My Diversity Soapbox (Or Don’t You Throw That “Woke” Shade at Me)
One of the things that bugs me as a writer who aims for diversity in my work is that in the eyes of a lot of folks, any attempt to be diverse and inclusive somehow gets automatically declared as woke or virtue signaling.
Now to be fair, some are. But not all of it. And not most of it. In fact, among the stuff worth reading or watching, very little of it.
It’s just that there’s a predisposition of some people to see anything diverse and intentionally so as woke or virtue signaling so they can then immediately dismiss it as lesser work.
But… They’re Trying To Push an Agenda
To be fair, there are times when people ARE pushing a belief and “agenda-ize” their work, but geez-Louise do I feel like the lady doth protest too much. It’s not every one. Hell, it’s not even most of them. But they get lumped together by “anti-wokes” all the time. To quote rocker Steve Taylor, “Good, bad, there they go down the same drain.”
There are lots of great socially conscious stories with great writing that have at their hearts BOTH strong storytelling and an intentionally socially conscious (or diversity-driven) story. Look no further than the drug issues of classic Spider-Man for some of the best examples of this. Or the race issues of Green Lantern and Green Arrow. Or the new Far Sector comic. Or… well, you get the picture.
The antithesis of that is the trouble that comes when certain groups push back so hard against any progressivism in comics as though “the good ol’ days” own those characters and stories outright and modern ideals only serve to turn them into damaged goods. As if “good comics” and progressive ideals don’t mix.
Nowhere does it say that any comics, let alone super hero books, are supposed to only include white, middle-class, straight couples with 2.5 white, straight kids. Nor shouldn’t favorite characters change it up from time to time and be replaced with various races or genders. Change has been the single constant in the comics I’ve read since my childhood, well, at least for the characters who weren’t the trademarked faces of the companies. Seems like those are more untouchable (and not in the Elliot Ness sense of the word).
Read more:
https://seanhtaylor.blogspot.com/2021/04/my-diversity-soapbox-or-dont-you-throw.html
