I’ve pretty much stayed off the publishing world’s hot topics since I’ve started blogging here.  For the most part, that’s because I often feel “not informed enough” to formulate a response to some of these industry stuff such as the Amazon/Macmillan kerfuffle (ongoing, as far as I know) and the Kindle Missile Crisis.  I haven’t yet wrapped my head around the agency model and I haven’t stopped agonizing over which eReader I should lust after more (nook, Sony Reader, Kindle, etc).

But I have been growing more and more interested in the subject of whitewashing in publishing and entertainment as a whole.  This has been a snowball of an argument in the last few weeks as Bloomsbury made the mistake (for the second time) of whitewashing the heroine on the cover of Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore.  (The first time they made the mistake, they did it to Justine Larabalestier’s Liar.)

The more I read about people’s reactions and personal feelings, the more I grew aware of my own feelings.  I thought back to the stories I’ve read and enjoyed, and I haven’t read many books featuring a prominent Person of Color (POC) as either the hero or heroine.  (The last one I recall reading was Paula Yoo’s Good Enough about a Korean-American girl.)  This might speak of my limited reading choices, or it might be commentary on publishing and marketing as a whole.  Like many others, I put a part of my identity away because it’s irrelevant to the work I’m currently reading.  My Asian/Pacific Islander-ness is forgotten as I read or watch TV/movies (and no, I don’t relate to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon any better than I do The Breakfast Club).  It’s never really bothered me, per se, because for some reason I’d been conditioned to accept and assume that most heroines are of Caucasian descent.  It never occurred to me to be offended because that’s just how it’s been.  But you know what?  It doesn’t have to be that way.

I read this incredible post at Hello Ello (via Moonrat) and suggest you go read it.  Like, now.  Right now!  She, like me, is an Asian-American writer.  She states:

Change happens when we make what was once so different the norm. Representing diversity is especially important for publishers of children’s books. Books are the gateways for the imagination. But the ones in North America are apparently only gateways for white children as minority children are relegated to watching wistfully from the side. We are left hoping for a token side kick or small character that we can relate to. But not the main character. Because even if the book has a POC as the main character, we can’t be on the cover cause we won’t sell the book. That’s what this controversy meant to minority readers.

Since I am about to embark on Candace Havens’ Fast Draft and Revision Hell class, offered by OCC, I’ll be focusing on my paranormal YA that I set aside last October to focus on writing Tossing the Gloves.  Initially, I thought all my characters were white, but after feeling a bit left out of the loop, I opted to throw in a little of my Asian-American self in there.  I made one of the supporting characters Asian… and non-technical, non-human-calculator.  In fact, she’s kind of pyro and likes to blow stuff up.  I just wanted to put a little bit of me in there, and it felt right for the character.  I’ve been thinking recently about expanding the cast to include more than just whites and Asians — after all, we’re a diverse country full of diverse people… why shouldn’t our entertainment reflect the same?

It saddens me to see that in both film and publishing, non-white leads are being whitewashed and that the division between races is still so evident.  (See Hello Ello’s bit on how the film version of Avatar: the last airbender has an all-Asian cast of characters to be played by almost all white actors).  It’s 2010… isn’t time we embraced what it truly means to be AMERICAN?  And by American, I mean, encompassing all faces, colors, and shapes… I mean Asian-Americn, Afrian-American, Mexican-American, whatever-American… the common thread there is American.

Let’s celebrate our diversity, the shades of our skin, and be shameless.  American culture preaches tolerance and acceptance… so, it’s long past time for the whitewashing to end.  We are different, and yet, we are all American.  That’s what we ought to focus on, and that’s what we ought to fight for.

My name is Christy Finn, and I am a Filipino-American who identifies as either Asian or Pacific Islander.  I have no other country but the United States of America and speak no other language but English.  I was born in the land of the red, white, and blue, and feel pride swell whenever America does something great, and experience shame when we have failed miserably as a nation.  I have never appreciated being taunted with racial slurs and I am often overcome with a sense of awe when I see someone of my cultural background featured prominently in the media.  Why?  Because it’s so rare to see one of us celebrated for our talents, smarts, and aspirations — of which, I can assure you, there are plenty.

New Poll: What do you think about whitewashing in the media?