Discussion about writing race in novels

Mitali Perkins launched a thought-provoking discussion about writing race in a novel. Here are some of the responses she received to the question : Should an author describe the race of a character or leave it to the reader's imagination? I couldn't resist copying and pasting some of the responses she's gotten so far.

If a character is of a certain race in writer's mind, why not describe it? Otherwise the reader assumes it's dominant group, right? — Sarah Rettger

I'm not an author, but I'd think that if it's important, then it will come out in other ways, such as in the reaction of others to that character. — Kathy Christie Hernandez

How important is it that the reader understand the author's original intent, and how much can the text speak to his/her experience apart from it? I think details on race, especially in your genre, will help some readers identify with the characters, while other readers may gloss over those details to find something more universal to identify with. I would vote to describe race. — Rena Chinn

For me, I'm torn because my character's race has nothing to do with the current story. I know she's black, though, and in her background, I know how that plays into the choices she's made to get to where she is when this story happens. I see her clearly in my mind, I have to give her a bit of a physical description, as I would for any other character. Where I feel stupid is, natch, that I don't describe any one as Caucasian or mention that my hero is probably half-Jewish, so why would I describe this character as black? But I also feel, when I describe her, that if I don't make it clear what she looks like, I look like I'm avoiding this detail of who she is. It all comes back to the fact that, in my head, her being black is an important part of why she lives where she does. And the book will (hopefully) be part of a series and maybe in one of the later books, this bit of background that's tied to her being black, may come out into play. — Becky Levine

How does one "describe" race since race is a social construct? Color-related terms? (Then we end up with awful similes and metaphors - many to do with food!) — Pooja Makhijani

In my current WIP (middle grade) the protagonist is Indian (or South Asian-American, or Indo-American, or of Bengali heritage - what do we call it?), but the story really has NOTHING to do with BEING Indian. However, her background, and her family's background, add texture to the story. But if her heritage is not integral to advancing the story, then how much attention should I call to her "ethnicity"? I'm happy with the book the way it is, but readers and reviewers may think otherwise. — Anjali Banerjee

I think in some books it's important for the plot (Come a Stranger by Cynthia Voigt, or The Moves Make the Man by Bruce Brooks, Jaqueline Woodson's Maizon trilogy are a few that come to mind right away), but it can also build plot -- you don't realize that the character is of xyz ethnicity until something happens in the plot. I like that picture book artists are being more inclusive, using many different types of children in their illustrations ... Overall, "show don't tell" comes to mind. — Suzi Wackerbath

When a "white" character comes on scene, I don't think I've ever read "a white girl with blonde hair." But if a person of any color is described for the first time, I see a lot of "African-American boy with light skin" or "Asian-American girl with long hair." It's a little off-putting as a reader, plus isn't it kind of klunky? — Justina Chen Headley

I think Sarah may have hit on one of the key things here--that idea of assumption that a character is from the dominant race. Yuck--not to Sarah at all, but to that feeling that we (I!) DO do this. So then, what are we doing when we identify a character by race/ethnicity--are we playing into some idea I wouldn't want to touch with a ten-foot pole? — Becky Levine

I also reacted to Sarah's comment -- because no, I don't assume the character is of the dominant race. I don't assume the character is of the dominant race. As a child, I was always looking for cues that a character was of MY race (Asian), and would take physical cues, such as black hair, as evidence to support my wish. I think if it fits in naturally, if it matters what their race is, why not? But I'm also all for being vague, and using a broad variety of physical traits for your characters. It makes a difference. — Alvina Ling

I, like Sarah, would tend to assume. — Jackie Parker

Alvina, I probably should have phrased that differently -- when I assume a character is white, it's just as likely that I'm assuming s/he looks like me. I went to college in an environment where identity politics were huge, so I'm very conscious of the fact that I continue to make these assumptions. With my latest WIP, I've run into this from the writer's side. I submitted the first few chapters to my critique group, and one critique partner said that based on my main character's voice, she knew just what the character looked like -- Drew Barrymore in Ever After. I didn't describe the MC physically in those chapters. In fact, she's a mixture of English, Spanish, and Afro-Caribbean, something that comes out in a later scene (which I've now moved up in the story) where she meets characters with skin darker than hers - and notices it. A cross between Drew Barrymore and Eva Mendes is a little closer to what I was aiming for, but without being explicit about the main character's background/appearance, that wasn't coming across. And to Pooja's point, I'm definitely not using food metaphors to do it! — Sarah Rettger

I remember reading The Princess Academy in early 2007 while preparing for a trip to China and Tibet. While reading the book, I imagined the characters to be from this part of the world. I don't recall physical descriptions of race or ethnicity, but reading about traders, the mountain pass, village elders and the harsh living conditions made me think this. The girls pictured on the cover were faceless and I didn't take any cues from them. I don't know if this is what Hale intended, but I enjoyed my reading of the book this way. I was terribly disappointed when the paperback copy of the book came out with the image of very white girl on the cover. This image made me rethink my reading of the book and wonder what I missed. When I read, I picture my characters based on the setting and cultural cues the author provides. And must say, I like it this way. — Tricia Stohr-Hunt

Just a week ago someone in our (writer's) group asked me what my character looked like -- she has leg braces and crutches and dark hair, but there was a complaint because no one exactly knew her race. I think it's an identity thing and important to certain human beings for some reason. Maybe adult human beings more than young adults? I'm with Pooja; I find it hard to describe sometimes, and God help me if I default to mocha or chocolate or caramel... (because the paler alternatives are almonds and bananas and peaches. Which is just as ridiculous.) — Tanita Davis

I think it's important not to use "race" and "ethnicity" interchangeably. (i.e. My ethnicity is South Asian [or whatever we're calling it these days]; I don't know what my race is.) As a reader, I'd like to see even more books with non-white characters. (We've come a long way, but there's more work to do!) And I think it's important for readers of color to recognize themselves in the books that they read. If we, as writers, have to be more explicit about it (sans food metaphors), why not? Alvina, as a child, I didn't see myself in any of the books I read. But, I imagined my favorite characters looked like me. In my head, even Anne of Green Gables was a dark-haired, olive-skinned gal! — Pooja Makhijani

I definitely struggle with this, because I have characters with various ethnicities in the YA novels I write -- many of whom are of mixed ethnicity and somewhat ambiguous in actual appearance (in my head, anyway!), not just in their descriptions on paper. In fact, that's an important theme in one of my novels, which sort of spoofs the whole food-metaphor idea. Sometimes I end up slipping in a person's last name somewhere and using that as a clue to ethnicity, but it can't be used as the sole cue for appearance, or the writing may fall into the trap of assuming that everyone of a particular ethnicity will look the same. I feel like it's a tough line to walk, because I really want to include a variety of characters in my novels but as part of a normal environment, NOT necessarily as a plot point. As someone of mixed ethnicity who grew up in a fairly diverse environment, a lot of my YA settings reflect my own experiences...but unless it's part of the plot, I try to rely as much as possible on implication through small telling details rather than directly stating somebody's ethnicity, if possible. So far, anyway... :) — A. Fortis

I second Pooja's comment about race versus ethnicity. We should not use the terms interchangeably. "Race" generally refers to biological (phenotypic) characteristics. "Race" is not particularly useful when we talk about humans, as all humans are about 99.9% identical in genetic terms. There's more genetic variation *within* groups than *between* groups. This kind of homogeneity is unusual in other species, apparently. "Ethnicity" is a social construct, a cultural classification. We have many ways of interpreting and defining ethnicity. We also have to consider the tension/relationship between our role as artists -- telling a story and being true to the story -- and the culture in which we move. In a way, we're asking, what is our responsibility, as writers, to the society at large? An interesting aside -- the Indian cover of my novel, MAYA RUNNING (Penguin-India) shows a black silhouette of a teenage girl on a pink and white background. The North American cover (Random House) shows a brown-skinned girl, clearly Indian, with a huge image of Ganesh above her head. Hmmm. — Anjali Banerjee

Find Mitali's summary of the discussion on her blog, Mitali's Fire Escape : Ten Tips On Writing Race in Novels