3 Comments

  1. This is one reason why I keep from describing my narrator’s appearance in my current WIP. In my mind, he’s in a strange stage between “white” and “bi-racial”, and it depends one what kind of perspective I’m thinking of him from.

    Eventually, I’ll get a more strong image of his “real” appearance, but for now, I enjoy the kind of ambiguity he’ll attract. Sure, I might frustrate some readers, but it’s not like I’m the first author to do it.

    Oh, and a short story I’m trying to do at the side has an black protagonist–for now. It’s a little harder imagining him as such, but it just feels right for him to be a minority, as supposed to being the standard “white handsome male”.

    Speaking of which, something about the “white pretty protagonist” is amusing, even though “pretty” is often disputed in many ways.

    I’ll be watching this blog.

  2. You raise a solid point with this article. I am a black-American female writer, and the protagonist of my story is suppose to be black-American.

    I did not write her race into the story as I am quite unsure how to describe her. People have read the first two chapters of my story, and I am assuming they are envisioning someone Caucasian.

    I believe I will have the book cover reflect her race rather than describing it within the description. I am just having a rough time finding a cover to reflect my protagonist.

  3. […] This is in large part due to the general absence of prominent non-white characters. It is well-acknowledged that white people are overrepresented in American entertainment media, especially in regards to lead role characters. Though recent decades have seen a general rise in the overall number of non-white characters, the majority of these characters are relegated to minor roles, or worse, are stereotypical caricatures of the race they are meant to portray. […]

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