tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post6826902033852678463..comments2023-09-26T02:17:42.577-07:00Comments on PaperFantasies: YA Epidemics #9 - They're All WhiteAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04006202162871450425noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-86160207155257353392013-05-27T15:46:53.504-07:002013-05-27T15:46:53.504-07:00Some suggestions I found for YA books with non-whi...Some suggestions I found for YA books with non-white protagonists:<br /><br />"Circle of Magic" series by Tamora Pierce, particularly the books where Daja takes center stage.<br />"Breaking the Wall" series by Janice Lindskold. Chinese and Chinese-American.<br />"Mavin the Manyshaped" series by Sheri S. Tepper. Mind, due to the shapeshifting thing, it's difficult to pin Mavin down to any particular ethnicity.<br />"Earthsea" series by Ursula K. LeGuin. (Note that this has not been reflected in the live-action or animated adaptations, or some of the book covers, something Ms. LeGuin is unhappy about.)<br />Speaking of books whose protagonists are whitewashed in the adaptations, "Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein. <br />"Mara, Daughter of the Nile" by Eloise McGraw. Ancient Egyptian.<br />"Nation" by Terry Pratchett. South Seas islander.<br />"Agency" series by Y. S. Lee. Half-Chinese detective in Victorian London.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-63054277957893827192013-05-26T16:48:48.913-07:002013-05-26T16:48:48.913-07:00To be fair to "Every Hill and Mountain",...To be fair to "Every Hill and Mountain", it is trying really hard to be inclusive with minor characters being of color (and the main character of the past story is a black man.) It just feels odd how very very white the main character group is, compared to the topic of the olot.<br /><br />It's not the top problem the book has, either--you can check out my review at http:www.skjam.com<br /><br />Should I ever get off my butt and actually write a YA book, it will have Hmong and Somali characters in it, because you can't attend a Twin Cities high school and not run into some.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-48897348944099546522013-05-26T15:59:09.408-07:002013-05-26T15:59:09.408-07:00I can completely understand the frustration! Holl...I can completely understand the frustration! Hollywood especially is ass-backwards with so many of their depictions. I honestly believe it's one of the things keeping racial barriers so strong.<br /><br />About books, I do understand that white people are most comfortable writing about white people. Like Skjam said above, it's a vicious cycle that needs to end so we can get more minority writers writing about minority characters. It bugs me, though, when books almost seem to go out of their way to <i>only</i> have white characters. Like, when all the side characters, every stranger the MC bumps in to, is described as caucasian...um, <i>what</i>? Has that happened to anyone in America ever?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04006202162871450425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-85734110898975489492013-05-26T15:52:54.761-07:002013-05-26T15:52:54.761-07:00"This one, unlike some of the other epidemics...<i>"This one, unlike some of the other epidemics, is the product of a vicious cycle. Most writers/editors/publishers white--most books written/published about white people--people with diverse backgrounds discouraged from becoming writers/editors/publishers--most writers/editors/publishers white."</i><br /><br />That says it perfectly. Non-white people are understandably scared to try to stick their necks out when it seems only white people "make it" in the industry. Which is (excuse my language) utter bullshit, in my opinion. They should only be judged on the quality of their writing.<br /><br />That book you mentioned sounds like a perfect example of how insulting books can be about this kind of thing. Was it set within the last five decades? If so, that author needs to get his head out of his ass and catch up to the times.<br /><br />I also agree completely with your last statement. Book bloggers have so much power when it comes to influencing the future of publishing. This can be a great thing, as long as we make sure to shout about the changes we want to see within the industry and, as you said, seek out and review books that feature some of those changes.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04006202162871450425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-1504335806489459502013-05-26T15:45:43.362-07:002013-05-26T15:45:43.362-07:00Thanks, Trish! I rarely venture outside of YA unl...Thanks, Trish! I rarely venture outside of YA unless it's urban or high fantasy, which also seem to have more white characters than anything else, but I think I may also start making a point to read books with more diverse characters in it. Broaden my book horizons a bit.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04006202162871450425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-77408412484312684322013-05-26T15:43:45.881-07:002013-05-26T15:43:45.881-07:00Yeah, it's one of those things where you don&#...Yeah, it's one of those things where you don't realize how hard it is to think of books with diversity until you actually try to.<br /><br />Thanks so much for that link!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04006202162871450425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-42894572816097876712013-05-26T15:42:20.446-07:002013-05-26T15:42:20.446-07:00I agree, I also think a large part of it is that s...I agree, I also think a large part of it is that so many YA writers are white. I get that, I do, but I'd still love to see more of an effort to include minority characters. Even if it's not the MC.<br /><br />I don't know, I think a lot of readers would appreciate physically imperfect characters, as long as they actually had a personality. But most readers aren't exactly as avid as us bloggers, so they may be a bit less tired of the beautiful character thing.<br /><br />Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, Roberta!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04006202162871450425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-21950686504439939592013-05-25T05:54:21.761-07:002013-05-25T05:54:21.761-07:00I'm and Egyptian, and I read tons of books. On...I'm and Egyptian, and I read tons of books. Only one (ONE!) out of those books featured an Arab character (Somali) and that's because the book focused on America post 9/11. I'm not saying I expect to see an Arab character every now and then, or at all. It's hard for an author to write about a culture they don't understand. Sure, I'd like to read about a character from the same region I come from, but that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about the movies or books where an Arab character or country IS featured. For example, the last mission impossible movie, the one with Burj Khalifa. I was really excited to see that one, but there was this scene where Tom Cruise runs out from the burj and in the span of two minutes he's in the middle of the dessert. What the fuck? I mean it's no wonder people think all of the middle east is a piece of dessert with huts and camels, because that's how movies depict us. It's frustrating, really, that the people behind those media production won't even make the effort of doing the research. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15972387771322752923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-54794294231885849092013-05-25T05:23:02.493-07:002013-05-25T05:23:02.493-07:00I've noted before that I live in Minnesota, on...I've noted before that I live in Minnesota, one of the whitest states in the US of A, yet I see more diversity on a single bus trip or at work than in any six mainstream novels or Hollywood movies.<br /><br />I also noted this in my review of "Every Hill and Mountain" with its cast of white young people* learning about the history of slavery in Illinois. It makes me kind of suspicious when the protagonists are from the Chicago area, yet they're surprised by a church where black and white people worship together, and one of them has never been in an integrated church before.<br /><br />*The big shocking reveal is that one of them has a tiny amount of African-American ancestry. (I figured it out the moment the kids thought they'd found the wrong person with the name they were looking for.) The villain is still willing to marry her, but insists that of course they can never have children.<br /><br />This one, unlike some of the other epidemics, is the product of a vicious cycle. Most writers/editors/publishers white--most books written/published about white people--people with diverse backgrounds discouraged from becoming writers/editors/publishers--most writers/editors/publishers white.<br /><br />And it has gotten better over the years. I can remember when Robert Heinlein had to slip the fact that Juan "Johnny" Rico (of Starship Troopers) wasn't white past his editors and many of the readers because you just didn't *do* that in juveniles.<br /><br />Book review bloggers can do their bit by deliberately seeking out and publicizing books with more diverse casts, even if we have to go to imports or outside our comfort zones.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-7886058829657932092013-05-25T02:36:53.222-07:002013-05-25T02:36:53.222-07:00I seek out diversity in my books and read a lot of...I seek out diversity in my books and read a lot of books set within other countries and about other cultures. Within YA, that's hard, actually impossible. This shouldn't be the case and it's something worth shouting loud about. This really isn't something we should compromise on. And I totally get your mixed feelings on blogging about this but you made the right decision, I'm proud of you :-) Trish @ Between My Lineshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08517849083417759188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-16849284658592447172013-05-25T01:06:17.670-07:002013-05-25T01:06:17.670-07:00You're completely right. Although I call mysel...You're completely right. Although I call myself a book lover, I really am struggling to think of books which represents this diversity. I guess DIvergent does in some ways - with Christina, Zach and Uriah - but none of them are that a major characters. I found this the other day, and thought you might want to take a look: http://www.katehart.net/2012/05/uncovering-ya-covers-2011.html. Scroll down to find out about ethnicity on book covers.Ruby // Rustled Pageshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01497768837938772551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5466627425021869675.post-6438405209633708982013-05-24T23:16:26.475-07:002013-05-24T23:16:26.475-07:00*clap hands* Very well said!
The funny thing is, a...*clap hands* Very well said!<br />The funny thing is, according to many comments I read on a Goodreads thread, there are lots of readers that would like more diversity in YA novels. Sometimes I think the reason why authors are not going there is (also) because most of them are white (and possibly straight) and so is their immediate circle, so they are unsure of how to write a different character maybe. As for beautiful...oh yeah, as for that, I'm not sure that so many readers would like an average-or-less character, though they say they would. But some of them, definitely yes.Roberta R.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18228840429799100354noreply@blogger.com