Welcome back to another Creator’s Roulette feature, friends! We have chatted about writing diverse characters on the blog and many related things. Today, with Susan Lien Whigham’s help, we will be diving into microaggressions. I enjoyed reading this guest post and I hope you learn something from it too! Let’s meet Susan first:
Susan Lien Whigham is an independent filmmaker based in San Francisco, on the California coast of the United States. Having spent more than a decade writing, directing and producing short films, she recently released her debut novel entitled Land of the Haunted Dolls, a pro-diversity paranormal horror drama about an FBI agent who doesn’t believe in the paranormal and she’s about to have her beliefs tested. A prequel short film based on the novel is currently making its rounds on the film festival circuit and can be seen in February 2022 at The North Film Festival in Stockholm, Sweden.
On Avoiding Microaggresions
By Susan Lien Whigham
What are microaggressions?
Microaggressions are defined as the everyday, subtle, intentional — and oftentimes unintentional — interactions or behaviors that communicate some sort of bias toward historically marginalized groups. The difference between microaggressions and overt discrimination or macroaggressions, is that people who commit microagressions might not even be aware of them.
Kevin Nadal, professor of psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The goal of writing diverse fiction brings with it the risk of revealing unconscious biases in authors who may have set out with good intentions. Should the risk of microaggressions be a reason to steer clear of diverse fiction? What are some ways to identify microaggressions in your manuscript before it goes to print? And what can you do on being made aware of them after the fact? Read on for more exploration of this topic.
Why write diverse fiction?
To write a story with diverse characters, by necessity, calls for depicting characters from cultures other than the ones by which you identify. Why do this, and take the risk of offending someone with an unintentionally offensive portrayal? The reason is simple. Diversity is important. Biologists will tell you that diversity is essential to the survival of any species. Perhaps it’s no mystery then why every major religion teaches the importance of empathy. On a practical level, it just makes sense to be able to live harmoniously with your neighbors. Fear, hatred and hostility are detrimental to health. As the saying goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
The ways to get started in writing diverse fiction have been explored in great detail in a previous episode of The Creator’s Roulette: On Writing Diverse Characters, by M.A. Guglielmo. Now let’s say you’ve written a diverse manuscript, or several. How can you further identify potential microaggressions that you may have missed? Let’s take a look at a few key areas: story structure, body language and dialogue.
Story Structure
At the macro level, this is an area where it’s easy to miss microaggressions. To get a better look at this area, we can use a technique which psychologist Marie-Louise von Franz, student of Carl Jung, wrote about in her book The Interpretation of Fairy Tales. Very simply, you take a look at all the characters who were present at the beginning and who is left present or absent at the end, and simplify the pattern by which the story gets from one point to the other. For example, a story may begin with a mix of genders but by the end, only female characters are left because the lead male characters were killed. (I won’t give the name so as not to spoil the story, but there’s a zombie film which makes a fine example of this.) One could interpret this, then, as a story about a cultural transition from a masculine archetype toward a more feminine one.
As authors, we are most likely looking at patterns like this already when we examine plot and character arcs to ensure that they follow a sensible progression that will resonate with readers. What we would then want to do is to look at the story’s arc under the lens of possible microaggressions. Do all the characters of a certain race or culture die by the end, or are they left incapacitated, or are they singled out for humiliation in some way? Are they the villains? Are characters from marginalized groups always partnered romantically with characters of the dominant race or culture? (For example, all the Black characters having white partners?) Perhaps you’ve made the decision to include a bigoted character simply to show that they exist in the world. If so, do we get to see their comeuppance? If not, why not?
There may be reasons for these choices which are necessitated by your plot, but it’s good to question what those reasons are, and what kind of message it sends about possible unconscious bias. Additional research can also help you identify some common problem areas. Here’s a list of prejudice tropes to get you started.
Body Language and Dialogue
At the micro level, we need to also examine the way characters relate to each other in terms of body language and dialogue, especially the way characters from the dominant culture or group relate to characters from marginalized groups. To have one character standing, or standing on a step or platform to get extra height, while another character is seated in front of them or kneeling, communicates postures of dominance and submission. You can further educate yourself on this topic by researching “dominant body language.” Ask yourself: which characters are showing dominance through nonverbal cues and which are submissive, and why?
Just as easily as we ourselves can commit unconscious microaggressions in the course of conversation, so can our characters. With our characters though, we have the luxury of going back over the manuscript and questioning the things they’ve said and done with an eye to microaggressions, before sending it to print. We can begin by stepping up the mindfulness in this area. Just as an editor may re-read a manuscript with a focus on punctuation, or on redundant words, you can also re-read a manuscript to focus on looking for potential microaggressions. Do your research. Get to know folks from marginalized groups and get their feedback.
Missed Microaggressions
What happens if, despite your best efforts, your manuscript gets published and you get called out on some microaggressions? Understand that we all make mistakes and are capable of ignorance, despite our best intentions. (And resist the urge to say “But my co-worker said it was ok!” Just because one person happened to be less sensitive about it doesn’t mean it’s not a potential problem area.) Most importantly, don’t let it deter you from growing. Humbly acknowledge the error and the harm done, with a commitment to evolving and integrating a greater awareness of the issue. As Maya Angelou said, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
As we culturally progress toward greater diversity, there are bound to be plenty of missteps along the way. These missteps are sometimes necessary in order to pave the way toward further communication and greater understanding. As philosopher George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Sometimes mistakes need to go on record so they won’t be repeated. Don’t let the prospect of this discourage you from including a diverse cast of characters in your story.
Sources
- Microaggressions Are A Big Deal: How To Talk Them Out And
- The Interpretation of Fairy Tales, by Marie-Louise von Franz
- Prejudice Tropes
What are some strategies that have worked for you in identifying microaggressions? Tell us in the comments below!
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