(no subject)

[vr_trakowski]

Let me preface this by saying--I'm white.  My father claims that there are Mongols in our ancestry somewhere, back when his side of the family was dallying in Russia, but we have no proof of this.  We're nearly as ethically dull as it's possible to get and very Caucasian.* 

That said--how do you describe race/ethnicity when you're writing? 

It's a question I've been pondering for some time.  I actively don't wish to give offense when I write (except possibly to people who are already offensive).  And it seems silly to me to out-and-out mention a character's ethnicity/skin color when I'm introducing them in a story, unless it's immediately important to the plot. 

But it seems to me, and I'm NOT pointing any fingers here, that so often fictional characters are assumed to be white unless some mention is made otherwise.  Mind you, we don't have to introduce and describe so many people in fanfic, because after all we know most of them already.  But most stories, at least longer ones, do bring in original characters that need to be pictured and fleshed out.  One may, of course, use ethnic names and/or accents to illustrate a given character as they are introduced, but (at least for me) it's not something one can do every time.  When it comes to CSI fic, there's going to be plenty of folks of all varieties to choose from. 

So--what do you do as a writer? 








*Though, come to think of it, I doubt the Russian part of the family tree had anything to do with the Caucasus.  *grin*

Comments

[turtlebaby-02.livejournal.com]

But when is it really important to announce a characters ethnicity? Yes, I'm also as white as the snow. Norwegian. A little German. Some irish. I am a pale skinned blue eyed stubborn drunk. xD

But I certainly hope that if for some reason someone used me as an idea for a story character that my skin color wouldn't play a major part in who I am. I personally can't stand to be reading a book- being introduced to numerous new characters - and then wham, right in the middle get introduced to someone who's number one description is that they are African American. Or Mexican. Or flippin' Dominican. I mean, obviously I care. But if you're not going to introduce Joe Blow as being a stunning white man... why do I need to know that John Doe is a stunning black man? I guess that's just how I feel.

I know when I write, I tend to descibe my OCs as I picture them in my head. But I rarely include thier skin color. Whether that be black, white, or purple. And, don't get me wrong, I love to convey that image to my readers. But if I picture him as a black man and they picture him as a hispanic man... my jobs been done all the same either way. Right? The idea is to put a picture in someone's head that allows them to enjoy the story that is unfolding. Does it matter if their image differs from mine?

I wrote a story once in HS about two girls who lived on different planets. One was from earth and one was from planet "Xero". I kid you not. I was an odd one. Anyways, I always imagined the earth girl as an African American girl. And the Alien child to be a light purple in color. Yeah, odd, I told you. Anyway - so my friend (assingment partner) illustrated this story and she made the earth girl caucasion and the alien girl blue. Because that's how she saw her. And it still... fit.

Wow, people keep telling me to keep my comments shorter then my posts. One day, I will succeed in that.

[vr-trakowski.livejournal.com]

Hey, nothin' wrong with long posts! :D

Hmm, I see what you mean about it not mattering. It makes sense; a reader's imagination is an important part of a story.

Personally, I would rather define my character on the page; I usually want the image in my head to be more-or-less represented in the words, unless they are so minor that it doesn't really matter. But to each their own!