tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3490591351917330431.post4937573687914721796..comments2016-05-02T04:28:40.392+01:00Comments on Diary of Mr Goldfish: Prejudice and RepresentationStephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17331328830331475628noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3490591351917330431.post-88648624392053940932016-05-02T04:28:40.392+01:002016-05-02T04:28:40.392+01:00"I remember, in extremely white Surrey, progr..."I remember, in extremely white Surrey, programmes like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and their broad cast of entirely individual people of colour. And I remember the bad, too - the disabled villains, stereotypical black men, and non-existant or entirely passive women of a hundred different programmes and films."<br /><br />I think it's important to have multiple characters with the same trait so you can show how different they are. A whole cast of black characters lets them be individuals, not "the black guy." Two characters with migraines can have different triggers and symptoms. One in a wheelchair might be able to stand briefly, another not. And then you can have BOTH heroes and villains with the same trait, because it no longer looks like "every X is Y."<br /><br />"Historical fiction is created with weight of fact to wrestle with."<br /><br />Well, you've got options:<br /><br />* Write it as ugly as the official history makes it out to be.<br /><br />* Write the parts NOT covered in the official history; i.e. there were plenty of gay/disabled/etc. people around who just didn't get the attention.<br /><br />* Write alternate history in which people are less obnoxious.<br /><br />* Use history as inspiration for some other time/planet/realm where things are much better or much worse.<br /><br />"So what should writers do?"<br /><br />My best advice, if you want to write a disability you don't have, is to get input from people who do have it. (Same works for any other trait re: sexuality, religion, etc.) You can look up clinical references, but sometimes those are WRONG. (Thank you, autistic friends, for finding me references that don't suck.) Many of the best ideas in my writing about disability have come from fans asking me to write something that happened to them, or how they wish things would've gone, or how would a disabled person get along in such-and-such a setting. They've helped me flesh out from "Farce has asthma" to "and she catches every respiratory bug on campus, can't take her old meds while pregnant, and has impaired self-preservation because she is carrying <i>and using</i> a can of mace." It makes a big difference.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com