As the world becomes more aware of other ethnicities, sexualities, and cultures outside the vastly homogenous mainstream, it’s only natural that books will start incorporating more and more of them, particularly YA novels that cater to a younger audience. This is - let us not mince words - a good thing. As an Asian-American girl who spent her childhood reading about magical white boys, I wholeheartedly approve of the surge in demand for representation. It is a good thing that kids of all colors can open a book and read about characters who look and talk like them. It is a good thing, because when we read about people like us, we feel less alone. However, like all things, there is a danger of representation being mishandled, and let’s be honest, it frequently is. Let us segue into the rant portion of this blog post. What To Avoid In Your Writing: #1: The main characters are all white. There are a few brown side characters, but they aren’t that crucial to the plot, and quite frankly, it seems like they were only included so the author could check POC representation off the list. This is pretty much the worst thing ever. It’s such a slap in the face, too, almost worse than having no POC characters. The implicit message is: yes, we know you exist, but you aren’t important. #2: The POC characters are pretty much all “foreign-coded”. They wear clothing that the protagonist thinks is weird, and probably less of it. Oh, and they come from a “hot, dry land”, and are overawed by the protagonist. They probably have skin that the protagonist will compare to some sort of sweet beverage. #3: Again with the mocha: I reiterate, food words are not great for describing POC skin! First of all, it’s bad writing because it’s cliché. I mean, genuinely, if you read the sentence: “she had crystal blue eyes and hair like waves of wheat” would you want to continue reading? I wouldn’t- because “crystal” and “wheat” are overused when describing people. Same thing with food words- “coffee”, “chocolate”, “caramel”, “mocha”, etc are just BORING and OFFENSIVE. If you want to read more about this, I offer you several awesome and informative Tumblr posts: here for more on the why it’s offensive; here for other words to describe skin tone (there are some GREAT words here). #4: Only the non-white skin is described. This is subtler, but it does actually matter, because it implies that white is the default and all the non-white people are out of the ordinary, and as such merit special description. Not cool. #5: The one non-white person tells the protagonist about their difficulties. The protagonist pats them consolingly on the shoulder. All is solved. I don’t think I need to explain why this is obnoxious. What To Look For! The POC characters are complex and crucial, with emotions and roles in the plot that are treated as if they matter. They are not treated as foreign. Their accents are not written offensively. Their clothing is not fetishized. Really, it comes down to this. Are your POC characters… people? Silly question, but it does actually matter. Are they people, or cardboard cutouts (oh so convenient, given that cardboard is racially ambiguous)? And are they, like, as close as you can get to white without actually being white? Because writing POC characters shouldn’t be a strain or a stretch. They’re people. Books W/ Great Representation:
That’s it for now! Remember, when in doubt, ASK. Other cultures are beautiful, but try not to borrow elements of them without understanding their significance. And PLEASE, do not call someone’s skin milk chocolate. Naomi Gageis a sophomore in high school in Los Angeles. In her spare time, she reads, writes, and cooks. You won’t find her on social media, but if you see her in the street, feel free to say hello.
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