Quick Thoughts
I value language. A lot! When I read a statement made by someone who is a writer, or writes in the publishing industry, or seeks to affect the publishing industry, I assume...which is reasonable in this case...that they have chosen their words to convey the meaning they seek to share.
So, when said persons say things like "there can never be enough ****" I tend to see that as a statement that even 100% of that wouldn't be enough. In that context, if the statement is "there can never be enough female characters, or characters of color, or LBGTQ characters" I'm left to figure out how there could be more than 100%...because, in their words, that wouldn't be enough. This is not a statement of "we need more"...something I agree with completely...this is a statement that 100% won't be enough. So...I'll ask the simple question: What percentage would be enough? 110%? 150%? 200%? Whatever the number, how is it possible to attain it?
Now, I see a message advocating that for the next year people should not read anything associated with a white CIS male...apparently either an author or a character. Again, this is a statement made by a person of letters who, I presume, understands the meanings of words.
After some serious consideration, I've concluded that the only possible genre that could survive this test would be Fantasy. It is possible, I suppose, to write SciFi without a single white male CIS character. Personally I've not read any, but I do accept the idea that it's possible. In a few stories I've read, the central character is never defined by race, and often not by gender orientation, so maybe I've just failed to see them in the "proper light." Maybe a story about HAL being visited by some asexual alien race would qualify, but I suspect readers would see the aliens as some sort of stand-in for humans, and it's also possible HAL is just another white male CIS character in a silicone rather than carbon based form. We do know he was created by a white (presumably CIS) male.
NOTE: After reading this through I thought of one story I have read that did not have a single white male character. It was written by my friend Aleta, and was specifically written to feature anthropomorphism. Other than a single human, which I believe a female of unknown race or orientation, every other character was an element of her apartment...the floor, the wall, the kitchen sink, and even the vacuum cleaner. While I loved the story, I'm not sure a steady diet of that would work for me, and I'm pretty sure most readers would begin to read into those "characters" the traits they associate with various stereotypical humans...likely including at least one white male.
Clearly a lot of SciFi, while including alien races and worlds, is actually a written criticism of our own society. Star Trek was great at doing that. Consider the "aliens" at Farpoint Station, or perhaps the trial in The Measure of a Man.
So...if you wish to see more diversity in the characters you read, that's great. If you wish to see more diversity in the authors whose books are available, I'm all for it. If you believe that only non-white male authors should be read, or the worlds of your reading shouldn't include any white CIS males then I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree. I doubt that in most of the world any society exists with out at least one, even if he's not native.
In the meantime, I'm going to continue to write. I do so knowing that some folks won't like my results, because I am the worst possible combination...a old, white, relatively straight male. In truth, my chemo treatments make me pretty much asexual, but that hardly matters. In addition, I often write about white male characters, although they operate in a multi-racial, multi-cultural society that includes all sorts of folks. However, like JKR with Dumbledore, I don't always make a big thing of the gender role or personal preferences of every character...since a lot of the time it really doesn't much matter to the story. As a reader, you can decide otherwise, and that's fine with me.
So, when said persons say things like "there can never be enough ****" I tend to see that as a statement that even 100% of that wouldn't be enough. In that context, if the statement is "there can never be enough female characters, or characters of color, or LBGTQ characters" I'm left to figure out how there could be more than 100%...because, in their words, that wouldn't be enough. This is not a statement of "we need more"...something I agree with completely...this is a statement that 100% won't be enough. So...I'll ask the simple question: What percentage would be enough? 110%? 150%? 200%? Whatever the number, how is it possible to attain it?
Now, I see a message advocating that for the next year people should not read anything associated with a white CIS male...apparently either an author or a character. Again, this is a statement made by a person of letters who, I presume, understands the meanings of words.
After some serious consideration, I've concluded that the only possible genre that could survive this test would be Fantasy. It is possible, I suppose, to write SciFi without a single white male CIS character. Personally I've not read any, but I do accept the idea that it's possible. In a few stories I've read, the central character is never defined by race, and often not by gender orientation, so maybe I've just failed to see them in the "proper light." Maybe a story about HAL being visited by some asexual alien race would qualify, but I suspect readers would see the aliens as some sort of stand-in for humans, and it's also possible HAL is just another white male CIS character in a silicone rather than carbon based form. We do know he was created by a white (presumably CIS) male.
NOTE: After reading this through I thought of one story I have read that did not have a single white male character. It was written by my friend Aleta, and was specifically written to feature anthropomorphism. Other than a single human, which I believe a female of unknown race or orientation, every other character was an element of her apartment...the floor, the wall, the kitchen sink, and even the vacuum cleaner. While I loved the story, I'm not sure a steady diet of that would work for me, and I'm pretty sure most readers would begin to read into those "characters" the traits they associate with various stereotypical humans...likely including at least one white male.
Clearly a lot of SciFi, while including alien races and worlds, is actually a written criticism of our own society. Star Trek was great at doing that. Consider the "aliens" at Farpoint Station, or perhaps the trial in The Measure of a Man.
So...if you wish to see more diversity in the characters you read, that's great. If you wish to see more diversity in the authors whose books are available, I'm all for it. If you believe that only non-white male authors should be read, or the worlds of your reading shouldn't include any white CIS males then I guess we're going to have to agree to disagree. I doubt that in most of the world any society exists with out at least one, even if he's not native.
In the meantime, I'm going to continue to write. I do so knowing that some folks won't like my results, because I am the worst possible combination...a old, white, relatively straight male. In truth, my chemo treatments make me pretty much asexual, but that hardly matters. In addition, I often write about white male characters, although they operate in a multi-racial, multi-cultural society that includes all sorts of folks. However, like JKR with Dumbledore, I don't always make a big thing of the gender role or personal preferences of every character...since a lot of the time it really doesn't much matter to the story. As a reader, you can decide otherwise, and that's fine with me.