Cultural Appropriation

When writing a dialect it is important to be aware of cultural appropriation. Cultural appropriation is the arrogance of writing characters outside of your own background without personal knowledge or research. While this sounds harsh, a movement has sprung up to bring attention to the practice. Originally called Own Voices the movement is now referred to as We Need Diverse Books. Today’s post will look at three aspects of cultural appropriation: whose story is it, harmful stereotyping, and lack of respect.

Whose Story?

Can an able-bodied person write a disabled protagonist? Should they? In this case, I’m using disability as an example of a culture. I could just as easily have chosen a member of a marginalized community focused on religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or economic status. One danger of writing a main character who does not share your cultural background, is the misrepresentations of the culture that you may make. It’s one thing to imagine how you might feel or act if you were disabled, quite another for your reactions to be shaped by the experience of disability. The beauty of literature is that readers are exposed to people and situations they may never experience in person. That’s why it is so important to embrace cultural accuracy.

Stereotyping

A second danger to cultural appropriation is unintentionally propagating harmful stereotypes. Many Americans live in their own cultural bubble. Books, movies, and TV shape their knowledge of other cultures. So, for instance, if you as a writer base your knowledge of a particular culture on inaccurate information, you may amplify those flawed views to your readership and become an agent of prejudice.    

A recent TV ad poked fun at a couple of brothers with southern accents. They were portrayed as bumbling idiots, a common trope of Southerners in my Pacific Northwest state. While stereotypes have their place (see post) you must be aware when you are doing it. The old advice, you have to know the rules before you break them, applies here.

Respect

Finally, the third danger of cultural appropriation is fueling a lack of respect for members of a marginalized group. Back to the disability example, if we always portray disabled persons as victims, our readers may empathize with them, but deny them the agency they need to grow and change. To fully flesh out a disabled character, give them a backstory that explains their wants, needs, and desires. Show their strengths alongside their weaknesses.  

Am I saying you should never write outside of your own experience? Of course not! How dull it would be to be restricted to writing only what you know. But if you plan to write outside your experience, or more specifically outside your culture, do your homework. Research your protagonist’s culture. Read about it, interview a person that matches your main character’s culture. Perhaps shadow them for a day. Then, when you have a clean draft, find a sensitivity reader to look for inaccuracies, harmful stereotyping, and to make sure you have treated your subjects with respect.