Race in Fantasy (Historical Negligence)

Categorically, I have seen across genres that (especially in fantasy novels set in ancient times) people of color are excluded. Even the Lord of the Rings books originally described some of the Hobbits as being "nut-brown" in color and they were all cast as white people in the movies. And when they cast darker skinned folks in the Ring of Power series, fans were profoundly upset, even though none of them complained about all the Hobbits being white in the first place.

I guess my question would be, in what ways can this be corrected? How can I go about unraveling the tangle web of White Supremacy through my literature? I am a published author and I am almost done with my next novel, but I am seriously considering tackling this issue through my writing and would love to hear your suggestions. Also, if you have any examples of literature that do this successfully, I would love to take a peak at it.

 

Read/ write fantasies with central characters of color. Which people have been doing for a while. Do a search, for instance, for black fantasy novels. Or if you want to go far back (and get very weird) check out Amos Tutuola's The Palm Wine Drinkard.

 

I've written an urban fantasy novel called Voodoo House and I plan to release the second installment to the series in March. I guess I meant specifically fantasy novels set in ancient times. Since posting this topic, I was thinking have I read any that resemble what I was looking for, and I have actually: the Eragon series had prominent black figures intertwined in the story and as a teenager I greatly appreciated that a white author would think to do something like that. Many white authors fall into the trap of the tired and r*cist all white fantasy trope, which only serves to further White Supremacy, when in reality different races intermingled commonly. There were royals and nobles in old Europe and Germany and Spain who were black, and yet most writings set in those times are suspiciously devoid of color (unless its some kind of mythological creature with dark skin).

 

This portrait titled "Young Black Man" by Italian artist Alessandro Longhi (c. 1760s) is a good example.

 

i think there is a different in writing HISTORICAL Fiction and Fantasy.
Fantasy is up to the writers interpretation. They can create any characters of any race and color that they want. Yes, they can base these races off of existing races an cultures, but they do not have to adhere to real world history in their fantasy works of fiction. Lord of the Rings, Eragon, Rings of Power..... they are fantasy. They arent real.

There are a lot of great black fantasy writers out there. Kacen Callender has a series of black main characters inspired by the caribbean nations (Queen of the Conquered and the sequel King of the Rising)
L. Penelope has a series (the Earthsinger chronicles).
For high fantasy à la George RR Martin and Tolkien, there is Evan Winter's "Rage of the Dragon" series

On the historical fiction side, Vanessa Riley has The Island Queen and the sequel Queen of Exiles that has black women as main characters in the 1800s (she got criticism because white readers made the claim that she hadnt done her research and ahe argued-- truthfully-- that black people WERE IN FACT in white spaces in that time period. They just werent documented as being such or mentioned as anything other than slaves.... But they were so much more than that)

 

Yeah, if you're just wanting more fantasy that contains people with darker coloured skin, that's already out there. You're more than welcome to contribute to that pool as an author and help set whatever example you are looking to set.

You also don't need a reason to include or exclude any character based on colour, gender, sexuality, or any other diversity. It's the author's art. She can create however she wishes. If she wants to tell Arthurian legend strictly with Hispanic lesbians or albino mutes, no one should demand a rationale or claim injustice either way.

 

Hmm. I have written eight novels (and planning my 9th), but most of my characters have pale or olive skin.

Before anyone accuses me of racism etc., please bear in mind that the settings are ancient Greece, Late Republic Rome (just after the 2nd Punic War), ancient Egypt, ancient Babylon (really!), and early-medieval Iceland.

Is that racist? *shrug* I'm only writing about the places and periods that I have an interest in. (Plus, obviously, there was no such thing as "racism" back then).

 

I don't mention color in my writing. It is about the character, and when fitting physical attributes such as height. As the author I leave that blank for the reader to fill in for themselves. If they want to picture a character with purple skin and plaid polkadots that is for them to decide I don't care. My concern when writing is, to quote MLK, " The content of their character."

 

I described my character in my fantasy throughout the first chapter. she has curly hair. she isnt to tall or too short. thin from living on the streets and is wearing a thrifted punk rock t-shirt and leggings with moth holes.

chapter 3, she looks at a picture of her parents who she has never met (they died), and I describe how she sees them... including how warm her father's brown skin is and how the white flash of her mother's smile looked even brighter against her dark skin.


i had a beta reader literally tell me that i should have stated the MC's race from chapter 1. she was taken aback by this description because she never pictured the character as being black and she liked to visualize the character's appearance from the beginning.

 

the "white default" is actually very common basically its, unless something is explicitly stated as being other, then the default "picture" is white..

""White as default" is when whiteness is the litmus test for what is considered normal behavior, culture, and appearance" -Dismantling the White Default
(if they dont "act" [insert race] and they dont "look" [insert race], then they must be white)​

"Whiteness in America goes by unnoticed because we often don’t think about it appearing or happening, but rather it’s an unconscious thought. " "Why is White the Default?"
(When I was working at my previous library, i made the case that we had to integrate the books by black authors back into the general collection because the circulation numbers were very low. Another coworker who is black said "its really a shame. why is it that we as black people dont care about whether its a black or a white book, but white people dont think they should be reading anything out of the "black section" and at that library, its true. i tested it --- context, the library literally had a section for books written by black authors and for books with black people on the cover. when I got hired, i integrated it back into the collection)​

which is because media has been seen as primarily being consumed by white audiences. so works are adapted for white audiences to relate

"“The White Gaze.” This refers to the assumption that the default observer, i.e. the film’s viewer, is coming from the perspective of someone who identifies as white" "FROM TRUE BELIEVER TO THE HELP, HOW THE WHITE GAZE HAS SHOWN HOLLYWOOD’S SHORTSIGHTEDNESS"

its even true for Google image search and and generative AI. Unless you specifically state the race in the search, then the results you get will be white (google has gotten a lot better about this, though)


edit to add: a bestselling Asian author wrote this on her blog:

"writers of color or marginalized writers will probably face a lot more rejection, either because there are very few (if any) comps, or because the agents "can't relate" to the characters, or because they already have another [insert your ethnicity/sexuality/mental illness/disability here] book, even if it's nothing like yours. As much as there's a demand for #OwnVoices in publishing, that voice still has to resonate with the predominantly white agent pool"​

she originally self published her books, but then they went viral on TikTok and an agent picked her up.

so, i really wish it WAS about character and quality of the story... but then you have to factor in the demographics of your audience and whether or not your white agent can relate to a [insert race] character

 

By delaying that reveal, you destroyed the readers image of the MC. If a character's race has any bearing on the story, even tangential, it should be revealed early. Otherwise, I say leave it out and let the reader's image of the character rule their reading.

 

but it wasnt really a big reveal though.
i wasnt going for a "surprise! she's black!"

when you are looking at a painting, dont you look at the colors used in the painting? the picture of her parents is part of a royal portrait she discovers. its supposed to be a meaningful moment as she looks at all the detail in the painting, from the look on her parents faces to the way they are dressed.

 

Your intent aside, it seems to have that effect on the reader. It happened, so needs to be considered.

 

And after being considered, it also can be dismissed. I think the beta reader is overreacting.

Is it that white people were intentionally avoiding that section, or that they simply don't search for books based on colour of author/characters in the first place, and instead search topically? I'm assuming those books' circulation increased after you de-segregated them. (Which, good on you for doing so.)

 

Working in a library makes you notice things... And increases curiosity about the "whys" of such things

 

A little of both....
The "test" i tried: i took books in the same genre. I intentionally chose books for the display that did not have any characters on the covers and did not show author photos. I also included them on display with other well known authors.
That display circulated, no problem. All books, including by the black authors i chose.

Next display, i intentionally chose books with people on the cover. The books with black people on the covers were usually left on the display (even when a white author wrote the book and a black person was on the cover)

 

As far as film leads go, it's recognition and sex appeal (which factor into charisma). That's why male actors can't come out as gay, female actors can't get fat, and both have to have lots of plastic surgery.

I don't think studios were worried about whether Denzel Washington or Will Smith would be relatable to white people, for example. Women want to look at them (and fantasize) and men want imagine being or being around them. That's really all there is to the equation.

 

Do you think it's negative association with unlike skin colour, or mainly through positive association with like skin colour?

 

who knows.

my speculation is that its relatability. They think they will relate better to the book and characters if they look like them.
Another thing is, the demographics at that library is very much skewed one way. and their opinions of non-white people are.... "dated." hence the segregated collection and the idea that books with black people on them are "urban" (never mind the fact that we write in all genres)

 

examples:
vs

did better than this

(i have to split up my post because i exceeded the number of images i can share?)