I’ve been thinking about our brief words on representation and I think that would be a wonderful topic to spend a whole episode on. I’d love to talk more about that. In the stories I write for my girls, my rule is to make every character a girl unless it’s absolutely unavoidable. I’ve had to overcome my own indoctrinated prejudices by doing this and it’s been very rewarding. Why shouldn’t there be a children’s book where every character is a girl, or a member of the LGBTQ+ community, or a member of any group that’s been historically marginalized.
A lot of time, the benefits of these conversations come a day or two later! @Lawrence Winnerman, what do you think?
I love it, @Walter Rhein! It reminds me of that famous quote from Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she was asked about “when it would be equal” to have enough women on the Supreme Court. Her answer was “when there are nine”—and then pointed out that there had been more than two hundred years of nine white men on the Supreme Court before any diversity was introduced. So yes—why can’t there be a book where every character is a woman, or queer? There have been millions of books where all the characters were men, or straight, or white, or whatever. A single book with all female characters? WHY THE HELL NOT?!
Yes, that’s the remarkable thing about these thought experiments. You start off thinking, “Well, this is extreme, but let’s do it for the fun of it.” Then when you get done, you stand back and look and say, “Wait a minute, this society would be better in EVERY POSSIBLE WAY!”
We’ve got a lot of programming indoctrinated into us and making bold art is a great way to smash those chains and liberate our own minds! I find I have to do things like this all the time, I’m held back by assumptions that did not originate with me.
I’ve been thinking about our brief words on representation and I think that would be a wonderful topic to spend a whole episode on. I’d love to talk more about that. In the stories I write for my girls, my rule is to make every character a girl unless it’s absolutely unavoidable. I’ve had to overcome my own indoctrinated prejudices by doing this and it’s been very rewarding. Why shouldn’t there be a children’s book where every character is a girl, or a member of the LGBTQ+ community, or a member of any group that’s been historically marginalized.
A lot of time, the benefits of these conversations come a day or two later! @Lawrence Winnerman, what do you think?
I love it, @Walter Rhein! It reminds me of that famous quote from Ruth Bader Ginsburg when she was asked about “when it would be equal” to have enough women on the Supreme Court. Her answer was “when there are nine”—and then pointed out that there had been more than two hundred years of nine white men on the Supreme Court before any diversity was introduced. So yes—why can’t there be a book where every character is a woman, or queer? There have been millions of books where all the characters were men, or straight, or white, or whatever. A single book with all female characters? WHY THE HELL NOT?!
Yes, that’s the remarkable thing about these thought experiments. You start off thinking, “Well, this is extreme, but let’s do it for the fun of it.” Then when you get done, you stand back and look and say, “Wait a minute, this society would be better in EVERY POSSIBLE WAY!”
We’ve got a lot of programming indoctrinated into us and making bold art is a great way to smash those chains and liberate our own minds! I find I have to do things like this all the time, I’m held back by assumptions that did not originate with me.
That quote by Ruth Bader Ginsburg is awesome!