ionRomance
The Importance of Inclusive Books
This post has been something I’ve wanted to write for a very long time, but it’s been something I have been hesitant on writing. Yes, because it’s been a controversial topic and a soft spot in the community for the past few months but mainly it’s because this topic is important to me and I wanted to make this post perfect. I wanted it to convey everything accurately and touch on every dimension when it comes to this issue but as a writer, and as a blogger, there’s a moment when you realize not everything has to be perfect. Not everything has to sound like a scholarly article with every question having an answer. Mainly, whatever you write, it just has to be genuine. So this is a post about my experience. About why this issue is important to me and this opinion is my own and every word I wrote was carefully thought out and came from a place of genuine love and respect.
Diversity in romance. I know, there are many people who are probably tired of hearing about this and that’s okay. I understand that. For a while, I didn’t want to read anything that had to do with the low statistics of inclusive romances because it was disheartening. Romance is the place for happiness and magic, not for the reality of a world currently in a continuous argument about the lack of inclusivity not only in the romance community, but in many other aspects of life as well. Books are supposed to be a distraction, a place for us to come to catch a breath from what can sometimes be a broken reality.
However, here’s why the lack of diversity in the publishing world has started to affect me. It’s something I’ve always noticed but I always brushed it off. Who cares if the heroine doesn’t have the same skin color as me or the same cultural background as me? It’s what is on the inside that counts, and I still firmly believe that. But, recently it seems like the world has been in a state of turmoil. Politics aside, there have been viral videos that always seem to find there way to my screen whether through my phone when I’m scrolling through Twitter, or on TV when watching ABC News with David Muir. It seems like almost every day there’s a video of someone yelling hurtful things at people who look like me. Who have the same brown skin as me and no matter how much I try to avoid it, which I do everything in my power to ignore these videos, they still get to me. I could turn off my phone and I would still see it when I watched the news later that night. I could turn off my TV but I’d still hear about it. My mom, worriedly talking to my grandmother in the kitchen, “did you see what happened in Charlottesville?”
Books have always been my comfort. My source of inspiration and encouragement. Reading about a character I’ve come to love and adore defeating their own obstacles always encouraged me to go out and defeat any obstacles in my way. But now, there’s an added dimension to my reading. I want to read about the girl who looks like me. The girl who has the same brown skin as me. I want to read about her falling in love with the way she looks despite a world that seems determined to make her see her skin color as an obstacle. I want to read about the girl who sees the same things I do, has faced the same things I’ve faced, and has conquered them all. In a world where we are saying things like “white supremacists have started protesting in the streets”, I want to read the story about a young brown or black girl loving her skin color, despite seeing news that is scary, and facing the world head on and achieving all of her dreams. Because I can handle this. I know not everyone are like the people who are yelling hurtful things at others. I know that those people are rare and few. But for the little girls who are still growing into themselves, the girls who are still learning to love who they are, we need inclusiveness in every aspect so they can be reminded that they don’t have to be afraid. They don’t have to put weight behind racist words. All they need to do, is love themselves- everything about themselves from skin color, to language, to culture. And, most of all, to lean into love in the face of hate. “When your heart hurts, lean into love even harder.”
So I have set out to do just that. Currently, I am a mentee in the Representation Matters Program. It’s a program dedicated to increasing diversity in the book publishing industry. My mentors are wonderful people who are trying to make the world of book publishing a place where everyone can see themselves and their experiences represented.
Other organizations have been implemented to help bring more inclusivity into the world of book publishing. There is the ‘Minorities in Publishing’ podcast that highlights underrepresented people in publishing. This podcast brings their voices to the forefront. There is a wonderful program named ‘We Need Diverse Books’ which grants scholarships to young students who are looking to land internships in New York with publishing houses.
‘Women on Comics’ write about comics and geek culture centered on women and diversity in an industry dominated by men. There is ‘People of Color in Publishing’ whom always give industry tips on how to increase inclusiveness in the world of publishing. And, of course, there is the wonderful ‘WOC In Romance’ where they “promote the works of Women of Color & Native and Indigenous Woman in Romance Fiction.”
I know that in this post I’ve only talked about diversity in terms of ethnicity and skin color but there is more to the words “diversity” and “inclusive”. There are those who are disabled and want to see themselves represented in a romance novel where they can read about their own HEA. There is the LGBTQ+ community who want to read about love stories centered on their own experiences.
Romance novels are a wonderful place to experience amazing emotions that leave you with a satisfying HEA and it’s comforting to read about someone with the same experiences as me getting their own beloved HEA.
I understand that there are many different opinions on this and I would love to hear from everyone. Do you want to read about someone who shares the same cultural background as you? Have you read a character that has the same culture as you and if so, was it a different reading experience? Lastly, would you read a novel where the characters are different from you in terms of skin color, ethnicity, or culture?
Cathy
Connect: Twitter
bn100
read whatever’s interesting
cathyrambles
Same here! So thankful for all the amazing and interesting books out there! (:
Christine Maria Rose (@cmhrose)
Thank you for your thoughts Cathy! I’m making a bigger effort myself to increase my reading of black authors and other authors of colour, as well as signal boosting their books to other readers. Some of my favorite POC authors are Kennedy Ryan, Naima Simone, Alexis Daria, Priscilla Oliveras, Alisha Rai, and Alyssa Cole.
cathyrambles
I love Nalini Singh! Her psy/changeling series is my absolute favorite series! Alyssa Cole is another favorite author of mine. I’m going to check out all of these authors! Thank you so much for the recs!
Tonya Lucas
I love to read books with people and places I’m familiar with, but I also love reading about different cultures too, that’s the only way to broaden out scope on the world and people in it!
cathyrambles
I agree! Seeing different perspectives allows us to see more of the world! It gives us more room to see more beauty the world has to offer ~
Tammy Y
I rear books for the stories not the characters race. I would love to see more diversity in romance books
cathyrambles
Yes! It’s what is on the inside that counts the most! I agree (:
orioles4ever
IMO Harlequin is not inclusive by publishing separate categories for race and gender. Amazon does the same, so I believe we should have them listed altogether and decide what we want to read by reading the excerpt. Amazon even specifies for instance BWWM or Urban etc.on their product page. So how can we have inclusiveness in books if they are divided in retail. Personally, it’s rare to read a romance book with my cultural background unless I read Queen Esther or Samson & Delilah! LOL
cathyrambles
I absolutely agree with you. My opinion is all books under any publishing house should be marketed equally and everyone should have access to the books that represent who they are and what they want. Thank you for sharing!
Michele H
Great topic and one that is certainly relevant today. I love reading diverse novels. Romances are ultimately an escape from the drudgery of daily life for me, but I adore learning about different cultures and races through the stories. It’s pretty wonderful to realize that no matter what color, religion, creed, or even educational background someone is from, there is a connection there simply through our emotions and our humanity. I’d love to see even more diversity in romance in the future.
cathyrambles
What a wonderful comment! Thank you for sharing. Yes, we all have more in common than any differences we may have!
JenM
One reason I love to read is to broaden my own horizons and be exposed to different backgrounds, cultures, and views of the world. Sometimes in romance I like the comfort of familiarity, but other times, I love it when a different culture is included. I’m now actively seeking out romances that feature people who are typically underrepresented (for whatever reason) but they are harder to find.
Last week I bought Scoring With the Wrong Twin by Naima Simone after reading a blog post where she talked about the fact that the book sold significantly less than the second book in the series, and the only reason seemed to be that the cover model was African American (he’s a football player while the heroine is a Latina app developer). Okay, first of all, that cover model was HOT. Secondly, the book was really good. It was published by Entangled and they promoted it the same as all of their other books, so there’s no reason at all why it should have sold so low. This makes me sad, but I really believe that we can make a difference by voting with our pocketbooks.
cathyrambles
Yes, I think it’s important to support authors we love who are shining a light on underrepresented communities. I love romances because they are comfort reads and I’d love for more people to be able to find books that are familiar to them. Lovely comment, thank you for sharing!
Teresa Williams
Oh I love to read about all people.A good book is a good book no matter what.
cathyrambles
Yes! A good book is a good book no matter what! I completely agree (:
dholcomb1
I have read outside my cultural background. Love is love.
cathyrambles
Love is love is love is love <3
Amy Rickman
I just want a great story with an HEA it doesn’t matter to me if the characters have different skin color, ethnicity, or culture as long as I’m engaged in the story. Some of my favorite series are LGBTQ (m/m specifically).
cathyrambles
Yes a great story with an amazing HEA is the jackpot of romances! Have you read the Cut and Run series?? I’m starting it soon because I’ve read so many great things about it!
Amy Rickman
I love the Cut & Run series. A few of my other favorite M/M series are Matter of Time by Mary Calmes and Thirds series by Charlie Cochet.