Welcome all who enter here. I've always wanted to say that. I can't believe it's taken me this long to get up and running. And with that said I would like to start with my first topic.
Being a writer of color brings about different ways to think about story, who I am and what I represent. At first blush, one would say that being of color would have little to nothing to do with what and how I write.
Quite the contrary. I must think about my characters in a way that those of the majority culture can take for granted. An example is the description of beauty in most novels and literature. This applies to male and female alike.
Often the most attractive 'people' in these works of art are described as being blond with long, flowing hair, having eyes as blue as the sea, sky, pools of water, straight patrician noses, etc. When I think of beauty, this is not what readily comes to mind. I think of the many shades of brown, for skin, hair, and eyes. I think of curls, whether tight and springy or loose and dangling. And noses are never straight or upturned.
So when I write, should my characters emulate the popular depiction of what is considered beautiful or should they reflect the beauty in my world. And should I choose to represent the beauty from my world view am I relegating myself to a particular audience and genre.
These are questions that I struggle with every time I put pen to paper, or keystroke to laptop. My choice so far has been to represent characters that my grandchildren can identify with. By doing this am I limiting my audience? I don't think so. My plan is to become so good at my craft that whoever picks up one of my books is so taken with the story that they see themselves in it, no matter how I describe the characters.
I would welcome your thoughts on the subject. Let me hear from you.
About Me
- Stephanie, PQW
- I'm a psychologist turned writer. I write for my favorite group of folks...the 'Tween audience.
Your article was very interesting, Stephanie. I agree that the stereotypes of beauty are skewed in one direction. Anything writers can do to show a diversity of beauty in our books will help to open people's minds beyond those stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie,
ReplyDeleteVery thoughtful and thought-provoking first post. I think you should write what feels most natural to you, because people will always be moved by truthful, moving work. Another avenue to consider is multi-cultural. Many editors say they are looking for such work, and certainly our society is made of faces of all cultures. Especially since you write speculative fiction, I think you could blaze a lot of trails with this. Best wishes for your new blog, Pat
I think it is a struggle but one that can be overcome. It depends on the story, of course, and the character. Also, does every character have to be beautiful? It would be great to describe lips, noses, eyes and hair without ever revealing a characters race. How bout that? Think it would fly? Great article, well thought out, well written!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! You know you have your family's support. I'm not a writer, but aren't all people beautiful? If not, what would make a person ugly? Which characteristics? What are ugly eyes? Noses? Hair? Just asking.
ReplyDeleteGreat topic and one that I was immersed in just last night with a neighbor who is an older white male (guessing in his 70s).
ReplyDeleteAs a woman with hispanic blood (but with dirty blond to brown hair and blue eyes) I've been in a unique position to be walking on a line between two worlds.
I've been in the middle fitting into neither and so have seen both sides of the coin on issues related to what you are bringing up.
In this man's perspective there was no segregation or predjudice here in California when he was growing up.
Excuse me?
I grew up here in the 1960s and can attest that there was...perhaps not as bad as in the South but it was a prevalent problem for anyone of color.
But what this has to do with your post is that HIS perspective is that of a white middle to upper class male.
His reality or viewpoint is what has dominated the major media for decades but this is changing.
My point is that publishing has tended to be pretty traditional and slow to change so I think that is why you see a narrow perspective of what should be a wider, more interesting, technicolor world.
Writing from your perspective is what strengthens your voice and makes you stand out from the masses.
I like how you are considering your grandchildren but it is also an opportunity to share your perspective about how many different types of beauty exist--not the established status quo for beauty--but the beauty in diversity, inner strength, and inner character.
Ultimately, it is a great idea to sketch out what you think is beautiful but I don't think it matters if you focus on the exterior appearance of a character--your readership will envision them in the manner most comfortable to them.
Hopefully when the movie rights are sold you can find the right person to convey your vision on the screen!
I've always been pegged as "white," by friends and society, but I'm actually "Sioux" Indian in part, from a largely Hispanic-Sioux-Apache Indian family. My Hispanic-Apache Uncle loved us all and showed it in ways that made me feel more a part of his culture. And I wanted to get in touch with my Sioux roots as well, but my maternal grandfather had left the reservation at 13, never looking back, in order to get a job and fit better in society, in the early 1900's. In order to do that, he told potential employers that he was Italian and English-- part English and Turkish was true, given away by his last name, but the Italian wasn't; his mother was full-blooded Sioux Indian.
ReplyDeleteI saw a female Sioux dancer in Arizona, outfitted in full tribal head-dress. Amazingly, she looked so much like me(although my grandfather was from a tribe in So. Dakota which migrated to Canada during the Indian War with the U.S. Military), enough in fact that after talking, we believed we were probably somewhat related and spent time discussing that. She was fair-skinned with blue eyes, like many others in her particular tribe. Otherwise, she had more traditional Indian features. She was built pretty much the same as me, as well. I got a picture of her dancing and brought it back to shown my multicultural friends. Up until that time, I think they thought I was really a "Native American want-to-be," ha.
God's beauty and fashioning of us is so rich and diverse, no matter what race or culture we come from; both outwardly and inwardly, our multifaceted beauty shines. It was said about GOD's own son, that people did not look upon him because of any particular outward attraction. But, Jesus certainly turned out to "rock his world" up until this very day.
I look forward, Stephanie, to "seeing" what you come up with pouring out of that "creative, talented, and loving mind" of your's, soon to be captured on every page for this age, and hopefully for ages to come!!