Member-only story
The Space To Exist: The Other Kind Of Diversity In Storytelling
As a person of color in publishing, I’m often asked for my take on diversity and representation, both in the realm of science fiction and publishing in general. And a big part of that is being asked what up-and-coming authors can do about trying to be more inclusive in their stories. It’s a fine line for sure; to write a thoughtful book about a topical issue, you have to do a really incredible job. That requires balancing sensitivities, research, identities, and much more in an elegant way while also keeping up plot and characters. If you do it right, well, you get books like what Randy Ribay and Samira Ahmed write. There’s a reason why those two get so many accolades.
But there’s another side to the representation discussion — stories that don’t tackle important social issues are as equally important in pushing diversity further in storytelling. Because while topical books educate, enlighten, and build empathy for issues, normalization books give marginalized groups the space to simply exist.
And simply existing is really, really important as we strive to be a more inclusive society.
DC TV leads by example
One of my favorite examples of this comes from The Flash in season 1, when Central City’s police chief Captain Singh (played by Patrick Sabongui) first mentions his husband. So within one line, we have:
- A person of color
- In a position of power
- In a stable gay relationship
- In a legal gay marriage
That single line creates instant representation on so many levels and it allows viewers to either be seen/heard or to connect with someone different from them — someone not commonly viewed in this way.
More recently, Legends of Tomorrow’s episode “This is Gus” offered a more direct look. In the episode, Behrad Tarazi (played by Shayan Sobhian) is a superhero, stoner, and a Muslim. In the show’s time-travel hijinx, Behrad encounters the creator of his favorite TV show, a stoner comedy called Bud Stuy. Behrad waxes…
