Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="J-H" data-source="post: 8472089" data-attributes="member: 7020951">I understand this mindset as &quot;If we can't include them with perfect accuracy in the experience or from personal experience, then including them will be too flawed or offensive, so we shouldn't try to include them.&quot;I have seen this play out in the broader American culture with &quot;These representations are stereotypes, so we should cut them entirely to be safe, even if most people don't object.&quot;&nbsp; As a specific example, many common/prominent representations of Native Americans have been cancelled or removed, and so Native Americans are now less included, less represented, and less visible in popular culture as a result. They're basically the forgotten minority and it's incredibly sad.If you're a white guy and want to write a novel about a fictionalized version of Harriet Tubman, Wizardess of the Underground Railroad... you shouldn't.&nbsp; If you're an Indian woman and want to write a James Bond fanfiction, well, you're not a man, not white, and not British, so you probably shouldn't write that either.&nbsp;&nbsp; If you're a Nigerian journalist and want to write a novel about what it's like being an Uighur in western China, you're the wrong color, religion, culture, and language group, so that novel probably doesn't get written either.The focus on the identity/group of the author, rather than the quality and accuracy of the material, causes self-censorship and reduces the breadth of material available for everyone to enjoy.&nbsp; It reduces how often people can actually represent foreign/minority/&quot;other&quot; groups in their writing.&nbsp; I think it is a wrong and harmful approach.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="J-H, post: 8472089, member: 7020951"] I understand this mindset as "If we can't include them with perfect accuracy in the experience or from personal experience, then including them will be too flawed or offensive, so we shouldn't try to include them." I have seen this play out in the broader American culture with "These representations are stereotypes, so we should cut them entirely to be safe, even if most people don't object." As a specific example, many common/prominent representations of Native Americans have been cancelled or removed, and so Native Americans are now [I]less[/I] included, less represented, and less visible in popular culture as a result. They're basically the forgotten minority and it's incredibly sad. If you're a white guy and want to write a novel about a fictionalized version of Harriet Tubman, Wizardess of the Underground Railroad... you shouldn't. If you're an Indian woman and want to write a James Bond fanfiction, well, you're not a man, not white, and not British, so you probably shouldn't write that either. If you're a Nigerian journalist and want to write a novel about what it's like being an Uighur in western China, you're the wrong color, religion, culture, and language group, so that novel probably doesn't get written either. The focus on the identity/group of the author, rather than the quality and accuracy of the material, causes self-censorship and reduces the breadth of material available for everyone to enjoy. It reduces how often people can actually represent foreign/minority/"other" groups in their writing. I think it is a wrong and harmful approach. [/QUOTE]

Verification