Okay, Anon, I want you to first caaaaaaalm down. It’s absolutely okay to defer to somebody who has lived experiences that you have not. You aren’t bothering me: I chose to publicly open up my own opinions for discussion, which means I’ve now created a conversation that you’re free to join. You aren’t being insensitive if you ask these questions so you can better yourself and take care not to hurt others.
I’m not a social justice or activism blog. This is a personal blog. However, if you want my opinions, know that while I don’t speak for anyone else, I am actually older than most other people on fandom tumblr and I do actually know what I’m talking about.
As a POC and a creator of media myself, I feel that it is actually quite necessary for you (a non-POC) to headcanon fictional characters as POC and create fictional POC of your own. This lack of equal representation in media must be combated by all of us who have a stake in the betterment of mankind. In the ‘chocolate raisins analogy’, Annie helping Betty and giving her some of her raisins helps speed up the equalization process. Your contribution does nothing bad for the cause.
However… I’d like to implore you to always be aware of your power as a non-POC. Inevitably, your own voice will be heard above ours, and to be a true ally you have to work to uplift our voices and make sure that the TRUE stories, not just the FAKE GUESSWORK stories utilizing POC as a tool for white benefit, are heard. Hypothetical example: say you have a hijabi character. Instead of using this character to gain power yourself, I’d encourage you to accurately represent the Muslimah culture as best you can, and when push comes to shove, use your place of power to uplift the hijabis that you ask for reference or guidance in your creation and handling of this character.
Here are some positive white role models that I consider to be upstart allies:
– Matt Fraction, who has publicly stated that he would cast fellow Marvel creator Annie Wu as Kate Bishop
– E.K. Weaver, who spent copious time in researching how an Indian family would realistically behave for TJ and Amal instead of going for the easy, racist Kwik-E-Mart depiction (and actually had Amal speak real Telugu with his family)
– and Zach Weiner, who is so dedicated to representing diversity in his webcomic Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal that it’s almost like he spins a gradient wheel to randomly assign his one-off characters random skin and hair tones for each strip.
Consulting your POC friends, fact-checking, always being self-aware and deferring to those who don’t have the same privileges as yourself is the best way to be a helpful, respectful and admirable white creator. The same would go for any marginalized group- if you’re straight, do this for the LGBT. If you’re rich, do this for the poor. If you’re abled, do this for the disabled. It’s all about how you use what power you do have for the greater good.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you and I can help create a better world.