Supporting We Need Diverse Books

A campaign called We Need Diverse Books began not long ago. As bloggers, authors, and readers started to notice the lack of diverse characters in novels, specifically in the YA genre. Certainly, the lack of diversity in YA novels is astounding. Even when characters are stated to be characters of color or the color of their skin is left ambiguous, fans and media representations of the characters are often whitewashed. Take, for example, Harry Potter's titular character. Harry Potter himself is never described as white. Readers know he has green eyes and black hair, but Rowling refrains from outright saying Harry is white. And why should she? In my experience, if a character's skin color is left to the reader's imagination, he or she is automatically imagined as white.

Of course, I'm speaking as a white individual. While I can certainly promote and support We Need Diverse Books as an ally, I can never truly understand the issue from a person of color's perspective. I think this is totally valid -- naturally I don't have a right to insert myself into such a conversation: I have nothing valuable to add. But that is my issue here.

With a call for more diverse books in the libraries and in the book stores, I feel, as a writer, responsible. I want to help the best way I know how: writing. But I can't do that effectively because, as a white person, I do not have the same experience with prejudice and oppression as POC. Sure, I have experienced sexism as a woman. But I can't say that I have ever been followed around a store because of the color of my skin, nor have I ever been called a racial slur. So is it right for me to try and represent a group of people (although I recognize that no one story is representative of a whole group) I have no experience as?

I don't think so.

Men, certainly, have written books from the perspective of women. Women have done the same for men. And, certainly, I could interview POC in an attempt to make a novel as faithful to the POC experience as possible, but if I am to show true respect to my readers and my characters, it's a disservice to them to write characters who aren't white.

From We Need Diverse Books

So what do I do? I can buy books with diverse casts. I can protest whitewashing in film adaptations. I can write about other aspects of diversity with which I am familiar -- anxiety and depression being two. When I'm a librarian, I can create book displays centering on diversity and plan programs to support diversity. And I can happily take suggestions and criticism from POC and others regarding any offensive thing I may unintentionally write.

But I cannot pretend that the best way for me to support this movement, for once, is to write diversely. As much as I'd like to, it just doesn't seem fair. As always, if anyone has any comments or suggestions, I'm happy to take them below!