I think at this point, we all know why diversity is important. I don't think there's a hotter topic in the publishing world right now, and that's kind of awesome. But while reading and writing diversity is awesome, another way to be a good diversity advocate is to be aware of how you review diverse books.
More often than not, there is a lot of microaggression in reviews of diverse books. For those of you who don't know, microaggressions, as used by Columbia professor Derald Sue, are, “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color.” In other words, it's when you say things that are meant as a compliment or as an innocent question, but instead come across as insulting and hurtful toward the group you are speaking too. Microaggressions are things like:
"What are you?"
"You're pretty for a black girl."
"Can you teach me how to twerk?"
"Can you read these Asian characters?"
"So did your parents come here illegally?"
"I know you're gay, but have you ever had real sex?"
In the book blogging world, I've noticed some microaggressions frequently popping up when reviewing diverse books. For example, when people say that diversity needs to be "justified:"
If you need diversity to be justified. You are saying that anyone who isn't white, cis, abled, straight, etc. Must justify their existence.
— Jeanne (@fangirlJeanne) May 19, 2015
Ouch. I know, I know, you didn't mean it that way, but that's how it honestly comes out.Other reviews commend books for not be "issue" books, or making diverse characters relatable to the everyday reader. Some are angry that there is too much diversity and feel as though an agenda is being pushed on them. *cringe*
So I thought, how should I approach this topic for a blog post? Making a lecture-style post on how people should review seemed to be the wrong approach, and people get touchy when you tell them how to blog.
Luckily, @fangirlJeanne created two lovely hashtags #White4thesakeofWhite and #Straight4thesakeof Straight to show the ridiculousness of microaggressive attitude towards diversity.
In the spirit of the hashtag, I'm going to review some non-diverse books the same way I've seen diverse books reviewed. I kid you not, some of these examples are things I've seen, word for word.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
"I'm not racist, but it seems a little implausible to have two white leads in a futuristic Chicago."
"Diversity is great, but I did feel like the heterosexual romance was a bit contrived."
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
"At some points, it felt like there were too many issues (c'mon, the characters were white, straight, AND middle-class???), but overall I think the author did a good job of making sure this rose above the standard issue book."
Tempest by Julie Cross
"To be honest, I felt like all of the white culture in this book was hard to relate to. The author could have toned it down a bit to make sure readers didn't get overwhelmed."
A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray
"Okay, there is not one, but THREE instances of straight romance. I'm not saying that straights don't exist, but I find it hard to believe that Marguerite is conveniently running into so many straights in this book. They don't even make up that much of the population."
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
"I think readers will be surprised to discover that this book depicts a predominantly able-bodied society. It's a little hard to take seriously, but I guess that's why it's fiction and not reality."
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
"I liked all the characters, but Cinder seemed to be the token white girl. Was there really a reason she needed to be white?"
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
"Did this author follow the diversity checklist? I mean the character's already a white female, but then the author had to add that she was heterosexual, her best friend is a white guy, and she's in love with this another white guy? Yes, diversity is good, but you're telling me that there is only one gay couple in all of New York? Please."
Landline by Rainbow Rowell
"Honestly, this book is an example of political correctness gone wrong. It depicted straight relationship as COMPLETELY NORMAL. I'm mean, there's nothing wrong with including a straight or two in a story, but you're saying that everything was just peachy and no one was disgusted by it? I found that to be a very idealistic depiction of straights in society."
So what do you think? Have you noticed any microaggressions in book reviews? Are you guilty of a few yourself (it's okay, we can't all be perfect like Thranduil)? What do you think of the hashtags?
Twitter-sized sass:
- Are we microaggressive in our book reviews? @AnahSpiers creates sassy reviews to find out http://bit.ly/1Fbft2b (click to tweet)
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