Coffee, Chocolate, and Cream
Welcome to day 2 of JJ Will Probably Alienate A Lot of People By Blogging About Race! In case you missed the previous posts:
Race in Fiction Week
Today I want to tackle how to describe race in fiction. There are many schools of thought about this and I don’t think my opinion is the only “right” way to go about it. But my thoughts come a personal place: as someone of a “minority” race in the US who reads a lot of books.
There are (more or less) two schools of thought with regards to describing characters of a different race. The first is DO EVERYTHING BUT MENTION THEIR RACE DIRECTLY. The second is a much more forthright approach.
The Circuitous Manner
Describe me. Go ahead, I won't be offended.
You might guess on which side of the line I fall. Here’s an exercise: describe what I look like in the comments! Flex your writing skills. Also, I would love to see how other writers tackle race when describing what their characters look like. I promise that 1) won’t be offended if you describe me as a wart-ridden hog, and 2) judge you for whichever angle you decide to approach it from.
I’m of two minds about the circuitous version. I like when race is such a non-issue as to not be made a huge deal of, so kudos for keeping the colorblind lines open. There are many ways to indirectly approach the issue of race and a really great YA example is J.K. Rowling.
Yes, HARRY POTTER. I know the books about the Boy Who Lived aren’t shining examples of “multiculturalism” (or whatever), but that’s what I like about them. The way J.K. Rowling approaches race in her books is to give very subtle indicators, the most direct of them being names. Cho Chang and the Patil twins are three characters who are not Anglo-British. Cho Chang is most likely of some East Asian descent (either Chinese or Korean) and the Padma and Parvati are two Indian girls. Not once does Rowling mention this. In both cases, the names are the biggest giveaways. And while they may not be “main characters”, they just a few of the many students who populate Hogwart’s hallowed halls, neither cliché nor a statement. All three girls are described as being “good-looking” or “pretty”–Cho is actually given a talent, which is Quidditch. (That’s before she devolves into a hosepipe, but that’s something else.)
Of course, J.K. Rowling is a master at conveying fully rounded characters in an economy of words. Dean Thomas is a black character. I find it interesting that “black” was inserted into the American editions when they didn’t bother in the UK. I’ve heard that his penchant for soccer–excuse me, football–and his support of West Ham (…?) were large indicators of his ethnicity, but that might be a regional thing that didn’t translate across the pond.
Here’s the thing: I latched onto Cho, I really did. If I lived in Harry’s world, I would totally be sorted into Ravenclaw. Until the delayed release of THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX, I was even “Cho’s age”–that is, a year older than Harry (in the books, not based on the actual year he was “born”). Here was a girl on whom Harry had a crush–all he noticed about her was that she was very pretty and was good at Quidditch. And she was ASIAN! And it didn’t define her! She was incidentally of another race! I could practically be her! And Harry sort-of-kind-of-maybe-not-really has a crush on not-me! Huzzah! (In my defense, I was 14 at the time, okay?)
That’s an example where the circuitous manner works. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always.
There are many occasions when it doesn’t. It doesn’t work when an “ethnic” character is a protagonist–I mean, I could go for several blog posts without mentioning my own racial heritage, but every once in a while, it’s bound to come up. It also doesn’t work when you rely only on physical descriptors. “Dark skin” is so broad as to describe a rainbow of complexions from practically every ethnicity and race. To some of my Korean relatives, I have very “dark” (i.e. brown) skin. I’m more pink-brown than pale yellow. What exactly are “almond-shaped” eyes? Not all Asian people have them. Some have very round eyes, others do not. I don’t have straight, sleek, shining black hair; my hair is dark brown and wavy-ish. Within a race or an ethnic group, there are so many variations of physical appearance, it’s going to be pretty impossible to glean any race aside from “white” (the default) unless you are more direct.
The Direct Approach
Which brings me to my preferred way of seeing characters described. Look, I get it. One of the first adjectives people will use to describe me is “that Asian girl”. I’m fine with that because it’s true. I’m Asian. And I’m a girl. If I were in Korea, you’d probably describe me differently: “that big girl with a huge butt”. (I have indeed been described this way. I’ve also been described as the “fat American with big boobs and lion hair”.)
But these are only descriptors of what I look like, not who I am. And I’m more interested in who a character is. Race is secondary, but dammit if it isn’t nice to go into a novel knowing that the character is incidentally a “different color”. I’m not asking that it be mentioned all the time, but a little nod close to the beginning would be nice, as long as it’s not the first thing that comes to mind.
In my opinion, Justine Larbalestier manages this quite elegantly in her book LIAR. You’re not aware of Micah’s race (…or anything else about her, really), but little hints filter through. I believe Micah mentions she got “the nap gene” with regards to her hair (I read the ARC, and I think it might have changed in final production) and there are other subtle hints that build up to your impression of her race before she mentions fairly soon that her father is black.
That was all I needed. I, uh, won’t discuss anything else about this book because it IS about a compulsive liar, but this is my take on it.
I know a lot of writers shy away from loaded terms like “black” and “Asian” and “Hispanic”, afraid of alienating readers or I don’t know what. But the thing is, a good writer will work with it. A good writer will work with all the implications that accompany racially/ethnically-charged words and still convince me that a character is a whole person.
Embrace the connotations and the negative associations, but work them to your advantage and to the story’s advantage.
That’s my take on describing characters of color. What are your thoughts? Also, I’m interested to see in how people describe me!
As a British reader of Harry Potter, I don’t remember how I knew Dean Thomas was black. I don’t think I made an assumption either way, I think I might have read it in an interview rather than picked it up in the books. But it was purely incidental and didn’t jar with me when I found out. And seeing a black actor in the part in the films felt perfectly natural.
I’ll attempt description when I’m not just about to go to bed, but I think I’m losing something in translation here – what’s “the nap gene”?
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“Nappy hair”. I think it actually got changed for publication, but the implication is that the character (who is biracial) ended up with “black” hair–that is, very curly.
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What about when the character’s difference is a plot point? I have an old manuscript that’s started calling to me again, where one of the major characters looks different from the ruling class. She’s studying magic from a member of this class and she’s treated as an outsider. It’s part of the story. (Her friend, who is a member of this ruling class, is just as much an outsider when they both go to her “turf”.)
I don’t want to step on toes, but describing the difference is, to me, setting the tone of the story.
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I think race in a fantasy/secondary world/alternate universe is almost a different topic altogether (and an interesting topic to explore). In a world where there is no “Africa” or “Asia”, how do you describe a character of a different ethnicity/race? Ursula K. LeGuin came across this with her Earthsea books–her characters are not “white” (as we in contemporary society define it). Or Tolkien’s Easterlings? But it’s hard to articulate when the cultural context of the world has no direct parallel to ours.
I don’t mind when novels explore racial differences at all; in fact, I like it when novels explore the differences in class/race/what-have-you, providing (of course), it’s treated in a nuanced manner and the characters are three-dimensional and not cliche. In historical fiction, I would expect race to be an issue because it WAS. I just don’t like to see a novel that’s ONLY about it, if that makes sense.
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i took the subway to midtown and waited outside the entrance bordering the park. since we had only corresponded over email, i was surprised when a short, slim girl came up behind me and tapped me on the shoulder.
“you’re shawn, right? i’m jj.”
she had a heart shaped face, thick arched eyebrows, and a bow shaped mouth slicked in coral gloss. not what i was expecting. but, that didn’t matter. what mattered was that she got us into the club, i couldn’t do it on my own.
“so, you’re chinese?” i asked.
she flicked a strand of dark brown hair off her mouth, “korean actually, but don’t worry, most people don’t know the difference.”
*****
i’d describe race only when it’s in the context of the story. in this case the fact that she looks asian will get them in the club, that’s why it’s relevant.
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I remember reading Harry Potter, and I remember seeing Cho’s name. I was actually shocked there was an Asian character (or at least a character with an Asian-sounding name) in the book. Okay, okay, I know Parvati and Padmil are Asian, but at that time I didn’t know they were Indian, but with Cho it was a different reactions since it’s a name I can easily pin-point as Korean or Chinese.
I agree with you on how JKR didn’t focus on race in the books. I mean, yes, she did focus on the whole pureblood versus non-pureblood, but ethnically and racially, she never really went about saying stuff like “That Asian girl” or that “Indian twins” or whatever, and I actually appreciate that.
I think when I try to write, I try not to bring race into stories . . . unless that’s the focus of the story of course (ie: historical fiction where it takes place in the 1920s or something where interracial relationship is DEEPLY frowned upon . . . ), but if the story took place in modern day, I’d probably only mention it in passing, but to me it doesn’t matter if a character’s white, black, red, pink, or purple. Race does sort of make them who they are, but that’s not what really characterises them personality-wise in the end.
Anyway.
If I were to describe you by that picture . . . I honestly would think you were more Asian than Caucasian. XD Usually, when I run into mixed people like yourself, I can usually see both Asian/Caucasian features . . . but with you, I see mostly Asian.
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The hero of my YA WIP is from Mexico, and the first thing I describe is his accent. I’m a musician who is obsessed with languages. Sound is erotic to me.
But my heroine is a little bit of a klutz when she asks him about it. Okay, maybe a lot of a klutz, but I think sometimes it’s normal to feel clumsy about addressing race, afraid to say the wrong thing, blurting out idiotic things, afraid to offend, sometimes uncomfortable.
I love JK Rowling’s approach.
I don’t know how I’d describe you. I’d have to put you in a story first. :-) Mostly I think you’re adventurous, a little bit crazy for jumping out of perfectly good airplanes, and OMG your magical uncle is Neil Gaiman! That is the COOLEST!
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I love your insights, JJ. You’ve helped me to begin thinking through how I will handle descriptions of race and culture in my current WIP. I’m going to Tweet this right now. Thanks!
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I think in Liar she pretty much states that she’s Black with nappy hair that she wears short and natural. I think it’s appropriate, at least for me, because that’s how I would describe my hair as well. Curly is something I’d say to someone who doesn’t know what nappy is. Apparently nappy in British means a diaper.
Thank you for this post. I’ve been struggling with how to describe race in a fantasy story and it’s hard that most of the characters are not white. This post really helps.
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I read the ARC of LIAR and she doesn’t clearly state she’s black until a few “sections” in (i.e. NOT RIGHT OFF THE BAT). I also think “nap gene” got changed to “nappy hair” in before final production.
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Yeah, I saw your post above. =) I like that Justine is pretty straightforward with her description of race, but like you mentioned, she is a compulsive liar. lol I wonder if they kept the “nap gene” for other editions.
I’ve heard of American publishers or editors asking authors to put in descriptions like that. I can’t remember who it was, but an author mentioned that someone had asked them to put in the food analogies (mocha colored skin and almond shaped eyes).
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Oh god, I never would. I hate food analogies. They’re so tired.
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In British English a nappy is most definitely what you call a diaper…
I’d be interested if anyone had any idea how it’s come to mean “curly-headed” in American English!
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Loved Earthsea!
And sometimes it’s easier to explore the idea of the outsider in a fantasy world. Less loaded.
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re: race in fantasy–
My WIP has a bi-racial marriage that I wonder if anyone will notice is bi-racial.
Granted my description is tied to a very awkward construction about “the only one with a complexion that would survive the hotlands” or something like that. (It’s not right in front of me.)
I have a grey-skinned “man,” but I think he’s the only one whose skin color I actually name. Anyone else I specify hair and eye color in context of the action.
It seems to me skin color is only mentioned IRL when it surprises you, so to naturalize a variety of races imeans minimizing the details noted about them (essentially what JKR did).
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