Scribbles & Munch

      The one time I watched television during my time in Kauai last month was to watch the Oscars.  I was fully aware of the controversy surrounding the lack of ethnic minorities among the nominees, and I wanted to see if/how the Academy would respond.  I was not disappointed.  I thought this was one of the best, most intelligent, most socially conscientious Academy Awards I've ever seen.*
      It also brought to mind an issue I have struggled with as a writer for many years.  I happen to believe that popular media - TV, movies, music, and particularly books - are among the most effective tools for combating social prejudices.  Human beings judge what is "normal" and "acceptable" by our own experience, whether it's real or entertainment.  This is part of the reason the ethnic majority in any given country (but especially White Americans) have a hard time really empathizing with minorities: they assume their own experiences are typical, because they see it confirmed all over the place!  It's hard to understand your privilege if you're perpetually surrounded by it, just like it's hard for a swimming fish to understand that it's wet.

The real reason these goldfish have googly-eyes?  They discover this totally dry atmosphere up above them, and it BLOWS their MIND!  ...and two minutes later they discover this totally dry atmosphere up above them, and it BLOWS their MIND! ...and two minutes later they discover this totally dry atmosphere up above them, and it BLOWS their MIND!

      I'm not judging or blaming here; this is just how the human brain works.  It takes a lot of continual effort to be aware of and combat this atmosphere of "normalcy."  Which is why it's important for people to be exposed to things that are different: different ethnicities, different religions, different cultures, different ideas, etc.  And the most palatable way to do this is through entertainment.
      Which brings me back to being a writer.  I want to have characters that are not the majority, aka: white, middle-class heterosexuals.  Writing women is easy for me because I'm a woman, and I have no trouble writing men.  I also feel pretty comfortable writing characters of all different sexual orientations.  With enough research I feel reasonably confident that I can write characters of different religious backgrounds.  What I don't feel comfortable writing is main characters of different ethnic/racial backgrounds.
      I want to, but then I feel like I shouldn't.  My brain runs around and around in circles like a dog chasing it's tail.  I'll break it down for you:

ONE HAND: I don't want to relegate all the ethnic minorities in my novels to being 'friends' or other minor characters. There is no reason this female protagonist need to be Caucasian.  I'll make her African American!

OTHER HAND: Really? And what do you - O Pasty Privileged One - know about being African American, and how that might affect this character's thoughts, experiences, and actions?

ONE HAND: Um...what I've read...and studied in Cultural Sensitivity Trainings...and seen in movies....

OTHER HAND: [gives withering look]

ONE HAND: Well, I've got a couple close friends who are African American, and we've talked about issues and experiences.

OTHER HAND: And you think a few episodes of lunch chit-chat qualifies you?

ONE HAND: Er...no.  That's pretty presumptive of me, thinking I can just wade in and write a convincing minority.  I don't want to be a Rudyard Kipling, full of good intent and unfortunate stereotypes.

OTHER HAND: That's what I thought.

ONE HAND: [defeated] Ok, I'll keep my main characters Caucasian.

OTHER HAND: [horrified] So all the ethnic minorities will be 'friends' and minor characters?

Aaaand around and around it goes.  This guy's had way more success than I have.

      Occasionally, some radical solutions come to mind, such as including extensive, self-deprecating disclaimers in the novel's forward. Or taking a few years of American Minority Studies courses at my local university.  They all end up smacking of intellectualization, when what I'm going for is human soul.  So here I am, baring my idiocy to the world (Hi, World!) in the hopes of getting some good advice from other writers.
      And in the meantime, I'll do what I should have done a long time ago: discuss my dilemma with my ethnic minority friends.  I think they're too nice to laugh at me...for more than an hour.



*Not to mention Lady Gaga and Vice-President Biden brought me to tears.  Ironically, the part I found the least sincere and engaging was when the President of the Academy - a black woman - came out on stage to address the accusations of "white washing" and pledging to do more.  She never said what they would do.  It came across as an empty gesture.  Weird.