When I wrote my first book, I knew I wanted a diverse cast. I also wanted to write authentic characters without using stereotypes or clichés. So I did what any talented writer does. I researched how to portray these characters respectfully. In the process, I learned a few things.
Understanding White Bias
White bias refers to the unspoken, default assumption in fiction that a character is White unless a writer specifically notes otherwise. I didn’t realize this was a thing until I started my research. As a reader, I look at context clues, like speech patterns, to determine the ethnicity or race of characters when they don’t have physical descriptions. I hadn’t realized that people defaulted to the characters being White.
An example of this is Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. The book describes Hermione as having frizzy, or bushy, brown hair and brown eyes. The only other physical feature is large front teeth, which are fixed later in the series. Assumptions about Hermione’s race appeared during adaptations of the books to screen and stage. The movie adaptation cast Emma Watson, a White actress, without an issue. However, the stage play, A Cursed Child, cast Noma Dumezweni, a Black actress, and the TV series cast Arabella Stanton, a multiracial British actress, causing a controversy about Hermione’s race in the original books.
After seeing this controversy play out, I have a better understanding of the issue. Now the problem is how to resolve it.
How Good Intentions Fail
While researching, I found Writing with Color. A website dedicated to giving writers information about creating diverse characters respectfully. According to the site, many writers attempt to fix the white bias issue by over-describing diverse characters, while under-describing White ones. This ends up implying that the White character is the standard and the diverse characters are exceptions.
Additionally, many writers use food metaphors to describe skin tones, like coffee or chocolate. This has multiple issues, including fetishizing the person as something to eat, being a cliché, and some foods, like coffee and cocoa, are crops slaves harvested.
Establishing an Equal Standard
Writing with Color offers several suggestions for correcting White bias in storytelling.
- Indicate a character’s race early in the story.
- Don’t rely solely on skin descriptions to indicate race. Include other descriptors like hair, clothing, mannerisms, or speech patterns.
- Describe everyone equally. All the major characters, regardless of race, should have the same level of description.
- Don’t use terminology that is known to be racist, even if it’s commonly used among members of that race between themselves.
The site also offers and extensive list of options for describing skin tone without using food items. I’m including a brief list here, but the website has more detail and images that illustrate the examples better.
- Use basic or complex color names.
- Add modifiers to describe the colors.
- Consider undertones.
- Reference nature metaphors like desert sand, wood types, metals, or gemstones.
For more information about writing diverse characters, please see the Writing With Color website.
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