Representation In Writing - Tumblr Posts

A (Non-Exhaustive) List of (Red-ish) Flags In Writing

Particularly when writing people with a marginalized identity that you don't hold, it can be hard to tell what is an issue if you're not familiar with it. Research should be your main reference point, but sometimes you need to go with your instincts.

Here is a very non-exhaustive list of things that should flag to you that you need to take another look at it and do some more research:

Is a person/culture/group presented as "backwards", irrational, un-modern, or uniformly aggressive?

Am I using coded language (e.g. thug, slut, slow) to describe a character?

Am I associating sexual habits or preferences with a certain race, religion, gender, or class?

Am I dismissing or making light of devestating historical events that appear or are referenced in the story?

Am I prioritizing the rehabilitation of individuals or groups who commited violence, particularly at the expense of those who experienced that violence?

Are my characters, particularly my marginalized characters, embodying stereotypes with no other characteristics?

Do my marginalized characters exist simply so I can say I have included marginalized characters?

Am I applying every marginalization to one character so that I don't have to "deal with it" in other characters?

Do marginalizations, particularly disabilities, only appear when convenient?

Do marginalized characters, particularly Characters of Color, exist only to guide or care for white characters?

Writing Advice: Noticing Bigotry In Your Writing

Tw for mentions of bigotry and discrimination, obvi

Look Up Common Stereotypes For Your Characters

Seriously, this is the best thing you can do in order to incorperate these stereotypes into a full-formed identity. I'm not saying that you can't write a "sassy black girl" or a "happy disabled person".

It's just that if you have any hope of writing these stereotypes into actual 3-dimensional characters, you need to know what you are working with. Look up "Common {Minority} Stereotypes" or "{Minority} Myths"

It's genuinely not that hard to see whether or not your character is a stereotype! Send an ask to @cripplecharacters if you are having trouble with your disablity representation.

Send a submittion to the thousands of Tumblr accounts whose entire schtick is giving you advice!

Let me tell you:

" The Worst Decision You Can Make Is A Subconscious One"

If you go into writing a minority character the way you do with all your characters aka fantasizing and just going straight for it, there is a chance you might undercut your story with bigotry!

Because everyone has bias. That's not a moral failing on your part but it is something you need to consciously fight against in order to write characters who can stand on their own and not be supported by internalized bigotry.

Which leads me to my second and last question.

2. Why Is Your Character Like This?

Investigate why you made the decisions you have made. To help with that, here is a little questionaire!

When I imagine a cruel person what assumptions do I make about their appearance and psyche?

Based on my previous characters, do I have a tendency to lean into a particular archetype when writing my minority characters?

Is there any narrative reason such as plot, themes, and other important devices that would justify my character's personality?

Why did I decide this character would be this particular minority?

How do I view this character in terms of their minority status? Is it condescending? Is it hateful?

What associations do I naturally have between a minority status and social status, personality, and importance?

Would I have treated and viewed this character the same way if their minority status was completely washed away?

Are my minority characters generally relegated to the side lines and only exist to help non-minority characters in their lives?

Is the level of detail, psychological complexity, story, likeability, relatability, and compellingness of minority characters on the same level as non-minority characters?

Do my stories contain symbolism which portrays cruel bigotry-motivated practices as positive or useful?

Do my stories sympathize with bigotry-infused individuals while not extending that sympathy to those who are oppressed by that bigotry?

Have I ever critically looked at my writing and what it says about my worldview on others?

If you are now considering that you have biased belief systems, that's good! Again, it's much better to be aware and fixing your problems instead of not being aware of them.

I hope my little questionaire made you think about your writing in a new way! ;)

Feel free to add your own important "check yourself" questions!