International Blog Against Racism Week.

[matt_doyle]

I finished Running In Her Veins,my first novel, last summer. In outline form, and in half-completed drafts, there were no People of Color in it at all. When, at eighteen, I started writing the book, it hadn't occurred to me that there was anything wrong with that. I wasn't really conscious about race back then - I was idealistic, and I was proud to be colorblind, and would have hotly denied that any racist thoughts ever passed through my head.

I live in a more complex, more aware world now, and I want my books to contain similar worlds.

Halfway through the draft, a friend of mine was startled when I mentioned one of the major characters in Running In Her Veins, Ben, was a redhead - because, he'd said, he'd assumed he was black from the way I wrote him.

I'm still not certain what I wrote that made him think that, but nothing in Ben's part of the plot called for any specific cultural or ethnic background, and so in my mind, he became black. I haven't gone back and edited every description of him in the book to match that yet, and I've questioned myself quite a bit. I was troubled that I was writing an all-white book, and now I'm troubled in wondering if I'm engaging in tokenism. I want to make sure, in editing passes, that I am attentive in the way I treat Ben, so that his identity is clear and articulate, that his background is essential to who he is, rather than just a sop for my conscience.

The book I'm working on right now, The Hellion Prince, is only about half white. Working on the backstory and worldbuilding early on, it became obvious to me that there were two distinct cultures within the setting, and I made the decision that one of them would be Caucasian in appearance, and the other would be olive-complected, Arabic or darker Mediterranean. While that choice wasn't an essential one at the time, it's become moreso since - as I've had to sort out the past clashes between the two cultures, or further detail their backgrounds, or decide the identity of a minor character with a single speaking part. The world feels more alive and more real to me than it would have with a monoculture, and while I don't imagine it will be without problems I'm still pleased with the way it's turning out.

I haven't escaped racism in my thoughts or in my writing, not by a longshot. Bur every time I see a problem, or every time someone points out a mistake I've made, I'll do my best to correct it, and fail better the next time.

Comments

[feuervogel]

I read Ben as black, too, actually. I'm not sure if you'd edited his descriptions in the draft I read, but my brain said "black character."

Interestingly, I didn't consciously sit down and say that my lead would be non-Northern-European. I knew the story would be taking place in a future Germany, and *obviously* there are going to be Turks there. I sort of glossed over the integration issue (because right now, that's a huge issue, and I can't find original sources in a language I can read, because apparently young German Turks blog in Turkish. Which says a lot about assimilation right there, I think.)

My other lead is of definite mixed heritage, because merchant ships travel around and are a matrilineal bunch. Women who want kids find a likely candidate during shore leave, so it's a genetic melting pot.

I had another thought, but it seems to have gotten away. Oh well, back to synopsizing.

[kessie.livejournal.com]

I was actually thinking of this the other day, in that I'm not a very visual writer and don't describe my characters' appearances unless I'm dropping hints or using it towards characterisation. For example, I mention that one character's red hair isn't natural and that her nails are painted green and purple. There are some characters I think of as coloured when I write them, but I don't generally mention things like eye or hair colour. I would like to mention it, but I'm trying to think of a way that isn't so blatant, like I'm trying too hard and stressing 'hey, look, I'm putting in coloured people, aren't I awesome?'

[matt_doyle]

Since most readers - white or otherwise- default to assuming characters are white - it's definitely important to be explicit if you're including characters of colour.


Also as a note; I know that usage and terminology vary country by country, but at least in the US, while "people of colour" is an acceptable or even preferred term, "coloured people" is offensive.

[kessie.livejournal.com]

Thank you for telling me; I didn't know. I can't edit my comment now, but I won't use it again.

[matt_doyle]

I really wonder what it is about Ben's characterization that gives off that vibe - I'm always worried that, since I'm not consciously aware of it, at some point I'll stop doing it.

[nationstate.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't call neglecting to put other ethnicities into a story racism, because you're certainly not like, "I WILL NOT HAVE THEM PEOPLE IN MAH STORY". A lot of writers tend to veer to their own color in majority as a sort of subconscious comfort zone. I know that if I had never attended a high school as I did in Texas, where I made friends from all over the world, I probably would still be strict in the races in my original stories. It's not a crime, because we write what we feel we know. That's why when writing something about an ancient culture, we put so much time into researching. Because races are cultures, and I know that for me, when I realize I should do something, if it's not set in an entirely fictional world (my normal setting), I just... can't do it for fear of getting something wrong. And really, in the end all that does is disrespect who or what we're trying to include.

Lots of rambling, forgive me XD I just think that stating your lack of individuals other than Caucasian is being racist is so terribly demeaning to yourself, as it's a very negative word with a very negative definition. Unless you're a reformed member of the KKK or something...

[matt_doyle]

I understand that perspective, but I stand by my choice in words. Racism isn't just big things like conscious biases and hateful actions. The system that makes up and maintains racism is also built on little things, like unconscious whitewashing, or more generally, white privilege - the expectation that characters in a story will look like me.

I guess what I'm saying is, I don't mean to call myself a racist - but that doesn't mean that my well-intentioned actions are not racist in small ways, contributing to the big picture of institutionalized racism.