Hi all! I'm looking for some input on a fantasy novel I'm writing. A large majority of the story is told through the perspectives of a non-human species that has purely black skin. They have humanoid features (limbs and facial shapes) as well as another feature distinct to their species, and occupy a town that is part of an unnamed realm separate from what would be considered 'the real world'. The species is descended from a single member, their 'All-Father' so to speak. They're more or less carbon copies of one another with slightly different features (hair length, voice, personality, etc.). Although I consider the species non-human and try to make this as clear as possible in my description of them, I think their physical features and behaviour will naturally make the reader associate them as human-like creatures. Because they occupy a town separate from reality, their days mainly consist of hunting for food. With nothing much to do, they are prone to violence for entertainment. I'm worried the species will perpetuate negative stereotypes of people of colour or indigenous groups. Although I have tried to emphasise their skin is different to human skin, and a shade darker than human skin is capable of, by referring to the species' skin as 'black', there is a link to the term used to describe people of colour. All feedback is welcome. I'm keen to hear opinions from anyone outside of the story who doesn't have the bias of being its author.
First just to get it out of the way, if you make their skin any version of "black or white" you automatically draw some level attention to real world races intentionally or not. Not saying that's a bad thing, just that it's unavoidable. So what we are talking about is making it LESS of an issue. My suggestion is to not use the word "black" when describing. "Black skin" in the average human mind means some one with African decent. I would say "Dark skin" and then use descriptive language to describe it "Dark as coal" "Dark as midnight" something like that. Again, you could write a 500,000 word novel and never use the word 'black', but if you have aliens with dark skin people will find a comparison to real world people of color, also again not necessarily a bad thing, but an unavoidable thing.
All fantasy races represent some aspect of humanity, whether the author wanted them to or not. You cannot prevent that. The trick is to make sure your fantasy race doesn't come across as a bad stereotype. The problem I see with what you've described is that some humans do have very dark, near pitch black, skin. By creating a non-human race with similarly dark skin and having the darkness of their skin be the defining trait, visually, that separates them from humanity, you are implying (whether intentionally or not) that people with very dark skin are non-human. Personally I'd recommend thinking of this species as if they were human (because most of your audience will, to some degree, consider them as such), and questioning whether the way you're writing them would be acceptable from that lens.
Yeah, uh, you're treading in some dangerous ground there in my opinion. Whether you think of them as non-human or not, this might accidentally come across as something offensive to other people. And in this particular case at least, this actually matters a lot because of what's going on in the world right now. You have to understand that in the current state of affairs, racism is still a huge issue, and people continue to judge people based on their skin color. In the current world, where people are being discriminated against for their skin color, do you really think it's a good idea to make a purely black species that basically hunt for food and engage in violence? This would instantly be a big no to me. Don't think that racism isn't a big deal anymore, it still is. I saw it happen recently and it sadly wasn't the only time. I'd ask if them being purely black is somehow important. You might be trying to create otherworldly beings, hence the design, but couldn't you do things differently? In a way that, as others have said above, you won't draw attention to yourself?
Do they have to be pure black? Meaning, is it a camouflage due to their native origin? Is their skin like human, with variations on different parts of the body? Or is it more mirror-like, metallic, etc? Is their skin reflective in anyway or is it more matt reflecting nothing? Could they have dark iridescent skin like a junebug that shifts colors in certain lights or angles? I understand you have a backstory of why they are that color, it may help if we knew. However, parallels will be drawn, if unintentionally, there is no getting around it.
@drygin Black - Wikipedia I'm worried the species will perpetuate negative stereotypes of people of colour or indigenous groups. Although I have tried to emphasise their skin is different to human skin, and a shade darker than human skin is capable of, by referring to the species' skin as 'black', there is a link to the term used to describe people of colour. You might have in your story, but you haven’t done so here. In fact, your description is vague and directly points to negative stereotypes. @AlyceOfLegend questions the species colour and why, what purpose does or did it serve? Reproduction - Wikipedia Species descended from a single source, the All Father. They are more or less carbon copies of one another with slightly different features. Its your story you right what you want, but you’ve hit a sticky point. I would assume the species is ASEXUAL, and each creature would genetically reproduce an identical copy of its self in infant form. Be careful with the slight differences in each individual, as this is caused by genetic mutation, so cannot be a carbon copy or clone. their days mainly consist of hunting for food. With nothing much to do, they are prone to violence for entertainment. Great description here. Straight away I got the behavioural image of a domesticated cat. They are natural born killers, completely carnivorous. In fact, take it out of its natural home in the wild and feed it regularly its behaviour doesn’t change. It’s prone to violence or hunting we see as play. It will still hunt and kill prey, but not for food. They play with their victims, torturing them just for entertainment… sound familiar? Cat - Wikipedia The cats fur serves a real purpose to help it hide and stalk its prey. They blend in almost invisible to general observation. Your Species original habitat before living in this town, might have been on the volcanic outer plains. The vast expanse of the carbon charcoal open desert meant the Species skin evolved into a midnight black absorbing all visible light. At dusk, when they hunt the predator becomes next to invisible against the dark cold lava flooring… Hope this helps in some way. Here in my example the skin colour makes sense and fits nicely into their evolutionary behaviour. Domesticating the Species now living in a town and not on the plains still shows signs of their predatory nature. They are prone to violence for entertainment now is justified and makes sense. Racial profiling will still happen from other fantasy species who share the same village. The herbivore passive mole men who share the village would have something to say. You get the idea. Building racism into a plot is hard without turning it into a modern trope. Use it, instead of pulling away from it. Just some ideas, please take it with a pinch of salt. And welcome to the forum! MartinM.
You may look at CJ Cherryh’s “Foreigner” series. The atevi aliens are a major focus of the story. They’re black-skinned (darker than any human skin tone) and apart from height and a couple other features look quite a lot like humans. There is a lot of emphasis in the books about how different (alien) their natures are from humans, which may be why you don’t see a lot of discussion about them as representing (intentionally or inadvertently) human POC.
if their skin is actually black , rather than the dark brown that 'black' people are i don't really see a problem. but that aside unless there's a specific reason why they have to be black, if it worries you make them dark purple, or chartreuese or whatever instead
Err... I know every word has already been written at one time or another, but from the initial description I get the impression you've been watching Black Panther when you came up with this. Which is fine--I'm Mad Max-ing my way through some post apocalyptic stuff--but keep an eye on that.
If the blackness of their skin is the only thing that differentiates them from humans, you may have a problem. If you also give them tails, or crests on their heads, or eyes below their mouths, you eliminate the implication of racism. Think of Avatar, where the indigenous people had a lot more variations from their human adversaries than blue skin.
JLt has a valid point. You might also consider the texture of their skin in your description. "Scales the black of a moonless night", or something similar. I get that many are concerned about the easily offended in this day and age. Personally if the children in adult bodies crowd are offended, that is their issue.
Why not make them midnight blue? Or a very deep green? A color so dark it is indistinguishable from black.
Ah the, "ask controversial question in a single post and never come back to the site again" thing. Very strange.
Appreciate the perspective! There are a lot of kinks to iron out, which I'll be working on. Thanks for the reply.
Iridescent! Love that word. Their skin has a pearlescence to it. So far, I've used descriptions like "darker than shadow", "ink-black", etc. It also has a smoothness, kind of like a snail but without the slime. I don't want to give away too much backstory-wise (which is utterly unhelpful to everyone here trying to help me out!) but they're born out of the ground from deep in the earth. Physically, they have one main feature that distinguishes them as non-human. My lips are sealed on that one, I'm afraid. Other than this one unique feature I mentioned before, they have the framework of a human body, human-like facial features, and behave like hormonally charged teenage schoolboys running amok, so I get the confusion there. I can throw any name at the species I want, but they have an incredible likeness to humans, and I'm still deliberating how to deal with that. Thanks for the reply!
Now, there's an idea! I don't think the species would ever forgive me as its author if I gave them cat ears or tails, but I loved the comparison to house cats. I agree, the description I gave of their skin is vague. I'm hesitant to give too much about the story away. I think I've tried to skirt around the issue by not focusing on their skin colour for most of the story, which has come back to bite me. In what I've written so far, I've described their skin by comparing it with black substances (ink, shadow, etc.) to lessen the link between the species and humans. Which doesn't really do much because of their strong physical resemblance to humans with their human-like limbs/faces. There is only one physical feature that distinguishes this species as non-human. Frankly put, their skin colour doesn't serve a purpose plot-wise. It just is, and has been that way since I began writing the story. The species is born out of the ground, so I could say because they come from such deep earth, their skin is dark, but that feels like lazy writing. It's been great to get so many replies on this forum, they're helping to get the cogs in my head turning to dig myself out of this dilemma I've created. Thanks for the reply!
Okay, you've convinced me. The covers look badass — I'm going to see if I can hunt the first installment down from the local bookshop. Thanks for the recommendation!
Far too many! I've been mulling it over, and I think the main problem is there's far too strong a link between the species I have written and humans. They look like humans and behave like humans. The single physical feature that separates them from humans does little to muddy such a strong connection. I'm thinking I'll either have to add to that single feature or do some serious workshopping on the species' appearance.
Not quite! Started writing this story in 2020, and earlier versions of it, even longer ago. The lack of description in my original post stems from the classic but-I-don't-want-to-share-my-story-with-the-class paranoia, which is my bad. Points for Mad Max though, that movie is extremely cool!
I see your point. My species has a single physical feature that is meant to differ them from humans, but I don't think that's enough as-is when they have so many other similarities to humans (body type/behaviour). Brainstorming ideas to fix that! Thanks for the reply.
That's a very good idea. I've tossed my original post onto a few other forum websites, and your suggestion is one of the most popular replies, and very reasonable. Because I've been writing this story for a while, I'm reluctant to change the physical appearance of the species so thoroughly. Of course, refusing to make any changes to the species' design simply because of an attachment to it would be arrogant of me. For now, I'd rather change specific parts of their appearance and give them more features that distinguish the species as non-human instead of splashing them a different colour. I really appreciate the advice, though, and will be keeping note of these ideas. Thanks for the reply!
Agh, you caught me! I've been stalkerishly following the replies on this page along with a few other posts I've thrown at neighbouring forum websites. Not much of a talker, I'm afraid. S'ppose I'll have to wean myself off the silence if I want to reap the benefits of the forum.
