P.S. This was originally going to be a post on George and his wife Esther aka ‘Bossy’ – owners of the traveling troupe, ‘Jamaica George’s Prestigious Pugilists & World Renowned Wrestlers’, two wonderful secondary characters in Moonstone Conspiracy, a late-Georgian romantic adventure set in England and France out on June 19. But due to the heavy nature of the topic below, I’d prefer to showcase them on their own and I’ll do that in a post tomorrow.
There has been a great discussion about diversity in romance novels this week – and whether romances are too white, heterosexual and ableist with the premise being the great goal of fiction is to be diverse.
So why might white, heterosexual, able-bodied romance authors be reticent to include more socially, ethnically and culturally diverse characters? Surely dormant biogtry or laziness isn’t the whole answer?
Photographer, cover artist and avid audio book ‘reader’ Taria Reed, hit the issue square on the head in a Facebook post a couple of weeks back:
Dear Authors. In listening to the latest Psy-Changeling book by Nalini Singh I realize that a lot of the books I “read” aren’t very diverse. You can write diverse characters without harping on the fact that they are multiethnic. Nalini does a beautiful job of describing her beautifully mixed characters without making it a focus of who they are. I sat in a diversity panel at this years RT Convention and someone said they were afraid to write diverse characters because they didn’t want to come off as racist. Unless you are writing Boomqueesha from down the block and sticking every stereotype you’ve ever heard on her then writing a black character isn’t any different than writing any other character.
And that is 100% true. There is absolutely no reason why the heroine’s boss at work shouldn’t be a black man instead of a white woman. The hero’s motor mechanic could just as easily be blind in one eye, the couple’s landlord might be a gay lawyer.
It ought be simple as that, but it’s not. If you step off your pillar of white, heteronormative, abelist privilege, there are accusations of cultural appropriation, of cultural ‘black face’.
Not even accomplished writers such as Michael Chabon can simply tell a riveting story without walking through a PC minefield:
For all his skills as a novelist, Chabon’s whiteness must be reckoned as a disability when it comes to writing about race, an asterisk next to his name. Either he’s crazy for wanting to “go there,” or, like a toddler learning how to walk, he is to be applauded just for getting in a few good steps before the inevitable stumble. In an otherwise positive review, Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times notes that Chabon is trying too hard “to sound like he was from the ’hood.” Slate’s own Troy Patterson gently chides Chabon for simplifying race, not because of his whiteness per se, but because of his naive and overly idealistic Berkeley-ness, which really just calling out one particular brand of whiteness.
And the castigation doesn’t end there, with accusations that women MM romance writers fetishize gay men:
And don’t you dare claim that you’re doing something progressive on behalf of populations to which you don’t belong. Because you aren’t. It’s not your progress to make. And I’m getting really tired of seeing straight cisgender women congratulate themselves for it.
Ouch!
Romance authors pick their hero and heroines carefully.
The source of conflict which drives the story could very well be because he has a prosthetic leg from his tour of Afghanistan or she is going blind or has cancer (The Fault In Our Stars or Love Story, anyone?). It could very well be a clash of nationalities or cultures which threatens the couple’s relationship or it could be none of those things.
The starting points should always be:
- Who are these characters?
- Why should they be together? (Being a romance author is like playing matchmaker :) )
- What things are standing in their way?
- How will they overcome the obstacle/s?
Supporting characters are chosen for the unique role they play in driving the story forward. Their stories become important because their perspectives govern the way they interact with the story’s protagonists. They should be developed with thoughtfulness and not because it has some PC-mandated, check-the-box list of under-represented minorities.
I can’t see how Pride and Prejudice would be enhanced by the addition of a gay best friend, a sister in a wheelchair or a black butler called Othello.
Anyone suggesting that Asian readers would struggle to relate Wuthering Heights because of the lack of representative Asian characters is as insulting as claiming a European would get nothing out of The God of Small Things because there is no caste system in downtown Paris.
It is reductionist and absurd.
So, what’s the answer?
Put on a flame-proof suit and write.
Just write a compelling story with characters who speak to you about their lives. Because if they speak to you, they will speak to us as readers – that’s all we want. Take us, transport us, mesmerise us (but for goodness’ sake, give us the happily ever after).
Not everyone will get it – that’s okay.
Some people may hate on you – that’s their choice.
Just write.