What Is Your Obligation To Society As A Writer?

Well, HBO pulled Gone With The Wind. The Paw Patrol is in limbo while they’re figuring out what to do with the cop character. And Little House On the Prairie has been gone from the school Libraries for a while. 

Censorship?

Not Really. 

I’m of the opinion when KNOW better we DO better. 

And one of the ways we learn to know better is through representation. If we only ever see a certain ‘type’ of person portrayed a certain ‘type’ of way, we eventually actually think they’re like that. 

What gets repeated, gets normalized. 

If racism is shown to us in a hundred subtle ways over a lifetime, we soon think that’s the way it’s ‘supposed’ to be.  

It seems normal. And that’s a problem. 

But it’s not only true of racism. It’s true of pretty much anything. 

Which brings me to my point. As writers, we have a duty to not perpetuate stereotypes or oppression against anyone. Our books, YOUR book, is powerful, no matter what it’s about. (even if it’s about vampires in outer space) 

Each time someone reads your books, you are contributing to the cultural narrative, be that good or bad. You are influencing future generations and building your legacy with those words.  

Now, that’s not to say racism can't work in a book. You can’t have a book like 12 Years A Slave without racism being in the book. But that does not make it a racist book. 

History errs on the side of justice, even if it does take a while. 

So take a good hard look at your book. Do you see anything that contributes to the cultural narrative in a negative fashion? 

Are you comfortable with that being your legacy? 

If not, change it. 

And just as a side note, lack of representation also sends a potential cultural message. That one ‘type’ is ‘normal’ and the other type is ‘rare’. This isn’t just about racism, it’s about all groups. (Look up the Smurfette Factor if you’d like to know more about that.)