Oooo, interesting response. I don't agree with all of it, but that's half the fun, right??
Let's see... yes, I know the status quo in Cali has changed, I haven't lived there since '06. I just know what I was raised with, and since then I was in Santa Fe for 5 years (with a negligible Black population, almost as low as their Asian population), and now I'm in New Orleans, where racial issues are everything and nothing, all at the same time.
Yea, I am sometimes caught off-guard by racial issues as well, especially because they are so fluid. I remember that "Hispanic" used to be the polite term to use about ten years ago in Cali, but recently a friend of mine told me she and most of the Latinos she knows prefer "Latina/Latino", so it's always a learning process.
As to why I wouldn't label my White characters White - first, yes, it is probably the default unless someone says otherwise, but that's not why I'd avoid it. I'd avoid labeling as White right out of the gate because I personally don't feel like it tells you anything. I'm White, but I think saying so is less descriptive than saying I'm pale, freckled, and red-headed.
I think this is quite a privilege, tbh. I wish I could say that the color of my skin tells people more about me than my race does, but I'm not sure what my skin color says about me other than that I'm fair and slightly yellow-tinged. So say there's a "fair-skinned girl" in your book. Most readers would think "white person". But what if she's actually Asian? Or Latino? Or anything but white? But that's my own bias. I don't like that label for myself because I feel like it tells you nothing. I'd rather be described as scotch-irish, which connotes culture, than White, which is purely racial and somewhat charged (to me).
On the same note, there is nothing wrong with saying "Chinese girl" instead of "Asian girl" if your preference is to be more specific.
And yes, I do write romance, so the appearance is important. But I'm a VERY visual thinker, so appearance is always important to me, whether it's a person, or their surroundings, or whether I'm writing a psychological assessment or a research paper on bullying, being descriptive is important to getting your message across (though admittedly in the mental health mien, my descriptors would be a tad different, lol). I'll put down a book real fast that doesn't at least take steps to 'paint the picture'. So I write it how I like it, though I know not everyone is in that boat.
Being visual is perfectly fine. We are writers, we strive to paint a picture with our words. But I'm saying that pure description cannot take the place of explicitly stating what a character's race is, especially when the character is a PoC. Google "Rue is black" and you'll see why.
I suppose I differentiate between painting a visual and telling you about the character. My writing is character development first, plot second. Sometimes I wish it were the other way around, the writing would probably be easier, but with my professional background I just can't help it. <<sigh>>
I'm not sure how this relates to the discussion, but okay.
And as for food names... well, I have no good response for that. It's evocative for me, though, I can certainly understand if it bugs you.
It's not really about "bugging me". It is an actual issue. Again, Google is your friend. And I can't help it if someone's dark skin makes me think, ooo, luscious like chocolate. I know I'm not the only one!
I'm not sure how the fact that you're not the only one is supposed to make it right. I'm also not the only one who finds food descriptions when it comes to PoC problematic, so...?
It's not that I won't reference race - I do. But it isn't the FIRST thing I say.
I never said it has to be the first thing you say. I'd rather paint the picture first. From my perspective, being on the end of being raised White and having it connote NOTHING about me, I'm predisposed to making more qualitative descriptions first. To me, race is the least descriptive quality, because of all the variations involved.
I think this is quite a privilege, tbh. See, I'm of Chinese ethnicity. I spent my childhood in Indonesia and Singapore. In Singapore, the Chinese make up the majority of the population, so as someone who is ethnically Chinese, I never once thought about my own race. I thought the same way you do, that it connotes NOTHING about me. Why? Because I'm part of the majority group. Whatever racism there was (and there was plenty) in Singapore, it didn't affect me. So I can see why you would say that race is the least descriptive quality. However, when you write about someone who is NOT part of that majority group, race more often than not becomes a huge part of their identity. If you were to write about a white person who is born and raised in Japan, for example, would you just say, "a black-haired, petite girl" and leave the reader to guess that the character is actually white? Or would you say something like, "Her parents had moved from Scotland years before she was born, and she inherited their green eyes blah blah blah"?
Now, that said, I totally get it when someone from a racial minority sees it the absolute opposite way. With dominant White culture basically going around and eradicating anything that doesn't align with it (or saying it isn't important, or shouldn't be dwelled upon, blah blah), I would probably be pretty invested in making sure that part of my identity was represented.
Ah, so you are aware of the erasure of PoC. Yay. I will rethink that part a little.
It's interesting to me that this, the crux of why I think it's so important to mention race, especially of PoC characters, warrants only a little thought. Do think about it. It's not a small matter. It's a huge problem that is insidious in its nature. Take a look on Twitter and look up #WeNeedDiverseBooks. You'll find plenty of reasons why race needs to be mentioned. That may be a response to where I'm living now, versus the way I was raised, and my inherent "cautiousness".
And sorry, but I still think painting a picture and letting someone make their own interpretations of that picture is more meaningful than simply slapping a label on them, so I'll have to agree to disagree with you there
Huh? So despite the knowledge that erasure happens, that readers WILL default to white, you still think it's fine to have readers assume that every character is white? Oh well. I have nothing to say that won't cross RFYW, so I will leave that alone. As a side note, acknowledging that a character is "Asian" or "black" or "white" is NOT slapping a label on them. Unless you think that saying a character is "female" versus "male" is slapping a label as well? Or saying a character is "a toddler" or a "teenager"? It's merely pointing out facts, and there's nothing harmful in doing that. What IS harmful is attaching judgment to said facts. For example, if you see a female character and you think, "Ah, female. Therefore, her place is in the kitchen." But the acknowledgement that the character is female does not automatically bring about that judgment. That depends on the reader, which is something you can't control.
As it relates to how I would represent my child if I were writing about her - yes, I would indicate that she was mixed, racially. I'm not saying I avoid the racial labels altogether, I don't, I'm saying that I don't fall back on them and expect they are going to convey a full picture,
Right...I'm not saying you should completely rely on explicitly stating the character's race in order to tell the reader everything about them. I don't say, "a black student" and then sit back and let the reader make all sorts of assumptions based on just that. I can still show what she looks like, what subjects she studies, what her hobbies are etc. They are not exclusive of each other. because all they really do is tell you what continuum you're working from. It then becomes my job to elucidate their place on the continuum... imo
Oh, and I'm a psychologist by trade, so I'm very accustomed to people attaching a judgment to someone's race, whether they admit it mixed company or not. I don't want someone reading my work to jump to conclusions that are inaccurate because I know for a fact people do it CONSTANTLY.
Yea, that happens. The answer is not to never mention race. That is all I'm saying.
Anyway, thanks for your responses!! They were thought-provoking