Malinda Lo
Blog
Nov 18, 2011
YA heroines outside the white, straight box
This has been a rough week for people of color and women. First, there was the whole thing where people forgot that yes, there are black people in The Hunger Games.
Then I watched the most recent episode of Once Upon a Time (that TV show on ABC), in which there was a black fairy godmother. Wait, you say, what black fairy godmother? Well, she appeared, said her two lines, and died within the first two minutes of the episode. Poof. (I have to say I called it. As soon as she showed up on-screen, I said, “I bet she dies.” Sometimes, it hurts to be right.)
And, of course, yesterday I saw this amazing clip of an interview with (black) British director Steve McQueen, where he asked a lineup of six white male directors why they so rarely cast minorities in movies. They had nothing to say in response.
Color me shocked.
And then there was Cracked.com’s totally unfunny list of 5 Old-Timey Prejudices That Still Show Up in Every Movie. The list includes No. 5: They still can’t show a black man dating a white woman (unless that’s what the whole movie is about); and No. 4: Only the pretty girls are allowed to live.
All of this left me a little down in the dumps. So I was really heartened to come across the YA Sisterhood’s Tournament of Heroines, which celebrates awesome YA heroines. Currently, the Tournament of Heroines is open for nominations.
What do they mean by “heroine”? Here’s what they say:
A heroine is a female character who is admired for her noble qualities. We think it’s someone who meets the world head on. This doesn’t mean she has to be a hardcore girl who can beat up anyone who crosses her path (though those girls certainly qualify). Your favorite can be anyone you admire, for any reason. The important thing is that she is extraordinary in some way or another– be that the way she handles other people, her inexhaustible humor, or her skill with a crossbow. We encourage you to think outside the box! Search your bookshelves for the female characters who inspire you, who make you want to be better, who prove that our world doesn’t have to be a man’s world.
Nominations are open until Nov. 24th, and the running list of nominated heroines is already pretty long! I love that YA readers are going to be talking about the qualities of a heroine.
There are already a few non-white characters on the initial nominee list (which is going to be updated daily, so that might have changed by the time you read this), but you know what would make me super thrilled after a week of such depressing news about how the wider world isn’t really that accepting of minorities (or, frankly, girls)? To show that YA readers are.
So I’ve gone through my bookshelves and pulled out 10 heroines who aren’t white and/or aren’t straight. These are the awesome girls I’m going to nominate for the Tournament of Heroines (in alphabetical order by first name):
Ai Ling from Silver Phoenix and Fury of the Phoenix by Cindy Pon
Billi SanGreal from Devil’s Kiss (and sequels) by Sarwat Chadda
Bridget Liu of Possess by Gretchen McNeil
Esme Rocket from Sister Mischief by Laura Goode
Hanna from Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves
Jael from Misfit by Jon Skovron
Keri from The Shattering by Karen Healey
Micah from Liar by Justine Larbalestier1
Nimira from Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore
Sin from The Demon’s Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan
There are my 10 ladies. But wait … there’s another!
Kaede from Huntress
Yes, this is my own book. Is it bad form to mention that a character I created qualifies? 
I mean, seriously, I think Kaede could totally take Katniss in a fight. And you know Katniss is going to make it to the final round. But Kaede’s archery skills are, I dare say, as good as Katniss’s. Plus she likes to throw knives for fun. Winner!
I think it’s going to be fun to see what YA readers think a heroine should be. (You can nominate your heroines here.) Who are your favorite YA heroines who are of color or queer?
- OK, yeah, Micah may not quite fit the definition of “heroine” above since she’s, you know, a liar. But she’s definitely “extraordinary,” and I love her! I have to include her! [↩]
I get so frustrated with movie & TV casting, you are so right on. A few shows are making progress – Community has a diverse cast, although you could still argue that the minorities are part of the ensemble and not “main” characters. Shows like Castle, Bones and Fringe have a variety of minority supporting characters.
Too bad last years JJ Abrams show Undercovers got canned, it had two African American leads. However, the show was missing something, not sure what, but I was sad to see it go so quickly.
Micah jumps to my mind too. Sure, she’s a horrific liar, but she’s dealing with some severe mental illness (either making stuff up and then believing she lives in it, or from the trauma of having to deal with who she is and what she’s dome that’s not her fault) and she’s inspiring because she’s always trying to do better and work through her problems and issues in a realistic manner.
I’d also add in Kayla from Tankborn. Unlike what the cover suggests I got the huge impression that she’s lower-caste Indian. The book is amazing and I love how she’s not entirely satisfied with her situation and works to fight wrongs.
My third would be Daja from Tamora Pierce’s Circle books. She was the first poc character that I encountered as a child, and I’ve loved her since for opening me to non-white characters as well as busting stereotypes of what African girls *should* be. It was really important for me, growing up in very rural Kansas where there were no examples of African Americans in my life.
Just to clarify, because I’ve seen what Aurora mentions in a couple places lately: Kayla from Tankborn is of African descent genetically, though the society is Indian-inspired and has a strict caste system. (We couldn’t find a model in the stock photography who looked exactly like we pictured Kayla to be, in exactly the right pose as this girl was—she’s slighly darker, with straighter hair–but otherwise her appearance is very similar to Kayla’s.)
I nominated Kaede! She should definitely be included in this tournament!
@Stacy
Interesting! I dunno if it’s sad or good that I assumed the cover was wrong due to misreading and my reading of the book was correct. Thanks for setting me straight.
Actually, as soon as I started reading the description of heroine, Kaede immediately leapt to my mind. Perhaps I need to read more titles ^^;
*adds books to Amazon wishlist*
That video is such a good teachable moment for film students, I think. Also, I had NO IDEA Steve McQueen was black. And it made me think, is that why people are talking about him and his films all the time, especially lately? And wanting to see them? As opposed to say, Tyler Perry, who even as a wildly successful black director (though I would say that his films are pretty bad and formulaic and way too similar to each other) is known for making “black people movies,” whereas all I’ve heard about Steve McQueen so far is that he isn’t the dead actor, and that he makes movies?
I really enjoyed this post and heartily agree that there need to be more heroines who are not white and/or not straight in all literature. As I thought about this (I do a lot of thinking) I realized that everything I’ve written (though never published) has a main character who is white. When I thought more about that (like I said– lots of thinking) I came the the theory that it is because I feel uncomfortable writing a main character or even an important secondary character of a different ethnicity because as a midwestern white girl I have no understanding of what it must be like to be black or asian or any other ethnicity other than white. I don’t know that I feel comfortable presuming that I know what it is like to be a black girl or an asian girl or a native american girl. Can this understanding be reached enough to give voice to a character do you think? Am I just blubbering lame excuses? I’d be interested to hear your thoughts.
@Sarah: That’s something I’ve heard a lot of people say. I actually wrote an entire post about writing diversity on my blog, but I think the first step is being able to recognize in your own writing that you may not be giving an accurate representation of the world, which you’ve just done.
The most important thing to remember is that people are people first, and that culture/race/sexuality comes somewhere after that. Of course, it is important not to throw race or sexuality at a character as a shortcut for making them unique, or specifically for the purpose of filling a token role. Of course I understand the desire to write another race/gender/sexual orientation responsibly. My friend Morgan said it best: No one wants to be on the wrong side of a civil rights issue.
In my experience, the best way to begin populating your worlds with characters who break the straight/white mold is to read, research, and surround yourself with books, media, and other people who break that. Once that begins to become a part of the mulch of your experience, you’ll be able to draw from it when writing characters.
@Sarah and @LScribeHarris, I like this quote from Jackie Woodson, in “Who Can Tell My Story”: My hope is that those who write about the tears and the laughterand the languagein my grandmother’s house have first sat down at the table with us and dipped the bread of their own experiences into our stew.”
Love it. I will have to read that book!
It was actually an article in the Horn Book: comminfo.rutgers.edu/professional…/childlit/books/Woodson.pdf
@Sarah – I totally understand that you’d feel uncomfortable writing outside your own experience. It’s frightening! I think that LScribeHarris and mclicious have offered great advice. Just don’t let your fears get in the way of telling the story YOU want to tell, even if the main character is nothing like you.
Yay, what a great post! I’ve read most of the books listed, I think, but a few new ones are on my TBR wishlist now.
Some other heroines I can think of (and have nominated in the tourney):
Haly from Libyrinth by Pearl North.
Memer from Voices by Ursula K Le Guin.
Khosi from This Thing Called the Future by J.L. Powers.
Diribani and Tana from Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson.