Mixed Feelings: When the author has a "past"

So I had a bit of a crisis of character while reading If I Was Your Girl. While looking for confirmation that this was an #ownvoices book (it is), I ran across a couple of news articles about the author. According to the articles,  (prior to transition I think) was accused of assaulting and abusing her wife at the time and there was a restraining order.

Now, here’s the thing.

Question for Readers: What Makes it a #Diverse Book?

Diversity matters. It does. Well, to be fair: diversity matters if you are interested in higher achievement scores, thinking processes, decision making, interpersonal relationships, enjoyment, and developmental outcomes for those involved. I guess if you don't care about any of those things, you might disagree that diversity matters and might argue that it's not important. 

This post isn't about talking anyone into believing that or about spouting off facts that make it true. I'm going to assume that we are all on the same page about that or that you don't need that underlying assumption to engage in a meaningful conversation about diversity in books. 

There's been a shift that I have noticed in the focus on making sure that there are diverse characters in books and other media. It may be that this shift happened 100 years ago and I've just opened my eyes to it. But I don't think so. At the very least, there seems to be a renewed interest in expanding what we think of as diverse characters (to include not just race and gender but also religion, class, sexual orientation, nationality) and to encourage and support authors who are from diverse backgrounds. Just go check out the #RepresentationMatters hashtag on twitter if you don't believe me. This is a THING. Writers who rely solely on homogenous, non-realistic/ representative characters are being called out for their ignorance and their seemingly purposeful attempts to thwart the benefits to all readers of seeing different points of view in their books and media. Interestingly, this shift is also happening in the job market, education, teaching, and training in higher education.

So, here's my diversity problem of the month. I've decided to add a little WNDB sticker to my book reviews for books that count as having characters or author's from an "underrepresented" backgrounds. But, what counts as diversity? I'm still working on this for myself.

Is it enough that a character is not explicitly described as being a middle aged, white, cis-male, heterosexual with a job? Does it count if a "minority" character is described and is the secretary or running a shop that is visited several times in the story but has no development of their own? How important is diversity and the descriptions of diversity if they characters are elves and trolls? I mean, can it be considered representation if the characters are all mythical but have different skin tones and same- sex partnerships? Does an author count as diverse if they are white- appearing but from Spain? What if! What if, there are characters who are described as diverse but the fact that they come from different backgrounds plays no role in the story, at all? If you can remove a person's diversity and it doesn't change the story, does it matter? You see what I'm saying?

So, without considering these things, we really are left with very superficially diverse stories and characters. I'm still working on my criteria, so right now it's really like the difference between porn and art: I know it when I see it. And some things are much more obvious than others.

What's your minimum criteria to consider a book a #diverse book?


Related post on this blog: Diversity and My Little Free Library

Related posts elsewhere on the interwebs:

• Where is the African American Harry Potter or the Mexican Katniss?
• Diversity in literature
• Messages for Parents: Talking to Children about Diversity
• Daniel José Older creates female black heroes to make fantasy more real

Little Free Library Update and My Diversity "Problem"

I wanted to post some updated info about my Little Free Library, though there is not too much to say. I posted the library in October. I know that there has been at least a little bit of usage out of it because a few books have appeared on the shelves.  One was a very large historical text that had been ripped down the middle and was held together by a rubber band. I left it; who am I to say that someone wouldn't like it!? I'm not keeping track of what I put in there so I don't know if anything has been taken. 

I love seeing the LFL when I leave the house and when I get home every day. Here are a few updated pictures. It's holding up well so far with the weather. We get a lot of wind where we are. We get a lot of snow, too, so we will see how it fares against its first Rochester winter hell.

 

My friend who built my library told me that sometime people are confused about whether they can actually take a book for free. Maybe I'll put a sign in the window: FREE BOOKS! And see if that gets things moving a little more. It's also getting cold, so the natural flow of traffic is going to plummet, soon. 

An interesting thing I've been thinking about as a LFL steward: diversity in the books I'm offering. I live in a small lily white village town. I'm not just saying that. According to the 2000 census and wikipedia: "The racial makeup of the town was 96.53% White, 1.35%African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.37% of the population." 

So, this poses an interesting thing to think about because I have a number of books that were donated that were written by and depict on their covers people of color. This is a great problem to have, actually, as I want to be able to offer a range of books, but I also don't want to be the Black Little Free Library. I don't think it would be seen as useful to the community I live in. I'm not even sure that I am saying this right. The truth is, though, that majority people tend to see things as not really for them if the demographics don't look or sound like them. It makes sense for a lot of social science reasons. My LFL diversity problem is not limited to race: I don't want to be the Chick Lit library or the YA library, either. Those are the other types of books I have more of than others. I'm just super aware of the "race" problem as the only Black person I've seen on my street.

Additionally, I have a number of donated books that are very technical or profession- specific. Should they go in there?  

And what about the romance novels with sexy people on the cover and raunchy sex scenes? I cannot be the steward of the Smut Little Free Library! I mean, I could... but I don't want to!

I would totally read this book, though. Seriously.