I’ve been seeing a lot of discussions about diversity, but more than that, the concepts of cultural appropiation vs cultural appreciation that are at play in literature. This is a very delicate topic, and I’m writing this in the hopes of learning about what other people think about this, even though I’m sure some could disagree.
My interest began from simple convos on twitter I skimmed through. Bottom line: It felt wrong to me that it was oh so bad for ‘white’ people to, let’s say, use another culture, when other cultures, freely learn the english language, wear the U.S flags in shirts, tote bags, and etc.
And it seems like a pretty asshole way to think. Don’t worry, I KNOW. Just wait. Don’t hate me yet!
Think. What if I was american? I would seem like even much more of an asshole. If I were black, I would be crazy. But I’m ecuadorian, and my skin is white enough for me to be considered ‘white’, so I’m… I don’t even know.
I’m aware that American culture has been heavily commercialized and it’s not the same. It’s not the same that U.S markets its culture, one that is usually ‘the standard’, when other cultures just want theirs respected, and they will defend them with everything they have.
But it also rubs me the wrong way that the idea that it’s never okay for other people to take part in other’s culture because the first thing that comes to their mind is cultural apropiation.
I speak from my personal point of view, and I respect anyone who thinks differently, because we have different experiences. Cultural appropiation IS A THING. And it’s wrong, but sometimes in literature, it isn’t that at all, and we’re stopping good stories from being born because of this belief.
It’s the Book, not the Author!
There are a lot of countries in latinamerica, however, the one that seems to only exist is Mexico. o.O Always. I don’t know if it’s because authors are lazy, or simply because it’s the only latinamerican country that they really know (they don’t even know it that well, but yeah).
The thing is, my country, as well as many others need to be represented in literature, and I don’t care who does it as long as they do it properly. Sure, there’s no one better to write about a culture than the people from that culture itself, but I don’t think it’s wrong if someone else does it. I repeat, the right way, because if it’s just for the sake of being able to put in the blurb that it’s diverse, then it’s cultural appropiation and you, my author friend will get a lot of rage, because we notice.
I understand this belief that it’s wrong stems from the fact that society acclaims as diverse a book about black people written by a white one, but tries to hide those books written by the very same black people that are telling their stories. It’s wrong, it’s awful, and it needs to change. It is changing, and I couldn’t be happier about it. But everyone has the right to tell the stories they want.
Is it wrong for straight people to write about someone who is bisexual? Is it wrong for a bisexual person to write about someone who is straight, or hell, even pansexual? Is it wrong for someone who lives in a happy marriage to write about cheating? Is it wrong to write about something that you know about but doesn’t apply directly to you?
THIS IS the question that has been bugging me for a long time. Like I said before, I think adequate represenations of all these real life races, situations, religions and sexual orientations and identities should be encouraged, no matter who writes it, but I’m really interested in what other people think about this.
I like how you say you don’t care who represents your country as long as they do it accurately. I completely agree, when representing other cultures from one’s own, an author needs to do appropriate research to not come across as ignorant or rude, but also to do the culture justice.
You make some excellent points here. There’s such a fine line, but I agree that there’s nothing wrong with it as long as it’s done well. The only issue is when people try to write books about other cultures without properly researching!
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True that. Just recently, I’d been reading articles about the diversity in YA books, and there were a lot of sides, from white people should write or represent non-white characters in their books, to non-white people doing the writing. I personally think you can write about other cultures, as long as you do a lot of research and don’t rely on just observation or pre-conceived ideas about that culture. It’s also, I think, important to be open and honest about representing these characters as very real people, and not just for the sake of being diverse and saying, “Look at me! I’m different coz I’m Asian!”
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EXACTLY! That’s what I think as well.
I would have to say that you don’t need to be part of the culture to write about it. Personally I do think it is best to immerse yourself in it as much as you can. I am writing a novel set in China and I was actually there for three weeks and living with university students who didn’t show me the touristy side of things, but the actual culture living. It was a big help to my writing and I changed so many things! So maybe do solid research and experience as much as possible?
But yes, it is vital to remember that although writing can reflect ourselves in some ways, it isn’t the author. A book and the author are two things different things. I have written about things I haven’t agree with before as well.
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That must’ve been amazing! China is such a rich culture, lots of myths and places you can work with! Yes, I do believe research and honest portraying of life is essential.
I think this has become one of those discussion where you are in trouble no matter what stance you take, unfortunately. I understand people being angry if white people are writing about a minority culture but you can’t then complain that white people only write books about white people. Any way you go you are going to offend someone.
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🙁 Yeah, that’s the bad thing. I wish things were different and we weren’t so divided by things that make us different. You put it perfectly, though! There’s just no way to not to offend anyone, and that irks me because not everyone may like a story’s plot, or the characters, and that’s okay; there’s nothing you can do about that. But about this, we can do something. If only people would agree as to what, exactly.