Writing thoughts and white invisibility

[valarltd]

The fish is unaware of the water.

I find this is true for writing as well. I write white characters as ordinary people. Even when they are extraordinary: super geniuses, assassins, politicians, artists, werewolves, demons, the Devil himself. Growing up in the area I did, my default value for "human" is "white male." And I know, I know, I'm working on that. It's only been in the last year I've even tried writing anything other than white people.

OTOH, when I start dealing with Characters of Color, regardless of the color, I get tangled up.

When I write Akino, am I slipping into Fangirl Japanese as she teaches Nick a few basic pleasantries (taken directly from Bun's Japanese study book)? Am I perpetrating the Inscrutible Oriental stereotype by having her be calm and meditative and a complete schemer, in addition to being both ninja and geisha?

When I write Steven, am I going for the Magical Negro stereotype or the violent thug one? I've tried to make him interesting and three dimensional: a man loving a woman who does not love him, beloved of a man he loves but cannot desire. A Zen master to control his ferocious temper. He's a big caretaking cuddlebum stuck in a cut-rate version of Othello. In the pirate universe, I made him the loyal quartermaster of the ship, and later captain of his own.

By making Elena Esosa wise and ancient, the ruler of all Africa, am I making the black woman a sexless and non-sexual being? (Esosa, unlike the rest of the Eight, has refused to take the age-defying treatments. James, who is 80, looks 40. Elena looks her 90.)

Adrien has become Adlai for a 19th century pirate series. Now he has not only a white male lover, but has taken a wife of the "mixed blood." Marielena.

I wonder about writing them, because racism is so ingrained in that time period. Not all the characters are as enlightened as Capt. Collins (Adlai's lover). I try to keep it limited but wonder about putting any in, since it may be off-putting to modern readers. I mean, Gone with the Wind is less than a hundred years old and most readers find it virulently racist. In 1804, most blacks were still considered livestock, a mindset we find hard to swallow now.

Adlai was sold as a slave. He remained very conscious of this through the first novel, but was never subservient.

And my romance novels aren't meant to be a treatise on racism. They're meant to be romances. Boy meets boy, boy falls for boy. Boy marries girl and keeps other boy too. And that, too will offend. Although what we consider a gay identity is relatively modern, and before the mid-twentieth century, most gay men did marry women.


And then there's Chuck. He's fiercely independent, hard working and hates the prejudice he faces because of his ancestry. I worry that I've made him "too white"--just a ground-bound Han Solo type--but I also worry that having him observe his father's people's religion would be out of character. (He doesn't seem to have too much faith in anything except himself and his truck)


I'm of the opinion that as long as the characters' actions are logical for their personality the story will work. I just worry about whitewashing my characters of color, or, consversely, turning them into stereotypes.

For those wanting a sample, there is a fair bit of Adlai in yesterday's posts.

Comments

[cbpotts.livejournal.com]

I think you've raised some very valid points. It's hard to avoid stereotypes in general -- are all my older characters neuter, are all my mothers maternal, are all my villians surprisingly well educated? Throw race into the mix, and you add another layer of complication.

I think the first step is to be concious of what you're doing. Second is to let your character be your guide.

It's impossible to know how what we write now will be seen a generation or two down the road, much less one hundred years. I don't let myself think about that, as it would cripple me.

I think that there are cultural 'twinges', those shared beliefs or knowledge that someone in the culture just gets, without ever articulating it, that are impossible to capture in writing unless you yourself are of that culture or are very intimately acquainted with it. That's why I get a little weird about writing a culture I know nothing of at all -- race set aside, I'd have just as hard a time writing a story set in a large metropolitan city, for example, because I just don't know that world.

Not making any sense, but you've spurred a lot of great thinking for me. Thank you.

[(Anonymous)]

You made plenty of sense.

Also, since Steven and Akino and Elena are from the future (right now, Elena would be about 10 years old, Akino is about 3), I kind of have to worry about where race is going and how it changes and is perceived.

I know where you're coming from on the city thing. Each city has its own feel. Memphis is different from Little Rock. Both are different from Kansas City or St. Louis. I would hardly dare write something set in New York or Boston.

[valarltd.livejournal.com]

Me, sorry