[Introduction: Greetings, passengers! Heather here. Part II of an interview with
author Suzanne Brockmann at the AAR
blog about characters of color and LGBT characters in romance caught my
interest. Since Ms. Brockmann wrote a sci-fi romance called BORN TO DARKNESS, I
hoped she might mention at least one relevant SFR title.
As I was reading, however, I
became concerned by her responses. I felt as though there were some erasure
happening, as if other authors of MC/IR and LGBT romances didn't exist, and
that their contributions were much less important than hers.
Suzanne Brockmann's post How
Far We've Come at Romance Matters only increased my concern about the
marginalization of authors who write MC/IR and LGBT romances. In a post focused
on how romance has changed over the years regarding diversity, Ms. Brockmann only made a passing reference to "…many other authors…"
The above posts reminded me about
the importance of continuing the conversation about diversity in romance and to
increase awareness about the number of authors who write with diversity in mind.
They deserve to be named.
Coincidentally, after reading the AAR interview, I encountered a few insightful
tweets about diversity in romance by author Suleikha Snyder (BOLLYWOOD AND THE
BEAST). Given how much the diversity issue was on my mind, I invited her aboard
to share her wisdom.]
Mind the Queue: Privilege, Diversity
and Romance
by Suleikha Snyder
I’m
new. I’ve only been published since 2011. But I’ve already learned what so many
other writers of color before me know: We’re at the back of the line. Be it
LGBT romance or MC/IR, someone else has to do it first, and be validated and
lauded, before anyone even glances
our way. And that person, that “groundbreaking” someone…? Is almost always
white, straight and cisgendered. And their work is viewed as “edgy” or “brave.”
All
too often, while accepting the accolades and cookies for being first, there is
a blindness and a deafness to the fact that an author wasn’t first, that they weren’t “edgy.” They just got to move to
the front of the line and get in the door a little earlier. But here’s the thing: The room is full, the
line is longer than the DMV’s, and other folks have been in it for years —and
there’s nothing “brave” about just writing what needs to be written. That, my
friend, is white privilege.
Sure,
you could say, “Well, POC writers just aren’t as good.” Or “POC writers are
just bitter.” But that’s clueless horseshit. That, my friend, is white
privilege.
N.K.
Jemisin’s amazing The Killing Moon
put the rest of her works on my gargantuan TBR pile. Karen Lord’s The Best of All Possible Worlds is beautiful.
Alisha Rai’s Night Whispers is one of
my favorite post-apocalyptic romances of the past year. As for the names we
don’t know yet…? Well, we haven’t heard them because the “trailblazers” are
still standing in the doorway.
I'm
not saying that J.R. Ward shouldn't have written Lover at Last or Suzanne Brockmann shouldn't have created Jules
Cassidy and Alyssa Locke. I own at least 13 Brockmann titles, and I firmly
believe everybody should write everything. We need more of it all. That’s the
glory of fiction. But these books don't exist in a vacuum. Ward wasn’t first;
Brockmann wasn’t unique. They were the cheerleaders standing atop a pyramid
created by fellow authors and hungry readers. Their books hit because there is
an audience out there that wants stories that reflect their experience.
There
needs to be an acknowledgment that minorities can write these stories as well
as read them, and that they have been
writing them. More than that, there needs to be a celebration of it. As I said
on Twitter about white authors writing diverse stories: “Don't take all the
bows and flowers. Acknowledge the audience, the orchestra, the crew, the
theater.”
Where's
the actually black Black Dagger Brotherhood? The SFR version of Blade? Why must
romance heroes be half-Latin, half-Indian, non-Muslim sheiks? Where is the
understanding that women of all colors, orientations and socioeconomic
backgrounds crave a good book?
While
there’s been a lot of discussion of diversity in SFF/F and the various problems
in highlighting authors of color, at least in terms of content it’s miles ahead of romance publishing. Why? Well, the
positive spin is that, for many, the future is one of a blended society. Be it
the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
philosophy, or just a natural progression of intermarriage and evolution. The
not-so happy flip side is what I call the Passions
Problem. For years, Passions was
daytime’s most diverse soap opera: featuring a central black family, a central
Irish-Latino family and a whole host of secondary characters of color. It also
had witches, vampires, mermaids and talking dolls. It was a brimming basket of
supernatural crazy. As if the only way diversity could be commonplace was if
it, too, was a kind of Other. As if it just wouldn’t fit on a “normal” soap.
Similarly,
“normal” romance is by and large white. Entirely white small towns. Entirely
white big cities. White Regencies, white Scottish romances, white werewolves
and white ménages. With just enough
color to be “exotic.” If you want diversity, there is Af-Am romance, where the
entire cast is black! Isn’t there an alternative? Aren’t there books about
people who fall in between white and black? Why can’t we all read everything?
Where’s the middle ground? Where’s the bustling, multicolored, sexually diverse
metropolitan area? No one who asks the questions gets answered. No one who
talks about these things gets heard. Unless they’re white.
That,
my friend, is white privilege.
It’s
not “edgy” when you’re the only one speaking.
It’s
not “brave” when you’re the only one being listened to.
It’s
an echo chamber.
And
the door is shut and locked to everyone else.
About the author
Editor, writer, American desi and
lifelong geek, Suleikha Snyder published her first romantic short in 2011. The
years since have hosted a slew of releases, including Suleikha’s India-set
novellas, SPICE AND SMOKE, SPICE AND SECRETS and BOLLYWOOD AND THE BEAST.
Suleikha lives in New York City,
finding inspiration in Bollywood films, daytime and primetime soaps and
anything that involves chocolate or bacon. Visit her at www.suleikhasnyder.com
and follow her at twitter.com/suleikhasnyder.
[End note: Suleikha Snyder wrote an erotic SF horror short called LAST CALL. While
not strictly sci-fi romance, I think SFR fans would find it appealing. You can
download it for free from Smashwords!
Stay tuned for my next post,
which will focus on People of Color in science fiction romance. I'd also like
to get your input on the issue Ms. Snyder raised in her last sentence. How do
we unlock that door and let authors of color pour through?]