If I’m honest, this is a discussion that’s been festering in the back of my mind for quite a while, but I’ve decided to bring it to the forefront because of a tweet.
You know, Twitter. That place I spend all my time when I should be doing homework, writing, reading, or any other number of things “productive” human beings do. I mean, to be fair, I do read and write on Twitter, so I feel like that should count. Anyway, I digress.
It’s this tweet in particular that I’m talking about:
Hey, publishing? What the FUCK is this? A nondisabled person writing an ‘authentic’ book about disability because she knows some cripples is some extreme disablism. Could you not find any disabled people who write books?https://t.co/YzhmUrXOKW
— s. e. smith (@sesmith) January 31, 2021
It says, and I quote:
Hey, publishing? What the FUCK is this? A nondisabled person writing an ‘authentic’ book about disability because she knows some cripples is some extreme disablism. Could you not find any disabled people who write books?
The link is to this article from Penguin discussing the acquisition of a book by one Sarah Ann Juckes. I highly recommend you read the entire article yourself (because, you know, that’s honestly the only way to create a semi-informed opinion, just saying), but the parts the tweet seems to latch onto are these sentences here:
The World Between Us is inspired by the author’s work with Creative Future, an arts organisation supporting underrepresented UK talent, including those with issues around mental health, disability, identity, or other social circumstances, as well as by her long-term partner’s experience of living with chronic illness. It is billed as ‘an affirming and authentic depiction of chronic illness.'”
Along with, of course, the actual synopsis of the book:
Alice may be bed-bound, but every day Stream Cast brings the world to her. From the streets of Tokyo to a masterclass in video games, she experiences other people’s wild and exciting lives, all without ever leaving her room. But everything changes when Alice is introduced to a new streamer. Rowan encourages Alice to stop watching, and start taking control. But Rowan has a secret he’s trying to hide from Alice—and from himself.
I want to make it clear, before I say anything else, that the original tweet poster has recanted their statement.
Because … surprise! … the author is, in fact, disabled herself and has the same illness (though unnamed in the book) that the protagonist has.
Putting that fact aside, though, I really want to look at how we got here, to this place of assuming information about authors and then calling them out for those assumptions. So let’s take a step back, shall we?
The Benefits of #OwnVoices
- Raises the voices of previously underrepresented populations.
- Allows these populations to tell their own stories.
- Is an attempt to push back against inauthentic stories and voices.
- Promotes the publication of stories by a member of said group, rather than an outsider.
- Highlights having first-hand knowledge and insight into an underrepresented population.
- Uplifts a segment of authors whose stories are often told by “others” rather than one of their own.
The downside of #OwnVoices
- May shoehorn minority authors into writing minority stories (I talk more about this in my post Where Does the #OwnVoices Tag Fit in Fantasy).
- Often overlooks biracial voices (I talk more about this in my post In the Age of #OwnVoices, Where Do Biracial Voices Fit In?).
- Can lead to trauma porn.
- Requires authors to self-disclose potentially personal information about themselves in order to use the tag.
- May lead to a certain “cancel culture” for anyone not deemed OwnVoices or OwnVoices enough.
The dangers of #OwnVoices
I want to preface this by saying that I love the #OwnVoices tag and fully support its use . . . when the author chooses to use it. Therein, I think, lies the important distinction.
Sarah Ann Juckes, for example, did not use the #OwnVoices tag, nor was her experience as a member of the community listed in the marketing. I can’t comment as to whether that was intentional on her part or not, but from what I’ve seen, she doesn’t talk about her diagnosis a whole lot, which is her right.
I think the danger of #OwnVoices mostly comes when the tag is seen as the only way to distinguish that an author is writing from a personal lived experience.
In this way, it requires an author of queer romance or transgender characters to out themselves, or it requires people with disabilities, especially invisible ones, to disclose their medical history. I am not okay with this. Authors deserve privacy too.
I think the #OwnVoices movement can be a really powerful thing, but the bookish community should maybe be careful about demanding that the #OwnVoices tag be used as an identifier that this book is written from an authentic voice. In fact, in Juckes’ case, the word “authentic” was even used in the marketing, but without the OV tag, it was dismissed.
Portrayal—a better way?
Maybe instead of focusing on whether something is OwnVoices, we should focus on the portrayal. Which, I’ll admit, requires actually reading the book rather than making snap judgments based on a few sentences that the author likely didn’t even choose, and maybe that’s expecting a bit much from some people. Still, why don’t we let a work speak for itself instead of demanding that the only way something can be accurate and worthwhile is if it’s got the #OwnVoices stamp of approval?
As a Black person or a person with ADHD, I don’t think an author necessarily needs to be Black or have ADHD in order to convincingly write a character who is Black or has ADHD. They just need to be good at research, good at listening, and dedicated to an accurate portrayal. Sensitivity readers also help a lot.
Do I think that #OwnVoices need to be lifted up and allowed to tell their own stories if that’s what they want? Absolutely. I think it’s important that we make space to ensure they’re given an opportunity to do so, and we need to be better at it than we have in the past. As readers, though, I don’t think we get the right to demand that all stories about a specific subject are told from an #OwnVoices lens, because it’s not our place to demand that authors out themselves.
Not to mention that many of these OV experiences are highly personal and run the gamut, where no two are necessarily exactly the same. Does that make the portrayal then “wrong” if someone in that community doesn’t experience it the same?
I feel like there’s a definite place for the #OwnVoices tag, but absent that, we as readers should look more towards portrayal. Is this a harmful portrayal or not? If it’s not, should we really concern ourselves with whether or not the author is #OwnVoices and, therefore, “allowed” to tell this story?
What do you think about the policing of #OwnVoices?
I love this discussion, Sammie. I think this is a really important topic you brought up. While the OwnVoices tag has become indispensable in promoting diversity, I agree that it’s concerning how much of a reader’s opinions of the book hinges on that label, before it’s even been published in this case. It’s true that people who have firsthand insight into what’s it like living as a part of a diverse population have invaluable stories to tell… but that doesn’t mean authors who are not part of that community or are not ready to share their life stories with us aren’t capable of treating issues with respect, sensitivity, and insight.
Great post ❤️
Thank you for writing about this. I have a book challenge that mentioned #OurVoices and it was the first I had heard of it, not being in the book blogging community that long. You raise some valid points. I think it is possible for someone to write about a disability or being a minority through intense research, but shouldn’t use the Our Voices tag. Two of my kids have Autism, and I could write books about them, but I’d never use the #OurVoices tag unless I’d interviewed them at length and quoted them often throughout the book; if I was writing about my experience as a parent of kids with Autism, I wouldn’t use it. However, as someone with BiPolar disorder, if I wrote a book about my experience, I’d definitely be proud to use #OurVoices tag.
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I can’t like this enough. It’s as if no one can write a story anymore without it being #ownvoices, and no one can do research anymore. And how dare someone who is assumed to not be part of a community write about X. When I was a YALSA an Asian author brought up the fact that the tag could have a negative impact because it could mean you can only “write what you know”. As for disclosure, no one should have to out themselves. Did you read about how the community forced Becky Albertalli to come out as Bi because people attacked her for writing about LGB teens and she was clearly straight since she had a husband? It’s awful to make anyone do that, and authors shouldn’t have to make their lives an open book (pun intended) to be valid.
I hadn’t heard of that, but that’s awful. =/ No one should be forced to out themselves about anything when they don’t want to. That author’s concern was obviously warranted.
I very much enjoyed reading your thoughtful post! Great discussion topic!
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Well said! There are many reasons why people shouldn’t have to go public with personal information.
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I agree whole-heartedly. Too many times we’ve seen cases like these. I’ve seen authors feel like they have to come out after writing queer books without previously disclosing if they’re queer. I even saw one author forced to review she’s a survivor of CSA after she was called out for writing about it. It’s really disturbing that we back these authors into a corner (I’ve seen it happen with actors as well). I know people mean well when they push for #OwnVoices books, but not everyone is comfortable discussing personal aspects of themselves or their lives.
This post is perfection and I agree 100% with everything you’ve said here. I feel like some places on the internet there is a certain entitlement with readers where they demand certain things of authors and books and it makes me very uncomfortable sometimes. I know I wouldn’t want to have to out myself because some reader demanded it of me.
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Great post, thank-you for sharing your thoughts on this topic. I do think the #ownvoices tag has been used a lot in a very black and white way, when it shouldn’t necessarily be used like that. A key point is what you note here – an author shouldn’t feel forced to self-disclose because someone rags on their book for not being ‘own voices’. Another way I think readers/’book influencers’ need to be careful is assuming a book that’s #ownvoices has well-written representation. I agree that maybe we should look a little more closely at the actual content/representation within a story before jumping to celebrate or condemn it solely based on whether it’s own voices.
This is such a thoughtful post, and I could not agree with you more! I hate this policing, and I hadn’t heard of this specific incident until I read your post, but of course had heard of others like it. And you are so right- everyone has different experiences, which makes claiming that something isn’t ownvoices because it doesn’t share that reader’s exact experience is irresponsible for sure, and you also nailed it that an author should not ever have to reveal their personal stories to be “qualified” to write a book. My heart breaks for that author who had seemingly no intention to talk about her own experience- perhaps the catharsis of writing about a fictional portrayal helped her cope with her own story, and now she’s been forced to publicly claim it. WONDERFUL post!
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This is such an important conversation to have. While I appreciate the intention of the tag and enjoy reading OwnVoices stories, I believe it’s far more important to respect readers’ privacy because lots of things like sexuality, gender identity, illness, disability, etc, are invisible identities that are a big part of a writer’s experience, but which they may feel comfortable or safe disclosing. Even when it comes to race, policing the Own Voices tag is very questionable and often harmful because who’s to say if someone is [insert race/ethnicity] enough?
I think you’re so right with this! Plus, there’s already this pressure, especially with biracial people, that you’re not [insert minority] enough, which is already super harmful.