Diversity Is Crucial To Authentic Storytelling

While it is certainly true that most of us read and watch TV for the entertainment value, we still have standards. Many of us want to be drawn into the stories we’re consuming, to feel as though the stories and characters are real, and what we’re consuming actually matters. That’s why diversity is so important to writing a compelling story. Diverse voices are better able to explore the complexity of reality. Particularly in regards to dystopic fiction, which has seen a rise in popularity in recent years.

It’s pretty easy to understand why dystopia has caught the public’s attention. There are few things as satisfying as watching an unjust world crumble and the leaders of said world defeated. For many, consuming dystopic fiction is a safe way of exploring how they would feel if they were the victims of a society that rejected them. One that had no trouble restricting their rights and freedoms. But, thankfully, it’s just fiction. Right?

Trigger warning: Before you read on, please be aware that heavy topics will be discussed. There will be mentions of sexual assault, conversion therapy and discrimination. If you are sensitive to these topics, feel free to skip this particular article. For reccomendations, here are some of my other reviews.

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Profiting Off Of The Experiences of Minorites

It is a sad truth but one that needs to be acknowledged. Not every member of society is treated with dignity and respect. There are many of us who struggle with having our rights as human beings restricted and don’t feel safe expressing our authentic identities.

Yes, I’m talking about minorities (and women in many places).

People of colour, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, Muslims etc. face discrimination in many places. Whether that’s the occasional slur thrown their way, discrimination in the workplace or even persecution. But despite the fact that their experiences most closely resemble the experiences of characters in dystopic fiction, they are rarely represented. Instead, they are replaced with able bodied, heterosexual white men (sometimes a woman).

Minorities are forced to live within societies that hurt them and then use their pain and suffering to write an entertaining story, all while excluding them from the narrative. It’s time to stop making allegories about racism with animals and robots and time to start including actual minorities within the narrative.

Our identities are being intentionally erased because it “complicates” things and because bigots don’t like seeing us in their entertainment.

But we are humans and our identities are not political. It is time to stop recycling our identities and histories into dystopic fiction that lose popularity within the year. And because of the barriers we face, as minorities, we often don’t have the means to write our own stories. So it’s time for the majority to start including us in the narrative … since they created the system that hurts us in the first place.

While Diversity Exists In The Real World, It Is Not Reflected By The Entertainment Industry

The unfortunate fact of the matter is that minorities often have fewer resources and the entertainment industry is incredibly difficult to get into, even with support. Most writers cannot sustain themselves with their writing alone until their 30s. And in some places, not until their 50s. Many give up. Which means that the most vulnerable people in our community are the least represented.

Due to this, the entertainment industry is oversaturated with able bodied, heterosexual, cisgender white people. Now I don’t say this as an insult. One’s skin colour does not determine how good of a writer they are. But one’s experiences do. And if one is privileged and has never faced discrimination themself, it is unlikely they will be able to write a compelling story about discrimination without help and guidance from people who have faced it.

For someone who hasn’t faced discrimination, a story about discrimination is a fantasy. They’re simply guessing what emotions and experiences a victim of discrimination would feel. That’s part of the reason why many of the dystopic stories written in recent times lose popularity so quickly. They’re an enjoyable read but they become less compelling over time because they don’t ring true. They aren’t authentic.

If You’ve Never Experienced Discrimination, Your Story Might Be Hollow

A story about discrimination, written by someone who hasn’t faced discrimination, that has no mention of minorities is either written by someone who hasn’t done their research or the author has done research and intentionally excluded minorities. This is not an exaggeration, some white writers have even admitted to not including minorities because it doesn’t fit their “aesthetic”.

But here’s the thing, discrimination is not a fun fantasy. It is real. And by not including the people who face discrimination, within their stories about discrimination, authors expose their stories as shallow. If an author cannot even do the bare minimum amount of research and get peoples real world experiences, their story will only ever be entertaining. It will never truly be compelling. Especially not for the people who face discrimination in real life.

And I say this even though I used to enjoy dystopias that explored the experiences of minorities while excluding them. But I grew tired of them way too quickly. Now that I’ve read stories that do include minorities and have seen how compelling these stories are, I don’t think I could ever go back to stories that erase my identity. That explore my own experiences as though the discrimination I’ve faced is a fun fantasy.

Marissa Meyer

Marissa Meyer writes compelling stories with incredibly complex worlds. Meyer explores discrimination, class inequality, corrupt governments and the complexity of humanity. She doesn’t simply slap on a white character and give them the experiences of a minority.

Meyer has real world minorities as the face of stories about discrimination and injustice. On top of this, minorities are all over her stories. From a black Snow White to happy, healthy, gay relationships. And she doesn’t feel the need to kill off the minorities in her story, as so many privileged authors have a tendency to do.

I’m not saying that her stories are only compelling because she includes minorities (although that certainly helps her case). Her stories are compelling because she is an incredible writer who cares about the worlds she’s building and takes the time to do actual research. Due to this, her stories feel true to life.

She’s also one of the few authors who hasn’t made me feel like my identity as a brown and gay woman is inherently wrong and not deserving of being represented. In a world that likes to pretend I don’t exist, Meyer’s books are a breath of fresh air.

As A Brown (Pansexual Actually But Let’s Just Say) Gay Woman

I didn’t feel like sharing a photo of myself so here are some pretty flowers instead

I live in Australia and so I’m very lucky. I’m not likely to get beaten up for admitting I’m gay (although the fear is still there). I don’t live in a place where they sexually assault queer youth to turn them straight. I’m an adult which means no one can send me to conversion therapy. But even as an Australian citizen, I only received the right to marry a woman in 2017. And some places have only recently decriminalized being gay.

As a woman, I’m at a higher risk of facing male violence (something that kills at least one woman a week in Australia). Many places restrict my reproductive rights and assume I cannot make decisions over my own body. Women are on average taken less seriously by health professionals. And as a brown person, I’m instantly seen as “different”. I was also raised Muslim, although I have since converted out. And when I was Muslim, I had to deal with grown men swearing at child me, random women telling me their opinions about my religion (unsolicited) and the oh so funny terrorist jokes. And even with this, I consider myself lucky. Many others have faced much worse discrimination.

My experiences are not a fantasy. By exploring the discrimination I face without including people like me, authors are merely profiting off our experiences. They are raising no awareness. They are merely living out a victim fantasy. And it’s time to stop doing that if they want to write authentic and compelling stories.

It is not enough to be a skilled writer if one has no experiences or knowledge to make their stories ring true. All I’m asking for is for authors to do at least the bare minimum level of research before they talk about discrimination and to actually include the people who face discrimination in their stories.

Now Let’s Talk About The Double Standard

Minorities spend most of our lives not being represented in the media we consume (and pay for). In recent times, that has started to change as more and more writers have started including us in their stories. This has, somehow, managed to offend non-minorities. There are white people complaining about movies having “forced diversity” when the diversity in question is two or three people of colour. Or straight people complaining about having homosexuality shoved down their throat when there’s a handful of mainstream movies about, or including, queer characters.

If you are not a minority, you have no right to complain when a story features us. The world is built for you. You have not had to fight to be seen and to be granted basic human rights. You do not get to complain that a handful of movies talk about us when EVERY movie talks about you. Give me any concept and I could probably find dozens of stories that explore it (and most of them don’t include minorities).

People different to you exist in the world and that is okay. Minorities deserve to be seen and heard. And including minorities does not harm the majority. If anything, it probably goes a long way towards teaching the next generation tolerance, acceptance and maybe even kindness.

Final Thoughts

This is not an attack on anyone’s identity. I’m frustrated and angry. I want to see myself in the entertainment I consume (and pay for). I want more people to be aware of what minorities have to go through on a day to day basis. My experiences don’t just exist in dystopia. And my skin colour is not an aesthetic.

Please hold writers accountable.

Note: The stories pictured in the collage are: Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Renegades by Marissa Meyer, The Prom by Saundra Mitchell, Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult, Shera and the Princesses of Power (Netflix), Never Have I Ever (Netflix).