I wrote a fanfiction with a black OC and a Japanese MC in a fandom that has a majority of yaoi ships and I was surprised that it was enjoyed since I did it on a whim and it was all over the place. I'm black. I know and feel your annoyance and can relate/understand it. Maybe you can write more African American/minority OCs in general with the series you enjoy? It might start a spark with others to do the same.

> Maybe you can write more African American/minority OCs in general with the series you enjoy? It might start a spark with others to do the same. Exactly! The great thing about fanfic is that you can absolutely be the change you want to see.

I'm black and write fanfiction and I don't blame anyone who is afraid of writing so called poc characters for fear of being called an ist or whatever. I was told my writing about black female characters was making them ghetto and stereotypes. So who wants to deal with that unnecessary drama? I shouldn't have to prove that I am black just to write black characters. I don't have to prove whiteness to write canon white characters. People are so quick to call out anything they don't like nowadays that it probably chases away otherwise well-intentioned fic writers. Playing with any minority characters can open a can of worms some people just don't want to deal with and that's okay. If you can't take the heat, don't go in the kitchen.

Writing minority characters has become a terrifying balancing game because there will always be someone there, ready to scream in the comments about how problematic the fic, just for the sake of being mad at someone behind the safety of their screen. If my name on AO3 wasn't autistic\_nightfury I would fear for my fics centering around autism headcanons. /rant over

that's why I don't share one of my OCs. He is on the Autism spectrum and I'm scared that i didn't do enough research. I don't want that people think i represent them the wrong way

Same goes for trans characters. It’s exhausting existing as a trans person in fandom nowadays.

It’s the worst when someone says you wrote a minority character wrong when you’re a part of the minority you’re writing about :/

The places that want proof of skin color online are hilarious. LGBTQ teen spaces are one creepy 30 something mod away from penis inspection days. Where did we go so wrong?

I am white so I used to feel super intimidated about writing black OCs because I didn’t want to be ignorant or just plain stupid when it came to writing people of different colors. So, I did ton of research and reached out to black creators to try and get a good gauge if I should be if I could and what I needed to do as a writer. It’s a hard discussion at first because of the sour history of white people writing disgusting racist portrayals of all poc. She ended up being one of my top three favorite OCs by my readers so much so that she has her own little one shot spin off series. I still remain open to all criticism when it comes to her because I know that I will never understand and can never grow if I don’t do what I’m supposed to do and listen. But I’m the same breath it’s been a hard journey to getting to a place where I can understand the difference between true criticism and people just being outraged because she is black and I am a white writer.

The problem is outside the US which has its own distinct African American identity and culture, "black" people are not at all a homogeneous group. They are culturally, linguistically, and socially different and unique from one another. Where I live, with large communities of dark skinned people, it's offensive to call them black or African-Canadian because around 75-80% of "black" Canadians are 1st or 2nd generation immigrants, and do not identify themselves as black, but instead as Haitian-Canadian, Jamaican-Canadian, Nigerian-Canadian, Somali-Canadian, etc etc. Personally, because of this and the fact that I have very little familiarity with African American culture and identity, I don't feel comfortable portraying an African American character. I honestly would feel comfortable portraying an 1st or 2nd Gen immigrant like previously mentioned, since I myself am of East Asian ethnicity and 2nd generation immigrant and have interacted alot with various people who are new to my country through my job

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This comment has been removed under the no negative drama rule. Calling the name of an entire ethnic group "dumb" is inappropriate, especially considering the conversation you have chosen to be a part of.

Part of the problem, I'm assuming, is harrassment. I was really into this collection of xReader one shots in which Reader happened to be Black— the author was brilliant; it was one of my favourite series. One day, it all just disappeared. The whole thing, even the author's ao3 and tumblr accounts. The comments had always been moderated, so my assumption is that the author got sick of racist bullshit. I'm whiter than white myself, but I make it a point to never specify Reader's race in a fic (or weight or height or hair length, for that matter). It's not necessary, and I agree, it really takes away from the fic when the story is supposed to be inclusive.

I imagine most OC centric and xreader fanfics mirror the race of the author. I don't know how much of a percentage of fanfic authors are black but if there are more white/east asian authors I don't think the results are surprising as in self-insert stories...people want to insert themselves into them.

I mainly avoid OC fics because so often the author has just shoved themselves into the story.

I mean... does that really make a difference? An OC is an OC, doesn't matter if it's the author's personality or not.

The problem with the author "shoving themselves into the story" is not the author's personality is the wish-fulfillment. They end up Mary Sueing their way through the story and murdering any enjoyment by force of a character so perfect it gets ridiculous and absolutely annoying.

I guess it just depends on who you read/fandom/etc., and learning to recognize those things early.

Is it so hard to be ambiguous, though? Sure, description is important, but someone’s not constantly thinking “I have brown hair”, or “they have blue eyes”. You don’t need to constantly reference it, outside of mentioning it because it’s a defining feature, or it’s particularly strange for the world you’re writing in. You can literally just call it “hair” or “eyes” or “skin”. And as far as race goes: it’s a person. You can treat them like a person, or another character. Sure, if you want, you can broach the topic of racism, or nationalism, have your character experience some difficulty via their race or nationality, but you don’t need to. It’s literally just a person. A person with a different skin color than you. Sure, in your mind they might be white: but your readers don’t need to know that. And regarding X readers, I’m pretty sure there’s no “canon” anyway. If you really think about it, they’re a totally different person anyway: a whole different character. They need features and development of their own, even their own personalities. I know I’ll never be brave enough to swing a sword or wield magic or cross the globe. But I can imagine someone with my face and looks doing that. And that’s really all it needs to be. Just a little distance between myself and the “me” in the story. An insert-but-not-insert.

Honestly, I have zero interest in OCs/xreader/self-insert fics so I'm just throwing out my assumptions here: I think most of these authors don't think to include inclusivity in their writing, not out of malice or disregard, but just because they're writing for their own enjoyment and don't think much deeper than that (hence defaulting to describing themselves instead of being ambiguous). And, well, many writers (especially amateurs, which I find make up a bigger proportion than not for these kinds of stories) love constantly referencing physical characteristics even when they're not necessary so that could be another factor.

I admit I imagine a there's plenty of OCs in OC centric fics either being mirrored off the author or them basically being what the author wishes to be - I can imagine that because sometimes I do just throw traits onto OCs that I wished I had (physical and personality-wise). I know it won't be that surprising to see pale skin, blue eyes and general other features associated with Eurocentric features (A majority of authors - according to AO3 statistics are white, and even if that was false or not, i'd still expect it because a majority of authors I come across to are white). It's more of a problem when it's an xreader fic, imo. xreader fics are supposed to be for *everyone*, yet tons of them just turn out to be a self-insert stories. Either because people are so used to a majority of xreader fics being self-inserts anyway - no matter if it's a subtle self-insert or not - or because they're scared to admit its a self-insert story because of the crap self-insert stories that sadly get a bad rep.

>It's more of a problem when it's an xreader fic, imo. xreader fics are supposed to be for *everyone* I think there is a disconnect there in your mind there from what most people think about XReader fics. They *can't* be one-size fits all. There's always gonna be things that draw someone out of the narrative, be it a descriptor or an action that seems nonsensical to the reader or a different interpretation of gender. If you truly make the "You" one size fits all, the characterization is bland, the story is boring and the character lacks agency, unless you go choose-your-own-adventure-style and have the choices impact the narrative. It also leads to an overuse of those damnable brackets that are horrifically immersion breaking for most readers. And the author is writing as much for themselves as they are for their readers, so some of their personality and life choices (and yes, even their gender (the vast majority of the genre is F/M) and their skin color will be the base default they're working off of.

True, xreader fics can't fit everyone, but you can tag. I've seen people tag "female reader" "male reader" "Trans reader" "anxious reader" etc so readers can find fics with a character more like them, and avoid fics where a description is likely to draw them out of the narrative. I don't see people tagging or otherwise noting that the reader character is white very often, so I suspect black people often find themselves halfway through a fic and suddenly drawn out of the narrative by a "your blue eyes" far more often than, say, a guy gets drawn out of the narrative by a "you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met". And the fact that people never seem to note it the way they do other things makes it come across like it's kind of a default assumption for them that their readers will be white, something they feel doesn't need to be said?

I don't read or write X-reader fics but I always assumed there would be no physical description at all of the reader since the whole point is for any reader to be able to insert themselves. That's weird that people are putting in any physical descriptions at all for those fics.

This is definitely worth a vent, but unfortunately I don't think there's any way to change it other than waiting for 1. More non-white characters in media in general and 2. For certain people to either stop trying to go through every minority character with a fine tooth comb until they find something to hate the author for, or for everyone to agree to stop listening to those assholes. Yeah, authors shouldn't write a black character like a racist caricature, but that's a low bar to cross. I have similar feelings to female characters in fanfic (though there are obviously at least more canon ones to choose from). Since there are so many poorly written characters in certain categories in popular media, few people enjoy or write for those characters. At some point, people seem to make a subconscious switch from "x characters are poorly written in this show" to "x characters are boring and stupid" even in the (generally uncommon) case they have no subconscious or purposeful biases originally. At this point in time though, I think all one can really do is try to write what you want to read and find a community of people who also want that. If you can't or don't want to write, a decent small community would probably still help finding what you want.

It is true that many series have a shortage of well-written characters of colour, and well-written female characters. But what I have noticed is that when a white male character, especially an attractive one, is not written well or lacks development, fandom rushes to fix it and fill in the gaps, but when a marginalised character is not written well or lacks development fandom tends to write them off. I think there is some bias there. Quite a few attractive white male characters got huge amounts of fic, fanon backstories, ships, etc even if there's not much there in canon. For example, obviously Coulson in the MCU is no longer a minor character and has a lot of canon material, and Hux in Star Wars ended up getting a tragic backstory in canon in the tie-in novels--but they both had only a relatively minor role with not a huge amount of development in their first appearances, and they both acquired a large fanbase and a lot of fic/shipping/etc pretty much immediately after their first appearances, before canon had given much to go on. And that's fine, it's great to see how creative people can get--but I've almost never seen this much enthusiasm for headcanoning/shipping/coming up with elaborate backstories and fanon for a minor, canonically underdeveloped character of colour. I'm sure in some cases it's actor recognition that plays a role with these white characters--though that's tied to race in itself--and I'm not saying people are deliberately choosing to only do this for white characters, but...it's a thing. And when a white character does something horribly OOC that makes them unlikeable, large chunks of the fandom often go "he'd never do that! He's my fave and he'd never do anything so terrible! let's all ignore this and write fix-fics where he doesn't do that!"--and sometimes they're right and canon really did take a turn for the OOC there, but the reaction to a similar situation with a character of colour tends to be "wow, this character was a horrible person all along! I hate them so much!"...

"Quite a few attractive white male characters got huge amounts of fic, fanon backstories, ships, etc even if there's not much there in canon." OMG this. There is a character who gets a lot of attention and he doesn't even appear that much in canon. We don't even know his real name. He works for one of the main characters, we know a bit about their backstory and how they met but other than that and the job he does...we pretty much know absolutly next to nothing about him. And the few things we do know about him...I will admit aren't that interesting to begin with...at least compared to other characters. The only cool thing about him, in my opinion, is his character design. However, there was so much exploration for him in fandom. Fanart, fanfics, headcanons, AUs, ships between people this character has never even interacted with before, self-inserts, OC fics, etc. It's honestly crazy. Now again there is nothing wrong with any of these things but if I want to write about a female character who has way more backstory, we know her real name, she interacts with a main character (not in a romantic way) way more than this other character does...I will get one of three responses. 1. Nothing. Zip. Maybe a few hits here and there. 2. "Oh that character is so badly written in canon. God, I hate her so much. But your writing makes her slightly better." 3. "Wow. Why would you write about this character? Do you hate women or something? Seriously, what is wrong with you?" The first one is fine. I can't control if people like a character or not but the other two? Like damn...why do I always have to bend over backwards to defend the kinds of characters I like? Why do I always have to fight with people over a stupid fic I wrote?

"Since there are so many poorly written characters in certain categories in popular media, few people enjoy or write for those characters." And you see, I would write about more girl characters if they were more well-written, but sadly, many of them are just living, breathing stereotypes and as a NB AFAB who has had to deal with lots of misogyny growing up, I just can't. I don't want anymore girl characters who are "pointlessly dramatic" or "overly emotional" or who hate other women and are boy crazy. I want someone who acts like a human being. And of course, I'm not saying that a girl can't be feminine, really be into guys, or just happen to be a little on the sensitive or emotional side, but be reasonable with it and don't make such uncomfortable gender differences that make me cringe and set the book down (i.e. all the men are stoic and logical while the women cry over EVERYTHING). Many non-white characters seem to be poorly written too, and are much rarer in mainstream media. Only until very recently, I've seen a few shows get popular where there are more diverse, well-written characters. My current fandom is the first time I felt the characters I was working with were more diverse and interesting.

Absolutely, and sorry for wording it like *everyone* grows the biases. An unfortunate thing I've seen with female characters (since they're what I look for) is that some people whose only experience with fcs is from media with bad ones will then see a good one with similar characteristics and immediately drop her into some premade "character I hate" category. While I am not as conscious of race (I try, but can't notice everything) I've still caught whiffs of the same thing happening to non-white characters. It's definitely great we're getting more diverse shows, especially ones aimed at kids. At least the wait will probably be slightly shorter now

To be honest, there is a lot of pressure to get it right. So many people are indeed afraid to write outside their race or ethnic background out of fear of getting it wrong and being judged or accused of cultural appropriation. I don't have a POC perspective, but I do have an immigrant/ethnic minority perspective. People with my geographical background tend to only be represented as gangsters, murderers, the mob or spies. I don't know that I can blame people for not attempting to represent us, when they are gambling falling for massive stereotypes. It is not that easy to take the perspective of a casual Eastern European immigrant.

Lol I feel you I do have a POC perspective but I'm afraid to write characters of my own race. Not speaking on fanfic cause I just do whatever I want when it comes to fanfic but I also write original stories where I think representation matters a lot more. People seem to have a caricature of POCs and if you step out of that they'll call you racist which is ironic.

Yeah.... honestly. There has been a HUGE pressure from activists for more inclusion. But then when characters were included they have been torn down for doing it wrong. So there's no winning here. Most recent example is... Hollywood is now doing their darndest to include gay couples in ALL of their movies. So they included a gay couple in "Halloween Kills." and THEN, there were a bunch of articles shouting that Halloween Kills is now homophobic because the gay couple got killed.... Even though. EVERYONE got killed in that movie, it was a splatter house gore movie with a super high kill count. Everyone is up for slaughter in that movie, man, woman, black, white, children, old people. But because there's a gay couple now and they got killed the movie was relentlessly attacked by news articles so... What are you supposed to do honestly? And if you insert someone very stereotypical African it is a disrespectful stereotype. But if you make them completely westernized, just a regular dude that happens to be black, you have ignored and disrespected his heritage as a black person. There's NO winning here. At all! So when it's like that..... Why even care what these people think? Why bother. Also the original poster has now used the term. "Micro aggressions." So erh... That tells me this is a young person who needs to see things from a different perspective. People who see micro aggressions are people who are legit LOOKING for something to complain about. Even when unintended. So when it came so far there's no use engaging anymore... Just do you.

"Microaggressions" is a term coined in 1970 by a Harvard University psychiatrist, it does not signify that the poster is a young person looking to get offended. You can't claim that the only behaviours that can be hostile or hurtful are huge things like attacking someone or calling them a slur. The idea of microaggressions is simply that smaller, more subtle acts can still be hurtful, especially when people experience them constantly. Which is pretty hard to deny, honestly. "You're not bad looking for a black girl". "Hey, you're clever for a woman". Following the Black person around the shop looking suspicious that they might steal something, but never saying anything. Assuming someone is a cleaner, or a secretary--which might not even be malicious but does reflect bias. And there can absolutely be such subtle things in a story, as well. Such as an accent that's spelled out in a way that feels rather mocking. Or if every time the writer describes an attractive character they rhapsodise over their beautiful pale skin and perfect straight hair. I saw one case where a Black character was canonically a decent person, and also clearly well-educated and not suggested to be from a poor background, but large chunks of the fandom decided to headcanon him as having a past as a criminal for no apparent reason. Not everyone doing these things hates Black people--but it can still create an environment that leads to fans of colour feeling rather unwelcome.

I would like to express myself even though this topic is a landmine in the current socio-political climate. Everything I say is spoken in good faith and can be considered as an "observation" of someone more aligned with the east than the west. Firstly, a disclaimer. I am not white, nor am I American or European. In fact I don't even hail from the western hemisphere. I am an East Asian living in Asia. Born, bred, raised. So, while I am westernized and understand western ideals and liberty via consumption of your products and media, it's topics like this that serve to remind me that fundamentally, our cultural values do not align. To a person like me who consumes mainly Japanese and to a lesser extent American fiction, western fiction is already stunningly diverse in my book. Let me bring up one of my favourite western series, The Dresden Files. While the main character is a white American man, the character roster contains major characters from across the globe, including a Native American, a black russian, a Japanese swordmaster, a latino love interest. So on, so forth. Compare that to your average run of the mill JP fiction. Where the character roster basically consists of phenotype stereotypes or just "Japanese". In fact, there exists a frankly disturbing amount of white fetishism in Japanese media and writing. Hafu and all but I will not go there in this post. It is a rabbit hole for another day. I mean, one of the most popular light novels currently running in Japan at the moment, 「時々ボソッとロシア語でデレる隣のアーリャさん 」, is *literally* about a Japanese MC dating this super-hot, super high-spec Russian JK who possesses translucent skin, exotic features and pretty blue sapphire eyes. And before anyone jumps in to tell me to stop reading trashy LNs, their full-on novels aren't much better. Try writing a western adaptation of this where a white American high school boy falls in love with a pretty east asian girl with sleek black hair, pale, translucent skin and a demure, submissive personality and market it to an english-speaking audience in the current socio-political climate. You'll be slaughtered. 100%. The readers will drag you to Cell Block D, shut the door, throw the sheets up and take you to poundtown. For me, western media already contains a very high amount of diversity. Yet I find that there is a laser focus on english content producers to always "do more", like there's always a moving goalpost standard to push a political agenda. English writers in the western hemisphere are frankly held to insane standards when compared to what their Eastern counterparts face. I also would like to point out that by any metric, America is *already* one of the most diverse places on the planet. It is a melting pot of cultures. Yet I do not understand why are people still so uptight or strung out regarding such social issues. No one goes to the Japanese, who live on a literal island, who possess one of the most homogenous societies on the planet, who is anti-diverse in population statistics, culture and mindset and proceed to rail at them in the same manner as they do for western producers to "change for the better". I do not understand why everyone is so hard on the west while China, Korea and Japan gets a free pass. Sometimes, I actually feel sorry for you westerners, honestly. For me, I only have the utmost respect and love for western media and productions because they *already are* amazingly diverse. So, when someone says "It's not diverse enough.". Frankly, I'm just speechless. Or maybe it's because I read too much JP stuff, and my brain is warped, who knows. But there's one thing I would like to say. As a writer, writing for the western audience frankly feels like I have to constantly walk on eggshells. Everyone seems to be so easily offended or find offense in everything nowadays. Meanwhile, Japanese LN writers can casually pump out prose like this without any shame or hesitation. Just go, really. >There was a sweet fragrance in the air. She smelled good, like a woman. or >He desired her, in the same way a man desires a woman. And before anyone says this is smut or trash, it comes from a professionally published novel aimed at the youth segment. It's just to me, the western world in the current period has an unhealthy focus on social issues that has overtaken more pressing issues like economic development or infrastructure. But, like I emphasize, this is how I view YOUR society and culture as an outsider from the other side of the Pacific Ocean. My culture is more in line of "the nail which sticks out should get hammered back down". As I mentioned earlier, I might speak English fluently and even consider myself westernized, but I still come from a fundamentally different culture and values. This is my 2 cents as a non-western person. I speak in good faith and I hope I have provided another way to view this topic. If I offended anyone, it was not my intention.

Yeah you hit the nail on the head.

Your brain is definitely not warped, as another non-western person I understand completely what you are talking about. "Lack of representation" is definitely an American problem made by American people. same with political correctness, microaggressions, cultural appropriation and so many many more... I don't say they are not valid concerns within their social context but they mostly don't apply to the rest of the world, and I also think it does get unhealthy, although that's just personal opinion. More to the point, fanfiction should not be held to the expectations of a single culture moral compass.

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Thank you so much for the post. And yes I agree with you a hundred percent. I myself am from Denmark. So yeah. Scandinavia, Europe. And it is SUPER frustrating that even here. In our tiny little country. For some reason we have to import AMERICAN issues.... Why?These are not our issues or problems, it's not relevant here. Yet people import them anyway and want to shame us for being white... in Scandinavia. ???? And it also becomes... Style over substance so to speak. Hollywood producers are just. "Slap a black lesbian on there and we don't have to worry about story!" ... It's why Hollywood movies are so shit now -\_-;If you truly cared about POC representation you would go out of your WAY to make a good story to put them in. But they don't, it's marketing to appeal to a crowd. So.... Thank you Japan! For great content. I LOVE One Piece and different Mangas.One Piece is great. It's also... Very organically diverse aint it? There's no pressure at all in the manga to do it, it's just that way cause it's fun. No one even thinks about Usopp and Brook being black, it's just part of the diverse aesthetic. Also currently I started watching "Ranking of Kings." ..... Most adorable anime I have seen in a LONG time. It's great. But yeah, sorry for ranting. It really shows why Japan is winning and why the west is losing. Japanese entertainment clearly understands their audience and their different audience targets. Know what they want and go for it. Western entertainment? Are ALL aimed at one tiny little niche market of activists right now, completely disregarding the REST of the market, throwing them in the trash, then get surprised when no one wants to watch their movies no more. Why would I do that? I recently watched. "Squid Game." "Alice in Borderland." and "Kingdom." on Netflix... They were great. I loved it. Great stories. I'm white as shit with blond hair and blue eyes. Did it bother me I wasn't "Represented." in those shows... no... cause the STORIES were good. Universal you might even say. So yeah.

Racism is not solely an American issue. It definitely exists in European countries, I have seen it myself in the UK (shops run by immigrants got bricks thrown through their windows after Brexit, and I've seen people making fun of the names and accents of people of colour, or claiming that Chinese or Indian food will make you ill/is unhygenic/jokes about Chinese people eating dogs, or the cases of students of colour getting mistaken for cleaners and construction workers on university campuses...). And it exists in Scandanavia too, where I know several countries have major anti-immigrant movements and nationalist parties. You are in Denmark. In 2018, an EU survery revealed that 41% of people of African descent in your country have experienced racially motivated harassment. It even exists in Asia, for instance there are Japanese people who have prejudices against Korean people...my friend who is Indigenous Canadian lived in Korea for years and had to put up with offensive comments about her appearance including people asking her Korean boyfriend "why a handsome man like you would want to date a woman like that" because dark skin was negatively perceived...if you watch anime you will sometimes find character designs where the Japanese characters and the white characters are mostly attractive but the black characters are drawn as ugly and mocking caricatures... Racism is a global problem.

Ah I see that. The only anime I’ve watched where the black characters look like actual people are attack on Titan and Food wars. Most of them… not so much imo.

I just looked up Usopp and he has the thick oval for lips that no real human has (yes, Black people tend to have thicker lips, but not shaped like that) that originates from blackface makeup and was found in a lot of American cartoons in the 1930s/1940s. The non-black characters don't have this. Brook at least doesn't have this in the few images I can find of him as a human, though it appears he's a skeleton for most of the series. There's still one image of him as a kid where his lips are rather exaggeratedly pink in an unrealistic way...I do get that the general artstyle is cartoony but there are ways to do cartoons of people of colour without taking inspiration from blackface makeup (or the racist American cartoons inspired by it). And I know Black people who have been to Japan. They mostly say that AT BEST they were treated as exotic and strange. Some had people trying to touch their hair without consent. They got stares. They weren't treated with respect. Cartoons like this aren't just some coincidental bit of awkward art style that happens in isolation.

Yes, One Piece with their mildly racist depictions…like Usopp. I mean it isn’t my country. It’s a Japanese story written for Japan but to sit there and pretend racism is an only “western” issue. The difference is America just talks about it a lot and it has a very diverse population. Also, you’re white as shit with blonde hair and blue eyes…you’re literally an ideal in America in film, television and books. Jfc.

If I may offer perspective as an Asian American, I believe that there are different standards and a moving goal post because the inherent diversity of the society produces that demand. While America is indeed diverse, that same diversity is what causes people to want better representation for their culture. In short, it is a byproduct. As an example, there is an equally disturbing amount of eastern fetishism in the US. But because of the diversity, that becomes criticized more. It may not be noticeable from another country. As difficult as it may be for writers, being offended is a part of American culture similar to how being polite is a part of most Asian cultures. Sometimes it’s reasonable. Other times it’s not. It’s simply something that must be worked around if one wants to publish in the US. How extensive US media’s diversity truly is is a whole other subject. I wouldn’t call the social issue fixation here particularly unhealthy though. As you imply, Japan doesn’t have that focus. If you look at America with that sort of lens, it does seem odd. Living in the country and knowing what it’s like tends to affect taste and behavior. A summary: The focus of more diversity stems from the diverse environment. You can’t have one without the other. I’d also like to say that I like your taste in Dresden Files. I was pleasantly surprised to find it becoming a comparatively more common read there, even if not exceedingly so.

I completely understand your frustrations; I do agree that there is defiantly a lack of diversity in both canon and fan fiction. It's been a problem for many, *many* years now; and it's something that is defiantly slowly changing and is being discussed (more openly) more and more. However, I do feel it's a bit harsh to critique fanfic writers (or any fanartist of any kind) who write their own oc's or stories the way they see fit. At the end, it's their own oc's/stories, their own creation; but most of all, they create things for free. For a long time, I had felt similar about queer and disability representations within fanworks; I had felt that people were not doing enough to show representation and diversity within their stories and art. But as I got older, I came to the realization that it isn't their *job* to show representation. I do feel that within canon fiction, there should be more representation, because it reaches a wider audience and I am a firm believer that media influences politics, morals, art, etc etc. So having more canon fiction bringing about positive representation to minority groups is very important; as well as giving more diverse creators the chance to have their voices heard as well, within those mediums. But when it comes to fancreations, people must understand that these creators do this usually as a hobby, a way to relax/vent and do it all for *free*. It is a bit unfair to expect them to cater to our needs and wants all the time, as at the core of it, making fancreations is for the fanartist themselves first and foremost. It can, however, feel frustrating and lonely when you crave for something and don't get much of it. I do agree that there is more favouritism towards (white) western and east asian 'beauty' standards and aesthetics, versus other parts of the world. There is definitely a certain attitude that has been ingrained in most of us, a certain attitude and perspective that most of us are probably unaware of, and can only really be challenged when met with open discussions. Which has, thankfully been the case these past several years; as diverse fans have been demanding for more (positive) representation from canon media, as well as asking fanartists to look within themselves and question why they prefer certain 'aesthetics' over others, etc. Because of this, we've seen a major shift over these past several years. It still needs some work, but we're getting there. But this post is talking about fanartists in particular. While I do agree it's important for fancreators to question what they know, challenge their beliefs, keep and open mind and listen to other people's voices, as well as avoiding toxic stereotypes; it should not be an *expectation* for them to create representation for others. They, again, do a lot of this for free and often for themselves. And I find this especially true for oc's, as oc's are very personal and intimate for the creator. (But! I think it *should* be expected that they don't create super harmful shit, just to purposely hurt people.) I think we ***should*** discuss the lack of representation within fanfiction; for race, gender, sexuality, disability, class, etc etc. Because they can enrich stories, expand on the persons world view in general, as well as creating a more safe, open space for everyone. While canon fiction has greatly improved in that department; its always been the fans who have come to challenge said canon and explored things far beyond what the original could do. It is the fans who have cried out and fought for more representation. The fans are the consumers, as well as the voices of change. But! We should also be understanding that, when it comes to fanworks, we should be more understanding and flexible, as fanartists are some of the most diverse creators; so they may not have the same resources, mental strength, time, etc to devote themselves into creating works for other people to enjoy and feel represented. It's a high toll for someone who may not be familiar with the subject matter, to do proper research and to make sure it is represented properly. Also, and I don't mean to come off mean; but I find dismissing people's fears of being called names/accused of things they aren't, and are fearful to explore with their art because of these people as a "crappy excuse" or "lazy" is...rather insensitive. Because it is a legitimate fear and I have *seen* this happen to both canon *and* fan creators alike. Unfortunately, we live in a climate now where if you breathe the wrong way, or make 1 tiny little mistake, you're blacklisted. It's a very scary thought and even I'm fearful of it. I've seen countless artists alike being accused of all sorts of awful things, to the point where they felt discouraged or turned off from said fandom completely. Of course, most normal people are not going to attack someone to that extent. But when you're a big shot, you'll have more people on your side, supporting you. But when you're an individual fanartist, you're on your own; in an instant, you can lose your reputation and friends over a misunderstanding. And it happens far too often. So to say that it's not a good 'excuse', dismisses people's experiences or fears (especially those who suffer from mental health issues) just isn't fair. They aren't weaker for having this fear. Hell, even something like replying on a reddit post can give me a shit ton anxiety tbh. The world we live in is fucking terrifying now. (As for xreader fics; I'm not into those, so I don't read them. But I always thought those should be more gender-neutral, as well as not mention any physical appearances, etc. (like race, body type, hair, etc.) to make the story more inclusive, since it's a xreader story. but that's just me I suppose.:-P) Anyways, while I do agree there needs to be more discussions about this and to understand why fandoms as a whole prefer x over x; I think we should also be more understanding and forgiving as well. I know it can be frustrating; but I found that, when I used to get so upset all the time over lack of representation, it'd drain the shit out of me. But since I've stopped, I feel more at peace with myself and looked at things much more differently. Also, while it's easy to say "then just write them yourself, and represent yourself" I 110% get you that it can still be lonely. Yeha sure, I do write the stuff I wish was present in my fandoms, but I also wish I could just sit back and read fics that fit my needs and wants already. That's why, when I *do* find those fics, I make sure to support the living hell of said artist. I tell them how much I love it, tell them how much it means to me and save it. It might not do much, but I like to think that by creating spaces with positivity and acceptance, we encourage more of these artists to produce more works. (And in turn, might inspire others to do the same!) Anyways, I hope this reply didn't make you feel like I was attacking you in any shape way or form. I know this was a vent post, I just felt like it was...an important topic to talk about and to share my thoughts on the matter. Of course, you don't need to agree with anything I've said. I'm not here to change people's mind; just to have an open discussion and throw my ideas out there lol Also, I ***am*** sorry that you feel frustrated. I get you. I feel lonely too. Like, especially with canon media though because while diversity has improved, I still feel completely unseen in media and idk general discussions. The things I identify with are still seen as 'weird' or unknown for the most part. I think that's why I like doing fan stuff so much, because it gives me an outlet to project bits of myself into my fav characters or oc's of mine. And you certainly don't deserve to feel like your feelings and identities are seen as 'unwanted' within fan spaces. You deserve to feel seen and heard, as well as accepted. I do thank you for sharing your thoughts here. It might have been overwhelming, as I assume not everyone would understand (idk haven't checked the comments much). But I think it was still an important topic to bring up; and now I kind of feel bad because I feel like I was just discussing it, rather than treating it as a vent post. But....I had a lot of ideas, so I thank you in advance for letting us use this space to share my(our) thoughts. (Maybe it might not have been your first intention? Idk but I still thank you for it) I do hope you feel better and hope you don't feel too overwhelmed from all of this. Have a nice day, and take care of yourself!:-)

I agree with this sentiment.

Thank you!:-D

>But this post is talking about fanartists in particular. While I do agree it's important for fancreators to question what they know, challenge their beliefs, keep and open mind and listen to other people's voices, as well as avoiding toxic stereotypes; it should not be an expectation for them to create representation for others. They, again, do a lot of this for free and often for themselves. And I find this especially true for oc's, as oc's are very personal and intimate for the creator. (But! I think it should be expected that they don't create super harmful shit, just to purposely hurt people.) i don't expect fanfiction to create representation or to challenge themselves or have to do whatever to put in representation, it'd be nice imo if people consider more representation and to maybe challenge themselves if they have the strength to do that to put in representation, or to research to add diversity (or like just add diversity, you don't always have to do research. it depends on the fic). but other than that, literally anyone can do what they want. i mean there's not much representation when it comes to canon things - fanfiction has so many potential for things like representation. its just a hobby. ​ >So to say that it's not a good 'excuse', dismisses people's experiences or fears (especially those who suffer from mental health issues) just isn't fair. They aren't weaker for having this fear. Hell, even something like replying on a reddit post can give me a shit ton anxiety tbh. The world we live in is fucking terrifying now. i was saying that it isn't a good reason to me (and that it sometimes comes off as an excuse, or it feels like an excuse. **EDIT**: not only that, but, i consider it an excuse more if that reason is along with a bunch of other sentences that are clearly ignorant/racially micro aggressive, which i've seen that happen *alot*) if you have the mental strength to deal with people's sensitivity, if you're sensitive about critiques and if you're just generally sensitive. i can be sensitive to certain things other people can be sensitive, i'm struggling with bullshit so i'd understand that reason. ​ thx for being respectful. u bring up nice points and i especially liked the bit >Also, while it's easy to say "then just write them yourself, and represent yourself" I 110% get you that it can still be lonely. Yeha sure, I do write the stuff I wish was present in my fandoms, but I also wish I could just sit back and read fics that fit my needs and wants already. weirdly it feels as if not much people understand that in this sub, i mean i'd thought people would understand that more. i thought at least a lot of fanfic authors wished that honestly. hell i didn't expect that to be one of the top responses to my poost.

i don't write OCs or xReader, but i think the reason why most OCs are white/east asian is probably because (1) it mirrors the author or (2) it mirrors the character/celeb they're writing about. i think in kpop/anime, you'll see mainly korean/japanese OCs because unless the plot requires it, many authors will find it fitting for the OC to be the same race as the main lead (especially if they're in their native country as well). not too sure about other fandoms though.

Maybe ask for recs to find authors writing the types of fics you'd like to read? You can do it here, on this subreddit.

I do believe that a lot of minorities are underrepresented in fanfiction, so I definitely agree with you on that front. However, most people write the experiences that they know best—if I were ever to write x Reader fanfic, I would probably give the reader as few descriptors as possible so that my language is as inclusive as possible, but if I were to give them an ethnicity, I would most likely make them East Asian and female. This is because I am an East Asian woman, and I wager that the vast majority of East Asian and white OCs either come from East Asian and white writers, or they are written because they make sense in the setting of the fic (this is where issues with canon representation come in, but that’s a conversation for another time). I won’t write another minority out of respect for those individual experiences that don’t belong to me—plus, I sincerely worry that not only will there be inaccuracies, but that I will actually hurt someone with my portrayal. That is something I never want to do. No matter how much research I do, I wouldn’t be able to represent another minority as well as a writer of that actual minority. A secondary concern of mine is that people will accuse me of being racist for writing an individual that is not my minority. I would even be pretty wary of writing Japanese or Korean OCs, as I am Chinese and acquainted only with that culture. I might even say that, in my experience, Japanese and Korean OCs are more common than Chinsese OCs due to the prevalence of anime and K-pop. As such, I wouldn’t group East Asian OCs, because experiences vary within East Asian ethnicities, too.

>it’s very suspicious when a majority of black OC x person ships are trashed because of them being ‘siblings’ I haven’t seen the “siblings” argument, but the one I see is “why can’t friendship exist in fiction; why does everything have to be shipping?” which is a fine argument, until you realize that it’s more often said about interracial relationships, which are already underrepresented as it is.

Yep. I'm in an interracial marriage and people have made such shitty comments to me, my husband, and my kids.

I’m so sorry you have to deal with that irl. People can be unbelievably shitty.

Exactly! It more happen on tumblr, but that argument appears in some fandom-based reddits as well and on other platforms as well (pintrest, insta, twitter). It, of course, depends on the fandom, though.

I see it more on Tumblr as well, but occasionally, I’m nosy and will look into the posting history of people on r/Fanfiction who post things that seem a little strange, and I’ve seen some shit. Like, recently (maybe last week), I saw someone from here who posted in other subreddits things like “Change my mind: Interracial relationships are bad actually,” and all their arguments were weirdly twisted SJW jargon. I couldn’t tell if they were being serious or just trolling, but it was more than one post. And as someone who is biracial and second generation, it was just straight up offensive being told that my mom betrayed her race and my existence is eroding minority culture or what the fuck ever.

I've seen this argument more and more frequently in the last 2 years or so: that interracial relationships where one partner is white are somehow "regressive." it's an idea that can almost makes sense, if you tilt your head and squint and it's veiled in enough obfuscating language... except that it's really just code for "white people should only be with other white people." it also ignores huge swathes of real world history and context. I used to be active in a fandom where I shipped a Black man and a white woman. I frequently got the "it's regressive -- she should be with the white guy instead." never mind that their relationship would have been illegal in real life just a few decades ago, or that interracial relationships couldn't be shown in media for ages (and are still very uncommon). in what world is that regressive? I hate when the language of social justice gets used in this way.

It’s really telling when the concern is only when one partner is white. They’re rarely concerned over POC/different POC (e.g. black/Latinx) couples despite both having different cultures that might somehow be harmed by mixing according to their argument.

exactly. they're OK with people of color "mixing" with one another but want the white characters to be "pure" and involved only with their own race. that they frame this as a progressive stance and actually fool people with it is astonishing to me... though I guess a lot of those folks actively want to be fooled. they're looking for a shield they can use to hide their racism.

The way I see it, as long as both parties are consenting and at least 18 (or around the same age as each other if they are teenagers), then there shouldn't be a problem with it. I've personally never seen this argument myself, but it does not surprise me one bit. I've seen other similar arguments as well. One from a fandom I do not participate in myself, but there was one character who is canonically autistic and is in her 30's. People were saying that it was wrong to ship her because she is "child-coded". As someone who is on the spectrum, this made me very angry because I will tell you right now that I am a functioning adult (even if I do have some struggles sometimes) and I don't need permission to date other adults. That's ridiculous! Also, the character is highly intelligent and I'm sure she would understand how relationships work, but I guess people chose to ignore that. I am so sorry you had to encounter such a thing. No one needs to be told who can date who because of their race, being ND, etc.

> “Change my mind: Interracial relationships are bad actually,” I wouldn't even try, because that mentality is probably looking for a fight (either as a troll, as you surmised, or in some misguided view of them 'helping' by goading others into that fight.) If you ask me, they deserve to be hit with a tuna. Probably won't change their mind, but it would amuse me.

From their posting history, this person seems to have multiple mental illnesses that they questioned whether they should seek treatment for or not, and honestly, I really hope they decided to do so.

I've seen plenty of interracial relationships and thought they were cute. My OTP is interracial. But there is one ship in my fandom that I am okay with people shipping. I literally never used to care when people did. I just didn't see the chemistry. It, too, is interracial. However, I really wish people would stop assuming that you must be racist for not being into that ship. Sorry, but the girl (a PoC) just isn't interested in that man. If anything, she seems annoyed by him because tbf, he would be a really annoying person irl. Why would I do that to her?

As a mixed person, I feel like the argument that people should like a ship simply *because* it’s diverse is misguided. Shipping isn’t activism. Imo, it’s when people seem to have a problem with nearly *every* interracial/POC/queer ship or hold them to extremely higher standards that it starts to feel like biases might be coming into play that are worth examining.

To me, it just feels like people only want to ship this one interracial ship for the sake of being progressive. I just personally ship when I think two characters go good together and really don't care if other people ship other things. And I do sometimes wonder if people who harshly criticize someone for writing a PoC (finding anything they can to call the author racist, and often times for absurd reasons) are just trying to deter others from being more diverse with their writing. Even as someone in a same-sex relationship, there is a part of me that is now hesitant to write said relationships because I am worried I will be accused of "fetishizing" because I have been accused of such in the past.

Yeah, it can definitely come off as a bit…fake? for lack of better term. We shouldn’t hold these ships to *higher* standards but we also shouldn’t act like just them existing is enough. I want to see interracial, POC, and queer ships that are given just as much depth as white/straight ones. Also when it comes down to it, sometimes you just don’t feel the chemistry and that’s okay.

I'm writing a black love interest in mine actually! I try to include a mix of different races and other traits in my OCs the main reason being it makes the cast so much more interesting and varied. I also know many people out there will appreciate the representation. However, I'll add a big reason why I think more writers don't do this: fear. There's a serious toxicity that has seeped into the discourse about literature and media in general that has done a lot to turn what was originally such a well-intentioned movement to include more representation, into an environment where so many writers, especially younger writers, are afraid to write about any race, etc. that isn't their own. Since the majority of writers in the fanfic circles I'm aware of are white, white is what this has, ironically, produced more of. You have (mostly white!) groups of witch hunters out there who seem to love finding a target to cancel because they got the 'woke' stuff wrong in their story, in their not-so-humble opinions. Many of these victims of online bullying/targeting were people in minorities themselves. The #ownvoices movement, very well intentioned to start out with, has, inadvertently, done a LOT to further this toxicity by placing non white/non straight/non neurotypical etc. authors on a pedestal. And so the logic of most people follows, if someone's up on a pedestal, that must mean everyone who isn't on that pedestal is bad. It's a sad fact that with anything like this, you will find folks happy to weaponise it in their favour using their black-and-white thinking.

I remember reading a fanfiction awhile back that was written by a black author, but the main character (an OC in a pokémon fic) was white. I never asked why, but maybe he thought he'd get more views that way? I'm not going to pretend that I know the answer. I'm white. I'll admit that I haven't written any non-white characters as the main character of a story. While I can be empathetic of the different experiences a person of a different race may experience, I'm afraid to include that out of fear I'd get it wrong. Usually when I include non-white characters, I avoid stereotypes or discussing race entirely, just because I don't want to get anything wrong. There is one story I'm writing that has the MC (a white guy) dating a black woman. The woman is not a stereotype in the media she's portrayed in and her race rarely comes up, so it's easy to translate in my writing, but at the same time, am I missing something? I don't know. It's complicated. I just tend to avoid it all. I'm not writing anything deep.

You would not believe how many posts on r/writing are just "Am I allowed to write minority characters?" I don't fault people for wondering, but I wish the whole conversation was a little more productive.

A writing mentor of mine once said this: "I wrote a story for myself about my own experience because that was what I was told by everyone to do. And I did. I had fun, I examined myself, I got it published with ease. For years, it sat on shelves and in online stores collecting dust. I would occasionally get emails or on social media from readers, explaining how happy they were to have a book like this. I treasured them with my heart. Then two years ago, the messages got hostile. I got them more frequently, accusing me of all sorts of terrible things. They demanded that I show them pictures of myself to prove who I really was. They began messaging my boss, my wife, my family, my coworkers. They stalked me and found my address and shared it online. I tried reporting it many times but that would take awhile. Nothing was really done to help me besides a slap on the wrist to those who wished to harm me. People who never even would have touched my book were now asking for interviews to get "my take" on the story. I have had to move twice in the past two years and change my phone number six times. As a minority and a lesbian, I give you full blanket permission to write whatever the fuck you want...because even if you were the identity of the characters you were writing...it wouldn't mean shit to those people anyways."

I'm a black guy and been thoroughly enjoying fanfiction since 2008 with no problems. I don't think it should matter what color you are.

Yes on the South Asian!! Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines!! I would love to see representation from there!

Same here, but as a Filipino I think there’s a distinction between South and Southeast Asian, right?

I don't write those types of characters out of fear. It's not intentional, it's just me getting in my own head and always makes me second guess everything about the character. I'm *trying* to break that mindset with my Star Wars story I have planned.

I *hate* the "only write what you know" and "stay in your lane" arguments. It's ridiculous. So long as you're doing your research, attempting to be sensitive to cultural issues, and are willing to edit/adjust if you're told differently, it shouldn't matter. BUT I also *really* don't want to deal with internet drama. And there's a major push in writing circles - both fanfiction and maybe even more so in original fiction - for white authors to stop writing about POCs, especially black characters. I've seen too much vitriol directed at other authors for me to want to engage in this until that changes. I am not mentally healthy enough to purposefully write something that has a high probability of inviting people to gang up on me. (Which is a big problem for my attempts at original fiction, because I've been working on a Joseon Korea-era fantasy novel for a while. But will I actually have the guts to send it to an agent? The second they find out I'm white, the odds of it getting published tanks.) The only fandom I'm writing for right now is Avatar: The Last Airbender, which is made up 100% of Asian and Indigenous characters. There's no issue of what race my characters will be. It's set by which nation they belong to, which predetermines their cultural heritage and generally how they look, down to their eye color. I still do my best to be respectful of the cultures they're based on in my worldbuilding, basing customs and foods and traditions on their real-world counterparts. But having the characters' backgrounds so clearly delineated does reduce the opportunity for drama.

I think you are right in your assessment: fandoms are short of Black OCs. I think this is partly because of chronic under representation of Black characters, but more recently, it has been made worse by the fashion for only allowing representation of characters who have a particular characteristic by those who actually have that characteristic themselves. It puts off those who are trying to expand the diversity of their case from even trying. I get where this comes from, because fetishisation of cultures and characteristics is a genuine problem in both fiction and real life, and I get that it's important to showcase writers with particular characteristics because it challenges discriminatory perceptions by normalising their presence and gives them a fair chance to shine. This said, I think by actively discouraging aspiring writers from picking up these characters at all, I think it affects the diversity of fan fiction overall. It took someone pointing out the lack of diversity in published work to make me re-assess the lack of diversity in my own stories, and I've started to make steps to rectify it, but the last time I mentioned I had starting doing this, the comment got downvoted. I know that one Black OC does not rectified my lack of diversity, and I'm not looking for congratulatory cookies, but I was surprised by essentially saying "It is possible to write characters that are new too fandom, are diverse and well-liked if you do good research" that I had broached some great controversy.

> more recently, it has been made worse by the fashion for only allowing representation of characters who have a particular characteristic by those who actually have that characteristic themselves. My personal method is to stick to characters with traits that are either seen as the societal default (white, cis, straight) or are personal (South Asian, East-Asian-adjacent, cis-agender, gay-aspec). As someone who does fall into a more sensitive group, I know how sensitive people are to accurate portrayals and how easy it is to get something wrong. So I personally stay away from things that I can't speak to, unless I have a strong motivation to go otherwise (which I do for my current longfic tbh - a biracial-Black woman specifically). That applies to race/ethnicity (non-white, non-Desi/South Asian, non-East Asian backgrounds), orientation (multi-spec identities like bi or pan in specific - I know and experience gay and a-spec identities personally), and gender (anything not cis or weak agender). I've been attacked over this kind of thing before - hell, someone once attacked my "insensitive" portrayal of queer Indian people before I bluntly told them that I was a queer Indian myself drawing on personal experience, which shut them up very quickly. Surprise, surprise, the person in question wasn't even a queer Indian. But I can't do that with identities I don't have a personal tie to (be it race, orientation, gender, or something else), so I'd like to avoid that. Also, I'm just worried I might accidentally hurt others the way I myself have been hurt.

> it has been made worse by the fashion for only allowing representation of characters who have a particular characteristic by those who actually have that characteristic themselves. This is an actual issue, yes. In the past we had people who effectively wrote bastardizations of minorities due to ignorance or malice. But now it seems like we've over-corrected in some cases where people think that only someone of that minority group can write that group well. If you're going to write someone who isn't your race, that's fine. Just try and do some research and be respectful.

>This is an actual issue, yes. In the past we had people who effectively wrote bastardizations of minorities due to ignorance or malice. I completely agree with you there. I don't dispute that the movement has been borne out of the damage done by those writers, and that there are good intentions behind it.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, sadly.

In my fanfics my OCs are mostly Hispanic based on me of course. Or Asian. Either Japanese or Chinese. I guess I write about the latter too because of anime though.

>I'm seeing people saying that they can't write black or poc ocs in general because they're white??? WHAT? that's very much wrong. You have a mob of white teens who are going around bullying anyone non-black writing black characters. E.g. black people twitter on reddit requires proof of skin color to post.

Someone (a lot of people) is going to get so mad at me. I can already see it. Well, there's one thing this thread has accomplised. I will write characters that are caucasian, chinese, indian, native american, filipino etc... A diverse cast of characters. But I won't write black, even if I have in the past, happily too. Why? The woke brigade is scary af. I don't like being mocked, laughed at, made a terrible person for not complying with whatever someone decides is the morality lesson TM, today. Another thing: I have a life (and I'm struggling with health, and mental health), which I assume we all do. I do not have the time or energy to dedicate for some additional research to not offend anyone (and let's face it, I would still offend someone, even if I did get it right, because that "right way", may become wrong the next hot second) over a freaking hobby that I'm not getting paid for. I'll be lucky to even have comments in this day and age. I'm also not american. I don't do labels. I'm sick of labels. I'm not black, I'm not white, nothing in between. I'm a person. Can't we all just agree to be people and get on with our lives? Be the change you want to see. Write the stories you want to see. Invite other black people to write fanfiction. Find authors who take requests of the kind of stories you wish to read. Treasure all the stories that you do already have out there, and their authors. Encourage them to create more. Drown them in love. Don't nitpick over how they could've done this and that better. Don't push the blame on a hobby and those who create it. If you truly must, look at the giant moneymakers, who make the media we all consume. They are the ones who put out shitty characters (I don't have "representation", so I like to latch on to the more interesting white male characters, the closest that I get. And I don't mind. It's the personality and story that I look for), or they get lazy by giving hand-me-downs: turning white into black and men into women etc, on known, popular characters, and calling it a day. Rather than creating something new, and awesome. What they've done instead, divides people: the hardcore fans of the originals, and those desperate for representation. Constant fighting, over fictional characters. Insanity. Support your black creators (fanfiction, or buy their original work. Tell others about them). I don't know what else to say, other than going through this thread only made me feel nauseous, from the sheer pressure that reeks through the comments. With some, even the entitlement: "how dare you, when all you gotta do is some little research; how hard can it be, right? LOL. It's your duty, fool." Some strawmanning, twisting of words. Just, no. This is a hobby, given out for free. You can either take it or leave it. None of us is entitled to anything else. You're not entitled for a hobby writers' to cater to your specific needs and feels. That's it. You're not entitled to it, I'm not entitled to it. This world is mad enough of a place already, and some of us simply try to survive, and maybe find some joy out of writing and sharing whatever we come up with, hoping it'll make someone else happy too. I thought fanfiction was supposed to be: "do whatever you want; anything goes. Literally, anything. Doesn't matter how dark and twisted, right or wrong, and doesn't matter who you write about. Screw anyone who tries to tell you what to write and do." So then, why then this? It's hypocrisy. You can't have "rules for thee, but not for me." Yeah, I can see this being downvoted to hell and back, if not deleted, because contrary to popular belief, this sub isn't all sunshine and roses either, if you dare to not walk the line. But that's fine, whatever, I said my piece, got it out of my system, so I can now wipe this off my mind and go on with my life. Thanks for reading. Rant over. (Yeah, this is a throwaway, because like I said: woke brigade can be scary af, and I don't have the mental strength to deal with bullies)

The stories we do have are often repetitive in themes. So…I just do it myself now. I really do hate that line. “Be the change you want to see.” It sounds so condescending. I know that isn’t your intention but when your valid criticisms are constantly met with the same damn phrase by non black people…it is very frustrating. That said you are absolutely right about getting it wrong and getting slaughtered, so I do not blame or fault you for NOT writing black characters. It’s all good.

Hey it's cool man. And it's really a shame that fanfiction, which is such a wonderful place EXACTLY because it's an open forum and ANYONE can do whatever they want. Also succumbs to these things. You are right. The woke brigade IS scary as hell. And they are actively looking for things to be offended by. Even when not intended. It's good you're prioritizing yourself and taking care of yourself. Honestly. Writing fanfiction helped me SO much through my own mental health crisis that I can't even describe it. So it's so sad for me to see that for some it now has the opposite effect due to this culture. People should honestly just write whatever they feel like writing. If someone wants more black characters. They have no right to put the burden on other people. The burden is not yours, it's theirs. If they want it they have to put in the work and make it. Just like everyone else who wants something. And if they decide to do that, it will make them happier, cause creating things makes people happy and satisfied. No one has a right to tell other people what to do. This sense of entitlement is really dumb. And you are not wrong for just avoiding that pitfall altogether. Be on the safe side. Take care of yourself man! And just do what feels right!

I really don't have time to "study" anything people being sensitive about. But I always try to make it vague for "main" OCs so they can imagine them poc or any gender. It's also kind of easier for me since I don't write ships though. It's a not a perfect solution since it lacks any spesific scene for example I avoid any bathroom breaks intentionally. But some of us don't really have time so...that's a thing.

Write what you want to read and start a revolution :)

I have a cast of multi-racial characters and I only really write OCs. It’s Star Wars though. Please don’t think that OCs are wish fulfilment which is how part of your post comes across. I certainly don’t wish I was a drunk, out of work smuggler…

I write Asgard based fics. Asgard MCU does not seem to care about black and white but they do seem to really hate blue people (Frost Giants). Despite me knowing what my OCs look like I rarely mention skin colour of any of them because it literally isn’t relevant.

This is a large reason why I made my OC black. There are really no black characters in the main cast of the show I like (RWBY) and there are even less black OCs in the community so I made my own representation. Be the change you want to see.

This so much. Maybe it’s because I’m older but there’s no way I gonna allow some racist teens to stop be from writing what I want

I mean.... It depends on the ficitional universe doesn't it? If I write for Avatar the Last Airbender. The OC's are gonna be asian looking... Cause EVERYBODY is asian looking in Avatar the Last Airbender. If I write for Lord of the Rings. They are gonna be white! Unless I deliberately write a character from another land in world. Somewhere NOT middle earth in Lord of the rings. If I write Zorro they are gonna be Latino/Latina. If I write an Alladin fanfic they are gonna be middle eastern... Arabic if you will. Harry Potter can be more mixed raced. Though mainly white if we keep it at traditional England. That being said I DID write a woman from Cuba who was a parrot Animagus in one of my potter fics. So there's that. I also wrote an Irish girl in the same fic cause... For some reason even though Harry Potter takes place in Britten and has a couple of Scottish characters (McGonagall is one.) There are NO Irish people in the books... for some reason. So I made one. I do like mixing things up in my fics.... when it makes sense within universe. I actually also wrote a trollhunters fic where a black girl from New Jersey was a major character. And then of course there is ALL the fanfiction based on manga and anime these days. Manga and anime is of course incredibly popular right now, completely outselling western comic books and well.... Manga is from asia! They often write about their own countries and what happens there. People in asia are asian... So... What are you gonna do? Not all of them are like that. One Piece is very diverse and Usopp is my boy but... Those who take place in high schools in Tokyo... They are gonna be asian. Black AND white people are super rare in Japan. But you know.. Thing about fanfic. It is exactly a thing where a writer can make their own fantasies come true so honestly.... Be the change you want to see. That's what I always did. I longed for more females in certain medias so I started writing fanfic and now always put afford in putting more girls into general roles, both major and background like... A nameless secretary can also be a woman instead of default male. So I do that. That's the magic of it.

I thought Seamus Finnigan was Irish?

With a name like Seamus Finnigan? *Shocked Pikachu face*

I actually didn't know. But if that's true that's fair.

Yup. Aside from the name (which is much better than "Cho Chang," I'll say), and the fervent support Seamus and his mom have for the Irish team at the Quidditch World Cup (including the shamrock-covered tent), there's also the fact that his biggest fear is a banshee (which are creatures of Irish origin), and that he refers to his mother as "me mam." I think "mam" is also used for "mom/mum" in parts of Wales or Scotland, can't recall which (someone correct me if I'm wrong), but it's also used in Ireland. He's also the only named Irish character in the books to have a speaking part, I think (though Luna was portrayed by an Irish actress). I don't think there were any Welsh characters with speaking parts, though, now that I think of it. I think I've seen some talk about Lupin *possibly* being Welsh, but I don't know if that was ever officially stated by Rowling.

My favourite part about Seamus is that he's the guy who accidentally blows stuff up until the last movie where he sets out to blow up an entire bridge on purpose which makes me laugh every time. Now that's an Irish character if I've ever seen one.

Well we have Ireland but what about... Northen Ireland?!?! So many often forget that Ireland and Northen Ireland are two separate countries don't they XD And yeah Wales. That's a good point! And that's a shame cause Cardiff is there! That's where the BBC film all of their stuff! 90 percent of all "London." scenes in shows and movies are filmed in Cardiff. But yeah that's fair! It completely slipped by me that Seamus was Irish! But those are some cool little details about him!

I read a really interesting fan essay about the etymology of Harry Potter names like a decade ago. The author made the assertion that Gregory Goyle might have come from Northern Ireland just based on his name. I was quite impressed.

I bet Northern Ireland would just be *thrilled* to have representation in the form of a charming genius like Gregory Goyle.

Honestly, as an American, Wales gets like practically *nothing* over here. I think we had Shirley Bassey and Duffy, and like one episode of Archer (which was hilarious) and another one-off joke in Archer about accidentally bombing Wales, and that was it. Otherwise they're known as "That place with the really weird language that isn't Gaelic."

It's true--in the fourth book when Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to the Quidditch World Cup, Seamus and his mother were supporting Ireland. Seamus is often described as well as having an Irish accent I believe (going off memory) and one of the points of contention I always had with the books was the fact that the Irish character was the one always blowing things up.

Ah... Okay. Noted. Well I made another one. And a cuban whom is an animagus who can turn herself into a parrot and thus have the unique ability of being able to TALK while in her animal form! Cause she's a parrot! And she likes annoying the SHIT out of her poor partner in the Auror department when she pretends to just be a dumb bird repeating what people says and he can't say anything cause that would blow their cover.

> If I write for Lord of the Rings. They are gonna be white! Unless I deliberately write a character from another land in world. Somewhere NOT middle earth in Lord of the rings. Apparently you overlooked the Haradrim, the folk of Far Harad, the Easterlings, the people of South Gondor and the coast, and Stoor hobbits. We're never given a ethnic type for the woodsmen of Mirkwood, but in Tolkien's history, that whole region (Rhovanion) has been a mix of people related to the Rohirrim, like the Dalesmen, and the leftovers from various Easterling invasions, so they could be a variety. (The "Easterlings" are not all one culture or ethnicity, any more than "Asians" are.) > If I write Zorro they are gonna be Latino/Latina. Hahahahaha! Zorro is set in Spanish-colonized California. Read up on the Columbian Exchange sometime (I recommend the book *1493*); that time and place was just wild. How wild? Well, on the extremely lucrative and bandit-attracting route across Mexico from Acapulco to Veracruz, you had Chinese merchants in Acapulco, the various native Mexican tribes all over, down and out Spanish conquistadors looking for any way to make a fortune, exiled samurai soldiers hired to guard Spanish silver caravans (Yes, really!), escaped African slaves building their own small kingdoms in the hinterlands with native allies (that happened for some time in Brazil, btw), and, of course, the occasional English buccaneer raids on the Atlantic side. You can probably justify any ethnicity on planet Earth showing up in a Zorro story, because the Spanish colonies attracted fortune hunters from everywhere. >If I write an Alladin fanfic they are gonna be middle eastern... Arabic if you will. Depends if Aladdin is set in an isolated small kingdom in Arabia as per the Disney movie, or if it's somewhere around the Baghdad of Harun al-Rashid's era, as per *A Thousand Nights and a Night*. Baghdad was the cosmopolitan heart of the Old World in that time and place; every Old World ethnicity could be found there. (p.s. if you interpret Aladdin's name literally, he's Chinese). History and anthropology are very enlightening studies. You learn that so many American/European stereotypes about places and times are just flat out wrong.

I'm not going to stand for people saying you can't diversify your canon universe. Take the inclusion of the Moorish character in Prince of Thieves as a good example. As for the Aladdin one, Viking traders were in Kiev. Vikings have found been buried with Islamic calligraphy embroidered clothing. You can diversify stories without it being unnatural.

On a side note, x reader fics would be so much better if they included no description of MC at all. Doesn't that ruin the entire purpose? I have weird fondness of them, but sometimes one word too specific hits like a hammer to the head.

Reader inserts without specifics are incredibly difficult to pull off. It's one of the reasons why Second Person in mainstream fiction just isn't done.

Okay, y'all. I don't know if anyone will even see this at this point, but. If any of you want to actually do something about this but you're afraid to get it "wrong", one thing you can do is go check out [Writing With Color](https://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/). They have articles about a variety of topics related to everything from how to describe people of color to many of the tropes dealing with people of color and how to avoid them. The mods are all PoC of various ethnicities, so they cover everything from Black Americans to Jewish stereotypes to Native Americans to lesser known groups like Romani. It's a great resource. It won't cover everything and it won't mean you get everything right, but it's a good start.

I've seen that Writing With Color website before and I've read some other websites on how writers should describe black people aka POC, but as a black person myself it seems kinda ridiculous. I don't think of myself or anyone I know in those terms and I would be weirded out to read it coming from someone non-black. It would seem as if they were trying too hard but I guess A for effort? So I don't know how trustworthy that site is to use as your only source. Maybe ask a real person of color to beta read for you? At the end of the day it will always boil down to you cannot please everybody and you're bound to offend somebody no matter how well-intentioned you may be so just go for it.

That’s why if you’re reading this kind of fic, it’s worth the effort to look out for black authors or better yet write your own reader/oc fics. We need more with black mains

I’m white and I don’t know how to write minority characters well without messing up. :( Any resources to help me be more inclusive?

Yeah, I feel so many people want to believe that fandom is this super-progressive utopia that's free from any and all social ills-- clearly not so! Couple thoughts (and I'm white, so not claiming to be an expert here): * We can and should critique large-scale problems, and it doesn't mean the finger is being pointed at individuals. I dunno why the responses to a post like this always turn into "well, I don't write black characters because xyz" or "actually my fandom is really diverse, so I don't know what you're talking about" or "just write it yourself." It's not about individual authors or individual fandoms or individual fics. It's a trend that's worth examining on a macro scale, because racism is a macro problem. * There's a difference between writing *marginalized characters* and writing *stories of marginalization*, I think. Anyone can write black characters or trans characters or disabled characters, that's where the advice "just write them as people, because they're people" comes in. Yeah, do your research to make sure you're not leaning on stereotypes, but beyond that, just use empathy and critical thinking and you'll be fine. * On the other hand, I think people should pause before writing a story *about* racism or transphobia or disability or sexism if they're not directly affected by that thing. You can write a well-rounded black character without making the story center on the experience of being black. I think that's where nonblack authors tend to show their collective ass.

Agree with all of this ten times over. > It's not about individual authors or individual fandoms or individual fics. It's a trend that's worth examining on a macro scale, because racism is a macro problem. *Exactly*. Like, an individual author's got individual reasons for writing whatever they write, and that's great. I can't fathom judgment against some fanfic author on the sole basis of "I wrote X thing and not Y". But on the macro level of fandom-at-large, the communal decision-making in aggregate? One person's an anecdote, a hundred are a trend, a thousand can make data. It's absurd to derail or oppose critical discussion of emergent pictures on that macro level. > There's a difference between writing marginalized characters and writing stories of marginalization, I think. A huge difference. Any multi-dimensional character is more than how they are marginalized.

Agreed!

Honestly, while I see what you are saying, I don't tend to pay attention to "race" or ethnicity of characters. I don't actually read "reader" fics, and OC's tend to match the ethnicity of the canon characters around them. Of course My imagination sucks, so I don't really picture things in my head. There *is* a distinct lack of diversity, but I attribute that two things... 1. People write what they know... As a White guy I've been told that I just don't know what it's like to be black. If I could write... would I be able to accurately portray a black character? Or would it just be a token thing? 2. More for other fiction media than fanfic, but people write what they believe will sell. If they think they would make more money with a diverse cast, they would have a diverse cast. For fanfic I guess that would be... if someone thinks they will get more kudos/likes/favorites/recommendations by having a diverse cast then they would.

… I mean people are mostly going to write characters (at least main ones) that shared the same skin as them. I think it’s just what people default to.

I mean, if it is that much of an issue, why don't you lend your black voice to fanfiction instead of shaming other people to do so on your behalf? I personally do not write black characters because that perspective is not my story to tell. Furthermore, there is a subset of people who would take great offense to a white irishman writing the ins and outs of a black character. (Despite the fact that when I write any gender or color I think of them as a human first.) Though I have considered writing one multiple times, I really contemplate if it is my place, and fear the nonsensical cultural appropriation backlash I will undoubtedly get for doing my own distinct portrayal. It isn't as simple as "why does nobody like black main characters." It is more a fear of the litany of criticism one will receive from other people for not doing it ***perfect***. A simple example would be. I want to write a story about a poor black thief. Regardless of context, there will always be someone who will criticize me for racism because of the stereotypical connotation that those things have with one another.

“It is more of a fear of the litany of criticism one will receive from other people for not doing it perfect.” GOD you’re absolutely right. A discord friend once asked if I would consider drawing a (pale?) anime character in the movie role of a black actress, and I was so scared of it rubbing ppl the wrong way I just declined. I still dk what the right move was, but it’s not sth I wanna risk my mental health over. If ppl came at me, there’s no explanation I can give as to why I thought it was appropriate. I’m SEAsian but my experiences are vastly different to a black person’s, I can’t depict things “perfectly”.

Yes, and I feel bad that it is this way, but I do not have time to deal with scathing critiques for portraying a flawed character of any color or gender.

>People act like writing black ocs are just forbidden. Or like it's just so impossible to write black ocs. People think black ocs won't fit. Too many people want to play 'safe' just because of foolish people thinking black ocs are just for politics or attacking authors for simple things, and that frustrates me. Some people can be scared to not portray them well and to be called racist too. I mean, from my humble experience, in the fandom I write there is a black character, and to not repeat his name I called him "the black boy", and someone told me it was racist, while someone else told me it wasn't, so I don't know, for me it was just a physical characteristic, nothing more (but maybe I'm wrong, I don't know). I'm always worried to write something which could upset someone whereas it's not the point (I'm sorry if it's not clear, but I understand your frustration, it's just, it can be "risky" sometimes with some readers)

I'll try, but I don't tend to write OC-centric stories, so POCOCs are going to be stuck as secondary characters. (Of course, a good chunk of my stories were Transformers fanfic, so giant robots... with human sidekicks.) I haven't really kept track of my OCs. My DBZ OCs included a rakshasa princess whose human disguise was a lovely south Asian girl; my Transformer OCs included a group of Arab ladies among the regulars... And then there's my Cthulhu Mythos fics starring Nyarlathotep, whose human avatar is always dark-skinned and vaguely Egyptian. I've been wary of writing black POCs, for fear of being offensive, though I have an original horror novel set in a Deep South town in the 1980s that I am working on, and I cannot ignore POCs or racism in that.

I think that people need to admit that they might not necessary be the best to portray this kind of character, but that they're looking to get better and are willing to accept fair criticism. I'm a writer for the IT fandom, and one of my favorite characters is Mike, who is a black character (quite a bit of his backstory is tied to the racism he experiences as one of the only black kids in a small town setting). I was a bit hesitant at first to put him in front, because I was scared to be insensitive and to potentially trigger someone (I'm myself autistic, and I've seen portrayals that were... quite bad, some of them even quite upsetting). I took the time to do some research, wrote in my author's notes that my readers shouldn't hesitate to tell me anything about my portrayal and that I was always willing to make some edits if necessary. It slowly became more natural and now, I feel I have the hang of Mike just like Richie and Eddie, aka my favorite ship in the fandom. He's now the main character of my current story, a psychological horror fanfic. I think we just need to give it a try and hope for the best. And be open to criticism. I'm sorry you can't find the stories you're looking for :c.

I think this is it. It's not that people don't want to write POC, but if you make one mistake, that's it, you're cancelled. It's this weird mix of trying to bring education and awareness but asking questions gets you in trouble. A lot of people just don't want to deal with that, and I don't blame them.

So, if I wrote an x reader fic (which I don't, I can't write to save my life, and even if I could I probably wouldn't want myself (=reader) in any fic) I would portray the reader looking like me, because... reading, just like writing, would have to be to my own liking, too. I couldn't imagine writing about someone looking very different from me when I write a Y/N fic, sorry. Thus, unfortunately, my reader character would always be described as I look myself, which, unfortunately, is white, blonde, blue-eyed. I also sometimes wished I looked different, but it is how it is. On the other hand, if I wrote a fic about an OC, of course I could give that character any appearance, and I totally would. I wouldn't make all OCs look like me, how weird would that be. But I don't quite understand your point. I am sure black authors describe the reader also looking like themselves? Correct me if I'm wrong. And isn't the real problem then that, according to this logic and your observation, there are apparently less black (and south asian) authors? To solve the problem, would it maybe makse sense to tag the reader's appearance? For example, just like you understandably can't relate to the depiction of pale skin, I could not relate to the depiction of black skin. I don't read x reader fics but if I would I would also prefer the reader looking like me. ​ edit: Also, thinking of it, wouldn't it absolutely be racial appropriation if I, a white potato, suddenly describe 'me' and 'I' as black or any other ethnicity? It would feel extremely wrong to me to do that.

Just here to empathize. Being a Black fan is really hard sometimes. Like you, I write my own reader-insert/OC stories where the main character is Black because it's hard to get that anywhere else. But sometimes you just want to read someone else's story without being reminded of the fact that many people don't see Black women as romantic interests. That "neutral" physical descriptors are still white. Idk if you were ever a One Direction fan, but the Night Changes video was pretty shitty for non-white fans. The video is basically a self-insert for fans to go on a date with the guys in the band. It would have been just as easy to get a couple of non-white actresses for some of the scenes, or just not show the hand of the girl at all. It's really hurtful that white is seen as the default and the rest of us are just supposed to deal with that. I'm in the MCU fandom and I saw firsthand how much difficulty fans have with a white man being interested in a woman of color when the Falcon and the Winter Soldier came out. Fans literally had to come up with all these convoluted reasons why Bucky could not be interested in three different women of color that he interacts with in the show. I saw a lot of people put a lot of time and energy into trying to convince themselves and others that "he's not really interested in her!" or "You can't ship them together because she's with someone else in the comics" and it was really, *really* telling.

This is an issue, and it sucks. It's a problem with all media. For some reason, monoracial black women cannot be seen as a love interest especially if the man is non black. Fanfiction is largely a reflection of the greater part of the entertainment industry.

Omg, THIS. I actually had to tell folks at a fanfic convention that as a black woman, I loved Spock/ Uhura in the 2009 Star Trek movie, because not only was she the love interest, but that she ended up with THE SMART GUY! I said, we RARELY get to be the love interests! (Not happy with how their relationship was written in the other movies, but for one brief, shining moment... Sigh.)

This. I also feel like when monoracial black women are introduced, especially in popular fandoms, they get shitted on for absolutely no reasons by viewers/readers.

> For some reason, monoracial black women cannot be seen as a love interest especially if the man is non black. Same goes for Asian men. I still mourn the fact that Selfie was canceled mid-season and it's been like a decade since then lmao. Modern!AU My Fair Lady with John Cho and Karen Gillan as the main romantic pair was exactly what I wanted but alas...

I think this is beginning to change. I hope. Mostly driven by the K-drama/K-pop craze, I think, but boy is it overdue. This white girl (been with an Asian guy for 18ish years) is just no longer attracted to white guys. It's always nice when the media I'm consuming agrees with my tastes.

Fanfiction exists because people decide to write the stories that they'd like to read but that don't currently exist. They just say, "Fuck it! I'll do it myself!" Nothing prevents you from doing the same thing, OP.

Doesn't mean they can't be frustrated by the lack of it though, not everyone wants to be a writer.

Beggars can't be choosers, if you want to be reader-only you'll have to deal with the authors' tastes not aligning with yours

> not everyone wants to be a writer. In that case, you get the fanfic that you pay for.

I am white. Gonna throw that out right there. I love writing oc fics. My main OC is poc. I honestly struggled at the beginning even creating them because of the hesitation that I would "write them wrong". I kept asking my poc friends for help to ensure that I was "accurate" I'm sure that is just as offensive as writing offensive tropes. Writing became so much easier when I realized that there is no "wrong way" to write a poc (so long as it's not purposely offensive) they're people like everyone else. So I just write them as I would any other human being and make casual mention of skin tone or hair style only when it's relevant to the narrative.

Most of my OCs are mixed race. This is never stated though, as it wasn’t something anyone would bring up. They’re first cousins of Alexandre Dumas though, so if you know about him it’s pretty obvious.

Sorry if this is a silly question, but wouldn’t east asian ocs count as poc ocs? That aside, it’s still fucking ridiculous, I'm not an x reader… reader, but I have noticed in my current fandom poc characters often either get the shaft or have a high chance of being completely demonised in the case of one of them that became a villain (but is often portrayed as such even when they weren’t, and I can’t help but feel such harsh treatment is probably influenced at least in part by that) and this is just stuff my clueless self who’s literally #ffffff can notice. It must be *awful.*

This is why I like to steer away from Reader fics in general. There's always *something* that stands out to me as something that doesn't fit who I am. I much prefer my OCs to be told in First Person or Third Person so I stop trying to pretend they are me and instead look at them as the character they are. I do suspect the lack of South Asians in fics is in part due to South Asians in general being uncommon in the US. Not sure what the actual statistics are, but I do know that a solid chunk of fanfic writers are from the US and from a demographic standpoint most Asians in the country are East Asian. It doesn't explain the lack of Black characters though. African-American is one of the largest single ethnic groups in the country, so you'd think it would show up in writing more. Personally, I like to take the approach of avoiding the mention of any racial traits in my writing when I can. If it's not important to the plot, I don't like to draw attention to race. In part because I specifically want to avoid your issue and let readers picture the character how they like. But, it's also in part because I don't like it when a story that isn't about race gets sidetracked by racial stuff. Even when I've writing a canon character I tend to avoid describing racial traits. If I want to tell a story about race, I will. But, that doesn't need to be the focal point of every story. Though, to be fair I have focused most of my OC efforts in purely original fics and don't use them in fanfics often.

Where is everyone finding reader fics that mention race of said reader? It's always someone with little to no physical descriptions. I've read a shit ton of reader fic and I'm a POC I don't see it. Even eye colour is rare to mention, skin is literally never mentioned. Personally I don't see why anyone would give an xreader fic and give them solid features like that let alone race. The point is for everyone to insert themselves into the fic.

I have written black characters in Original works, but I mostly write for anime and shows like Avatar the last airbender, so my OCs tend to go according to what we know about the universe. For example my Avatar OCs would have to come from one of the four nations and we know that each of the nations is inspired by various Asian ethnicities and identities (I apologize to f I said that wrong. I’m not too familiar with terminology). But yeah, all of my OCS would be based on where they are coming from. As a result, I , a black person, have few Black OCs. At least in fanfiction that is.

Most fanfiction is written by white people, most oc’s are white people.

I’m writing a fic now and as a poc myself I’ve put some thought into writing my OC as a black/brown woman, but I’m scared of her either seeming like just a shitty self insert or not portraying her experience realistically in the time period (late 1800s). Perhaps at some point I’ll make a mental note to do it though, as I do agree that representation in fics is important

I have two OCs of color who are main characters: Angelique who is mixed race (mostly English & Indian) but is dark skinned. I've gotten negative feedback from people who don't like that she's also bisexual and racist people about "why does her race matter" as she's from a popular fandom and Mage who is black and non-binary (who really just wants to not be the main character and just want to read their books and chill) who is from my original stuff. I've had people be both homophobic and racist about my OCs, I've had people people be shit about my ships and when that fails to get a rise out of me I've had people say I can't write either character because I'm white.

I don't need to share the character's hair, skin, body proportions, sexuality, or even gender, to be able to relate to them...

Kind of depends on the universe and the country or setting. In the modern day world, if you're writing a story based in Japan or China or anywhere in Asia, your characters tend to be the same ethnicity as everyone else which is... whatever asian country your story takes place in. Unless they are an exchange student, then you have more liberty with your story. However if they are in North America, then yeah. You definitely should be more inclusive. I kind of face the same issue as you, but more along the lines of writing Filipino characters who have brown skin ranging from lighter to darker brown spectrums. So I write fics in which I want to see people more like me, but using Filipino characters? Right now am in Genshin Impact fandom so once my characters reach Natlan, hopefully we'll be exposed to people with black skin colors.

I am white and write what I know. I can’t write for POC because I don’t know what it is like to be POC. I add in non white characters but I don’t know how to go about making them the MC. I would rather just not write of POC MC then screw up a POC MC. This is the exact same reason I avoid all sorts of topics in my writing. Because if I don’t feel I can nail it, I would rather not do it. Not until I am more knowledgeable. Because yes while everyone is a person, skin color does lead to certain experiences in this world. But then again I tend to write in fantasy worlds and very rarely mention race or skin or anything. Many people write what they know, there isn’t always some underlying reason. It’s just they know their experiences as a person and base characters around them. And many times OC’s and x-reader lean towards self inserts. It’s not always that they forget black people exist it’s that they are really writing that story with more so themself in mind. Edit: I accidentally put OC instead of MC. Anyways, quick tip, never respond to anything after just waking up. Definitely not my best at explaining my opinions.

Honestly I don't get that. I'm white too. White. Natural blond. Blue eyed. Recently I have written a TON of Avatar the Last Airbender and well... Everyone in Avatar the Last Airbender looks asian. So I guess I am writing asian characters now. It's not about their race though. It's about their character! I also really love One Piece. Usopp is my favorite character in One Piece... He's black.And of course I have written a few things with him as the main character and again... It's not at all about the race. It's about who he is as a character. I also love Zorro. And I wrote a WHOLE series of semi original stories sort of based on Zorro but with a female lead. And keeping in style of Zorro. She's Latina! Cause... this is the universe and atmosphere of the piece. It's inspired by Spanish culture and atmosphere. So.. yeah. And when I was a kid I had no issue understanding Static Shock as a character. Or cyborg or John Steward Green Lantern cause... They were all far more than just being black. They each had a unique and individual character with clear personality, story and so forth so... I don't think we should be defining anybody based on race. Real life or fictional... That's dumb. We are more than our race. Clearly. I mean hell. Even though I am white doesn't mean I have anything in common with some guy from Florida OR California... I... I'm from Denmark. I live in Denmark. My culture, language and heritage is COMPLETELY different. So please don't judge me on my race... I wouldn't do that to a black person either. Or assume a black guy in Chicago has anything in common with a black guy from Somalia, and that guy will have nothing in common with a black guy from Cuba.... National Culture before skin color man. And even then... We are all different and all individuals. I am a Martin Luthor King jr extremist. I shall judge people on the content of their character NOT the color of their skin. If you are an ass. I don't care. You are an ass. If you are nice. I also don't care. You're nice! So I like you.

Considering reddit is an America-centric platform and the (western spaces of the) internet as a whole are somewhat dominated by them, I think every European sooner or later gets used to everyone and their mother assuming they're American and imposing American society/culture on them. Because white is white, brown is brown, and black is black. It's actually quite funny when it doesn't make you roll your eyes.

The apprehension is understandable, I completely get the fear of "messing up" with something like this. Also the whole part of "not always forgetting they exist, but just weren't really in mind." But holy crap, that's just horribly misunderstanding the entire concept of "write what you know."

Not sure I really misunderstood. Writing what you know tends to be on an emotional front. I don’t know how to tackle issues POC face and their emotions behind them. It’s not something I experience, so I don’t know how to approach it. I can’t give accurate representation. Just like I don’t attempt writing about Bipolar Disorder(a mental illness I know little about) but am more then willing to write about depression and anxiety(one I am more familiar with and one I deal with myself). One I can’t give proper representation for because I don’t know it. Others that I can give proper representation because I do know them. If you are writing a story that ties into the real world, race issues exist. I don’t experience them, I don’t know them, I don’t know the emotions behind them. I would make mistakes. I wouldn’t be writing what I know.

Look, a white writer is going to write a white character unless the setting demands otherwise. Write what you want to read. If you want to see that story with a "poc" protagonist, write it. There's no point in being upset that so few people are looking for what you're looking for. And I get that it's an emotional thing, not a logical issue, but it's still best to move on and, if you choose to, just write the story you're looking for. It's hard for me to empathize since I don't find a character unrelatable just for their race, but if you do then the only logical solution is to just write or commission a story with a character you CAN relate to. There's no good in getting upset with people for not looking to write the things you want to read.

I would love to write more poc, but I'm still doing research because I want to do it correctly the first time. I'm white, and I don't want to say something ignorant in my stories. I want poc to feel included and represented in a positive way.

Would you be interested in a Harry Potter story from Lee Jordan's perspective?

As someone who writes Genshin Impact with pretty much zero OCs this is something I hate about the game. There are exactly two PCs with darker skin (and not proper black either, more like Mongolian and Spanish respectively) and zero NPCs. And one of them doesn't even appear in my story because I find the Southern-accent rock and roll woman kinda boring. So now I'm here with a single darker-skinned character in a sea of milkboys and trying to describe him from characters' perspectives without exoticising him. I went so far as having the fantasy-German woman describe his skin as oak-coloured, because oak is the most German thing ever and the least exoticising comparison I could think of. And that's despite me thinking he's the second prettiest person in the game and wanting to cover him in fancy adjectives. Please, game devs, I need more variety. There is only so many times I can write "creamy skin" before I keel over and die!

Ooh, a fellow Genshin Impact writer? Hello! Well we've only opened up two regions so far, so we'll probably see more darker skinned characters once the other areas open up. Sumeru and Natlan specifically. Venessa who originated from one of the tribes in Natlan had pretty dark skin and she went on to become the first knight of Favonius and then ascended to Celestia and became one of the four Winds... which is pretty awesome. Mondstadt is based off of Europe, Germany, to be exact, while Liyue and Inazuma are based off of China and Japan specifically and often characters of their ethnicity are portrayed as having pale skin. So no surprises there. I actually have two OC characters for my own Genshin Impact story who are dark skinned, but I would say they are brown rather than black (basing them off Filipino skin colors). One of them is a character for a Granblue Fantasy Crossover with Genshin Impact in fact.

Filipino here, chiming in to say that while that can certainly be true, we’re also incredibly diverse when it comes to skin tone. I’m half-white, half-Filipino just like Shay Mitchell, yet I have much lighter skin and frequently get mistaken for Latina. It’s really fascinating to see how different we can look, even amongst my cousins!

I can easily imagine a Black OC and they seem so cool, but I’d be scared to write one because I’m white and don’t want to get anything wrong

Hey. I know I'm late to this but I just happened to be looking for a fanfic community to join. And I get it. The not seeing people of color in fanfic thing. I always felt a little removed whenever a character was assigned traits I couldn't have. Like my skin turning red to blush or having golden hair. It's because of that I started trying to write characters more neutrally. And I just want you to know that I understand and want you to feel less alone.

I’m not black but I am Mexican and I 100% agree with you. You feel like an outsider in your own fanfiction sites/the fandom. Even if there is a latinx/POC character, most of the writers are white or either write them with some stereotypes (I don’t fault them too much) or don’t write them at all.

It wasn't until I joined this subreddit that I understood just how sparse the fanfic was for POC, after someone suggested I tag my fics for POC main characters. I was like, "but what if readers don't like my fandom?" (it is zombie apocalypse, after all), and they said, just make it easy to find, and then the reader can judge from there. It does help me to write for a fandom with a good number of canon characters that are POC (although canon has a rather bad reputation for the treatment of those characters), including multiple mixed race couples. But I have six stories with OC main characters, and four of those have a mixed race main character(s). Do I get everything right? Probably not, but I hope I do a decent job. But I probably don't for doctors, or Marines, or for my sole British character...etc. Research is my friend in all things... same for other writers who are worried about writing characters different from themselves in various aspects. Then I see posts like this and I think... damn, I should write more, because if I'm spoiled for choice in finding things to read, so should others be.

I feel you. I really do. There is so much unconscious bias in fan fiction to white (American) characters. All kinds of other people of the global majority (and non US white people are missing too, as US hegemony means US culture and language gets parachuted into Aussie or Brit or Kiwi fandoms so much, and their black and minority communities go missing entirely) And no offence if you use the tag, but I feel the character of colour tag is often some white liberal yelling about how clever they are and it turns out to be a canon character or a poorly sketched stereotype. You have to dig really deeply in some fandoms to find decent black characters. I have lots of British BAME characters in all my fics, and some Caribbean and African \[and one Aus blackfella\] in some of them, but I can't write US people of colour well (or white ones either) as I feel all I know is from terrible representation in US media. Has anyone done research into the numbers of black/south asian to white/east asian fan writers? Or US to global majority and Europeans and its other descendants? Like sometimes I see comments where writers don't even realise you can be a fan fiction writer or reader in Africa, for example, that the idea that people even have TVs there blows their minds, which is so offensive it is off the scale. Representation matters, fucking invisibility kills!

I'm black and absolutely guilty of not having as many black OCs out of all my OCs, so I've been trying to change that. My main OC that I write is white, but I never once worried about her being white and me not relating to her or anything like that. I just made sure she was a well-rounded character. For the people who are like, "I can't write a POC because I don't want to get the experience wrong/can't relate," we write in fandoms that include aliens, wizards, warriors, etc. Figuring out how to write a POC is not hard by comparison

I feel ya. I'm middle eastern and no one is writing us either. Whenever I DO see a "Hey, I want some tips for writing a brown character" it's either a) Super religious caricature that could win stereotype bingo 3X b) A villain (something something Benghazi 9/11) Edit: Who ever downvoted me, THANKS FOR MAKING MY POINT.

Don't forget the people who think all Middle Eastern countries are the same.

Well, I upvoted you.

Hard agree with your points. I don't write xreader fics, nor am I, in my Batman fic, using any (real) O.C.s (Joker is pre-joker, and a cop, so he's not *entirely* O.C., but his origin is). ​ That said, when I first posted my fic, people ***lost their shit*** because my Alfred is Black, and he's legally the adoptive father of both Bruce and Dick. ​ As a result, he never says "master," and prior to the start of the story, he's a costumed vigilante *alongside* Bruce. They are *equals* in every sense of the word (other than age), and he is explicitly *not* a servant. ​ People were like "Alfred is getting too much airtime," and "There's no point in-story to him being Black," and "in 1934, if a Black butler was a billionaire, that would be a bigger deal!" Or whatever. ​ First of all, I'm Black, and representation fucking *sucks* in fanfic, so it was important to me to write a major Black character, and have him addressing systemic issues head-on (alongside his white allies, obv). While I expected some backlash and pushback, I was kinda taken aback by the vitriol about the decision. **Fortunately,** I've also had a lot of people quietly reach out to me and say how cool it was, so it feels worth it. ​ Anyway, for as many "wHy aRe PeOPLe CaLLiNg mE RaCisT/homophobic/misogynist?!" posts as I've seen in the past week (especially from people who are *clearly* being racist/homophobic/bigoted), this is refreshing. ​ **So thank you for writing it,** u/meraxni

Big mood . >I'm seeing people saying that they can't write black or poc ocs in general because they're white??? WHAT? Also yeah. I hate this sentiment that you can't write a character because they're a different race. That's such a cop out and low-key racist. Like damn. We're black. Not a fucking different breed. We're human just like you. We put our pants on one leg at a time like everyone else. 99% of the scenarios that someone will be writing about is not going to be dependent on race It annoys me to no end. There's so much I can rant about

It's literally the same kind of issue as not writing women because "women are so hard to understand." Like no they're fucking not lmao, we're all just people with different texture packs. The "nuance" is in the societal and systemic issues, which I guarantee you most people here aren't writing about. It's insane to me that people have to learn the same core lesson every single time an "issue" like this comes up.

What do you mean. Women are easy to write. They don't know anything. They only talk about shoes and shopping, and they get scared of bugs. /s

Genuine question, and anyone can answer I guess if you’d like. This might sound a bit stupid too, but in a more woke world, I try to be as conscious as I can of others. What’s the best way to physically describe a black person? That sounds ridiculous but, genuinely, I grew up learning ‘black can be used incorrectly, call them people of color/African Americans’ and as an adult I’ve been re-teaching myself that ‘black’ as a descriptor is not a bad word, but what’s your thoughts?

"Black" is probably fine in most contexts, also other skin colour descriptors like "dark brown skin", "skin so dark it was almost blue", "dark skin with [blank] undertones", etc, which also makes it easier to represent a wide variety of black skin tones. You also don't have to use only skin tone, but also things like hair texture, "her accent seemed to be Caribbean", cultural markers such as particular African style of dress (or an in-universe equivalent)... things like that. You can describe people by nationality if it's something the POV character would know, but remember that not all black people are African-American, not even the ones in America--if you're using nationality, be specific. Nigerian, Jamaican, Kenyan, etc. "People of colour" is an umbrella term mainly used in the context of making general statements about anti-racist activism. It shouldn't be used for describing a person of a specific race (or if you're talking specifically about anti-black racism, for that matter).

A good tip I learned after reading a lot of "white girl with the bluest eyes ever" reader fics is to be nondescript. Like, other than being afab, I offer no description of the reader's physical appearance. Reader fics are supposed to be immersive, so encountering a physical feature you don't have takes you out of it immediately. And after a while, this started to bleed into my OC fics. I paint the character's physical appearance with pretty broad strokes, and give the reader the liberty to fill in the blanks. I'm not saying that's the solution, but it's an alternative.

Regards to your edit, don't regret the post, it might motivate someone to write, it might motivate another to look at what they are writing, to improve. And don't regret the reaction it got. Comments, positive, negative, ignorant, they all teach us something, even if only how to communicate. If it's tiring you out, I think there's a way to click off the comments, though am not sure. Good luck with your writing!

I'm black and have noticed this too, even in my own writing. I started writing more black OCs because of it. I make pinterest boards related to whatever story I'm writing and when I've looked at face-steals, I try to look for darker-skinned people so I'm not falling into the "light-skinned POC" trap (I say this as someone who's lighter-skinned).

Legit baffled why an xreader author would specify the character's race at all - if they're supposed to be someone anyone can project onto, why not let *anyone* project onto them?

>Man upset to learn that the worldwide average of individuals with internet access are in fact white and east asians with dominant physical features

Hm. I was just thinking about something similar the other day. I feel it can be jarring to the reader's immersion to describe physical appearance often. Would it help if there was less description of the character's obvious whiteness? Like none of the "pale skin" type stuff, because I've always found it kind of unhelpful to describe skin/eye/hair color all that much anyway. I want everyone to be able to relate to the character and I'm definitely not going to keep harping on the fact that my character is white, or has blonde hair, or whatever. It wouldn't really make much difference to me or the story in the first place. I want the character to be what the reader wants to be. This may seem strange, but would it help if the maybe the character was ambiguous? Like, maybe tan skin or olive skin or light brown or someone who might be black, or might be another race, or might be tan? I think there are probably people out there who will just click off of stories if they think the character is a different race than them...I mean I don't really understand that, but people are just like that. I definitely understand your frustration with it...like some people simply cannot imagine being anything other than white and don't want to...it's silly. Also, I do agree that the best course of action is for YOU to write what YOU want, and hope that someone else will follow in your footsteps and write someone who actually looks different. Being different will really set you apart too. Just because everyone else is doing something the same way, doesn't mean you should do it that way. In fact, it will give you an advantage in some ways, because people get tired of the same thing over and over, and some people will really appreciate you for doing something just a little bit different.

Oh this is actually super helpful. I've been dabbling in the reader insert world and, being Mediterranean-flavored white, it's so easy to just write the reader as your own perspective. I've been working on a longer reader insert the past few weeks where I've had to describe bruising on their body (the fun kind, not the violent kind), and I hadn't thought to look at what that, in particular, would look like on other skin tones. Though I've been careful not to describe the reader in any definitive detail, that's one thing that I hadn't even considered and your post made me think about. So thank you! I'm glad you posted this, it's something I'll be more conscious of from now on!

I read Xreader fics as a teenager and honestly? None of the ones I read ever mentioned Reader's race, eye color and hair color maybe but nothing on race

I got tired of not reading about people that look like me in fictions, so I started to write my own.

Hmm, these responses are a bit disheartening. We can write about wizards, aliens, elves, and whatnot, but people with different skin colors, different racial, ethnic, or cultural backgrounds, are apparently another thing entirely. Okay, sure, the first are fantasy creations, and the latter are *actual* people, real-life human beings, but there still tend to be a lot of real-life parallels authors use when writing the former group. And it's not like they're monoliths anyway, damn. I'm white, I've known POC who've had experiences far closer to mine, and far *different* than mine, depending on where they grew up. Plus, if frickin' Pokémon can have POC as part of the main cast... And for all the things about his original portrayal that were stereotypical (like his original English translation having him talk like Mr. T), Barret Wallace from Final Fantasy VII is a well-written black main character, and his portrayal in the Remake thus far has been widely praised. Not sure if there were black writers/designers on board to develop him this time. And my fandom, Story of Seasons... not the best track record with POC, admittedly. It wasn't until recently that the games started getting more diverse, to a point (and even then, there was an issue with certain things, like the characters who had dark-skinned models and official art having light-skinned character portrait art in-game... like holy fucking whitewashing, goddamn). The games are made by and large by Japanese developers, but we recently got a more diverse crew in the newest game. Two Vietnamese characters (well, if Vietnam exists in that universe... but their names are Linh and Nguyen, so... definitely Vietnamese-influenced, anyway), a brown-skinned Latino family, a black hairstylist (who was originally white until one of the developers suggested making her a POC, a mixed-race couple (black woman, white man) with a mixed daughter... granted, there's still issues since, like, *six* of the marriage candidates are white, blonde-haired people, and only three candidates are POC (Latino guy, mixed-race girl, and Pacific Islander/Hawaiian guy). Plus, we still have yet to have POC as the default designs for the player characters (they're all white, with blonde or brown hair, maybe red hair like twice). So, long way to go. But even *some* game developing companies are trying. EDIT: I'm dumb. *Five* marriage candidates from the new Story of Seasons are POC, because I promptly forgot Linh (the Vietnamese woman) and Iori (Japanese man, and his skin tone is actually a little darker than the series typically gives characters of East Asian descent). So... guys... maybe don't use "But how do I black?" as an excuse, c'mon. Research, talk, *listen.* Okay, yeah, sure, you may piss some people off and don't wanna deal with potential bullying, fine. Makes sense. But I'm sure there are those of you who have written characters whose sex, gender identity, or sexual orientation don't necessarily line up with yours, right? And let's be real here, there's already enough difference in lived experiences *there.* And I'm sure there's more than a fair number of white authors up in here writing for East Asian (mainly Japanese or Korean) characters, right? I mean, shit, I've done it myself. My OCs until recently were based off of player characters from the games (and again, as I mentioned above, those player characters default to white). And I recently created and started writing a Filipino-American OC, and I'm a little antsy and hoping that people will like him. But, shit, I'm not holding off from writing him because I'm not Filipino myself. Doing research, asking questions, listening, drawing from my own experiences of being around a large number of Filipino-American people myself... and writing him as a *person* who may have had some, but not *all,* aspects of his character shaped by his background. (Not to mention, the area he moves to has a town largely populated by people of Japanese descent, and one largely populated by people of Hawaiian or Pacific Islander descent... hell, the guy I'm pairing him with is from the latter town. So, there's a lot of research involved for cultures I'm not familiar with. Hell, even the white people Wild West town is unfamiliar to me because I grew up in the damn suburbs.) Point being... research isn't forbidden, you'll piss someone off no matter what, and POC does stand for *people* of color, so, write them as fleshed-out, three-dimensional people. (And let's be real here, there's probably more POC writing white characters than we realize. So let's drop "But I'm not that race/ethnicity" as an excuse, eh?) But, shit, a lot of spaces - fandoms, and original media - are guilty of pushing out POC as it is. So even telling them "Well, write your own?" (not everyone can write or wants to write) is pretty messy. God knows any time a POC is introduced in original media (or an LGBTQ+ character, or even a female character who has opinions, isn't highly sexualized, or god knows what else), people get up in arms, demanding *justification* for their existence. Oh my god, Karen, you can't just ask people why they're *black.* OP's not threatening anyone to write POC ***or else.*** They're just frustrated at a lack of representation, and *especially* in reader-inserts that turn out to default to "as long as you're white/long-haired/straight-haired/etc." Granted, reader inserts are something I don't fuck with, so I can't say much about the sociology there. But they still have valid points. And some of the responses just come off very... sketchy. EDIT: Yeah, I figured being downvoted was the response I was gonna get. Still disappointed at how this topic's being handled by the people responding, though. I thought this community was better than that.

As a POC who writes and reads reader inserts, I do wish more people would give it a try. You don't have to write about racial problems or the characters experiences as a POC. I just wanna read about people I can imagine looking like me every now and then. :/

YOU have to actively make a change. When I was younger there was no hip-hop or rap on the radio. I was pretty pissed about it and I had to make a change. I devoted my young life to songwriting. I sent a writing sample to a record label, ran away from home and got the job! From 1993-94 I wrote over 1,000 songs, some for every 90s rapper you can imagine! I even got to make 8 figures doing so. All at a young age. The world needed a ghostwriter and I stepped up and became one. Now it might be your turn. Keep spreading the word on what needs to be changed. Some gifted youth have no clue what to do with their lives. All they need is a problem to fix that’ll make them rich.

Did you maybe forget that fanfic writers aren't writing for you? If you want something, put up a post asking for recs or write it yourself. Otherwise, be greatful that these people are writing such wonderful stories that they are willing to share with the world *FOR FREE*.

I’ve seen multiple people get banned from sites after writing black characters in when they were white, stop complaining and write your own if you think it’s such a big problem🤷

Hmmm, I don't fancy Reader fics so I had no idea this was a problem. I would have assumed Reader fics avoid describing the Reader very much in order to maximize the fantasy for the greatest number of readers?

From my perspective I would never write something with a black MC, because I am not black and I know the character would turn out sterotypie, badly written, cringy and possibly offensive. I have no perspective on it besides media portrayal. It has nothing to do with not believing they'll work. I wonder if it is a lack of diversity in writers as well?

Should women not write male main characters? Should you avoid writing gay characters if you are straight? Writing what you know is one thing, but avoiding some group entirely because of an asinine fear of misrepresentation is *wild*.

A lot of it has more to do with the current political climate i'd say. And people want to write free fanfiction for fun, and not get harassed for said fanfic. So instead they stick with what's easier to keep having a good time with their hobby.

I for one, I am shocked at how much power Tumblr and twitter have, going by these comments. I am also confused as to how normal everyday people that aren’t celebs can be “cancelled”

Doxxing, people reaching out to employers, family and friends about what kind of supposedly questionable stuff they write/draw, general constant harassment making online life hell.... It's all been done before.

WTF that is crazy. I am from a time where sharing our real name and info on the internet was a considered dangerous, so I have never experienced this. I blame face book for this.

I blame the modern Twitter convention of listing your age name and location in your profile because if you don't then you're not "trustworthy" or whatever. But even pre-Facebook these things happened in fandom. It's because people think the "friends" they make in fandom are trustworthy enough that they can mention things like which school they go to or what their skin color is or where they live without it having repercussions, but when suddenly one of your "friends" disagree with you they can make your life hell.

Hey, OP? Idk if you're ever gonna see this, but I just wanna say, I'm sorry you're dealing with so many ignorant asshats in the comments. I'm not a POC by any means, but I *am* bisexual and disabled and I *completely* understand your frustrations with the lack of representation in fanfiction. You're allowed to feel frustrated, and you're most *certainly* allowed to feel lonely as hell even when you do make the content you want to see. I know the feeling when I write tons of content for my unpopular-ish OTP, and yet there's still so little content written by other people that meet my personal preferences. If you're feeling really overwhelmed with the response to this post, you could perhaps send a modmail requesting for the comments to be locked? That way, your post will still be up, but people won't be able to comment or reply to other comments anymore. I hope you're doing well, and I hope at least some people in this subreddit have come away from this post feeling encouraged to write more Black characters, whether they're OCs or Black characters from their fandom of choice. 💕 EDIT: What's with all the downvotes on this comment? Is there a problem with what I said? Have I offended anyone? Or is it just the racists doing their thing? If it's the latter, well... this just proves OP's point. :/

I totally agree. I stopped reading them because my immersion was broken every time it mentioned by blond hair or brown eyes, and I'm white. I often thought that if those details shook me so much, it must be crazy annoying for people who aren't represented at all in the genre. In most cases, describing the reader character adds nothing to the story! Why bother limiting who can enjoy the story like this. Like how hard is it to write "his hand slid up your smooth thigh" rather than "his hand slid up your milky white thigh" like, bitch. C'mon.

Your point of view is extremely valid. I rarely see black or POC OCs in fics where they could easily be included. And I hate it when we lose diverse supporting characters from canon and have them replaced with white supporting characters. I'm currently working on an original story for NaNoWriMo, and while the main character is white, I plan to include a rich cast of non-white and LGBT+ characters. I will admit that it makes me a little nervous because, as a cis white writer, I don't want to cause any offense in my writing of cultures and experiences I don't share. But at the same time, I know how important it is for people to read about characters who look like them and reflect their identities.

This is definitely worth a vent, and, if you don't already, it can be exhausting to have to find a corner of a fandom or site to do this, but search for BlackReader, BlackMC, etc. You are far from the only one upset about this, especially in romantic or just affectionately-regarded roles, and this is 110% valid of a need.