As a black female writer, I get called out on a lot of idiotic things.
"You don't write a lot of black characters in your novels. You're being racist to your own kind."
"That black character in your novel is stereotypical! It's so offensive! Are you actually a black girl? You obviously know nothing about black people. You're a fucking racist, and you're setting black people back 200 years."
"You should be writing about strong female characters in your novel. You're an absolute misogynist t if you don't."
First of all, let me set something straight. I will never ever repeat myself on this, so listen up. Just because I am black does not mean I have to write about black people. I write what I want to write about. I owe black people nothing. If a character comes into my head and happens to be white, I will write the character in as white. If I come up with a black character, I will write the character in as a black person. Same goes for other races. This doesn't only come up on Wattpad. It comes up in my writing workshops at University.
Never ever pull the race card on me.
If you want more black people in books, pick up your own frigging pen and write your own black characters. There are many books out there with black characters: Soul Sisters by Natasha Larry, Roots (The Witchbound Series) by Kelbian Noel, Poseidon's Children by Michael West, The Woman He Loved Before by Dorthoy Koomson, The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson, Possessing Rayne by Kate Cann, and many more.
Being a black girl and not writing books with black people doesn't make me a racist.
People who point out I have to write books with black characters because I am black are in fact racists. You are basically saying "Your writing should solely focus on black people and not other races."
That is absolutely bigoted.
Maybe while we're at it, we should be extending the same thing to white authors like Kathryn Stockett (author of The Help).
I have in fact written about black people. If you happen to check out my novel Confessions of a Bitch (which isn't amazing and is currently going through an intense makeover), you will see I have included a number of black characters: Victoria (Amanda's best friend), Rhys (her lover) and Liam (a gang member).
While some of my reader's reactions to this have been positive, messages like "Victoria is too stereotypical. Not all black girls act like that. Liam is nothing but a stereotypical gangster. You're being racist", still clutter my inbox.
I am accused of being stereotypical. I absolutely know nothing about black people, which is highly ironic because I am black (African girl from Nigeria who grew up with other black people and has black friends), and I am racist.
Well, let me tell you something. Victoria was actually based on me. I projected a part of who I was into that character, so I am, in some people's eyes, a living stereotype, and that is bad. Apparently my experiences as a black person and the way I act is invalid because it's "too stereotypical" and offensive.
Guess what? I don't care.
I wear a weave. I am loud, and opinionated. I joke around and poke fun at myself. I can talk in broken English if I want to. I can talk in Ghetto Slang if I want to. If that offends you, please turn around and walk away.
I am actually a black girl. I know many things about my people, thank you. Who are you to start giving me a lecture on Black History when you still think Africa is a country? I am not a racist, and I am not setting black people back 200 years.
You are.
The whole strong female characters nonsense not only makes its way onto my dashboard on Tumblr, but permeates my inbox.
You know what my response to the whole you-need-to-write-strong-female-character-in-your-novel nonsense is?
Screw that.
The phrase sets my teeth on edge. Some writers seem to think that without strength, a woman is just a boring, weak and worthless female character. This is stupid.
As someone once said:
"It's not sexist to create a passive female character because passive women exist. It's not sexist to create a female character with low self-esteem because women with low self-esteem exist. The same goes for every single personality trait: Timid, shallow, unintelligent, stupid, meek, mild-mannered, soft-spoken. (And male characters with all these traits should exist, too, obviously.)
Characters need to be complex (layered, like onions). That's all."
And:
"Screw writing "strong" women. Write interesting women. Write well-rounded women. Write complicated women. Write a woman who kicks ass, write a woman who cowers in a corner. Write a woman who's desperate for a husband. Write a woman who doesn't need a man. Write women who cry, women who rant, women who are shy, women who don't take no shit, women who need validation and women who don't care what anybody thinks. THEY ARE ALL OKAY, and all those things could exist in THE SAME WOMAN. Women shouldn't be valued because we are strong, or kick-ass, but because we are people. So don't focus on writing characters who are strong. Write characters who are people." (Erin Bowman)
I create my female characters however I want to. Screw being politically or gender correct in the world of writing.
YOU ARE READING
Charcoal Girl
Non-Fiction“You’re dark just like me,” my grand father would say. “Dark like charcoal.” And so, I became Charcoal Girl.
