Do you worry about Political Correctness ...

The key here is to not have your character be ONLY the stereotype.

Angry young black men, gay men with limp wrists, manhating lesbians with spiky hair who wear combat boots - all of these things DO exist because if they didn't, there wouldn't be the stereotype.

Do not give your character limp wrists to tell us he's gay. Show us the character, in his entirety, and you're fine.

And if in doubt, hand it to a member of the group concerned to read.

this question comes up a lot, and I have to wonder how much reading you've done. You can offend, and I prefer political correctness over blithe dickishness in the name of being "un-PC", but regardless, if you've read....almost anything, you've come across non-PC characters. Because not everybody is PC.

that said, there is a difference between being PC and stereotyping, which you seem to be actually asking about. An entire story where every asian was a calculus wiz and terrible driver wouldn't bother me so much for it being stereotypical and either ignorant or actively douchey, as because it would feel entirely fake for all the stereotype. So....don't stereotype.

Nope, I most certainly don't worry about political correctness. Not one tiny iota. It's censorship by another name. Happily for me, my books are set in the late 1930s and 40s so there's a certain amount of leeway for me to ignore PCness. Having said that, I don't think there's any need to use a stereotype such as defined by quicklime. Your readers will likely roll their eyes at such laziness!

Political correctness is one of the greatest evils out there, so, no, I want nothing to do with it. Thre is no circumstance where political correctness is a good thing.

quicklime said:

this question comes up a lot, and I have to wonder how much reading you've done. You can offend, and I prefer political correctness over blithe dickishness in the name of being "un-PC", but regardless, if you've read....almost anything, you've come across non-PC characters. Because not everybody is PC.

that said, there is a difference between being PC and stereotyping, which you seem to be actually asking about. An entire story where every asian was a calculus wiz and terrible driver wouldn't bother me so much for it being stereotypical and either ignorant or actively douchey, as because it would feel entirely fake for all the stereotype. So....don't stereotype.

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What if there's only one Asian in the story?

the notion political correctness is censorship, other than self-censorship out of a desire to not hurt other people by your own carelessness, is dubious at best.

But stereotyping is indeed lazy.

Jamesaritchie said:

What if there's only one Asian in the story?

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then it probably takes place in northern wisconsin, montana, or someplace similar

There will be (or should be!) a difference in the narrative between you portraying a character and you condoning their actions

It can be very subtle (and yes some people will miss it) but if you have a purpose behind writing this character this way, then do it.

In the books in my sig, the POV starts off as...well his attitude to women (and life tbh) is not what you'd call optimal. He learns as the series goes on (he'll probably never be Mr Enlightened though). The fact that he starts off that way was enough to put some people off. *shrug* But he never benefited from that attitude (it got him in more trouble, and all the women in the first book either loathe him or laugh at him) Not everyone was OK with that, and that's fine. I'm ok with it, so are my editors and some fans.

Sooo....it's good to be aware that you might be unintentionally causing offence and taking steps not to. But if you go in with your eyes open*, and this character being this way has a purpose in the story, then do it.

You'll never please every reader anyway.

*This includes bracing for the reaction of people who Do Not Like It. Took me a little by surprise tbh -- people thinking I am my character frex. Er, well no. We are quite different. And not just due to genital plumbing.

No matter what you write or how you write a character, there's always a good chance someone, somewhere out there will be offended. What I try to concern myself with more is who I'm trying to please. I don't like offending people (I hate it, actually), and I try not to as often as possible. But sometimes it's inevitable and/or not worth trying in order to tell the story I want to tell. So I would suggest asking yourself who your audience is and whose opinion you're concerning yourself with.

I agree with Flibble -- most readers will be able to tell that it's your character who is not PC, if you happen to write a character that way.

But if you overdo it on the stereotypes, then it reflects on you as the author.

There will always be people who will criticize your work and maybe even you as a person. Don't let it get to you.

PS I personally don't read or buy work by people I think are bigoted or who participate in organizations that I think are bigoted, because I don't want to support that. It's nothing personal, it's just my choice.

I'm not sure I've ever really understood what people meant by "political correctness."

Does that mean you try to create characters that are real, life-like, three-dimensional individuals or do you treat your characters as shallow stereotypes?

I'd much rather read about interesting characters that might be considered PC than stale, worn-out, prejudiced cliche.

Shadow_Ferret said:

I'm not sure I've ever really understood what people meant by "political correctness."

Does that mean you try to create characters that are real, life-like, three-dimensional individuals or do you treat your characters as shallow stereotypes?

I'd much rather read about interesting characters that might be considered PC than stale, worn-out, prejudiced cliche.

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To me:

The term political correctness is an awareness of the social and historical sensibilities of other cultures and their interplay.

The term Political Correctness refers to a movement or advocacy that (intentionally or not) serves to stifle a willingness to examine and acknowledge our differences.

IMO, the latter has taken center stage, to the detriment of the former. Sadly.

robjvargas said:

To me:

The term political correctness is an awareness of the social and historical sensibilities of other cultures and their interplay.

The term Political Correctness refers to a movement or advocacy that (intentionally or not) serves to stifle a willingness to examine and acknowledge our differences.

IMO, the latter has taken center stage, to the detriment of the former. Sadly.

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to be fair, the bolded has also become a sort of straw-man cause celibre for folks who feel hampered by the fact "nigger an' faggit jokes" are no longer fashionable.

to some the idea you have some rudimentary responsibility not to be hurtful as fuck with your words is an undue and tragically newfangled burden, so the term gets thrown around a lot by folks who really have an issue with the idea that maybe we shouldn't call a girl a slut, or a hispanic guy a spic, or whatever else....


Which is why I tend to have a near-instinctive aversion to folks who bash political correctness as censorship and thought control. Run off the rails it can be, but it's rarely as bad as folks like to pretend it is in the quest for pity-points

No. I do, however, worry about portraying characters of different genders, orientations, and cultures from myself as respectfully and realistically as possible. I also accept that I will probably screw up sometimes (or at least someone will think I have), and I hope that when this happens, I'll be able to listen to the criticism with an open mind and not knee-jerk accuse said person of "just" being PC.

Sensitivity and awareness of my own privileges in life should not be dismissed as a straw man political agenda, imo.

quicklime said:

to be fair, the bolded has also become a sort of straw-man cause celibre for folks who feel hampered by the fact "nigger an' faggit jokes" are no longer fashionable.

to some the idea you have some rudimentary responsibility not to be hurtful as fuck with your words is an undue and tragically newfangled burden, so the term gets thrown around a lot by folks who really have an issue with the idea that maybe we shouldn't call a girl a slut, or a hispanic guy a spic, or whatever else....


Which is why I tend to have a near-instinctive aversion to folks who bash political correctness as censorship and thought control. Run off the rails it can be, but it's rarely as bad as folks like to pretend it is in the quest for pity-points

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Pretty much. If the story is set in a time where people ran amuck with their ignorance and you have set guidelines showing the characters as such, then you are fine.

If, however, you want to use stereotypes and cliches because you can not write three-dimensional characters, well then, the usage reflects on you as a writer. It's best not to write those characters, if you rely on such lazy tools.

Jamesaritchie said:

Political correctness is one of the greatest evils out there, so, no, I want nothing to do with it. Thre is no circumstance where political correctness is a good thing.

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I think placing stereotypes and tired thought on people and wanting to keep them in society because one can think beyond them are two of the greatest evils out there.

I don't worry about "Political Correctness," I do worry about offending people inadvertently or carelessly.

I plead the fifth.

I don't worry about it. The characters are whoever they are, and most people I know don't care about being PC.

NinjaFingers said:

Do not give your character limp wrists to tell us he's gay. Show us the character, in his entirety, and you're fine.

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you want to show character? give him no wrists.

Dave.C.Robinson said:

I don't worry about "Political Correctness," I do worry about offending people inadvertently or carelessly.

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Same here. I know I only have so much control over how people perceive my works, but there's certain criticisms I don't want to deserve.

What has me antsy lately over The Brotherhood of the Black Flag is going the damsel in distress route in the climax. My female beta-readers were all fine with it, since she shows she's a badass in several scenes, she helps take down the villain (and takes down a miniboss, for lack of a better term, all on her own), and I tried to give her a compelling arc of her own. As for the romance, it doesn't blossom between her and the protagonist until they get to know each other over a period of time.

I like the climax as is, and it really doesn't work without her being indisposed. Still, given the attitude towards damsels in distress these days...I'm sure you guys can understand why I needed/wanted the reassurance.

When someone claims that they're afraid the "PC people" or whomever will take offense at their character if they write it the way they want, I assume they want to write something where they're stereotyping people who are not white, straight males, rather than presenting all characters in a more nuanced and complex way. Or maybe they just want to ignore people who aren't white, straight males completely, even though there's no logical reason for them to do so.

No one ever said every woman, person of color, or LGBT person has to be sympathetic, or that people don't exist who overlap with some stereotypes. But when people are genuinely worried about criticism for not being PC, I wonder if they're planning on writing a story where the only black person is on welfare, or the only woman derives her entire identity from being someone's wife or mother, or the only gay man is a drama queen or something.

Anyway, it's a specious argument, because there is no organized body of people who will stop you from writing something they think is insensitive or biased against their group. There are people who won't like your story if they feel you treated them or people they care about insensitively (or ignored them completely), and some of them will likely criticize it or give it bad reviews. Other people may pick up the book, glance at the back cover, and decide it isn't for them (as I've done with many a book where it looks like the main female character is only there to be rescued or to be a reward for the male main character). But no matter what you write, some people won't like it, or won't read it, and some will give it bad reviews.

You have to decide which kinds of readers you want. Also accept that you may make some mistakes, even with the best of intent.