I have so many things I'd like to post in response, but I don't like to take that kind of time and space on someone else's journal.
You have my explicit permission to take as much time/space on my journal as you'd like. I always like to hear what other people's thoughts are, especially on these types of topics because it's good to check myself and hear others.
So, my fear, in using these people I know as influence in my writing is that I will somehow do dishonor to people who are far different to those people I know.
Well, I think that's where us being white sort of blinds us, because there's this urge to believe we have to typify every person of that race in the one character we're writing of that race. It's a leftover of Tokenism, I think. We feel like if we have a black character, he/she must represent ALL black people.
Think of it like this: If someone writes a white female character of your age/background who isn't like you and has different opinions, attitudes, and beliefs than you, would it necessarily offend you? Or would it depend on what those differences were? Think of the less privileged areas of your life (gender, etc) and ask yourself how you feel there. It's not a direct correlation, but it might help.
For me, if someone writes about a person who is fat or bisexual or female, I don't expect them to be exactly like me. Even if someone wrote about a fat, bisexual, female of my age from Tennessee now living in NYC, I'm not necessarily going to get angry if there are a lot of differences between me and that character. It depends on how it's done. If I can see that someone put a lot of work into not falling into fat stereotypes and not falling into prejudices about bisexual people (we're sluts, we're confused, bisexuality isn't real, etc), then that's one thing.
But if the character is lazy, smelly, gluttonous, and slutty, then I'm pissed.
Or if that character is plugging into every stereotype about Southern people. Or if I see something really outrageous that I know is wrong (like the character talking about how Tennessee never gets snow and so she's never seen snow - though that's a lame example), I'm going to be pissed. Because, the snow thing for instance, is stupid. I've spent too damn many winters having a blast on snow days and surviving ice storms. Tennessee does get snow. Not much, and some years only a light sprinkling, but someone from there would damn well have seen snow at least *once*.
Now, someone from Florida (especially the more southern tip in Florida) may be able to make this claim (I think the last significant snowfall that accumulated in the state of Florida was in, like, 1989 or something and that was in the northern tip). But if you live in Tennessee or Kentucky? You've seen plenty of snow.
So, as a bisexual or a fat person, I don't expect every bi or fat character I read to be EXACTLY LIKE ME. And I don't think PoC are looking for every CoC of their race to be an exact carbon copy of them. I think they're just looking for respectful, well though out, well researched, accurate portrayals.
Of course, this is me as a white person talking so know that my opinion is not worth much and have your grain of salt handy.
no subject
You have my explicit permission to take as much time/space on my journal as you'd like. I always like to hear what other people's thoughts are, especially on these types of topics because it's good to check myself and hear others.
So, my fear, in using these people I know as influence in my writing is that I will somehow do dishonor to people who are far different to those people I know.
Well, I think that's where us being white sort of blinds us, because there's this urge to believe we have to typify every person of that race in the one character we're writing of that race. It's a leftover of Tokenism, I think. We feel like if we have a black character, he/she must represent ALL black people.
Think of it like this: If someone writes a white female character of your age/background who isn't like you and has different opinions, attitudes, and beliefs than you, would it necessarily offend you? Or would it depend on what those differences were? Think of the less privileged areas of your life (gender, etc) and ask yourself how you feel there. It's not a direct correlation, but it might help.
For me, if someone writes about a person who is fat or bisexual or female, I don't expect them to be exactly like me. Even if someone wrote about a fat, bisexual, female of my age from Tennessee now living in NYC, I'm not necessarily going to get angry if there are a lot of differences between me and that character. It depends on how it's done. If I can see that someone put a lot of work into not falling into fat stereotypes and not falling into prejudices about bisexual people (we're sluts, we're confused, bisexuality isn't real, etc), then that's one thing.
But if the character is lazy, smelly, gluttonous, and slutty, then I'm pissed.
Or if that character is plugging into every stereotype about Southern people. Or if I see something really outrageous that I know is wrong (like the character talking about how Tennessee never gets snow and so she's never seen snow - though that's a lame example), I'm going to be pissed. Because, the snow thing for instance, is stupid. I've spent too damn many winters having a blast on snow days and surviving ice storms. Tennessee does get snow. Not much, and some years only a light sprinkling, but someone from there would damn well have seen snow at least *once*.
Now, someone from Florida (especially the more southern tip in Florida) may be able to make this claim (I think the last significant snowfall that accumulated in the state of Florida was in, like, 1989 or something and that was in the northern tip). But if you live in Tennessee or Kentucky? You've seen plenty of snow.
So, as a bisexual or a fat person, I don't expect every bi or fat character I read to be EXACTLY LIKE ME. And I don't think PoC are looking for every CoC of their race to be an exact carbon copy of them. I think they're just looking for respectful, well though out, well researched, accurate portrayals.
Of course, this is me as a white person talking so know that my opinion is not worth much and have your grain of salt handy.