Being Heard

[moondancerdrake]

One of the interesting things about being part of fandom online is that you are who you identify with, not who folks assume you to be based on a first visual impression. Your words paint others’ perceptions of you, for good or bad, which also means you have to choose them carefully. That said, the difference between my experiences at fannish/

Comments

[bana05]

Excellent and fair post.

[moondancerdrake]

Thank you. I have to admit it was hard to write this and it's mate, Being Seen, but it was good for me to do so for many reasons. Just being able to share things that I rarely if ever speak aloud was very freeing.

[bana05]

These posts are often the hardest to write, but you have to get them out or else they'll eat away at you. It's your journal, if you can't be truthful here, where can you be? As long as you are willing to stand behind what you write, no one can take away your truth.

[moondancerdrake]

The limit of information for research is certainly a frustration I can relate to. It's always good to know folks are out there listening, even if it's generally the ones who aren't that are most vocal.

Thank you for listening, and for sharing your expeiences.

[moondancerdrake]

I think I understand what you are trying to say, and can only hope that this realisation will lead you to move forward and make changes if this is something that resinates with you. Characters of color deserve a face and a presence within the books we read, though I do understand that it's easier to focus on what you know and those that mirror your own reflection. Have you thought about what you have desided to take away from this discussion? I'd be interested to know. :)

[carmarthen]

I think people are just naturally defensive. It took me many, many years to realize this and try to address it in myself, but it is unfortunately something people can only address in themselves. People don't like what they perceive as criticism, especially if what they perceive is you calling them racist (that's usually not what's happening, but it's what people hear a lot of the time). So there's really no level of tact or politeness or logic that can mitigate that defensive reaction. So--I feel better in the sense that I can now try hard not to be one of those people, but worse because now I feel kind of fatalistic about the odds of people taking criticism well.

Incidentally, I'm not sure non-Indian writers focusing on modern Indians rather than "historical" would be any better as far as spitting at the truth. I think it was Sherman Alexie's Reservation Blues (one of his books, anyway) that had a couple white women characters who were "wannabe Indians," and I can just imagine the kind of novels they'd write. For every writer

[moondancerdrake]

Thank you, and one day when I unbury myself from the loads of idea my muse chucks at me, I may write it. :)

Change is so hard, and I applaude you for taking that step. Thingof how much more you've learned since then and been able to share more openly. I think that's great.

I don't think you have to be the race of your character to do them justice. I've been a man, an alien, a vampire, etc... as well as a woman of many different races and tribes while I write. I believe it's all about bothering to do the research and walking in unfamiliar shoes with respect.

[0nlymemories]

As a biracial Caucasian/Native American (Cherokee too! There are, I suspect, more of us than we probably realize, since the Cherokee are so fucking thoroughly assimilated) I struggle a lot with being perceived as a white person for purposes of discussions of race, both by white people and by other PoC, since my "C" in this instance is fishbelly white. I got the bone structure, but my Welsh ancestry won out when determining my skin color. Growing up where I did (Northeastern OK... I was actually born at the Indian Hospital here in Tahlequah, the capitol of the Cherokee Nation) I never questioned my "right" to be Indian, but in a lot of other places it seems like I don't "get" to be a member of a cultural minority because, yeah, I don't look like Pocahontas. Or my cousins, for that matter.

But then I read something like Red Prophet by Orson Scott Card (it was assigned reading in one of my classes, can you believe) and I just, like. It makes me SO angry. And it really torques me off that no one seemed to understand why I was so

[moondancerdrake]

Thank you, my sister. It is good to know there are more of us out there. At lime it's easy to feel very alone. I wrote something called Being Seen a few days back that I think might resonate with you as well. It can be a challange to walk within who we are when others want to define what that is, but for the sake of my spirit and my children I do it anyways. I'm glad you do too. :)