Diversity in PR/UF?
January 17, 2010 in Book News
As usual, Tiffany (Kindle Vixen) and I were having our typical late night Twitter/Facebook chat. I was checking out my Google Reader and came across a post by The Story Siren asking if she was a bad person for not noticing something on the cover of a book. Long story short, the book is about a dark skinned girl yet the model on the cover is not, she’s Caucasian (Magic Under Glass). I shared this with Tiffany, which started us into our preferred genre of books and we tried to see if we could come across any characters that aren’t Caucasian. I could name one. ONE!
- Marta Acosta’s Casa Dracula Series – (Milagro)
We moved our conversation over to MSN when I said this would make a great blog post. So now we are thinking hard….lets try authors:
- Nalini Singh
I asked on Twitter and everyone was throwing them out:
- S.J Day (Eve character is Asian)
- Stella Price/Audra Price (both authors are bi-racial)
- Carole McDonnell (Windfollower Series)
- L.A. Banks author
- Marjorie M. Liu author
- Octavia E. Butler author
- Patricia Briggs (Mercy character)
- Mario Acevado
- Serissa Glass
- Liz Williams (Det. Ins. Chen character)
- Kim Harrison (Ivy character, is bi-racial )
- Dakota Cassidy (Darnell character)
Tiffany and I kept chatting, and we got into Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Series. In the books it seems our African American friends get the axe pretty quick, look at Lafayette…he got axed. Tara in the book series is Caucasian, in the TV series True Blood she is African American and Lafayette is still around! I could pick apart a book from each of her series and the African American characters don’t last very long, but that’s for another day.
A lot of the shifter stories have Native American’s in them, due to shifter lore. Vampire’s are usually not African American, at least I can’t think of any off the top of my head.
Now why do I bring this up? Because I myself am bi-racial and I really haven’t noticed any lead recurring characters other than Marta Acosta’s that have been African American, Bi-Racial, etc. Tiffany googled and sadly only came up with Blade, are we the only ones who find that weird?
Yes we could get technical and say Paranormals are races in itself, but we aren’t. We also know this is a touchy subject but it doesn’t need to be. I would love to read more diverse characters so if you know em, toss em out for us. I really would love to know because it seems a bit lacking to say the least and I wondered why. A lot of the people who responded to Tiffany and my request on Twitter said it was really sad that they had to think hard about a character who wasn’t Caucasian and I found that interesting, it’s not just Tiffany and I! How many of us really think hard about the race of the characters we are reading about? I don’t for the most part nor does Tiffany. Do YOU?
So help us out, add to the list of books for us to read!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Natasha, Natasha. Natasha said: A joint post about diversity in PR/UF characters by moi & @kindlevixen http://bit.ly/6HtPgk [...]
I’m interested in race if it influences the history and character of the character (and how could it not, to some degree?). For example, Mercy in Patricia Briggs’ books is Native American, plus a different kind of shifter than most of the people she grew up with. Both seem to contribute in part to her feeling like an outsider. Her character of Charles is heavily influence by his Native American background, including interacting with the spiritual and magical situations differently. Charles’ dad is Welsh, also adding a different historical and cultural aspect to the stories. I like those kind of layers, plus the learning experience that goes with them for me.
I thought your questions about the authors was interesting, too. Before the Internet I seldom had any idea what they looked like, unless there was a tiny picture in the back of the book. It does seem like the percentage of non-100%-Caucasian characters is smaller than general population. So are African American, Asian, Latino, etc., authors not writing PRN/UF as much or are they not writing “what they know” as you indicated on Twitter?
I really like reading about characters with different experiences than mine, whether it’s black, Asian, or southern American (Texan’s are a whole different culture for sure), not to mention the obvious magical imaginings. I would really enjoy seeing more diversity in UF/PRN.
Here’s a question: Can anyone think of a Jewish character? I think Dakota Cassidy’s Wanda is Jewish, but I may be assuming because her last name is Schwartz.
I’m more about finding diverse characters than the authors themselves, but sometimes they go hand in hand. But I don’t think you have to be asian to write about an asian character (look at Kim Harrison), I just don’t understand why there aren’t more bestfriends to main characters that are diverse.
In the Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, Simon is Jewish I think.
I don’t think about race all that much unless it has an impact on the story line, which usually only happens with shifter stories. The funny thing is that I was just thinking about all of this the other day when I was on Marta’s site. It would be nice to have more diverse characters to read about. Authors are finally starting to branch out into different things paranormally, so why can’t they make the every day stuff normal.
Carlos Ramirez from Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files series.
It doesn’t really ever cross my mind to consider the character’s race unless it has an actual bearing on something in the storyline or isn’t so much about the character’s race as it is their cultural background.
I’m fairly sure I’d be annoyed if I caught an author throwing in racial diversity just for the sake of diversity though. An affirmative bias towards a race is just as much racism as a negative bias is and it’s just as disgusting to me.
I’d be annoyed as well, but to at least have one character that is diverse (the bestfriend, the boyfriend etc) would be a nice change. If it doesn’t have a bearing on the storyline fine, but in the same respect if it doesn’t have a bearing it shouldn’t matter if it’s added.
Yeah, I recognize that there’s a difference between going for diversity for the potential it lends to storytelling and wanting it for some sort of affirmative action ideal.
You aren’t implying thats my intent are you?
Odd, no reply link below your last comment. Shrug.
Not at all. I was assuming something along the lines of the former and trying to clarify where my objections would lie with the latter. Obviously I didn’t do so well at that.
I looked into the reply link, I had nested comments set to 3 only thats why. Fixed now.
Can’t always get the tone in comments you know, I was told this might be a touchy subject so I wanted to clarify just in case.
No worries. Now that you’ve gotten me thinking about it, it might be fun to write out a list of races and background archetypes and pick randomly for the entire main cast of a book. It would certainly stretch the old writing muscles.
LOL i’d love to see what you come up with!
Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler features a darkskinned vampire as protagonist. Octavia herself is also an African-American.
Blood Colony, My Soul to Keep and The Living Blood by Tananarive Due, an African-American author, consist mainly of African-American characters.
In Fledgling it actually matters to the story but in the other 3 it doesnt really affect it.
Thanks for the additions Ewoud!
check out Shelly Laurenston/G.A.Aiken- these are paranormal romance, but the characters main and secondary are usually are latin/black/asian, mixed. plus this is a great author. Just my opinion.
Thanks WC! Will do
In Richelle Meads Storm Queen the lead characters love interest is half Japanese and half caucasian.
There’s also a half asian werewolf ( I think) in Anita Blake.
Thanks!
This one is a very sensitive subject.
I am mix-racial as well…. Mostly, I am Native Hawaiian or kanaka Maoli is what a local would say. Hawaiians are continuously depicted inaccurately in television and movies and so I understand.
I just read a post about misrepresentation or false covers… where the character doesn’t match that of the person on the cover. Example: chubby girl in the book-skinny girl on the front. This is all very interesting and certainly food for thought… the referred to post and as well as yours.
When I buy books…. race is not a factor in books. Personally, I enjoy culture and thus I love a great native back story…. whether it may be Native Americans, Hawaiians, Aboriginals, Maoris, etc etc. Also, I better connect with the story if the heroine closely resemble myself. If they resemble me I am able to create clear and vivid pictures when I read. I find it easier to get lost in the novel because “she could be me” or “I could be her.”
With that said there are some features/characteristics on characters that I have a hard time reading but I never let that stop me.
Btw…. I skinned a few of the comments and I think this is getting everyone to think a bit… which is great!
Do you have a link for that post? My incoming links are broken!
I am with you, I’d like to be able to identify with at least one character in my reading!
Darn,. I cant find it but I will continue looking!!!
Has anyone else read it?
A book that was featured id Girl In The Arena…. the cover art has a girl with long hair but most of the book she has her head shaved.
Another is a cover of a caucasion girl when the main character is African Am.
There were other examples…
I think you would really like the post but heaven help me find it!!
Darn,. I cant find it but I will continue looking!!!
Has anyone else read it?
A book that was featured id Girl In The Arena…. the cover art has a girl with long hair but most of the book she has her head shaved.
Another is a cover of a Caucasian girl when the main character is African Am.
There were other examples…
I think you would really like the post but heaven help me find it!!
lol thanks Chasity
HEre is one of the books mentioned in that post I am referring to…
Someone kick me now because I can not recall where and after searching my email I can find the subscription… Perhaps I should try orgainizing my inbox.
Anyhow, here is a link to one of the books mentioned in the blog post.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6672790.html
Has anybody suggested Margrit Knight, the legal counsel to the Old Races in CE Murphys UF series, the Negotiator? Margrit is a fabulous heroine who has an African American mother and a white father. These aren’t actual reviews, but I really likes this heroine, discussed here: http://thethrillionthpage.blogspot.com/search/label/C.%20E.%20Murphy
You could prolly find some more formal reviews that discuss her race elsewhere, but it’s discussed in the books, too.
Okay, that was totally full of typos. Sorry.
Thanks Carolyn (which I totally typo’d typing, you wore off on me)! No one had suggested M. Knight yet!
Patrice, Bianca’s roomate, in the Evernight series is African American. This is one that I though of right off the top of my head.