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

[airycat.livejournal.com]

I came in from reannon's LJ. I believe that the reason there are stereotypes is because some people are exactly like that. The stereotyping comes when we take one known characteristic and assume the rest. I think the only way to avoid it is to get to know our characters very well and let them tell us who they are, what they are like. Then, if we really listen to them, we'll show them as individuals and either break the stereotype mold show it as more than "just" a stereotype.