International Blog Against Racism Week: Liar cover edition
So, it's international blog against racism week, and I didn't even quite realize that when I posted my last set of Readercon notes on Monday. Today, however, I do realize it, and that makes the post I was already planning even more on topic. It's possible that you've already heard about this, especially since it's been a while now since the scandal first hit the internet, but I think it bears multiple mentions.
Over the past year or two, I've come to really enjoy Justine Larbalestier's writing. I don't remember exactly how I first stumbled upon her blog, but I remember that her posts amused and interested me, so I added her to my list. Eventually I decided to check out her books, too, and lo! I liked them as well. One of the things you pick up on pretty quick when you read anything by Justine is that she's pro-diversity and anti-racism, and she's usually not afraid to talk about it. She's a great role model for timid people like me, who don't speak up too much of the time.
I've seen a lot of people in the past year getting frustrated around issues of race and privilege, especially when we've been called out on things we've done or said that were offensive. I know my knee jerk response when someone criticizes me about anything is to get defensive, so in a way it's really not surprising that so many people seem to have said at various points, "I guess we can't ever write characters of color, or talk about race without offending people of color, so fine, we'll stop trying." At times I have seen posts like that and despaired, and sympathized, because this is hard stuff! It's not just a little hard, it's really fucking hard! Sometimes I have wondered if I could ever do those things myself, or if it was ridiculous to even try, and then I would look at Justine Larbalestier, and I would realize that it isn't impossible for a white woman to just get over herself and work towards a more inclusive mainstream society. It isn't impossible for a white woman to talk about race, and the write characters of color consistently, characters of color who are vivid and liked by people of all colors. This is something to remember, and maybe even aspire to.
Looking back, I knew all of that when Justine first posted the American cover art for her forthcoming novel, Liar, and I should have been surprised about the girl being white. But I wasn't. Justine seemed happy with the cover, and I thought it was a striking image, and a good cover, so why shouldn't she be happy? What I didn't know at the time -- what I didn't know until last week, actually -- is that the main character in Liar is black.
Let me say that again:
The main character in this book is black.
When I learned this, my assessment of the cover as a good one suddenly changed dramatically. Why was a white girl on the cover? Why wasn't she black? Bloomsbury suggested that the cover was itself a lie, but that really didn't sit right with me. I saw a lot of people who were unfamiliar with Justine Larbalestier questioning her personality since she was apparently unbothered by this. I thought surely she actually was bothered, that based on what I knew about her, she must be. And yet, she'd never said anything. This was troubling.
Thankfully, I only had to wait a couple of days before Justine weighed in on the controversy in this post. I was relieved, but I said in my comment that while I was glad she'd made her opinion clear, in my ideal world she would have said from the outset that although the cover was very nice, she was dismayed that the character was white instead of black. Silence, I said, could too easily be read as implicit agreement.
Of course, that's wrong.
In my ideal world, she wouldn't have to say anything because the cover would have a black girl on it, and this would be a non-issue. Unfortunately, though, it is an issue. It's one that comes up over and over and over again. And since I don't agree, I'm not staying silent. I'm e-mailing Bloomsbury to let them know how I feel, because if I don't, they might just assume that people like me won't buy books if they don't look like they're about white people. That's just not true. If you feel so inclined, you can send your own e-mail, fax, or letter. Here's the contact info for Bloomsbury USA.
Over the past year or two, I've come to really enjoy Justine Larbalestier's writing. I don't remember exactly how I first stumbled upon her blog, but I remember that her posts amused and interested me, so I added her to my list. Eventually I decided to check out her books, too, and lo! I liked them as well. One of the things you pick up on pretty quick when you read anything by Justine is that she's pro-diversity and anti-racism, and she's usually not afraid to talk about it. She's a great role model for timid people like me, who don't speak up too much of the time.
I've seen a lot of people in the past year getting frustrated around issues of race and privilege, especially when we've been called out on things we've done or said that were offensive. I know my knee jerk response when someone criticizes me about anything is to get defensive, so in a way it's really not surprising that so many people seem to have said at various points, "I guess we can't ever write characters of color, or talk about race without offending people of color, so fine, we'll stop trying." At times I have seen posts like that and despaired, and sympathized, because this is hard stuff! It's not just a little hard, it's really fucking hard! Sometimes I have wondered if I could ever do those things myself, or if it was ridiculous to even try, and then I would look at Justine Larbalestier, and I would realize that it isn't impossible for a white woman to just get over herself and work towards a more inclusive mainstream society. It isn't impossible for a white woman to talk about race, and the write characters of color consistently, characters of color who are vivid and liked by people of all colors. This is something to remember, and maybe even aspire to.
Looking back, I knew all of that when Justine first posted the American cover art for her forthcoming novel, Liar, and I should have been surprised about the girl being white. But I wasn't. Justine seemed happy with the cover, and I thought it was a striking image, and a good cover, so why shouldn't she be happy? What I didn't know at the time -- what I didn't know until last week, actually -- is that the main character in Liar is black.
Let me say that again:
The main character in this book is black.
When I learned this, my assessment of the cover as a good one suddenly changed dramatically. Why was a white girl on the cover? Why wasn't she black? Bloomsbury suggested that the cover was itself a lie, but that really didn't sit right with me. I saw a lot of people who were unfamiliar with Justine Larbalestier questioning her personality since she was apparently unbothered by this. I thought surely she actually was bothered, that based on what I knew about her, she must be. And yet, she'd never said anything. This was troubling.
Thankfully, I only had to wait a couple of days before Justine weighed in on the controversy in this post. I was relieved, but I said in my comment that while I was glad she'd made her opinion clear, in my ideal world she would have said from the outset that although the cover was very nice, she was dismayed that the character was white instead of black. Silence, I said, could too easily be read as implicit agreement.
Of course, that's wrong.
In my ideal world, she wouldn't have to say anything because the cover would have a black girl on it, and this would be a non-issue. Unfortunately, though, it is an issue. It's one that comes up over and over and over again. And since I don't agree, I'm not staying silent. I'm e-mailing Bloomsbury to let them know how I feel, because if I don't, they might just assume that people like me won't buy books if they don't look like they're about white people. That's just not true. If you feel so inclined, you can send your own e-mail, fax, or letter. Here's the contact info for Bloomsbury USA.