Let me clarify: it’s hard to find good books with ethnic character lead.
Books have a special place in my heart. When I was younger, I was literally scolded by teachers for reading books during a class. I stayed up at night, reading with a flashlight under the covers. I couldn’t get enough.
And yet, despite all the books I’ve read, all the characters I’ve loved, I can only think of a handful of characters that were of differing ethnicities.
I’ll make this clear: I still love the books I’ve read. They have greatly impacted me and their themes have stuck… however, looking back, it’s a little bit disheartening to realize that next to none of the characters had backgrounds anything close to mine. It wasn’t something I noticed as much as a child, but it’s certainly something I notice now.
Now Young Adult novels are really popular, and not just for young adults. They often have themes that a lot of people can relate to. However, in an informal study done about two years ago, a young woman found that out of some six hundred YA books, ninety percent had white models on the cover. Strangely enough, when minorities were present on the covers, they were usually in the background, surrounded by white models, or were cut off at the head/not looking directly at the reader (so we’re not allowed to see their faces).
Another young lady found that the number of ethnically diverse characters and authors in the YA section basically remained flat from 2012 to 2013. So there was no improvement in the amount of diversity found in these novels.
As an avid reader, it’s sad to see that there aren’t a lot of books coming out with more diverse casts. We can’t usually count on the classics to portray three-dimensional, ethnically diverse characters, so it would seem like as the world progresses, so would the books we read. No such luck.
Thinking about the other posts I’ve written (if you haven’t read them: poor representation of Asians in media, negative effects of whitewashing, negative effects of stereotypes), then you might be able to understand why it’s so concerning that there these characters don’t exist. Not having diverse characters in our mainstream books simply means that anyone who reads those books are not being exposed to different cultures, ideas, and concepts. There is no chance for stereotypes to be disproven. No chance for further understanding of minorities. It is not inherently wrong to read, write, publish, or consume books that are not diverse, but becomes so when we combine a lack of diversity with a supposedly diverse, forward-thinking country.
Even worse to me is the fact that there are virtually no articles, no research at all to be found concerning the poor representation of minorities in books (although this– the only concrete thing I could find- was a very interesting read). I always look to add some sustenance to my articles, but as of yet I’ve only come across a few articles, most of which deal with the pictures on book jackets, not the actual content. Other than that, there is a plethora of posts from parents looking for diverse books their children can relate to—telling me that parents definitely are paying attention.
How do you feel about this? Do you feel that it is as big a problem as I do? Should we start advocating for more diverse books, featuring a cast of all ethnicities (and while we’re at it, all genders, all sexualities, all disabilities)? Are things find the way they are?
And more importantly, I want you to answer this honestly… if the book had a cast that was completely diverse, would you read it? The truth is that some people won’t. Just because.
I’d like to hear your thoughts on this. I personally believe that more diverse books, and support for these books, will result in more diverse movies or television shows and a higher level of acceptance and understanding for other cultures/ethnicities. Tell me your thoughts!
**Please note that I definitely acknowledge the books with diverse characters that are already out there. If you’re having trouble thinking of some, like I did, then may I suggest to you: There Will Come a Time, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, The Book Thief, Kindred, Cinder, Kite Runner, The Help, A Thousand Splendid Suns…