Thoughts on Diversity in Books

Discuss the January 2017 Book of the Month, We Are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson.
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Amagine
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Re: Thoughts on Diversity in Books

Post by Amagine »

I'm completely for diversity in books. We live in a diverse world where there are people of different religions, sexual preferences, skin colors, etc. The books we read should reflect the world we live in.
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Post by Shein30438 »

I definitely believe diversity in the characters is important, but at the same time I feel it is somewhat the job of the reader to picture the character in the light of different perspectives. How many times have you read a novel, and when a movie comes out about it, you were like I did not picture the character that way? I know there are a lot of times the author gives me a full detail of a person and I still cannot picture them the way the author is portraying that character. That's the great thing about reading as compared to watching a movie, you can see them in any light you want.
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Post by va2016 »

FangirlAhead wrote:Coming from the YA (young adult) book blogging community, I've noticed a lot of talk about how minorities are underrepresented in literature. Think about it: before reading We Are the Ants, when was the last time you read a book where the main character was a person of color or was LGBTQ+? And what do you think we as readers can do to encourage diversity? I don't have any clear answers myself, so I'm inviting everyone to contribute their thoughts!
It always helps to share - to encourage people of minority to read the books that you
have read! You could give the book to an young adult of color and ask them to read
it, if the main character is a person of color.

You could buy them book gift cards to encourage them to read a specific book.

You can conduct local community meetups of a specific minority to discuss that specific book.

You can create email lists to share reviews of books specific to that community so that they
get to see it and get motivated to read the book..

..and so on.

The key here is getting them involved in whatever way possible, and open the door
to possibilities, so that they can explore.
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Post by csimmons032 »

I have read several Christian fiction books where the main characters are of different races. The books by William Young are a good example of this. As far as YA novels go, I can't think of any right on the spot right now, but I am sure that there are plenty out there.
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Post by Naval Aulakh »

I don't think that there are very less books where a protagonist is not from a minority. There are many books but are not that popular among readers.
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Post by a_r_egerton »

Diversity is something that has to be handled carefully, IMO. An author would probably do a better job writing about a given minority if they either belonged to that minority or had a good friend who did. They are more likely to create a more nuanced and less stereotypical character if they do.

While researching a specific group can help an author avoid obvious mistakes, it still might not enable them to create a believable character.

In addition, there are some cases in which diversity is not necessarily desirable. Historical fiction is probably the best example of this; the author needs to consider the known demographics of the setting and time when deciding on their cast. I recently read a book called The Fox that was set in ancient Sparta. The cast was heavily male-dominated, and the narrator was bisexual. The ancient Spartans accepted homosexuality, at least between men.

I do like diverse characters -- but the author needs to be able to write them credibly and respectfully.
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Post by Janathereader »

Regarding the LGBTQ+ community being represented in books, I feel that if you actively seek them out, there are so many. My absolute favourite book Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, for instance has a LGBT protagonist. I do however wish that there was more diversity within LGBT writing that don't only include homosxuality but also perhaps asexuality or pansexuality.

There has definitely been a rise in diverse protagonists, but not enough for it to be fair. Representation is really important to any minority group.
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Post by Jasy95 »

I think the best way to encourage diversity in books is to encourage diversity in authors. I feel like people tend to write about things based on their experiences, and if they haven't encountered many individuals who are a member of a minority or LGTQ+, they won't be as willing or able to accurately portray characters from these populations. I think by encouraging more diverse authors to get their stories out there, more diverse characters will be seen.
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Post by Miranda Alex »

I almost ever come across novels featuring homosexual characters, much less ones in which they play the key roles. I sometimes read outside of my typical genre to give myself time to explore new categories. Maybe there isn't a market for this, then. I'm uncertain
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