Hey all,
Please READ this http://yuki-onna.livejournal.com/450101.html to find out why misrepresentations of oppression, race, sexuality, gender etc in stories can be harmful for society.
All I can say is: Yes. This is so true. When you leave out people of a certain sex, race, class etc, in a story it sends out the message that they don't count, that they're not people, that society doesn't want to hear about them. When you write about characters of a certain race, sex class, age group only to have them raped, murdered, portrayed as villains, tortured - you are sending out the message that this is what people from the same race/sex/age group/class deserve. It *matters*. Misrepresentation of oppression, oppressed groups actually *matters*.
Please READ this http://yuki-onna.livejournal.com/450101.html to find out why misrepresentations of oppression, race, sexuality, gender etc in stories can be harmful for society.
All I can say is: Yes. This is so true. When you leave out people of a certain sex, race, class etc, in a story it sends out the message that they don't count, that they're not people, that society doesn't want to hear about them. When you write about characters of a certain race, sex class, age group only to have them raped, murdered, portrayed as villains, tortured - you are sending out the message that this is what people from the same race/sex/age group/class deserve. It *matters*. Misrepresentation of oppression, oppressed groups actually *matters*.