Yesterday while casually scrolling through my Twitter newsfeed I came across a few angry posts aimed at a well known author who just released a new book. I then saw some more posts on a few bookstagrammers stories where they outright said this book was racist. Since I haven’t read the book myself, and therefore cannot say whether it’s true or not, I won’t mention what book it is; but I will say that if so many people took offense by the story then there is definitely cause for concern.
These kinds of angry outbursts seem to be happening more and more lately, which is quite disheartening since we’re supposed to be living in a time where this should no longer be an issue. So I thought I’d share my two cents on the matter given that I am a Muslim, South African woman of colour who agrees that books lack diversity and don’t represent the world in which we live in today. This is why diversity in books is important to me:
NO ONE GETS EXCLUDED
If you write a book with only “typical, mainstream” characters, immediately I start to question where on planet Earth is your story based that there are no other cultures, religions and races present. In my mind you are saying that there is just no place in your little world for anyone whose different in any way and that straight up pisses me off!
BE MORE INFORMED AND EDUCATED ABOUT PEOPLE’S DIFFERENCES
This point is largely aimed at authors: PLEASE, for the love of all that is good and pure, DO YOUR RESEARCH! When you write about a character who is suffering from anxiety, or a character who lives in Botswana, make sure that you know what the F you are talking about. Make sure that the people who will most likely relate to your character CAN relate to the character in question. When you do proper research it definitely shines through and it will then educate people who are not familiar with these dissimilarities.
Oh, and just FYI, adding a pointless secondary character of colour is not good enough! You need to realize that the difference doesn’t stop with skin colour; there are cultural differences and traditions that you are not even aware of because you didn’t do any research about this person you’re trying to portray. It’s not just about adding a person of colour – make them relatable to the people whose asking for these characters to be included in your stories! They want to form connections that are not just based on skin colour. Adding a vague description of a character’s skin tone is not relevant information if all the characters are exactly the same in every other way.
IT WILL PROBABLY BE THE ONLY WAY SOME OF US GET TO SEE THESE DIFFERENCES
People who are similar often get drawn to each other, there’s nothing wrong with that. But I remember during University there was an incident where someone was so utterly unaware of other people that it would’ve been funny if it wasn’t so completely sad. This person never ventured out of their comfort zone, never took the time to learn about other people or even bothered to think that hey, there are folk out there who don’t celebrate Christmas! It boggled my mind that someone could be so ignorant! But the sad truth is that some of us will only ever learn about other backgrounds through books, so it is crucial that stories represent all types of people in this world.
IT MAKES ME FEEL LESS ALONE
No one enjoys feeling alone, especially when going through something difficult. Whenever I am facing a challenge I always turn to books or blogs so that I may find someone to relate to. I want to see my story in books. I can’t begin to describe the feeling I get when I can relate to something in a book, specifically because of my difference from the vast majority. I once read a book where a Muslim character changed his accent so that a policeman won’t blame him for an attack on their high school and I thought: “FINALLY an author voices the struggle of every Muslim in the world!!” Another time I read a book that was set in Cape Town and the author described Camps Bay. I felt so damn happy because I GO THERE!!! It was so refreshing to read a book that wasn’t set somewhere in the Western part of the world.
TO UNDERSTAND AND RESPECT PEOPLE WHO ARE DIFFERENT TO YOU
It is so important to be respectful and mindful of other beliefs, cultures and backgrounds because it’s a really sensitive issue. If we’re not aware of these differences then we may say or do something seriously hurtful to the next person which causes further rifts between us. We should be aware of people’s struggles with eating disorders or their battle with mental health issues. We need to get a glimpse into the live’s of people from all over the world who are going through different trials and tribulations; because it may just make a difference in the way we handle a situation one day. By incorporating these matters into books we become more comfortable with it and in turn we get to carry out this new understanding and respect toward people we interact with in the real world.
“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”
― Audre Lorde, Our Dead Behind Us: Poems
TO LEARN HOW WE ARE DIFFERENT – BUT ALSO HOW WE ARE THE SAME
When all is said and done and we get to read a book that we can relate to, it makes us more aware about our differences; but also we get to read about the ways in which we are the same. We learn that people are people, no matter where we are in the world, no matter what our beliefs are or what we struggle with – we are all the same. (I know this is a picture of a human boy and a Gorilla but it’s all I could think of when writing this post!)
This year I am being more aware of the books I read, and especially the books I put up on my space. I want to read books that broadens my mind and makes me think about matters outside of my comfort zone. I want to read books that are diverse in characters, settings and authors, so I wrote a post over on Lavender Prose sharing 5 Diverse Books on my TBR for 2017. I do hope you’ll give it a read!
Why is diversity in books important to you? And are there any books you enjoyed that offers diversity in their story lines? Let me know in the comments below!
Yes to all of this! Diversity is super important to me, but I didn’t realise it’s importance until my favourite show (Person of Interest) added an Iranian character to the main cast. This was a huge deal because I don’t think I’ve ever seen an Iranian main character ANYWHERE, let alone for them to be on the side of good. That was a huge deal for me, to see someone who is kind of like me. We need characters in fiction and media that aren’t just a colour or a label or a steretype and are actually genuine people who have thoughts and feelings and aren’t just killed off when they’ve served their purpose and the writer gets bored. I feel like so many writers do one of two extremes:
1. Add a POC who’s culture is not addressed at all
2. Add a POC who is entirely personality is their culture/stereotypes (*cough* Glee)
And I’m really hoping this will change with more conversations about what makes problematic representation.
Great post!
I don’t watch Person of Interest but I do watch The Blacklist where an Iranian woman is also in. I see a lot of newer TV shows are doing really well in casting diverse characters who represent actual people – e.g. How to get away with Murder!! I am really enjoying it because now everyone can have something to relate to, but I still feel like we have a long way to go. Especially in the book world. And adding one minor POC character to a 500 page book is just not going to cut it. When I read this part in your comment: “We need characters in fiction and media that aren’t just a colour or a label or a steretype and are actually genuine people who have thoughts and feelings and aren’t just killed off when they’ve served their purpose and the writer gets bored.” I just threw my hands in the air because I thought I was being oversensitive all these years by feeling this way!!
I think it’s important to keep this conversation going and get more people to join in because we need a change in the way things are done!
Thank you SO much for reading and adding to this discussion 🙂 xo
There’s also been a lot of talk about using sensitivity readers before publishing which I think would go a long, long way in cutting down some of the crazy misrepresentation in books. I don’t like to bask authors, because I know it’s very hard to write a book, but I think there is some responsibility laid at the editor and publisher’s feet. It’s their job to make sure that they weed out things that are offensive or off the mark (pun intended.) If they are consistently missing the mark then they need to look at who they’ve hired as editors. Once there is more diversity there then we’ll see a change in what gets published.
You know, every time I hear people talking out about a book being offensive I find myself wondering how the heck that book was even published in the first place! I really dislike criticizing authors too because like you say, it’s incredibly difficult to write a book and to put your work out there for everyone to see. But authors should take that responsibility very seriously and do everything they can to make sure their work will not cause harm to anyone reading. Like you say, some of the responsibilities are laid at the editor and publishers feet and I could not agree more! It definitely is! And it is something that should be looked into because it is just unacceptable that these things continue happening. And it’s happening with well known authors!!
Your comment was so insightful and really thought provoking. Thanks so much for sharing 🙂 xo
Love this so much Nihaad! Diversity is SO important to me in books. The characters are just so much more relatable and I definitely have to agree that despite our color, ethnicity, race and gender, we are all THE SAME. I can’t wait to read more of your diversity posts <3
Yay!!! I am thrilled to hear you support the movement – I firmly believe that everyone wants to see their story told. Everyone can learn something from this and I think with everything happening in the world right now, it is VERY much needed.
As always, it is such a pleasure reading your comments 🙂 Thanks a million for reading Xo
You said everything that needed to be said and more. Diversity in books is so damn important. We need POC characters and we need more local authors venturing in YA and Fantasy and portraying POC characters. We need them as main characters and not side characters who sacrifice themselves for the greater good in the second novel. *Cough*
I’d love to read a contemporary novel or Urban Fantasy with an accurate portrayal of what it is like to be a Cape Malay/Muslim young adult in a modern world. Where are these stories? Why aren’t we writing them? We need these stories to be told…
Abdeah, I could not agree more! I am yearning for a book that I can relate to on a cultural, racial and religious level. And I find myself wondering how we are living in this day and age without these books being readily available to us. It’s sad and eye opening at the same time, and just shows how behind we are in some very important ways. But I think this movement happening in the book blogging community is a start so it would be awesome if we all contributed and show that we support and encourage diversity in all genres. I would love it if you wrote a post sharing your views so that someone out there (no matter who they are or where they are in the world) sees our call and hopefully take that much needed step in the right direction.
Shukran so much for reading Xo
Love this post! And I think it’s especially important that PoC included in books aren’t just “token” characters – it doesn’t just go skin-deep, it affects everything about your life. Diversity is so important <3
Emily! I am so happy you approve 🙂 I’ve been enjoying the posts you’ve written on your blog about diverse books too and it’s wonderful to see more and more book bloggers jumping on board. From what I see, 2017 seems to have some fantastic books with diverse elements (in main characters)lined up and I cannot wait to read them.
Thanks you so much for visiting <3
I’ve seen some people comment that they still want to read non-diverse books and enjoy them – especially in the German book community. It makes me angry and tired.
I’ve asked myself the same question – where do you live that everyone is hetereosexual, able-bodied, white, etc. These stories are not representative of the world we live in. I don’t expect authors to write in the perspective of characters with marginalisations, if they don’t have these marginalisations (I actually wouldn’t want them to, as I think #ownvoices authors are better at writing in these perspectives without harming others of the same community). However, I do expect some minor characters to have marginalisations. I wouldn’t want to read the book otherwise, as it is not realistic.
Omg, you’ve actually seen someone comment this? That is ridiculous! I’d like to know in what world these people think they are living because I cannot begin to understand that kind of mentality.
It’s so important that everyone gets to relate to something. We all want to feel a part of something bigger than ourselves. So if a group of people are completely ignored in the media then they are bound to feel like their stories don’t matter to anyone. And I think most of us knows how terrible it is to feel alone in this world. And I cannot speak for everyone, but I always love learning about people’s cultures and traditions, religious beliefs and every day struggles because it opens my mind and provides insight into different backgrounds that I may not have been aware of. I’ve experienced times when people opened up about issues that I had no idea about, and in that moment it is so important to have an idea of how to handle the situation because I don’t want to offend or hurt the person (intentionally or unintentionally). It feels good to offer support, understanding and acceptance; and empathy more than anything else.
Thank you so much for commenting and joining in on the conversation! x 🙂