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@mgtask
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*dives headfirst into the forums, realizes life is busy and vanishes*
*sees this topic and reappears*
*gets on soapbox*
I’m one of those people who doesn’t believe in trying to drill diversity into stories for the sake of diversity, but will always, always give a book extra points for just subtly acknowledging we’re not all the same. What’s the use of pretending we are?
One of my favorite… tropes I guess?… in stories (which I used in mine so not that I’m partial… 😝) is best friends that are different races and that’s just a matter of fact, not a defining detail. I will never get tired of seeing that in books.</p>
Down syndrome and PTSD are my two big things that are not represented enough or properly in books. PTSD is becoming more prevalent in books, and there is some really good representation for it out there, but still not enough, and for every good book on it there’s plenty that don’t portray it properly. And DS is way, way lacking in books, especially YA and adult and especially lower functioning Downies. I realize not everyone can or is willing to write about that kinda stuff, but that’s no excuse for poor representation.

As far as cultures, Eastern Europe and Asia have a lot of countries that rarely get written about. (I feel like I keep falling back on things I have a soft spot for, even if I haven’t written about it yet, but hey, guess that gives me a reason to speak up about it!) Chinese and Korean characters far outnumber Japanese and Singaporean ones. I don’t know that I’ve ever read about Armenian characters. And what about Middle Eastern Christians now living in America? People forget there’s Iraqi-American Christians because no one writes about them.

And yes, along those lines, pretending people of different beliefs don’t exist doesn’t work in the real world. Stories shape our thoughts more than we care to admit. If we have no examples of characters we relate to interacting with those who believe differently, we’re missing an opportunity to learn better how to be a light for Christ.
*hops off soapbox*
You name it, we need it in Christian fiction. We’re supposed to be the gold standard.
That was kind of ranty, so please feel free to ask me to clarify anything. 😉