POC Characters in Stories and Why They're Important - Comments

@ SmilingScarlet

@ sodapop curtis

Thanks for the comments guys. I tried my best to be pretty neutral in this blog and not to offend anyone so I doubt it'll cause an uproar. Haha if so i'll just ignore it because if i get banned for disagreeing with someone again im gone for life lol.

@ sodapop curtis
Bless you beautiful woman. Words right out of my mouth. ;~;

Oh, and as a side note: In the genre's I write in, it's not really important (to the characters im writing at least) to point out skin colour, I think that's why I do it? I'm not sure. Tis something to think about. I've got a few characters I want to use in stories of coloured descent, but to be honest, I'm scared of using them because I don't wanna piss anybody off. I mean, I can research for hours on cultural customs and just normal everyday life for people, but at the end of the day, I could still fuck it up and offend someone. I don't particularly wanna take the risk of that on this particular website, and there are many coloured authors on here that I really love and I wouldnt want to make them feel like I've bastardized their culture or race by some silly mistake I make of putting too much stock into something I've read online. There isn't a lot of POC in my area, not because it's flash (it aint -.-) but because no one actually lives here...I'm kinda surrounded by factories, so I can't go outside and people watch, plus I barely leave my house at all. All the knowledge I have is from reading SmilingScarlet's posts/stories (THAT IS YOUR NAME. I can never remember your new ones) and from other various members, but other than that, I can only go off my own local cultures, which is only Maori (Although they have some wonderful tales I'd like to make into stories)

But yeah, That totally sounds like an excuse, I don't mean it to, I just really don't want to put myself in a position where I could offend anybody, so I'm just sitting in the back twiddling my thumbs and trying to think of ways to write my stories, but not offend anyone. I do love reading about POC, I just feel like I'd be a crappy writer in that regard, because I dont know jackshit about most cultures (I barely know my own). We don't have an excess of African American's here either...I mean, I've never even seen one in the flesh, It's so odd but it's true :/

I will give it a crack at some point, I'm just not ready right now. :(

Nah I totally get what your saying. I just don't really think of skin colour tbh, must be something wrong with me. I just never actually PICTURED characters when they are described to me, or not. Even in a book. I just picture what they are doing, from their eyes. I always put myself as the character. You have a totally valid point though, I'm just weird. Haha.

@ SmilingScarlet
Exactly. It's because they feel automatically victimized, cutting straight to the "reverse racism" schtick, saying, "You don't have to be the same race as a character to relate to them!" Well...yeah, I mean, if you've seen your own race prevalently represented in movies/TV shows/stories, etc. all your life, then of course it doesn't matter to you because that's the "norm". But that's not the case for PoC.

sodapop curtis:

Thank you for this blog! I'm crossing my fingers for you in hopes that this doesn't get backlash because every time someone tries to bring up racial representation on this website, all hell breaks loose

Agreed, because then you have white peeps trying to shut it down saying that it shouldn't matter. To some POC or people in general, it does. It kind of angers me that people try to shut something down like that.

Thank you for this blog! I'm crossing my fingers for you in hopes that this doesn't get backlash because every time someone tries to bring up racial representation on this website, all hell breaks loose

@ Queen In The North
I get that and I think a lot of writers do that but no one is going to know until you come out and say it. If you don't specify then that's basically the same thing as saying they're white.

You're the author so you have the power to let your readers to view your characters exactly how you've imagined them, so why would you choose not to? It's an important part of story telling. When it comes to characters, things like skin color, nationality, ethnicity are important. Just like they are important in real life. The color of your skin plays a very important part in almost every aspect of your life and to disregard it is pretty inconsiderate, don't you think? I don't think? I don't think you're, racist I just think that's a very good method when it comes to writing.

First thing's first



I totes agree, and it is sometimes kind of saddening to find stories where everyone is the same ;~;

I write original fictions with Mexicans ;) my wifey may have mentioned me, I just changed my name

@ HerNameIsAlice

I don't generally mention the colour of my characters, but thats because I don't view skin colour as important, I focus on personality. They could be any colour or race the reader wants them to be, that's my way of avoiding the entire thing tbh. I don't care what colour any of my character's are, some are white, and some are not, and other's are unspecified. I'm not racist, I just don't view it as important, they can be whoever the reader wants them to be.

This is so important.

I get it. I'm no writer but when I read... it's like these small petite girls and they're white. I read fanfic and it's like I never see a Latina girl who is dating this rockstar. The original stories I read is by SmilingScarlet because her characters are kinda based on her and she's Mexican so it's good to see that. But in the fanfics I read.... I just never put much thought into but you are right. Now it's kinda bothering me thinking about it. :/

This is such a brilliant blog post. I know that I'm guilty of having 95% of my characters be white, and it's mostly because I worry about offending people if I portray a POC "wrong." And that is just ridiculous of me to think.

I need to get my ass in gear and stop avoiding POC in my writing.

THIS.

THIS SO MUCH.

THIS.

This kinda reminds me back to when I blogged about Divergent earlier this week and I automatically assumed Four and his mother were white, but they both turned out to be POC. Four's mother being a black woman and Four being mixed.

I can't. I relate to this on so many levels.