It’s time to revisit the subject of Own Voices again because it’s come up in yet another really uncomfortable conversation.
A few months ago, I wrote this blog post about the in-betweens. For me, that means I’m frequently stuffed into the “not enough” closet. That is, I don’t appear to others as if I am any of the things I say I am. They are free to read into what I look like on the outside. Funnily enough, for the most part, that means people not marginalized in that way think I’m Not Like Them. And people who are part of those marginalized communities also think I am Not Like Them. Everyone acts accordingly.
Now, back to the subject of Own Voices. I tend to write a whole damn lot about people like me—those who can’t be tidily sorted and counted. People who are bisexual. Non-binary people. Halfies (patrilineal “half Jewish” people, and I will thank you not to call me a slur we’ve reclaimed). People with invisible disabilities. I am passionate about making sure readers like me can see themselves reflected in the stories I tell.
When I see other authors going after Own Voices as if it’s the Hand of God come to exact judgment and divine revenge on them, I search for the nearest desk to plant my head. This entirely and spectacularly misses the point.
Own Voices is not some kind of mandate that anyone stop writing whatever the hell they want. Write it! Seriously! I mean, yeah, maybe listen when people tell you it has issues, especially if you are writing about something very far from your own experiences. But truly, this is just not about you, and making it so is ignoring some fundamental realities.
The whole reason for Own Voices is not to stomp on the precious feelings of white hetero and bi women and non-binary people who write gay male romance and erotica. It really, really, really very much is not. So take a step back, remind yourself it’s not about you, and have a think about what Own Voices might actually be attempting to do.
In the publishing industry, some voices are prioritized. Not only is it harder to find mainstream, popular media about LGBTIA+ people, it’s also harder to find mainstream, popular media created by LGBTIA+ people. The same is true for just about every marginalized identity and especially if those overlap at all. We’re often told our work is “too niche” or “not as good.” Instead, publishers often prefer sanitized versions of us or stories in which we are punished or our allies are made into the true heroes.
This is the very thing Own Voices is meant to address. It’s meant to make heard the voices of people who are telling stories about ourselves and our communities from firsthand experience. It isn’t a commandment to write (or not write) about people exactly like ourselves in every single way.
The thing is, even if you identify as part of a marginalized group, it is entirely possible to oppress people who don’t share your identity. Heck, it’s even possible to do that within your own identity. A lot of us internalize a whole bunch of crap over the course of a lifetime. We can buy into stereotypes and lies about people like ourselves and then spew it back on the page. Or we might refuse to write about people who share our identities because we don’t feel secure in them. (I’ve seen people say they won’t write about non-binary people because our bodies are “gross,” for example.)
We might convince ourselves that some parts of our community are “more privileged” and therefore it is okay to write however we want about them—even if those people have said they are uncomfortable with how they are written about. In reality, we probably need to have some open conversations about how cishetero patriarchy has wormed its way in everywhere and affected our preferences when it comes to media.
The funny thing is, a lot of the anti-Own Voices folks cannot seem to take their own advice. Don’t want to be part of that, either reading or writing? Well, then, ignore it instead of making it into the supreme enemy of free speech.
If it makes me some kind of terrible person, no, I don’t support everyone writing whatever they want. I mean, in a legal sense, yes. Anyone can write what they like and publish what they like. That doesn’t mean I will read it, and it doesn’t mean I won’t argue back that “free speech” and “but some people like it” are not points in favor of it being a good thing.
However, kicking against major branches of small publishing are not a good use of my limited time and energy. So instead, I will continue to support Own Voices. I will continue to buy those books and recommend them. And I will not support, with my money or my energy, books by authors who sit in their white privilege and complain that Own Voices is attacking them.
