Originally published at: https://shanniiwrites.com/2019/06/17/diversity-faqs-for-when-youre-confused/
Diversity is a complex but important topic to speak about. You no doubt have lots of questions. Here are some FAQs to help you when you’re confused.
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This is great! 
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Bump
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Bump, so people can read this helpful article.
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~ Bump
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Love this!
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This blog post is really useful! It lists out a whole bunch of ways in which your characters can be diverse, which I really appreciate. I can get stuck creating characters that are similar, so it’s definitely nice to have reminders of ways in which they can be different. I think that it’s also definitely important to consider diversity as a whole, because a story as a whole can’t be diverse. I think that it can also definitely help to show certain messages, since characters can show what’s unique about each other through their differences.
Just added some tags
This blog post really is a great source for anyone’s uncertainties when it comes to diversity in their writing!
Hey @Bloggers, @Writers, and even @LGBTCommunity, here are some FAQs to help answer any questions you may have. Take a read of this and tell me what you think!
Remember that if you really enjoyed this blog, feel free to recommend it (it’s similar to liking it). This will help with it being higher in the results of search engines too.
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this is a nice blog, i feel like a lot of people see “diversity” as focused solely on one thing, which is damaging in the long run, so i really appreciate Shannii took her time to explain how it can stand for so many things
though, ngl, i would like to make some clarifications
1.
A lot of people who aren’t necessarily straight also like to call themselves queer.
“queer” is a word with a lot of violence and pain behind it. there’s arguments about whether or not this is a slur, but as english isn’t my first language, i’d rather not get myself into it.
because of this, however, some people may be uncomfortable with calling themselves queer (but this is a case by case thing), and well, with the fact that it may be a slur (? pls someone fact check me i’ve read a lot of conflicting things in the topic), it’s only lgbt / queer people who should use it, it may not bea word for cishet people to use for us
Normalisation
yes, media DEFINITELY affects how we see the world, and it can help normalise some things
but it’s not a 1 : 1 case
just like video games don’t normalise violence, media in itself doesn’t normalise ickier topics, it’s up to the reader to consume the content critically, understand it, and draw their own conclusions from it
a book alone won’t brainwash us into believing anything, instead, it gives us ideas to confront with the ideas we already had in our heads, and then draw a conclusion
Stereotypes
i’ve said it before, but i don’t believe there’s anything inherently wrong with characters (or people) perpetuating a stereotype
people can act however they want, and that includes people from any race, orientation, gender, etc
so what if they act a lil stereotypical?
as long as the stereotype isn’t the only personality trait a character has, then it shouldn’t be bad?
The creepy, queer-coded, effeminate male villain whose scariest factor comes from how gay or “unmanly” he is? Well, it as done in The Powerpuff Girls when I was a kid, and more recently in Sherlock with Moriarty.
okay i’m gonna expose my cringy past here
Moriarty wasn’t queer-coded, he’s explicitly gay (or at least sherlock says he is, and we know that Moffat and Gatiss make a point to prove sherlock’s almost always right)
and imo? he was a great villain
i’m a stage arts kid, so honestly his flair resonated with me a lot, and the fact that he did the things he did because he could?
yeah that’s what made him “scary” and a great villain to me
if anything, him being gay and effeminate were just an added bonus, since i, as a queer who grew up watching queer coded villains, resonate more with them than with heroes, and it makes queer-coded villains have a special place in my heart
i agree with not making a character evil because them being part of a minority in most cases, but there CAN be good villains who are villains for being a part of a minority
take Magneto from X-Men or Killmonger from Black Panther for example
as long as it’s like “they’re this specific minority and also they’re evil” rather than “they’re this specific minority so therefore they’re evil”, it’s all good
also, i know a lot of people say things agains queer coded villains
but most people my age, who grew up with them, resonating with them?
yeah there’s a reason so many people my age like villains as we do, we’ve grown to embrace the trope
lastly: a piece of advice
TALK TO PEOPLE
if you wanna write about a minority or marginalised group? do research about them and LISTEN TO THEIR VOICES
they’re the best and most reliable source you can have
also, if you’re able to: getting a sensitivity reader is brilliant!
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