This is another post that started life as a much-too-long comment on someone else’s blog. The truth is, I am more reactive than creative these days (I know I’m not alone in that). When invention fails, I ruminate.
This has to do with the thing called Own Voices. It’s a point-of-view thing. If a Latina writes about characters who are Latino, that’s OwnVoice. If a gay man writes about gay men, that’s OwnVoice. It is a marker of authenticity, which I think is legitimate.
The flip side, obviously, is this question: if a straight white person writes about characters who are not straight and white, is that point of view illegitimate?
Am I incapable of observing, and accurately reflecting my observations of, experiences which are not my own? Well, I think not. I do research, and I pay attention. I write fiction, which is by definition an imagined world, no matter who writes it. But ultimately the only people who can judge my accuracy are not-straight-white people who read my books. I welcome feedback.
Another question is, does the presence in the marketplace of ‘non-own-voice’ authors somehow impinge on the ability of Own Voice authors to write, to publish, to be seen. I’d say no to that, too. In this age of easy & inexpensive self-publishing, we all have the same low barriers to entry. (If not the same horrifically high barriers to getting a traditional publishing contract; I’m sure POC and queer authors face higher barriers there.) If anything, all those of us out here flailing in the ocean of self-publishing are an object lesson in how to do it (or not).
I do not think that I am incapable of imagining an authentic experience for characters who are not exactly like me. More to the point, I do not think that my fictional characters and their stories are part of a wall to keep out other writers.
Note: this particular rumination is specific to romance. It seems to be a mini-controversy in Romancelandia, but that may be a symptom of the persistent undercurrent of ‘romance is garbage’ in pop culture. I don’t have a clue if the same concern is ever expressed with regard to, for example, science fiction, fantasy, mystery, or any of their many sub-genres. If not, then this is just another way for the culture police to shit on romance.
I buy books based on whether the book itself interests me. If the book features e.g. POC or queer main characters and is written by a POC or queer author, so much the better. But I’m not going to NOT buy a book that has POC or queer MCs just because it isn’t written by an own-voice author. All that tells the marketplace is that there is no demand for books about those characters, not why.
We know there is a demand for POC and queer characters, or people wouldn’t be buying those books. If we say ‘non-own-voice’ authors should stay in their lane (i.e. a straight white person should only write straight white characters), we are guaranteeing a sadly homogenous marketplace. We are also putting 100% of the burden on ‘own-voice’ authors to meet the demand for diverse characters. “You’re not qualified to write that; they should.”
Which also then says that if there aren’t enough POC and queer characters, it’s because the own-voice authors aren’t getting the job done. “If you want those stories, write them yourselves.” That’s uncomfortably close to blaming POC and queer workers for centuries of overt, legalized workplace discrimination.
What we can do (and maybe should do, since most of us are in absolutely no position to influence the industry) is be encouraging and inclusive to own-voice writers. What RWA epically failed to do not so long ago. We could, for example, make a point of looking for OwnVoice books to read. Or if we read something that we really like and find out after the fact that it is by an OwnVoice writer, we could go an extra step and contact that writer to say hey, I really liked your book. We can leave a review (not simply a rating); we can recommend that book.
For me, there’s a catch. All self-published authors are struggling for eyeballs. I certainly am. There is a danger, when you are a writer, of misperception. Someone could see my favorable review of a book as an attempt to invoke reciprocity: I scratch your back, you scratch mine.
In light of that, I’m hesitant to leave a review on Amazon, even if I absolutely love the writer. Because, in fact, if I absolutely love the writer and I review all of his/her books the way I want to, I look like a shill. So if a writer already has a lot of reviews, I don’t add mine. I send an email, or post something on FB about how much I liked the last thing I read, or comment on the writer’s actual blog.
But I digress. If we value a marketplace full of books featuring diverse characters, and not just the straight white characters who have dominated for-f**king-ever, then we need to welcome the non-own-voice authors who are bringing us those characters, because at least they are trying to NOT write the same old straight white stories. And a good diverse story will lead readers to others, which may well be written by own-voice authors.
Of course I say all this as a straight white woman writing predominantly about characters who are neither straight nor white. :-) My own experience is only good for one story. I want to imagine – and read about – lives that are NOT just like mine.