tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post2865972676120769291..comments2023-12-25T00:38:19.500-08:00Comments on Finding Wonderland: The WritingYA Weblog (archive): Writer's Rites: Preaching to the ChoirSarah Stevensonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16534942492714970282noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-24916196954239767692011-07-16T15:28:09.623-07:002011-07-16T15:28:09.623-07:00Sarah: I now HAVE TO listen to Dr. Horrible. That&...<b>Sarah</b>: I now HAVE TO listen to Dr. Horrible. That's disturbing... and sadly, more true than it should be.<br /><br /><b>Brianna</b>: You're EXACTLY on track. Mitali Perkins' immortal theory as fiction as a window or a mirror is still so true - we are either showing people themselves when we write, or opening a window, and showing them the rest of the world.<br /><br />Crank open that window, chica. We're waiting to see your South Korean characters shine. Good luck.tanita✿davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01671822274852087499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-19489533642922848382011-07-16T15:21:14.673-07:002011-07-16T15:21:14.673-07:00I am so glad I read this. I am even more glad that...I am so glad I read this. I am even more glad that someone actually wrote what I've been preaching to everyone around me. I was browsing for tips on how to spice up my YA novel, and I find this article. It's really inspiring to read this at this moment in time. Right now, I am writing a YA action/adventure/spy novel set in South Korea and I've been pulling my hair out for months trying to make it "acceptable" for western audiences who have been raised on such stereotypes about Asian cultures. I was worried about the "realistic" approach I was using, and I believed that no one would read my novel because the characters are far from stereotypical. I thought people might not relate, but reading this article made me realize that there <i>are</i> people that want to read stories like this. Articles like this give me a reason to finish my story. <br /><br />People accept what they always see. So to break that, you need to show them something different. That's what I hope to do.Briannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-35067293715155520982011-07-10T17:31:01.604-07:002011-07-10T17:31:01.604-07:00I'm just now getting to read this discussion (...I'm just now getting to read this discussion (it's been a crazy week) and it brought up so many different thoughts for me...<br /><br />...the phenomenon of being more likely to be stopped by a traffic cop if you look Latino, also known as DWM (Driving While Mexican)<br /><br />...the song on the commentary soundtrack for Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, entitled "Nobody's Asian in the Movies" (a lament by the Asian groupie character)<br /><br />...the strange fact that I have been in a number of countries where it turns out I can "pass" as whatever the local ethnicity is, provided I can speak a few words of the language. This happened to me in Mexico, France, Italy, and Spain. <br /><br />...the shock I felt when I realized that Asian people have prejudices against other types of Asian people. (My dad, I'm sorry to report, has prejudices against a surprising assortment of people...)<br /><br />...and the fact that I will often have to consciously reframe a situation if I find myself making assumptions about someone based on appearance. Like, if I find myself thinking, "check out that thug-looking guy crossing the street," I'll stop, and tell myself, you know, he's probably just a big burly dude who made the unfortunate fashion choice of saggy pants. :)Sarah Stevensonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16534942492714970282noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-89677723089318709272011-07-07T21:42:42.040-07:002011-07-07T21:42:42.040-07:00LOL That's okay...I get that all the time. :...LOL That's okay...I get that all the time. :o) "alyxmorgan" was already taken when I signed on for my email years ago, so I've just kept it backward with nearly everything else.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-88999117016283158042011-07-07T05:18:50.346-07:002011-07-07T05:18:50.346-07:00Oh, oops - I meant ALYX Morgan! Sorry!Oh, oops - I meant <b>ALYX</b> Morgan! Sorry!tanita✿davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01671822274852087499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-10399935521808616822011-07-07T05:17:23.783-07:002011-07-07T05:17:23.783-07:00Lin: Someday that story should make it into an ess...<b>Lin</b>: Someday that story should make it into an essay or a novel: <i>The Week I Was Oprah,</i> by Lin Wash...<br /><br />Ugh, <b>Yat Yee</b> -- that's not a stereotype with which I'm familiar but I definitely find the "you're Asian, wow, you're smart," to be so common as to be really disturbing. I think Asian prejudices and stereotypes within Asian culture are even harder hitting.<br /><br /><b>Morgan</b>: There is a hip-hop shop here in Glasgow that took me from walking past to standing stock still. I stared. I gawped. I thought, "are they trying to be American, or...?" But, hip-hop and identity isn't tied to American-ness, but something more, I think, maybe more a common association to the themes of isolation and marginalization in the music.<br /><br />Also what's still funny to me is seeing Asian and brown-skinned South Asian and African-British people speaking with a Scottish brogue. I always smile a tiny smile, because appearance does not equal voice - it's a lesson I'd do well to remember too!<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by.tanita✿davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01671822274852087499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-14000259985445372732011-07-06T08:55:33.188-07:002011-07-06T08:55:33.188-07:00WOW...I truly enjoyed this blog. You're spot-...WOW...I truly enjoyed this blog. You're spot-on about our stereotyping people - even those of us who don't think we do.<br /><br />The experience that really shook up my assumptions was my first time in London. I was walking along the Thames, & there were two black guys walking in front of me. When I heard them speaking in Ebonics, with a British accent, I was floored. Somehow, I'd come to believe that those two were so disparate, that it never occurred to me I might hear them used in conjunction. I was ashamed to admit that I'd always thought Ebonics was something used by under-educated people, & that the British accent was a sign of "better-educated" people. It was a great lesson in assumptions.<br /><br />Thank you for an insightful post!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-53878700985187731822011-07-05T17:51:55.693-07:002011-07-05T17:51:55.693-07:00What's my experience? I am flooded by a whole ...What's my experience? I am flooded by a whole host of memories of being defined not just by the way I look by also by the little bit of background people know about me. Eg when I was in secondary school, I was complimented many, many times by people who couldn't believe I was Chinese educated. Why? because the Chinese-educated person was supposed to be unworldly, nerdy, bad in English, good at cramming information but not learning etc. Even when the best students in my year were mostly from Chinese schools, acing subjects that required more than just cramming, people, especially teachers, still persisted in believing in their stereotypes and judging students accordingly.Yat-Yeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04028075516122778317noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-21630426495344325812011-07-05T10:35:53.668-07:002011-07-05T10:35:53.668-07:00You can only go so far with ni hao (hello or hi) a...You can only go so far with ni hao (hello or hi) and duo shao (how much). Neither phrase is remotely helpful when a crowd is shouting "Oprah" in a park. Needless to say, I took a lot of pictures with strangers convinced that they had seen Oprah.LinWashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13041832821260168483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-72739638083558700572011-07-05T08:14:57.565-07:002011-07-05T08:14:57.565-07:00Oh, aargh. Yes. The "sassy diva" thing h...Oh, aargh. Yes. The "sassy diva" thing has got to stop. I hate seeing the phrase "you go girl" in books, and not only because it's grammatically ridiculous. <br /><br />I am imagining the whole Mandarin conversation, and having a tiny (okay, well, actually kind of loud) chuckle. "No! I am NOT Oprah Winfrey...!" Hee! Con<i>vince</i> me!!<br /><br />Thanks for stopping by.tanita✿davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01671822274852087499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-617104358242391402011-07-05T07:22:40.436-07:002011-07-05T07:22:40.436-07:00Great post! We're going to talk about this ver...Great post! We're going to talk about this very topic at school. When I was in Suzchou (near Shanghai) once, I had a hard time convincing a crowd of people that I was not Oprah Winfrey. I didn't know enough Mandarin to be convincing.<br /><br />I've seen many manuscripts where authors try to include people of varying ethnicities, but sadly fall into stereotypes, i.e., the African American who constantly says "Yo what's up?" and acts like the class clown or says "Girlfriend" all the time and acts sassy. It's always sad to see people so narrowly defined.LinWashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13041832821260168483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-31808662476271039762011-07-05T02:59:19.516-07:002011-07-05T02:59:19.516-07:00This came into my head especially because my broth...This came into my head especially because my brother was stopped by the police last Friday.<br /><br />He was walking to the bus stop, doing a dry run for his junior college courses which will begin this August. He was stopped simply because ... because.<br /><br />Why are you outside this time of day?<br />Why are you walking?<br />Where are you going?<br />Where do you live?<br />What classes are you taking?<br /><br />My brother is quite possibly our Lord's wee brother, and is patient and sweet and goodhearted at all times. He didn't mind answering questions and chatting with the police officer. *I* minded. A LOT.<br /><br />But, it will keep happening... <br /><br />I've learned something here, too. I'm just not entirely sure what.tanita✿davishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01671822274852087499noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10890387.post-55607552458652760962011-07-05T02:20:50.898-07:002011-07-05T02:20:50.898-07:00I just posted a wee bit today about teaching for a...I just posted a wee bit today about teaching for a community college on an army base. I learned A LOT about ethnic groups and misconceptions and preconceived ideas and everything else you write about here. One of the many things that has stayed with me is the experiences of a SGT, a very big man (his job was to carry a huge gun and he had the muscles to do it). One three occasions at different military bases while he was out jogging he was stopped by MPs (military police) (always Caucasian guys) and asked for ID. This was on base, he was in army sweats, and he was stopped. Each time he was asked why he was out running.<br /><br />Think about that. Don't a lot of guys exercise on military bases?<br /><br />He was both angry and resigned and when we (as a class) asked the MPs in the room why this would happen all they could tell us what that it does. They have to make random stops, he must look to some cops as the right guy to stop.<br /><br />What was so interesting was how the black students weren't surprised and the white students were shocked. This was a SGT - someone they all respected who was a quiet force of power in my classroom (he could shut down a mouthy 19 year old soldier with a look) and yet he was being disrespected by MPs he outranked. <br /><br />You mention seeing a group of brown-skinned young men; ever since my class when I see such a group I think of that SGT and I do my best to treat them with the respect not nearly enough people were giving him.<br /><br />Lesson learned.Colleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18380722344521975869noreply@blogger.com