Okay to bring up racial issues, themes and have racist characters in a book?

[Jolie]

This is something that always makes me stop and think if it's okay or not, when I'm writing. Do y'all think it's fine if there's a racist character but at some point in the story they realize they are wrong?

[SassafrasfromAmazon]

Hi Jolie. This theme, specifically in IR/BWWM romance books, is written about quite often. Besides, authors typically write about whatever they want; that’s the beauty of penning books, I would imagine. Now that I’ve given my opinion, is that what you are REALLY asking? When I read your inquiry, it seems as though this is more than a general question about plot lines. If I am way off base, I apologize.

[Justine]

It is OK to write about bigoted characters, as long as the telling is handled appropriately. While I do not expect a kumbuya moment, I also do not expect to see the h/h have their HEA derailed because of some ignoramous. Also, it should not be the major plot.

[Shantel]

In romance. I only think it's okay in interracial if written by Black people or POC. Not so much by white people. Writing the act of racism can be done by anyone, it's myopic and one dimensional. Actually writing what it feels like having that racism directed at you and coming to terms with having a romantic relationship with someone who had or has those views or who are related to people with those views--is a whole different ball game. In my opinion.

[Zenny]

I think it's mostly fine, it's been done a lot, just put a content warning on it maybe if you're writing in one of the lighter subgenres?

It's a little disturbing when the racist person is a relative or close friend of the hero because, for me, there's an element of the hero being racist by default when I'm reading it.

I can't think of a single one offhand but it comes up with the biker gangs a lot and the billionaires with the racist parent... I hate when the heroine has to inform the hero that all his friends and family are racist and he's like *gasp* I won't DNF over it, but that's the point where I start thinking the heroine can do better.

[Arch , Mod]

Black people can be racists too and yes, a black woman is saying this. A lot of people thinks that black people can't be racist.

I hate reading bwwm stories where a family member or a friend is racist and it causes them to break up. It's funny how the racist shoes are always worn on the white person's side.

Every white person is not racist and we need more stories like that. We need stories where the heroes family sees the woman the hero is in love with and not her skin color and the same goes for the heroine family too, they should not see the hero's color.

Why should skin color be a problem in IR stories? How many black romance has a prejudice storyline? How many white stories has a prejudice storyline?

Write what you want to write and if you can let readers know if the couple going to breakup behind racism. So readers do not read stories like that and I am a person that skip those stories.

[Zenny]

Arch wrote: "Black people can be racists too and yes, a black woman is saying this. A lot of people think that black people can't be racist.

I hate reading bwwm stories where a family member or a friend is racist and it causes them to break up. It's funny how the racist shoes are always worn on the white person's side."

It's a tricky thing. If you put the racism on the white person's side, then love can find a way, and there's no harm done really, but when you put the prejudice on the black side, it's different. It's villainizing the minority. It's writing black characters acting ignorant...

With the added context of institutionalized racism in America, it's a difficult thing to navigate in my experience.

[kittykat AKA Ms. Tortitude]

Racial issues, the same as any difficult topics are fine to be written by any author, so long as they lend themselves well to the story being told and are being given the nuance, authenticity, understanding and brevity the topics deserve. And not all authors, no matter what their racial background is, can actually do that.

[Josine]

Of course it can be written about.
Should be written about.
Not haphazardly, and not without respect, but we also can't stick our heads in the sand and pretend it doesn't exist.
Racism by white people exists.
Racial prejudice by people of color against white people, or against other races, exists.
Racism and racial prejudice exists on both sides of the law enforcement and justice system issue.
Racism and racial prejudice exists to varying levels depending on whether the relationship in question is friendship or romantic. (it's ok to be friends, but not lovers)
To pretend it all doesn't exist, means you become part of the problem, rather than part of the solution.
With that said, I'm not advocating for every author to write racist white characters, or people of color with racial prejudice. If an author is white, and the only interaction with POC they've had is at stores, or some people they've talked to sometimes at work, then that author might not be the best person to tackle something like that.
The key is, to try to include as much of all viewpoints as possible, while not making it completely the story.
What I mean by that is one-dimensional viewpoints help nobody.
No issue can be tackled unless every side is analyzed and everyone involved is willing to not only point fingers, but to look at the man or woman in the mirror.
If writing about it can spark a conversation, even between two friends, it could be of benefit.
Finding the right balance in an 80,000 or 100,000 word manuscript, between the story that doesn't involve race and the story that does, can be difficult.

*shrugs*
Just my opinion of course.

[Josine]

Zenny wrote: "It's a little disturbing when the racist person is a relative or close friend of the hero because, for me, there's an element of the hero being racist by default when I'm reading it..."

And that's a great argument for why it should be written about more.
If reading about it could help people get over their own prejudices they may not even realize they have, it's a blessing.
Assuming someone is a racist because they have family members who are, is like assuming someone is a criminal because they live in the projects. Or assuming someone will never amount to anything because they have family members in prison. Assuming like that, rather than accepting a human as a unique individual, is prejudicial and stereotyping and pigeonholing and racial profiling, and a host of other things.
You know it about yourself, which is awesome. And it was awesome that you put it out there. I applaud you. But what about people who don't know? What if reading about it in a book could help them figure it out, so they can work on it?

We all have issues. We all have baggage. We all have preconceived notions, based on our life experiences. We all tend to judge, even without meaning to. Any help we can get to move past our issues, is lovely. :)

[Arch , Mod]

A lot of black people have never been around white people besides seeing them in a store or on tv. Blacks can be racists too. Just because an author is black, it doesn't mean that they can write about racism. So many black people only know of black life.

I stay away from IR stories that are about racism. I do not jump to read any author story. I have to be told what is in the story. If the stories has something or things, I do not agree with, I will pass. I am a picky reader.

[Zenny]

Josine wrote: "If reading about it could help people get over their own prejudices they may not even realize they have, it's a blessing.
Assuming someone is a racist because they have family members who are, is like assuming someone is a criminal because they live in the projects. Or assuming someone will never amount to anything because they have family members in prison. Assuming like that, rather than accepting a human as a unique individual, is prejudicial and stereotyping and pigeonholing and racial profiling, and a host of other things."

In real life, I wouldn't make a snap judgment call on someone based on their upbringing. I meant what I wrote in the context of the plethora of white heroes with racist friends and family who act like they're learning about racism for the first time when the heroine points it out, and they're like, "Okay, I love you enough to confront my racist family/friends/coworkers..."

As a reader, growth is good. I like redemption stories, but I don't like conversion stories where the heroine has to do the heavy-lifting to highlight a bunch of social issues like she's pulling teeth to get him to even consider her side of it.

I've read several and to me, it just keeps getting more and more unhealthy for the heroine.

Arch wrote: "I stay away from IR stories that are about racism. I do not jump to read any author story. I have to be told what is in the story. If the stories has something or things, I do not agree with, I will pass. I am a picky reader."

I don't mind it usually, I like conflict in stories. The more conflict the better. Race, family, religion/tradition, career... I like when the stakes are high for at least one of the characters, but now that I'm really thinking about it, I'd say that I feel this way about biker gang stories.

I've been trying to read outside of BWWM and these heavy social issues barely come up with white heroines.

I don't mind if it comes up in our stories, it would be unrealistic if it never came up, but this trend where the onus is on the black heroine to fight off the racist characters and help the hero grow with love... I don't like that.

[Josine]

Zenny wrote: "In real life, I wouldn't make a snap judgment call on someone based on their upbringing. I meant what I wrote in the context of the plethora of white heroes with racist friends and family who act like they're learning about racism for the first time when the heroine points it out, and they're like, "Okay, I love you enough to confront my racist family/friends/coworkers..."

That makes sense.


Zenny wrote: "I don't mind it usually, I like conflict in stories. The more conflict the better. Race, family, religion/tradition, career... I like when the stakes are high for at least one of the characters,"

Agree. I lose interest quickly in a story that's light and fluffy. It's probably why one of my least favorite stories is insta-love. I need some angst and some emotions other than I'm in love and happy in my stories. When I'm reading a story, I want to have times I smile, hold in a laugh, feel like I could cry, and feel on edge.

Zenny wrote: "but this trend where the onus is on the black heroine to fight off the racist characters and help the hero grow with love... I don't like that."

Agreed. Completely, wholeheartedly, agree.

[M.F.]

Even though I write paranormal/fantasy romance, the stories are rooted in normal day-to-day life. With life, problematic issues pop up, like racial conflict.
None of my main characters are racist, or people who have to deal with racism on a daily basis. Whenever I introduce a racist (generally a white guy), or an abuser, who spouts off racist crap and/or hurts someone physically, he's either getting a beatdown, or he's killed off. Most times, he's killed off by a paranormal entity of some kind, in a dark, twisted, and humorous way.

[TinaNoir]

I think the problem with introducing racist acts into a romance narrative is that more often than not it is not done with any nuance. Usually if a racist is depicted they are depicted as very racist. Either they say something pointed and malicious with all the right buzz words or they outright use the N-word.

Despite living in primarily white spaces since I left home for college, I have never been the victim of outright, in your face racism. But I have been at the receiving end of a million tiny little microaggressions that only POC can recognize outright but white people (especially nice white people who most would not call racist ) would never notice or might even inadvertently practice themselves. This level of racism I think is more common and would make more sense. But it is rarely included in books because a lot of writers want to make big point.

And in IR that big point becomes problematic if that racist person is a close family friend or family member of the (usually) white hero/heroine. Because as has already been mentioned, it is simply not realistic for a hero to be all "well gosh golly gee, I never knew my life-long best friend/father/mother was racist!" That isn't something people can or bother to hide.

I could not buy a hero being that stupid. But I could understand him being oblivious to the micro-aggression because that kind of obliviousness is one of the perks of white privilege.

Frankly I shy away from outright racist stuff in IR books. I am too tired. The real life rhetoric right now that has emboldened racist is all the racial strife I need. I don't need it in my escapist reading.

[Deviki]

I agree with what you're saying very valid point. I think it's very unrealistic for a white protagonist to suddenly realize their family was racist. Very unrealistic and very stupid way of writing a story.

I can take eclipsed racism or if the white protagonist warns the POC love interest that their parents or family and friends may not be on the same "level" with them. It shows that he/she is aware of it from the beginning and he/she is not using the POC as a subject to be defiance to their family/friends.

It's not just against white people either it should be the same the other way around too.

In my opinion its ok to bring up racist theme in the book but not if the author use that as the ONLY driving mechanism to make the story intense and more "brutal" ....but had nothing much to do with the actual storyline.

I'm not sure if i'm making myself clear here. :)

[Zenny]

Deviki wrote: "I agree with what you're saying very valid point. I think it's very unrealistic for a white protagonist to suddenly realize their family was racist. Very unrealistic and very stupid way of writing ..."

Very clear. Agreed. A little awareness from the characters would go a long way.

[Jolie]

SassafrasfromAmazon wrote: "Hi Jolie. This theme, specifically in IR/BWWM romance books, is written about quite often. Besides, authors typically write about whatever they want; that’s the beauty of penning books, I would ima..."

Often I feel paranoid that something might trigger a certain group and it makes me dance around it instead of writing what I want (and with a lot of my readership being American and British, this is an specially difficult problem to approach). I wish to avoid my books getting taken down as much as possible.

I'm POC but even in my case it's difficult to get these scenes and topics right in my books.

[Carolin]

Arch wrote: "Black people can be racists too and yes, a black woman is saying this. A lot of people thinks that black people can't be racist.

I hate reading bwwm stories where a family member or a friend is ra..."

This.

[Elegy]

Can anyone recommend books that does this well?
Where there's racial issues but it's realistic to the time period. Like, I'm not expecting 2010's to have as much as one bed in the 80's etc.

[Savannah- Quad Motherin' Book Readin' Diva]

Jolie wrote: "This is something that always makes me stop and think if it's okay or not, when I'm writing. Do y'all think it's fine if there's a racist character but at some point in the story they realize they ..."

Of course. But I think it needs to be done realistically. I mean, I think the last few years America especially has shown her colors, so to speak. Racism isn't dead and I always laugh when I see people upset over it being depicted or used as the hiccup in a romance novel. I think that can still be realistic, but the overt stuff can get out of hand. Its the subtle things that tend to be the issue of our time. Family that may not be wholly receptive but not blunt when they don't welcome a significant other into the fold. Excuses for not advancing or promoting a characters career. Definitely not just in your face blatant things.

As far as them coming around, I think one has to be careful with that. Adults rarely change, in my experience. I've seen parents only soften an attitude about their child marrying someone black once the grandbabies start showing up. I've seen some that just never do. Usually people need a personal investment to change how they things. So to me it makes more sense in an epilogue, not just the course of the story. I dislike bigot epiphanies in romance novels.