Everyone is different, in terms of life experiences, appearances, and perceptions. This is a fact. What makes literature, both fiction and non-fiction, so extraordinary is that it allows us to enter into the world of other people. It allows us to take on that persona, be it for pure entertainment or to grow as an individual. Humans are typically social animals and taking on other's experiences helps us become whole. When meeting someone, it could be said that we are meeting a world of many people.
But what if that doesn't happen? What if we only interacted with a small number of people, who had very similar lives, looks, and beliefs? What if we only read stories about the same things with the same values and same people?
Sure, we would be comfortable and confident in our sphere, but that's not how an individual or a species evolve. It would be a very boring existence.
While most of us know that it's needed, I'm going to state the reasons anyway:
~It's realistic. If you wish to write about a world, you have to have a world in it.
~It allows different people to relate and enjoy your work, because they can see themselves in it.
~It helps us learn and grow. It also shows respect to it's audiences, in that we can handle different perspectives.
Now, let's say we want to have diversity, but we don't know what to do about it. Some reasons why we don't include diversity:
~Fear. We want to stick to what we know about. We don't want to get it wrong and make a caricature. Worse - we don't want to be seen as bigoted. Or better say, we don't want to confront our own bias.
~Ignorance. We don't know about every minority group and can't research something that we don't know even exists.
~Lack of desire. Some people don't care for the time, research, and error. While I can respect that, I wonder how someone can even be a writer with that mindset.
In terms of what is needed for diversity:
~Research, research, research! The most important aspect is first. Sometimes googling a question will yield many answers.
~Introspection. We should think about how we view others and how it either builds our stories or hurts them.
~Respect. These are cultures, not costumes. We need to understand that a person's minority group(s) is a part of their identity, not the base of their character arc. Everyone has their own life, not just being the Support or Side kick.
While I don't like putting labels on myself, I should mention right now that I am a White able-bodied Canadian who has no strong affiliations in terms of religion, sexuality, or gender. I know that I'm Neurodivergent/atypical in some way, but I won't disclose that. I have privilege is some areas, while I'm disadvantaged in others. This blog will focus on North American media, but I'm open to people sharing what they know to add.
My future editions will discuss certain minorities, their stereotypes, stories from people, and resources to help fellow writers.
I'm not sure if I am the best person to make this blog, but I think this topic should be discussed, as media is both a product and mirror of us. Let's flip the mirror and look at things from other perspectives.
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