I came across an issue in one of the writer communities that I am part of because I write yaoi with the graphic noiz series. I guess there was a row regarding having a Person of Colour on the cover of a gay romance book and the publisher wanted to white wash it and not include that image. This started an ugly exchange, if I have the story straight and there was backlash in the romance writer community. Now I can understand a publisher wanting to look out for its bottom line but there is no need for nastiness and racism in publishing. That is just not right.
So here is what I have to say about it as a Blasian and a Person of Colour who has spent most of my life being considered “Other” and not fitting in with not being Black enough, not being Native enough, and still being gaijin for my Japanese heritage even though I was able to speak Japanese fluently in college. So I have always seemed to be outside wherever that I was, people telling me wherever I went that I was from somewhere else and never really fitting in. In college I just took that to heart and delivered myself into the fray of individuality not being “owned” by any group and moving within a group of European students who accepted me for who I was outright without a lot of BS and crap where the Black students, the White students, and the Asian students most often disregarded me as “not enough this or that” for them.
So how did I overcome this “outsider” mentality? I stayed outside. I grew up in a “White Metropolitan Upper Class” life if you would have it and I went to the best schools and had everything I needed and wanted. That was never an issue. I even decided to go to work at a punk clothing store in college though my parents paid for everything and I did not want for money, instead I wanted the experience. I did it to learn something. It was later when I worked at a drug store that those White Metropolitan Upper Class people could be just as rude to you if you were behind a cash register. I learned that quickly.
But back to the point. In the graphic noiz series I have the amateur manga artist Noiz be half Japanese and half Native American like me to bring diversity to an already diverse story. He is gay and an artist. The other main character Shiro Ijima is a famous Japanese writer and is bisexual. In The Seer of Grace and Fire I have Timorn be the low class ranger who became the king of the faeries and his twin is an upper class, royal transgender female Dream Seer. In grydscaen there are many diverse characters from dark skinned, to mentally ill, to transgender, gay, bi and ace, as well as class differences in the stories. I want the world to be as diverse in my books as it is in real life. I even but a light skinned female on the cover of grydscaen: dissonance from one of the minority countries at war in the series, a child soldier fighting a very adult war.
It is important that there is diversity in books so that young adults can see themselves in the world to learn as well as to escape. If we white wash the world then we get people that are racist, bigoted and hate everything LGBT which is wrong and backwards. The only thing is to embrace all people no matter their skin tone, gender, sexuality, nationality, or ability. We don’t need to go backwards and turn into a hate filled racist union like it is becoming. Okay, hate me for stating that but the current state of the United States has turned to “crap” under what can only be called dictatorial oppression, class warfare, white washing, religious intolerance, and hate speech.
So what am I going to do about it? Well I am going to keep putting diversity in my books and I am going to keep writing and keep publishing. I will not stop my voice even though others are silenced. I will speak up against bigotry and hate and I will try to shine a light on the oppression from the government that I see and will not shut up. I will donate to LGBT rights causes and religious tolerance organizations. I will continue to speak out for those who can’t and my pen is louder than any sword. Noiz and Shiro will continue to be front and center as a model for a gay relationship and Ethesian the transgender heroine of The Seer of Grace and Fire will continue to be an outspoken strong woman. I will not silence her because others will try to because she is different. No, she deserves to be heard and to be seen. She will be on the cover of book 3 of The Seer of Grace and Fire trilogy because she is glorious!
I know that I can only do so much but I will not give up. Those publishers that want to white wash their book covers, well I don’t need them. I will continue to write diversity like Ishika the tanned skin female thief with the curly dark hair in The Seer of Grace and Fire, and Toapfyl and darkzero5 the dark skinned hackers from grydscaen: dark. They also need a voice and I will give them one. The world is not all porcelain: diversity rules the day. We are all equal. Women men, gay, lesbian, trans – we all deserve a voice and a say.
I will speak up and continue to speak out in the name of diversity. Why? Because I can. I will not be silenced. I am proud. I am strong. I am a writer!