At my corporate day job, or as I affectionately call it, That-which-pays-the-bills, the bosses are currently on a “diversity” kick. You might be thinking, “Hey, that’s a noble pursuit in a corporate environment.” And you’d be right. It is important to view the workplace as a plurality of culture, rather than a monoculture. But whenever “diversity training” comes up (and it rears its ugly head at least once every couple of years), rather than being informative and insightful, it’s more indicative of how desperately proper training is actually needed.
Case in point, those in charge of the upcoming bout (a pair of in-house colleagues chosen by leadership) sent out questions to allow us to prepare answers before the meeting.
They were:
- Has anyone ever had a preconceived notion about who you are that isn’t true?
- Can you share something you have struggled with in your life that you have had to overcome?
So, after we discuss how much it has sucked to be us (I may be paraphrasing the email here) then we’ll talk about how we celebrate who we are…Because that’ll be the general mood after all that.
Setting aside the fact that these questions are incredibly personal and, in my opinion, inappropriate to ask of people in a compulsory workplace meeting, my greatest concern is this: Rather than deconstructing categories of thinking, the questions ask us to point out to our colleagues the ways in which we have been viewed as an “Other”, something they may previously have never done but may possibly do now. Contradictory to the point of diversity, to say the least.
Naturally, my brain turns this idea towards writing as well. In speculative fiction, it has been said that diversity of characters is on the short side or portrays them as victims/stereotypes. Sure, there may be the main character’s quirky friend, distant relative, or (hopefully not exclusively) villain who is non-white, but essentially the hero/heroine tends to be white, good looking, able-bodied, and straight. There is of course nothing wrong with these types of characters, but it’s their predominance in fiction, as opposed to roles of people of color, that is cause for concern.
Why the concern? It’s those darn categories of thinking again. Race is a social construct. It assigns meaning and value based on outward appearance. We are not born with these ideas in our heads. They are accumulated over time based on what we observe actively and inactively from the world around us.
An example: Mainstream media finds the word “exotic” to be complimentary when describing a beautiful woman of color. The thing is, it’s not really complimentary. It’s boxing her into a specific type of beauty, a construct that has additional meaning beyond how beautiful she is. Why the moniker? If she is beautiful, is it necessary to describe her beauty as “non-white”? If beautiful is the normal word, what does it mean that non-white beauty must be described using a different word? They’re insidious, these categories.
Apply the questions to storytelling: Why are main characters usually white, and the secondary “side-kick” characters non-white? In main characters that have multiple backgrounds, do they have brown/black eyes, or are they frequently given “green/blue” eyes, and if so, why? Are those considered more attractive? Why? Are villains always dark haired/dark eyed/unattractive? (Anyone seen the new Star Wars villain? Or any Disney movie?) Why are villains portrayed this way?
Authors have an awesome job. They get to create fantastical worlds, fascinating characters, and amazing adventures to share with the world. But they are also burdened with a duty to ask themselves these types of questions. A willing burden, yes, but one that should be held at all times in the forefront of the creative mind. Because if we are not aware of how categories of thinking can manifest themselves, the complexity and accessibility of our work is likely to be inhibited by them.
As for my work training…yeah, wish me luck. Given the nature of the questions we’re supposed to answer, something tells me the expectation is to talk about “what” I am, which is too bad, because the more interesting story is who I am on the inside.
Author of speculative fiction 
I am probably as guilty of this as the next person, but since I am a tall slender male with blue eyes (WASP) I tend to make my (good) male characters similar to myself. Likewise, my (good) female characters look more like me, but are feminine and, of course, beautiful. The more unsavory characters usually wind up as brown-eyed with shorter, stockier builds.
I think I’ve satisfied myself that I like what I see in the mirror. I’m not a drug-addled criminal or a megalomaniac wanting to take over the world and I don’t want to hurt small puppies and kittens. Thus my heroes should be like me and villains should not.
Right or wrong, I always assumed that others would base their good guys on themselves and model the bad guys on someone else. Diversity is good but tribal wisdom (or ego) is often hard to overcome.
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Well put, sir!
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Hi Anela, I’m just checking in to confirm tomorrow as the day you are posting your interview with me. I’m coordinating my Kindle promotion with your publication. Thanks for any update! 🙂 Cheri
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Q: “Has anyone ever had a preconceived notion about who you are that isn’t true?”
A: Yes, my employer assumed I was a racist who needed diversity training.
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What a leading question, right? Seriously, work is hard enough. If we already work well together, why kick up dirt?
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‘Apply the questions to storytelling: Why are main characters usually white, and the secondary “side-kick” characters non-white?’
That’s an interesting question. I have a couple of related responses:
1) It could be that the author is ‘white’ (not a term I like, by the way) and is following the ‘write what you know’ precept. I, for example, am not a ‘person of color’, so my main character would tend not to be one, either. In my current book, though, two of the strong non-POV characters (*not* sidekicks) are Hispanic and Indian. I have some insight into those cultures from reading, travel, and people I’ve worked with, so I was comfortable doing that.
2) Then there’s the damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t factor. As a white guy, I’m fair game to be chided for not having a more ‘diverse’ main character. But let’s say I do choose a character of a different ethnicity for my POV. If I handle it well, I can be accused of cultural appropriation. If I do a poor job, or anyone doesn’t like something about the way I present the character then I will be asked ‘How dare you assume you know anything about the experience of being ________?’ (fill in the blank).
In one of my future books, I’m planning to write from the viewpoint of a young woman in a transplanted European magical culture, and I expect that to be challenging enough!
Oh, and I sympathize with you having to go through diversity training. Not much fun for anybody, in my experience.
Eric
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These are really good points. It’s certainly a high-wire act when navigating race and writing. Speaking personally, I’ve had authors reach out to me about Hawaiian culture with snippets of writing to see if it sounded authentic. I love those requests because it shows they are taking the time, effort, and energy to research and beta the hell out of their writing (by testing it with individuals of that background) in respect of another’s heritage and to avoid stereotypes. I see what you’re saying as far as cultural appropriation, though if you handle that POV well I think there’d be less issue than if it was handled poorly. I can always tell in my reading if a writer has done his due diligence, and when he has, my admiration is gained. I’d be interested to hear if others felt somewhat boxed in as far as the backgrounds of characters they feel they can/should use in their novels.
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Me..I am paralyzed with the desire to write outside of myself and the fear of appropriating someone else’s culture. I have pieces collecting dust bc of the anxiety of getting something ‘wrong’, or being offensive. It also ads another layer to the finances of an indie publisher, as you are going to pay someone to be a bias reader.. to ensure that those bases are covered. Meanwhile I know of some authors, but not indie, that have done it successfully, but it doesn’t take much googling to find other posts on the internet blasting other ‘white generic’ authors of using another culture. I think that fear reigns in a few authors.. because of the realization of the risk to it.
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Agreed, there is definitely risk when writing a POV from another culture. As a reader, I have to say that I love when authors take a risk and try to bring a complexity of characters and themes together. There will always be those blasting on the internet (there’s a lot of history in this) but in my opinion it’s more marginalizing if people of color are left totally out of storylines. There are some fantastic websites out there that are great for perspective with diversity in writing. One of my absolute favorites is: http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/
I say don’t let fear hinder you. Check your manuscript with people of those backgrounds. Beta, beta, beta. In the end, I believe art shouldn’t always be comfortable. It should require us to reach, to struggle, to question and to demand. Amazing things come from such efforts but they always require courage up front.
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