Worldbuilding: Ethics and Considerations
I should probably preface this blog post with the truth:
I have no idea what I’m doing.
TLDR: Authors need to be careful about how they depict real cultures, countries, races, etc in their fictional worlds. Here are some questions and considerations I’ve had while working through that.
Note** This is not a prescriptive post. Not a ‘how to’ or ‘things to avoid.’ It’s mostly me rambling to myself and you about what I’ve been thinking or fearing when building my own worlds. But if you’re interested in said ramble, continue reading!
How this all started...
When I began the process of worldbuilding, I ran into an issue I hadn’t anticipated. And that was that I wasn’t sure how to build worlds ethically. What I mean by this is building worlds that include a diversity of characters represented in respectful ways and creating a diverse set of cultures without being disrespectful or committing cultural appropriation.
So here are some of the considerations and questions I ran into while building the world of Elemastra.
Learning from others' mistakes
The importance of consciously creating worlds with diverse casts and cultures came to my attention primarily from the discussions about other people doing it badly.
For instance, J.R.R. Tolkein wrote beautiful stories and created a wonderful world, but his characters are mostly white men. The bad guys are ‘othered’ in ways reminiscent of racial prejudices of previous eras.
He’s certainly not the only one being criticized for his white and euro-centric world-building. Nearly every fantasy author has had their words scrutinized for potential bias and prejudice revealed in their writing. And nearly all of them have had something come up.
This work is important and reveals how we can do things better. But it also can be intimidating knowing that these people who are considered the best in the genre didn’t do it right. How can I–amateur that I am–do it better?
What I want to do is create compelling stories about my experience of what it is like to be human in hopes that sharing these stories help others. But I could cause harm, even unintentionally.
I do not know everything. And I like knowing as much as I can before I start something. But if I wait for perfect knowledge about the world and what’s wrong with it, and how to fix it before I start writing, well…I’ll never write. Because I don’t think I’ll ever get to that point.
Humanity certainly never has.
So that means I have to move forward with the knowledge that I am writing imperfectly. That my depictions of life, based on my limited experience, will be that–limited.
But I can still do my due diligence to do the best that I can at this point in my life. And here are the areas I’m trying to learn about in order to create a better, more ethical world.
Creating Diverse Characters: A Confession
One of the most important things I want to learn how to do is to create a diverse cast and do it well. I haven’t done great with my first series. I didn’t realize until I was fairly far in that a lot of my characters were not only white but blonde hair and blue-eyed. Weird? Definitely. Internalized prejudice? Possibly?
It could be because I was raised in suburban America in the 90s when the preferred aesthetic was tan, blonde, blue-eyed, tall, and skinny. (This made an indelible impression because I am pale, short, curvy, curly brunette, and hazel-eyed.)
But that’s something I needed to change. I need my characters to look different from each other.
When I created my world, I wanted one where the color of a person’s skin did not determine how they were perceived or treated.
First, I did this because I have very little experience or understanding of what it’s like to be judged based on the color of my skin–other than being the butt of jokes about the paleness of my skin being like the beacons of Gondor. I do not have the expertise or wisdom to write about this well, so I would like to promote other authors who already do this well.
Second, I have read that many people would like to read stories with diverse casts where characters of different skin tones are represented, but the focus of that character isn’t on the prejudice they face because of their appearance.
So I wanted to imagine a world where people of all appearances live together. Not without prejudice–because I think it’s still important to talk about that, to process how it is developed and how it can be healed. But the prejudice in the cultures of my world is focused on something else. In this case, magic.
Is this the right choice? I honestly don’t know. But I made it with the intention of creating something good.
Luckily I stumbled upon this resource that talks about writing diverse characters, how to avoid stereotypes, and what major questions to consider. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for insight on this subject.
Here is another way I have failed to create diversity in my characters. Beyond appearance, I also made my characters neurotypical, physically able, and with limited depictions of sexuality.
Oy. Already doing everything wrong. Great.
I’m working on all of it. During revisions, I’m working on crafting diverse characters and presenting them well.
I’m open to learning and hearing from all perspectives. And hopefully, recognizing what I’m doing wrong is the first step on the path to doing better in the future.
Avoiding Cultural Appropriation
Another issue I ran into as I was researching to build my world was cultural appropriation. Many fantasy stories rely on a medieval European model as their foundation. Honestly, mine heavily relied on this as well. It was inspired by a lot of what I read growing up.
But as I read more, I can see the necessity of creating worlds based on a broader range of influences and cultures.
The issue for me is that I want to be inspired by and learn from all cultures and how different groups of people survived and thrived over time–but I don’t want to commit cultural appropriation.
So right now, I’m learning about other cultures and how and why they came to be. I’m trying to avoid falling into stereotypes or being disrespectful as I create cultures that don’t fall into the ‘medieval European’ framework. I’m focusing on creating cultures that seem a logical product of their environment and history.
For instance, my world includes tribes of people who live in an arid and desert-like part of the continent. I researched how people survive in deserts around the world. But when I created them, I realized I needed to avoid the stereotype of making a nomadic tribe be perceived as ‘barbaric,’ but I also didn’t want to fall into the ‘noble savage’ stereotype.
As a white American, I know that I have deep-set unconscious ideas that are a direct result of our education system and the stories we have told about how we came to be, particularly about the indigenous peoples displaced and destroyed by European settlers.
So when I create tribes, particularly a nomadic tribe, I want to make sure that I carefully consider how to create the culture in a way that is respectful and as untainted as possible by any unconscious prejudices.
This is deep work. And I probably am not going to get it right on the first try. And that terrifies me.
Demonstrating respect for all people
At the end of my life, I want to be known for telling stories that were authentic, that held truths, but that showed respect for all people. I want people from all backgrounds, talents, cultures, religions, abilities, etc, to come to my fiction and know that I hold them in my heart.
I want to tell the truth about life as I have experienced it. And I want others to benefit from my stories.
I know that I’m not there yet. I am a fledgling writer setting out on a very long path toward mastery. If such a destination exists. And I’m a human stumbling along a path of discovery.
So back to the beginning.
I have no idea what I’m doing.
But I hope I’m learning. And I will keep writing. Hopefully, each story will be better than the last because we owe it to the world to create better stories.
Stories that heal. Stories that unite.
And stories that tell the truth: “We’re all just walking each other home” Ram Dass