Christian Book Review of Austenland Bu Shannon Hale
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Honey fellow white Christian writers,
Some of you accept followed the discussion on #ownvoices: the focus on having writers who are part of marginalized groups telling the stories of characters from those groups. That the story volition be inherently truer if the author has lived that feel. And that supporting marginalized authors is vital.
Some have pushed back against this idea.
"It doesn't matter who writes a story."
"Telling me what I can and can't write is censorship."
"We're all part of the human feel."
I want to offer some context for perchance thinking nearly #ownvoices in a new way. Analogies are never perfect and tin can easily backfire, only hopefully this volition be a beneficial practise.
Despite the fact that 70% of the United states of america identifies as Christian, no where near that pct of book, Telly, or movie characters are explicitly Christian. Of the ones that do call out their Christianity, they often autumn into one of iii categories:
ane. Hypocrites who approximate anybody and yet secretly are the worst sinners
2. Brainwashed chumps
3. Hateful bigots
This can brand us feel a little sick to our stomachs. We retrieve, is this how non-Christians see the states? Simply this isn't me. This isn't my family and friends. We're way more complicated than these offensive stereotypes.
Since this has been our experience for years, how much conviction practise nosotros accept in, say, a life-long atheist writing a book from the POV of a Christian character? Perchance they will go it right. Maybe the fact that they personally are and e'er have been atheist doesn't affect their ability to explore a Christian character in an open up-hearted, respectful way. Odds are they know a lot of Christians personally, and maybe they have studied Christianity and accept a favorable view of it even if they don't believe.
Just do we feel confident that they could tell that story right? Accept felt what we have felt equally a Christian?
Take it further: imagine Christians aren't the bulk in this land. Imagine nosotros grew upwardly equally i of the only Christians in school. That at that place's never been a Christian president or governor or fifty-fifty mayor of your hometown. That Christian holidays fall on school days and work days with no time off. Imagine your kid is the only Christian about of their friends have ever met. Now imagine that the only books with Christian characters your child's schoolmates accept e'er read are ones written by atheists. And some get it right, and some actually don't. Get facts incorrect. Basics wrong. Tone wrong. Not only don't get at all the intricacies of personal faith just fall into hurtful stereotypes, perhaps without even meaning to. That when the schoolmates wait at your kid, they run across the stereotype they read in books.
Imagine that in that location are Christian writers, just they can't sell their books. Non-Christian writers are seen as being more than marketable, more than universal, and then more and more atheists write stories nearly what it ways to be Christian, and Christian writers are overlooked.
Further. Imagine that this country has a long and troubled history of hatred toward Christians, of stripping u.s. of our humanity. Of enslaving Christians. Of legal execution based solely on religion. Of putting Christians into institutions or trying to electrocute the religion out of us. Imagine that even today, millions of people in our country and prominent, powerful leaders actively entrada to continue u.s. and other Christians from having the same civil rights as not-Christians. Imagine that important people on tv and in government regularly claim that Christians are inherently more tearing than non-Christians, that they believe dangerous things and are all potential murderers, terrorists, rapists. Imagine that most every day someone murders a Christian in this country non because of what they did merely considering of what they believe. Imagine that every morning when yous send your child to school, you fright for their life.
Would that affect how we feel about trusting not-Christian authors to write books about united states of america? Sympathise our complexities? Would we in those circumstances be more likely to champion #ownvoices?
Merely while I hope our personal experiences can help us empathize with marginalized people, we can never truly understand. In the US, Christianity is the vast bulk belief system. Christmas is a national vacation. We pledge allegiance to "ane nation under God." In this state, we are the Default. White, Christian (bonus if also cishet able-bodied…), we are the default character in every movie, every book. Even if the story doesn't specify "active Christian," because we are the default it is assumed unless the narrative reveals actually Jewish! or atheist! or Buddhist, etc. We don't take the experience of constantly existence the Other. While I have (and odds are, so take you) experienced bigotry based on my religion many times, it's simply non the same as the systemic racism and bigotry that people from marginalized groups face every day. Of living in a country where you are Other.
Please know that I'thousand not telling you what to write. No one tin can. There'southward no divinely appointed commission somewhere that tin can grant or take away permission to write annihilation.
I personally have created characters from marginalized groups to which I don't belong because this world is diverse, and even in fiction (especially?) I desire to tell the truth. (While I have had diverse characters in my stories, I haven't actually tried to write a diverse character'southward story, if that stardom makes sense.) Writing the Other is more than time consuming and harder in every way, merely I've tried because I felt it was of import to the story and just in general. I've fabricated mistakes, and getting called out on those mistakes is a gift that helps me get better. What I've learned: approach this with love, respect, and empathy. And listen, listen, heed. Read books by #ownvoices authors. And ask myself, am I the right person to tell this character's story? And am I doing enough to support marginalized writers and lift upwardly their voices?
As Christians, we believe in the first great commandment: love one another, even equally Jesus has loved united states of america. Defensiveness is not ane of the fruits of the Spirit. We instead endeavour to be teachable, humble, non-judgmental. I'm so imperfect, but that's where I attempt to start.
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Source: https://shannonhale.tumblr.com/post/162555777805/dear-fellow-white-christian-writers