9 Responses

  1. Marie Namer
    Marie Namer at |

    Very well done. Lee Child has very little in common with Jack Reacher and JK Rowling with Harry Potter.
    Inclusiveness comes with understanding and even realizing that this is fiction I think understanding has grown exponentially with the growth of readers in the genre.

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  2. Christa Gettys
    Christa Gettys at |

    I must agree with you. I have seen on television and in movies, autism used as a base draw. The spectrum for autism is HUGE and on top of that new information is being revealed almost daily. For example: PANDAS and PANS are new diagnosis of autism but not autism. Meaning previously diagnosed Autism patients are now being re-evaluated under new specifications that put them in these new categories. My 17 yr old son was diagnosed with autism at 2, I knew something was different at 13 months. In only 15 years autism diagnosis has come a long way. In my state of New York, USA when my son turned 8 was told he was no longer autistic enough even though he tested the same as at 2 and 5. All this boils down to is if I wanted to write about autism I have life experience, but if someone without life experience does their research well, they may have a better perspective than even I or my son could. He truly has the life experience! Although his is very different from 100 other children. Who is right? They all are! When the movie “Rainman” came out, autism was an almost unheard of “illness” and when I would tell family and friends my son has autism. Everyone said no he’s not, he’s not like the guy in the movie. In the past year or two TV shows have had non autistic actors portraying autistic people. There is one show that has an actor who is indeed autistic, but who is nothing like my son. I am not offended. Simply because life is a different experience for us all. If any genre is being portrayed by writers who do not identify with their subject matter, as long as they do their homework and write accordingly, fine. I write about elves and dwarves in fantasy, I can’t really identify with either race…so, I just do my best. Anyone no matter their race, religion, sexuality or anything can be portrayed in one single way. HUMAN BEINGS of which all those folk are made of (unless the were dragon alien shifters are real, then I’m in trouble) kind and generous people, others are introverts and still other are jerks. There is no way every male is “toxic”, every lesbian is butch, every pansexual wants to “do it” with everyone. No Mormon is into polygamy ( 100% of practicing Mormons are not-if they do, then they are not accepted members to the faith) Can you tell I’m a writer? I cannot answer a simple question with a simple answer under 500 character LOL, I write a one shot instead! It is becoming a terrifying world for anyone who serves the public and one person takes offence and that public servant is suddenly being burned at the stake. When no offence was done deliberate or otherwise. As a Pansexual, white female, I enjoy reading M/M literature. I also love regency M/F, paranormal, fantasy and many other genres with genres within genres. So if we just do our very best to be true to our subject and genre, we should not be taken out and shot for it. Too many people are getting on the oversensitive wagon. In my never to be humble opinion (and that is all it is…an opinion)

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  3. Marshall Thornton
    Marshall Thornton at |

    Thank you for writing such a well-thought out piece.

    I think that there are two questions that get intermingled. There’s the question of whether an individual work is an appropriation and then there’s the question of whether a genre or group of works are appropriations. I think it’s important for all writers to consider what they themselves are doing, as you’ve done and suggest. I think we also have to think about how we relate to larger groups and movements. You bring up a recent post that caused a lot of conflict. While it wasn’t diplomatically written, what I recall is that he was writing about group behavior much more than individual behavior. The way it was perceived though was almost universally personal. I think if more writers did the work you’ve done it would be eaiser for everyone to understand and process commentary when it appears.

    The comment you make about women having trouble with the big five publishers is a very common misconception. Women dominate publishing, both as writers and as agents and editors. The romance genre makes up 40-60% of all fiction sold. Women do very well in mystery, cozy mysteries are almost entirely written by women. I think non-fiction is about a 50/50 split. And there are many other genres where women do quite well. Women struggle in literary fiction and sci-fi fantasy (though they’re quickly making progress with sci-fi). The reason this misconception is so common is that so much of the reporting on publishing views literary fiction as the sum total of publishing. Normally, I would argue that it’s fine if women rule some genres and men rule others, however, literary fiction is a problem because that’s where all the attention goes. The question is do we make the effort to change literary fiction or do we give more credit to genre fiction. (As a genre writer I’d rather see the later.)

    Anyway, kudos for your thoughtfulness. 🙂

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  4. Sarah_Madison
    Sarah_Madison at |

    You and I have discussed this before, and I have very mixed feelings about the subject. Concerns as to whether I’m appropriating when I write M/M romance have me questioning whether I should continue to write in the genre. If I’m writing about something that happened in WW2 or writing a character with a spinal cord injury, I’m going to do my due diligence in researching the heck out of the material I’m using.

    There is great value in seeing stories about ourselves–whatever that self may be–and I strongly believe in supporting own voices in the sharing of their stories. But I also feel we as storytellers, even the milky-white, boring, middle-aged ones, owe it to our audience to include diverse characters in our stories.

    The genre talks a lot about ‘own voices’. If we sincerely believe in encouraging ‘own voices’, then it behooves us to listen and engage respectfully even when those voices express views and emotions that make us uncomfortable or with which we vehemently disagree. Listen, don’t dismiss out of hand but respectfully and courteously discuss. As I said in the post, bit of mutual respect goes a long way.

    This is so true–and elegantly stated. This is true of the characters we choose to create as well. Respect the differences. Don’t hide behind “but the genre wants/expects”. Rather instead, listen when someone points out problematic material. Let’s put it this way: romances back in the 70’s had very specific guidelines to follow–one of the reasons certain tropes were popular was because the industry tightly controlled the degree to which women were allowed to express their sexuality. Storylines that were standard then are *very* problematic for many today.

    But for the most part, today’s romances bear little resemblance to the stories of the 70’s. The genre has grown and matured as more writers stood up and said, “Women are allowed to want sex without marriage” or “I’m not going to write such misogynistic heroes anymore.” In her recent lifetime achievement award speech, Suzanne Brockmann spoke of having to remove a gay character from her first book at the insistence of her publisher–and how over the years, she’s pushed back on this sort of thing time and again. Change within an industry or genre doesn’t come overnight. It takes persistent demand for it.

    So if there are voices saying there are problems with appropriation in the genre, it behooves us to listen and question if that’s what’s happening with our own works. At the same time, I feel our stories in general should be more reflective of the population around us–which means including characters of different races or backgrounds, characters who are disabled, or have mental illnesses, characters with different sexual orientations, religions, and so on. I think we can even make them our main characters, if we do so with respect for their different experiences. Much of why I enjoy writing M/M romance has to do with appreciating on a smaller scale what it is like to be discriminated against, or to feel like an outsider among my own family, but that in no way allows me to really understand what it is like to be a black person in the US, for example, or a gay man, for that matter.

    I was following a Twitter thread today in which a woman said her husband had no concept of what it was like to be afraid to walk alone after dark, or specifically plan to park only in a well-lit areas, or to order his life around maximizing his safety at every turn. A lot of women joined in, sharing their personal experiences, many of which were along the lines of ‘yes, and this is just how it is for us’. If I were a male writer hoping to understand the mindset of virtually every woman out there before creating a female lead character, I’d have been paying very close attention to that thread.

    I can only hope that I continue to write–in whatever genre I chose–with empathy and respect for the people I portray.

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  5. clarelondon
    clarelondon at |

    This is very much how I already feel, so I won’t labour the points very articulately raised! What resonates with me:
    – The need not only to avoid silencing own voices, but to actively work with them, and support them, and welcome them into the same area – and vice versa. Surely that’s the best way over time to level the playing field? Admittedly, that can probably and realistically only be done from NOW onwards – attention and acknowledgement must always be given to the less diverse / less equal / less tolerant past, but we can’t rewrite history.
    – The need for respect. I genuinely believe if this were shown to everyone, it’d be the first step towards constructive communication and collaboration. It’s the tool we need to discuss rather than rant or weep, yet can still reflect passion and care. It makes our writing better on so many levels. And if people show respect and interest and attention to others’ experiences and voices, that can only enrich the overlap in the middle. And allow people their not only Own but Unique voices.
    – That respect should go both ways. In fact, ALL ways, whatever your orientation/status/etc. It’s extremely hard NOT to read from a personal POV – whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, or blog commentary. And we should all be allowed our emotional responses as valid, whatever our perceived privilege/not. However, I appreciate we should all work on stepping away first and listening properly before speaking out/back. That’s the sign of maturity and willingness to learn and improve behaviour to everyone’s benefit. Generalisations and sweeping statements – and let’s face it, social media lends itself to that temptation! – can do horrible emotional damage.
    – And YAY for genre fiction! Fiction is about the joy and reward of writing and reading, whatever the genre.

    And that’s gone on much longer than I intended, sorry for any pontification that wasn’t meant to come across as such.

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