 Fantasy: June 17, 2020 Issue [#10227] |
This week: Diversity: Within Fiction and Reality Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Fantasy Newsletter by Dawn
“A lot of different flowers make a bouquet.”—Muslim Origin
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Diversity is a common feature within speculative fiction genres, in particular with fantasy and science fiction. Over the years many authors have used their worlds and characters to reflect troubles of our world along with speculation of issues or problems we could face in the future depending how things go.
There has even been the approach in trying to showcase a world that attempts at removing diversity. One of the things that really stood out from The Giver when I was younger and even reading it as a 20-something adult came in how the world made the attempt to removed those differences. The control of how the people saw each other, the limited diversity as they still had genders, suppressing hormones and the lack of past memories to avoid repeats has a little understanding behind them but in the end, did not work. So, there is a way to use diversity or an attempt at a lack in such to reflect on the world.
Some of the ways fantasy authors show diversity are more obvious than others. The different species or races, however they are worded, found within the typical epic worlds come with their own dramas that have some reflection to reality. Many of the stories with elves, humans, trolls, orcs or any other creatures use those differences in order to create some of the conflict. The characters have wars, varying cultures, fights and major issues that come when some of them might intermix. It's not always a matter of color or other variance but those facts come up on occasion too.
Then there are some forms of diversity similar to what we see. Whether human or not, there are different segments of populations that will have their own experiences. Those in the cities have different lives and thoughts than some of the ones in the small villages or farm lands. Religions or spiritual beliefs can also be a factor found within the fictional world that causes harmony or chaos, depending on the situation and world.
We also can't forget the less visible forms of diversity. While blue people or pointy ears can be fun, there are some other elements that can be used within speculative fiction. There is a whole spectrum of gender, identity and dating/romance orientation. Ace, GLBTQ, and other letters of the alphabet can find their way to show through the world within the characters depending on who you write and the other characters around them.
An example of using speculative fiction to reflect the world in a different way is within the concept of coming out. This is something that is more often than not associated with elements of orientation like romantic preference or even with gender. However, many years ago it was a big moment in one of the X-Men movies where one of the teen characters had to come out to their parents about the abilities they had, that they were a mutant. It got a fair amount of media in those days for the correlation between mutation and orientation. Overall, the series X-Men has many elements that showcase diversity, how conflict arises and the potential options for other writers to use in the future.
In the end, fantasy and science fiction stories are a ripe world to show the problems but also the wonderful existence of diversity. Each story has a place and is just waiting for a writer to put the words out into the world. What will you write?
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Do you have different ways the characters or world show diversity that reflects on the real world?
“We are all different, which is great because we are all unique. Without diversity life would be very boring." - Catherine Pulsifer
"We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color." - Maya Angelou
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