I don’t have enough room to explain this in a reply so I’m writting a full response.
This isn’t to attack you directly (its mostly a vent) but just to speak on why what you said isn’t true.
How can you say to use your imagination when almost all reader inserts say “your face turned red as a tomato” “your hair fell down your shoulders in waves” “he ran his fingers through your hair” “your beautiful (gem color) eyes” “your pale slender shoulders” “you ran your fingers through your silky hair”??? Your comment shows you don’t have to think about this. As a person of color, specifically an unambiguous black person (afro-caribbean and afro-latina), the things listed above immediately rule me out. I won’t blush and turn red. My skin is as brown as the soil that gives the world around me life. My hair doesnt fall down my shoulders in waves. Its defies gravity and ascends to the universe like a cloud. My eyes can’t be described as something as simple as a “beautiful gem color” either, we all know the person who writes that thinks of blue, green, and hazel color eyes. Not my deep dark brown eyes that almost look black, undauntingly taking in the racist world around me.
So how can I, an unapologetic black girl from New York City, use my imagination in reader inserts when I’m not even in the imagination of the writer?
Just fucking look at Lord of the ring! Not a single black person is in it. Technically the first black person I saw was in the hobbit… Specifically when they got to laketown and it was just 2 random extras that talked amongst the crowd, debating on whether or not the mountain should be reclaimed. And because they are there for about a minute with no major role they might as well not be there at all. It would make no difference either way. The only reason why they were put there is for publicly sake. Just think about that. Think about that for a second. Rewatch ALL of the movie and you’ll see everyone is either white or white passing. There is no represention in it. Poc are not included in fandoms or movies UNTIL THERE IS BACKLASH or UNTIL WE MAKE OUR OWN SPACE. And yet when we are put in its based on stereotypes.
This is why I write exclusively for brown and black people. Because if I don’t write for us who will? A random person that only has stereotypes to base their character off of? A person that would only write their character as the [insert any poc group here] best friend that’s sassy, has no dad, a tiger mom, constantly switches between languages mid-sentence(for example spanglish), and is over-critical over everything around them?
So to say that reader inserts shouldn’t be specified based on race shows that you’re used to seeing yourself in them. I don’t have that luxury. My brothers don’t have that luxury. My friends don’t have that luxury. My sisters don’t have that luxury.
We. Dont. Have. That. Luxury.
So once again. I write exclusively for those that are black and brown people. Because nobody else writes for us.
And yet despite of all this, I am aware of the language I use and do try to be vague. I’m not stopping anyone from reading my stories. I’m just allowing those who are used to not being seen to feel heard and appreciated.
So to anyone else that is upset that poc make their own spaces after being excluded from/forgotten by fandoms, mind your business or make the fandom more accessible. We wouldn’t have to write for each other if others wrote for us.
