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Introduction
Recently, I read an article on medium.com about how
diversity has become a genre onto itself, something that I plan to write about
in a later post.
However, what struck me about this article, and why it
prompted me to write this in response, was how the white, cis, het, male writer lamented about how political
correctness had gone too far and was hurting people like him.
The example he gave was how people used to come up to him while at restaurants—he supposes to get his autograph, but they were too shy to ask him—before the boycott of North Carolina’s infamous bathroom bill that forced transgender people to use the bathroom of the gender they were assigned at birth instead of the one they identified with.
He then went on to talk about how it’s historically
inaccurate to have black and other marginalized people in stories set in
medieval Europe, even though a cursory search would have revealed African and
Arab people where around back then; they were just called Moors and blackamoors
or black Moors.
This is an old retort from writers not willing to have
marginalized people in their stories, and this post was just another in the
long procession of posts that have been written decrying how white people are
no longer the center of the world and can no longer spout their bigoted views
with impunity.
Content Creators Owe Us Nothing.
However, one thing I agree with this writer on is how he
doesn’t have to include diverse characters in his stories.
No one should be forced to create stories and characters
they don’t want to, because doing so results in content that rings hollow and
doesn’t please anyone.
In recent years, there has been a push for more diverse
works, and if a content creator misses the mark on one or more areas of
representation, this result is harsh criticism, which is fine. However, making
death threats and ruining people’s lives because they didn’t create something
to your liking is not fucking okay.
Sure, boycott said creators and their work all you want
because capitalism is supposed to be about voting with your dollars. But what
you can’t do is demand they create things you want.
Content creators don’t owe us shit.
However, the reverse is also true.
Don’t Expect Us to Show Up
If writers and others don’t create stories with diverse
characters, then they can’t complain when people of color, LGBTQ+ folks, and
other marginalized people don’t buy said content.
I could spend my time and money on a million things. So why
should I consume media that doesn’t deem people like me worthy enough to be in
it?
I’m not saying every story must have diverse characters, but
the default shouldn’t be white, cis, het ones either.
Conclusion
Content creators should be free to make whatever media they
want, and marginalized folks should have media that reflects them.
What should we do then?
That answer is to let the marketplace decide.
For decades, the mainstream media has been slow to include
narratives that are more inclusive. So, people made their own. And, ultimately,
that’s the solution.
If we want our stories told, then we must be the ones
telling them.
Call to Action
What do you think?
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