Ethically Diverse Storytelling, Part II

In the last issue, I discussed the importance of understanding the nuance of incorporating diverse characters in your storytelling. Since it’s such a big topic, let’s dive into some more aspects that all writers—especially ones developing secondary worlds—need to consider to ensure that the stories we're telling include meaningful representation.

- BY MORIAH RICHARD

UNDERSTAND TOKENISM

If you've never heard the term before, Merriam-Webster describes tokenism as “the policy or practice of making only a symbolic effort (as to desegregate).” When looking at it through the lens of literature, this is when a writer will throw in a character of a different race, sexuality, nationality, etc., just so the story seems more diverse. Doing this is harmful. Tokenism generally relies on harmful stereotypes, relegates these characters into two-dimensional roles, and makes these characters into representatives of an entire group of people.

The way to avoid tokenism is to make sure that every single character in your story is a fully realized individual. This means that they should have fears, desires, beliefs, likes, dislikes, family, friends, pets, and everything else that makes a person whole. By doing so, you avoid the pitfalls of misrepresentation.

Diversity for the Sake of Diversity

The biggest misconception these days is that if you don’t have some kind of diversity in your work, you won't be published. This is simply untrue. While we can have an entire discussion about how having a richly diverse world makes for better storytelling (which I wholeheartedly believe), it doesn’t mean that having a homogenous cast of characters will not allow you to be traditionally published.

The plain truth is that when you shoehorn in a character just to make a checkmark on what you think publishers and readers want to see, it becomes disingenuous, leading to poor writing and a higher chance that you won't be published.

While it might be controversial to say, as an editor and a reader, I fully stand by the belief that you should write the story that’s most genuine to you. If you don’t want to write a story that has characters who aren't straight, white, middle-class Christians, then don’t. Having no diversity in your story is better than having harmful and stereotypical misrepresentation.