with a lot of research and perhaps with the aid of a sensitivity reader. Nonetheless, I think a talented writer can portray all manner of issues and characters well. If this weren’t true, a man couldn’t write about a Moorish female from 1555 Spain, or a woman couldn’t write from the POV of a male diplomat set during dynastic China, and that’s just not the case. As a historical fiction writer, I naturally write about maligned women and groups, as society in the past was radically skewed and unfair. (Much work to do today still, of course, but that’s another discussion altogether.) I suppose this is why I see it this way.
All that said, I absolutely believe someone who has been in a certain situation and writes about it, or a person of color who writes about a character of color, will certainly offer insight and an authenticity not likely to come from someone who hasn’t had those experiences. It’s only natural.
Meanwhile, I’m so heartened to see the #diversebooks movement gain momentum, as well as the acknowledgement that our society desperately needs to hear from authors of color and various cultural groups. As a cultural geographer, world traveler, and lover of languages, this movement absolutely thrills me. What makes the world so beautiful is it’s multi-colored tapestry.
I guess I had more to say after all! Ha!
Great post today, Elizabeth.
I absolutely agree! In my book The Hunting Town, I write from the perspective of a Russian man, a Mexican woman, a black man, a white man, a white woman, a Native American man… LOL
I even use languages that are not my own and languages that I have no experience speaking.
I also write about strippers and cage fighters and mafia and cartel members. (I am none of these things.)
I write fiction and because it my books aren’t trying to be a representation of any of those characters but rather, an action packed romance, I don’t feel guilt when I include these characters. Who knows, maybe I should.
I just know that as a reader of color I like seeing traditionally underrepresented characters in instances where anyone can see them as beautiful as opposed to flipping open a romance and finding the traditional white leads and characters of color as side characters, if included anywhere at all.
I want to believe that everyone can find me beautiful. So to read a romance between two people – one of whom is not white – gives me a weird confidence boost and just by virtue of being non-white makes me feel pretty. Like I am accepted too.
My issues with this topic are as follows– 1) it is important that the writer be aware of her implicit bias before writing characters of different races and ethnicities. Often, an unrecognized bias can get written into a narrative, as in the use of racial stereotypes. 2) One of the common flags I see is the writer who describes the skin color of only of the nonwhite characters (and not of the white characters) because whiteness is the default or normative race. 3) Another pet peeve of mine is the white writer’s tendency to describe the skin tones of POC (people of color) using food descriptors. As a Black woman, I cringe at every “coffee or caramel-colored” descriptor!
Thanks, Joanne. I’ll keep that in mind!
These are good points. I’m tired of a pale beige man being referred to as a ‘man’ and a dark brown man being referred to as a ‘black man’. I also don’t like it when men are men and women are girls.
I agree with all of the above! Except for the point on food – I am a caramel-colored, sun kissed goddess and proud of it ;)
And I especially agree with the point on men v girls. Very grating.
Joanne, I’m curious to know whether you have examples of descriptors that you think are good. When I describe color I often use an analog in the natural world, whether it be food, wood, plants, water, or stone. I have also described body shape and other physical features using fruit metaphors. But I am always looking for elegant ways to describe a character’s appearance without using the same tried-and-true comparisons I’ve used in the past. That is why I’d like to hear more about what you (or other writers) have found effective.
I recently read a book where a young boy popped up who was on the autistic spectrum – and the character did not remotely ring true. Never mind about being neuro-typical or not – he wasn’t convincing as a little boy. That one made me wriggle, before I laid the book down never to pick it up again…
This could not be more timely for me. I’ve been agonizing over whether my portrayal of a young runaway slave in my time travel romance is palatable to black readers. I have tried to portray her as intelligent, courageous and determined. Still, having known nothing but slavery her whole life she is obviously uneducated and that must show in her speech and dialect. I have tried to let her intelligence and character shine through in other ways and I bring her back in my sequel as a strong woman who has blossomed and thrived in her new, less oppressive environment. But it’s a very sensitive juggling act between presenting her realistically while not offending friends and readers of color. I hope I have accomplished that.
Elizabeth, thank you for taking on a very difficult topic. I’m white writing historical fiction YA set in Charlotte, 1952. Originally wrote it just from white teen’s POV then 8 years ago an editor encouraged me to write it from both her and the black teen’s POV. Got ready to submit last spring when a sensitivity reader said that it probably wouldn’t go over well in the black community–despite countless interviews and books I read. I’d never get it just right. So, I’m back to the white girl’s POV with the black girl being her important secondary character. In our political climate I hope I get both right! I appreciate the dialogue here and that other writers are struggling with the same issues. But ultimately, we have to tell the story that we’re driven to write.
I think that this is really tough. Because when you are writing about an issue as sensitive as slavery, as a brown person I might even struggle to draw a character from the slave era. This edges a bit beyond the genre of “fluff” so will definitely be a lot more difficult.
I’m a white man writing Middle Grade fiction. My main characters are usually female, because they’re the ones who talk to me, and I make an effort to include characters of color, because I think inclusion and visibility matter. (I think I picked that lesson up from Gene Roddenberry when I was growing up and watching Star Trek.)
You’ve got some great thoughts on this subject. My approach is similar – do your homework, always listen, and don’t get defensive when people point out your mistakes.
Here is a reference for writers interested in writing about other cultures/races/ethnicities:
Writing the Other
by Nisi Shawl and Cynthia Ward
Published by Aqueduct Press Digital ISBN: 978-1-933500-93-5
Titles of a few chapters:
Writing the Other
Bridging Cultural Differences for Successful Fiction
Beautiful Strangers: Transracial Writing for the Sincere
Appropriate Cultural Appropriation
I like this idea. However the issue will be/ can be if black authors do not have as much of a presence/ voice. A white person writing on this point of view can be either inspirational or look like they are marketing black stories and succeeding more because of being more marketable. At the time these stories need to be written by whites because it makes other whites more receptive to reading diverse story lines.
I disagree, Cole-Fletcher. We (people of color) are best able to tell our unique stories and they should be told in our own voices.
I agree! However, I don’t think that when writing a young adult dystopian or a romantic suspense, you are necessarily trying to tell the unique story of any person. Of course, race is still a factor because everyone on this planet is a different color, but I do think there is a difference between writing about the plight of a Nigerian immigrant in America than writing about a wizard at Hogwarts (if Hermoine had been black, I might have lost my mind – in a good way – regardless of whether or not JK Rowling was white).
But, that’s just me :)
This topic reminds me of years ago when Wally Lamb came out with “She’s Come Undone,” about a white, overweight young woman. Before reading the book, I saw Wally Lamb’s photo on the back and I remember thinking, “Oh, my. How in heaven’s name is this man going to get inside this character’s head?” Ten pages in, I never thought about his photo again. I loved the book. I felt like I was in the character’s mind, body, and world, regardless of who wrote it.
I know that gender is different from color. But I feel that if the character, no matter if they are a different color, a different sex, a different being altogether, calls to the writer and speaks clearly, then who cares? Imagine Harry Potter being Sherry Potter just because the author was too afraid to step into the mind of a growing boy.
As an aside, I recently had my DNA tested. I am not the 50% Irish
slash 50% Italian that I had always believed. I am only a sliver Irish, but I am a whopping 33% Middle Eastern, primarily Egyptian. So does that mean I should not write about an Irish white girl? Or that I should find out more about my Egyptian roots and only write about characters who are Middle Eastern?
Honestly. I feel that the more we talk about the wrongs of what writers are writing about, the more we are going to feel like we are all put into these tight little categories. I don’t write genre, and I don’t live genre.
Life is about experimenting. Art is about stepping outside of ourselves. I am totally open to writing and reading stories about all different races told in all different perspectives. I have no problem about an older man writing as an overweight woman, or a Chinese woman writing as a Nigerian child, or an Italian writing as a Brit. As long as the story is true to the author’s intentions, and to that voice which speaks to him/her, I’m all in.
The largest category we all fit into is human. And that one is the most important, on and off the page.
I felt the same way when reading Hertha Mueller’s The Hunger Angel. And this book in fact sort of crushes my argument. She wrote the book with a male German surviver of the post WWII Russian internment camps but Hertha (she) was still the primary author. That said, I often refer to Hertha as male because the character she drew was just that compelling and powerful. This book won the Nobel Peace Prize.
That said, I still tend to encourage authors to only play the multiple personality game with characters outside of their own backgrounds in commercial fiction because of some of the issues the other comments have mentioned. When we try to write about that character’s experience it becomes more difficult than when we simply are telling a story and that character happens to be blue, orange, or yellow.
I like the points you make here, Elizabeth. As a mixed race writer myself I’ve thought about this issue for years. I mean, if you’re mixed race, are you only supposed to write in mixed race characters or do you get to choose between your mixes? The real issue, as you say, is all about the character and how relatable they are to the reader.
The question of writing about anyone different is kind of red herring, isn’t it? How can a woman write a leading male character and get away with it? How can a male writer have a lead female character and have his story taken seriously? Should a Jew write about Catholics? What right does a gay man from the inner city have in writing about a straight couple from the suburbs?
My caution to any writer writing about any kind of person is to be very careful with stereotypes and cliché. Other than that, heck, you gotta go for it! Every black character, every white character, every Asian character, every mixed character, is an individual first, a unique human being. Doesn’t matter what genre you write in, or if you don’t believe in genres — stories are about people struggling to make sense of something in life, struggling to overcome bias, prejudgment, and exterior values that may or may not pertain to them.
Thank you for writing this. As a reader of colour, I like reading about characters of colour regardless of who wrote it. But you’re totally right, there has to be respect throughout the work. I’d go as far as saying I find a little subtle stereotyping funny and endearing, cos racially, I can totally laugh at myself. :)
But I’m generally uncomfortable when the stereotypes are laid on really thick and laboured, but that goes for any kind of portrayal, not just racial, as I feel it shows disrespect to both subject and audience. That said, I don’t see that kind of extreme depiction in books very much; maybe more in older film, or casually when friends with terrible delivery make racist jokes. ;)
Could not agree more.
And @David you make such a good point about mixed race authors! Which category/categories do we fall into?!
Thank you for this article. I understand that this is a sensitive topic (cultural appropriation, among other things), but no writer should be limited or bound by any reason not to write on any topic he or she wishes to write about. Think of those novels that created a sea change in society. Upton Sinclair, while a journalist, didn’t work in a meatpacking plant to write The Jungle. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin came to her during a vision while taking Communion in church. Empathy. Compassion. Imagination.
It goes without saying that a writer should be ethical and do the necessary research, but I would think that ‘the story’ is what matters. Thoughtful writing should avoid stereotypes and cliches. Does the story you create speak to the human condition? Universal? I’ll daresay that culture is a construct. What matters to you here, or wherever you are, is utterly irrelevant to another human being elsewhere on the planet. One writer earns a literary prize, a round of applause, whereas another writer is imprisoned or murdered. Naguib Mahfouz survived an assassination at 83 years old because his writings incurred the wrath of religious extremists. A writer is a storyteller, often an empathetic person who can entertain multiple points of view. Both Austen and Shakespeare, for example, have been adapted and retold on stage, in movies, and in new stories around the world, from Africa and Asia to Europe and the Middle East; and I’d like to believe that is because both writers speak to fundamental and timeless experiences in the human condition.
I never read to ‘relate’ to a character. I couldn’t care less whether the author is male or female, this-or-that ethnicity, gay or straight. I read for a great story, one that makes me think and feel about Life around me, this world. Those stories make me feel grateful. Sure, they can upset me, but that isn’t a bad thing.
If there is a lack of Diversity, I would pose this question, Who creates this literary marketplace? We all have to eat, but if there are only X-number of sources for food, the diet will be limited, right? How do you find the books you read? Why is commercial fiction less than literary fiction? Genre helps organize a bookstore, but a well-told story is, um, a well-told story.
I understand your point, but I think that if you haven’t experienced alienation due to skin color or gender or what have you, it’s a difficult thing to explain. I just can say from MY perspective (this is just one author’s opinion!!!) that I love reading a romance or a YA or an action adventure where the main character is someone non-white and the fact that they are non-white is NOT part of the story!!!
It makes me feel more like I am accepted in society and that I can be and do anything.
Lots of good food for thought here, both in the post itself, and in the comments section. Thanks, everyone!
So many good points. Let me just add, as a reader (labeled as white by my culture) that I do think much care must be taken by authors writing outside of their own experiences. But, when it comes to race, there are white people who are not likely to read anyone but white authors. Jodi Picoult has taken heat from Small Great Things. However, she did her research and credits women of color who shared their experiences with her. I think this novel opened some doors of understanding for certain readers, who would otherwise remain clueless of white privilege.
So late to this–I’ve had my head buried in a deadline all month!–but such a great, great discussion. I have been writing about my multi- multi-cultural life in genre fiction since the beginning, and am not sure how else I would have done it. It was important to me to write about all the people in my world, so I did. And do. Because of my own life & experiences, I’ve often written about the meeting place between cultures, both now and in the past, but I’ve also made a concerted effort to create multicultural characters who aren’t all about their ethnicity.
Care must be taken, of course. The writer is charged with doing the work of doing her utmost to understand the world of each of her characters, and in the current world, maybe find a couple of sensitivity readers.
Thanks for this post!