At what point does writing about characters who are different from you turn into an appropriation of a "foreign" (to you) gender, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, or sexual orientation?
I'm not entirely sure why, but I've been pondering this question quite a bit lately. If anything, it's probably because I've been realizing the extent to which the characters I spend the most time writing tend to have life experiences fundamentally similar to mine. They are typically girls or women from middle-middle class suburban families; they almost always have siblings, and two working parents; if their religion (or occasional lack thereof) ever impinges upon the plot, it is within a (generally Protestant) Christian context; and whether I'm writing about the here-and-now, or pre-revolutionary France, or a colony planet in the 23rd century, my main characters generally belong to the ethnic/racial identity that dominates their city, state, region, or even country (excepting, of course, the occasional alien).
I'm not saying that there is anything exactly wrong with the fact that I tend to envision protagonists with concerns similar to mine -- as much as I hate the dictum "Write what you know" for the way it gets bandied about indiscriminately, I do feel it's easiest to write characters whose mental landscapes you can connect with. Following this line of thought, when I do introduce characters whose experiences of the world have been different from mine, they're generally characters whose experiences I've been able to extrapolate or understand to a certain extent through those of my friends and family. For example, I don't feel uncomfortable writing about gay or lesbian characters, because even though I may identify as straight, I have a lot of friends who don't, and who've been frank with me about their experiences (not because I've ever asked, as a way of intentionally "doing research," but because we're friends, and things just come up).
But -- and I can't tell whether to blame this on "middle-class guilt," or too much time spent in English classes analyzing the issues of writing across race and gender, or just being a considerate human being -- I sometimes wonder about the larger implications of people from a supposedly "dominant" gender, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, or sexual orientation writing about characters from different backgrounds that are perceived as less socially accepted or empowered. When I portray gay or lesbian characters as main or supporting characters in my stories, am I doing my part to vindicate the fundamental humanity of a group that has suffered discrimination, or is my portrayal from a position of incomplete experience an appropriation of a subject position I have never personally held? Do some stories only belong to those who have lived through them, and if I as an outsider attempt to write those stories, am I merely buying into a notion of my own dominance that allows me to "know" these people even those I'm not one of them?
At the moment, I'm inclined to think that, provided I am knowledgeable and respectful and honest about the characters I'm treating, there is nothing wrong with attempting to write across such differences. In fact, I think that writing -- fiction in particular -- is one of the most extraordinary vehicles we have for promoting an understanding that bridges these differences, and if everyone was restricted to writing only what they knew, it might do more to promote a cultural insulation than to break it down. But the outcry against those who try to write across differences and are perceived as failing is often so strong that I'm never entirely certain, and I'm really interested in what anyone else might have to say about this topic.
I think that one of the best things about science fiction as a genre is that it allows you to write 'across differences' and about some very contentious subjects from a position that is removed from the kind of visceral reaction that people have to here-and-now controversies. For example, the Cylon occupation and human resistance movement on New Caprica (written, one supposes, entirely by humans), has led to some very philosophical and thought-provoking discussions. Now, if the same story had been set in Israel, and written by Palestinians...that discussion would rapidly devolve into either shouting or uncomfortable silence. (I forget whether you watch Battlestar, so forgive me if this example is unhelpful...)
ReplyDeleteI've never tried writing either (aside from one brief attempt this past November...) but I would imagine that writing 'across differences' within the context of science fiction would be easier than doing it through 'regular' fiction (is there a better term?).
As a reader, I'm certainly more willing to accept a human writing from the perspective of an alien (since none of us has ever experienced what it is like to be an alien) than an author of one ethnicity writing as someone from another (since many people have had that experience, and could - possibly - tell their own story better). Class I'm not sure about, as I rarely know what class an author belongs to, or think about it as I'm reading. Gender only bothers me when something written about women by a man dramatically conflicts with my experience as a woman.
Interesting questions...thanks for asking them!
@Kira
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched Battlestar (I'm getting there!) but your explanation makes sense anyway. I've long thought that science fiction and fantasy as genres are in a unique position to do this sort of thing well, without being offensive but while still promoting a belief in the ability to work in harmony despite difference (and without ignoring or writing off difference). At some point when I've thought this out further, there may be a post on here about that.