Straight white men should stay out of traditional publishing.
As the indie publishing world becomes one in which it is just as easy to break into and find financial success as it is the traditional publishing world (which is to say “not actually easy at all”), a moral question increasingly…
First Stab At A Counter-argument: only the most progressive of white male writers would even consider this. When there’s no guarantee (or even likelihood) that publishers would hire more diverse writers, what this will most likely achieve (at least in the short-to-medium term) is a move to the right in fiction and a reduction of progressive voices being published, and a generally more conservative culture (Which, in turn, could make it even less likely for more diverse voices to be hired, etc, etc.)
In an ideal world, I think the argument is strong. However in an ideal world, it wouldn’t be necessary.
I do think about this stuff in comics, it’s worth noting, but that’s another topic.
the 'straight white men should...' arguments are completely ridiculous. not because they are invalid, but because they are predicated on the idea that everyone else has a plight that is more important, more valid, or more relevant. and that sentence will probably get me some hate mail, so I will ask this: if people that are not white and not straight want acceptance and understanding, why are white straight guys being grouped into blanket statements like this?
I am a white guy from the North-Eastern U.S.
I had no choice in that. I try my best to act and think in a socially responsible manner. and so do most people. have white people been the recipients of a massive amount of bias in their favor over the years? of course we have. white privilege is so prevalent as to be beyond defense or argument.
white privilege is not a debate, it is a fact.
however, white privilege does not necessitate a systematic ban on white people. just like the existence of racism does not necessitate a systematic pardon for all people who have been affected by racism.
people are people, and racism has affected everyone, to one extent or another. Everyone.
Sexism has affected everyone. Everyone.
if the goal, as a society, is to create a more unified and equal populace, then exclusion is the wrong place to start. even if that exclusion can be justified and rationalized and defended to the hilt. it is like freedom of speech: everything is OK, or nothing is OK. everyone is equal, or no one is equal.
Lastly, the term 'white' is inaccurate. First of all, I am beige. In the winter, I am kind of pink. In the summer, I take on a more tannish/burnt umber hue.
Secondly, 'white' is not a race. Caucasian, sure. I am of Northern-European Descent, and my family has been living in the United States since before they were called the United States.
I am an American, and THAT is my identifiable race.
