Hello you gorgeous individuals, it's Kav here and welcome back to episode three of
Diversity 101. If you're new here, Diversity 101 is a series I run on my
channel where I kind of break down some of the basics of diversity and diversity-
related topics and make specific videos dedicated to conversations about those
topics. So I have two previous videos the first one is titled: 'What is Diversity?'
It's basically an introduction to the series and it focuses on what the terms
diversity and representation mean and the difference between the two. And then
I have a second video that I made earlier this summer that's about
diversity within the book reader and reviewer community and how to support
content creators from marginalized backgrounds. Now this third episode is
dedicated to the ownvoices movement - the term ownvoices, what it means, why
it's important, and the positives and negatives of this term because it's a
term that gets thrown around a lot and it's something people involved in this
part of the book community talk about a lot, but I think sometimes we need to
step back and actually take a look at what term we are throwing out there, what
word we're using, and what it actually means, so that's what I wanted to discuss
today. So without further ado, let's get started.
So the term ownvoices started as a twitter hashtag that was coined by a
sci-fi author named Corinne Duyvis who created the term in September of 2015
when certain important discussions were being had. She coined this term in order
to "recommend kidlit about diverse characters written by authors from the
same diverse group" and those are exact words that I pulled from her exact tweet.
So since then the term has kind of taken on a life of its own and gets used a lot,
specifically in many book twitter discussions, it's kind of just grown and
become something bigger than it started out as. So what does the term ownvoices
really mean? The term ownvoices means that the content creator or the reviewer
in question shares the same identity as the marginalized character they are
creating or reviewing. For example, a book like When Dimple Met Rishi is ownvoices for
Indian-American representation because the author, Sandhya Menon, is Indian-
American herself, so she shares the same identity as the two main characters,
Dimple Shah and Rishi Patel. This is true of many different pieces of work,
that was just the first one that came to my mind because the book is right there
on my bookshelf, but there are many, many different pieces of media and literature
that share this same ownvoices representation either on the author's side,
as the author or content creator created this character, or on the reviewer's side
meaning that the reviewer shares the same identity as the character they're
reviewing. For example I am an ownvoices reviewer of When Dimple Met Rishi because
I myself am also Indian-American, so I share the same identity as Dimple Shah
and Rishi Patel. So you might be wondering why is this important? Why do we care
about this? why does this matter? The reason this matters is that for a
long time and even still today, the stories of marginalized people haven't
been falling into the hands of marginalized people. They haven't been in
control of the people who have truly lived these experiences and who truly know
and understand these experiences. That's not to say that non-ownvoices work can
never exist. Non-ownvoices work can exist and I will get to that later and
talk about how it can be done well because some of the best forms of
representation out there for some people are through non-ownvoices work and that is
valid and that is important and that is just as necessary,
so I'm not here to dis all non-ownvoices work. I'm here to discuss the fact
that this label does exist for a reason and it is important for a reason. So in
my first Diversity 101 video I spent a long time discussing the difference
between diversity and representation because there is a difference. And a lot
of times with ownvoices work you get the most authentic form of
representation you can get because you're getting the representation from
someone who truly knows what they're talking about because what they're
talking about is their own experience and when it's an identity that does not
get shared a lot, that does not get represented a lot, it's kind of crucial
that it be done well because so little of that representation exists. And like I
said, this doesn't mean that non-ownvoices representation isn't important
because it is still important and it is still necessary. For example, Simon vs.
the Homosapiens Agenda is one of the most widely adored books featuring a gay
main character, but it's written by an author who identifies as straight. And
that doesn't change the fact that that book is still good representation and
it's been so accessible to so many queer readers and the fact that it's
important to such a wide queer audience. That doesn't erase that in any which way.
The thing is, the content creator has to, one, take the time to do the
representation properly - you have to spend time doing research, you have to
spend time actually learning about that identity and making sure you represent
that well. And then you have to consult sensitivity readers, that is so important
to representing a non-ownvoices identity - you need sensitivity readers.
And if a content creator truly cares and they're creating that character for the
right reason, then you know what, they can as long as they make the judgment call
that it's okay for them to write that voice. The fact of the matter is that in
publishing and in media there are only so many slots that are given to
characters of marginalized identities and that sucks. And if we could have
books by ownvoices and non-ownvoices creators alike and we could just fill the
shelves with them, then this wouldn't be as big of a problem. But, right now, with
where we're at in this process there are still only a certain number of slots
given to characters of marginalized identities and you have to consider if
you are taking that slot from someone else. If you think that it's okay for you
to write that story, you can be the judge of that. But if you think that maybe that
slot deserves to go to a content creator who actually comes from that identity
and who would be able to represent that better, then you know what, maybe that's
the call you need to make and you need to write a different story. I'm not gonna
sit here and pretend that it's my job to make that call for you, it' s not. It's a
personal thing - you have to reflect on whether or not you think that that
identity is one you should be writing and sometimes it is and sometimes it's
not and you need to make that decision for yourself. It's really just dependent
on the time and the person and the story they're writing - you have to consider
whether it's okay for you to tell it. That being said, whereas I do want to
discuss all of the positives that come with the label ownvoices and the power
it does have, we also do have to acknowledge that there are some
negatives that come with it. The first one which is a big one is the pressure
that comes from ownvoices content creators and reviewers to get everything
absolutely perfect. Earlier in this video I mentioned that it's important that
representation of people with marginalized identities be done well
because sometimes that's the only representation that certain teens and
media consumers have access to. But that being said, no one group of people is
ever a monolith. I have said this many times in my videos because it is so true -
we do not all have the exact same experience with our identities, there are
differences, there are nuances to that and no one piece of media can represent
everyone accurately and that's okay. Because something not representing you
accurately doesn't necessarily make it bad representation. Whereas I think that
a lot of times we need to have a more in-depth conversation about what that
means and how to differentiate the two, I don't have time for all the nitty gritty-ness
of that conversation in this video, but I do want to acknowledge that just
because something might not represent you 100% accurately, it doesn't
necessarily make it bad representation and that's a habit a lot of readers and
reviewers and such fall into sometimes. And here's an example - the book Love, Hate,
and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed has ownvoices Indian-American representation.
Now I loved that book, I gave it five out of five stars, but that being said - the
representation of the Indian-American main character, Maya, did not reflect my
experience at all. She had a completely different experience
than me, but I knew that that didn't make it bad representation. It was still good
representation and that will be so accessible to a different Indian-
American teen somewhere who'll say 'oh that represents my exact experience'
because two people can have a different experience and that's not a bad thing.
And the author wrote her experience and she wrote authentically from her
background and whatever she's experienced and it's not my place to
call that bad representation. So just because something doesn't represent you
doesn't automatically make it bad and problematic. And terms like ownvoices
and problematic are terms we throw around a lot oftentimes without actually
considering what they mean and I think we need to be mindful of the labels
we're throwing on stuff and considering whether it's actually important and
whether it's actually accurate. And that pressure also exists on the other side.
Oftentimes ownvoices reviewers are pressured to find every single aspect of
a book or movie or TV show that might not be perfect, that might be problematic.
Putting that kind of pressure on a reviewer is completely unfair. As someone
who cares so greatly about diversity and representation in media, I try to read
books as critically as I can and watch media as critically as I can and
consider whether representation is being done well, but you cannot put that kind
of pressure on one or two reviewers and expect them to find every single flaw.
That same pressure is not put on privileged reviewers and I'm not saying
I want it to be put on privileged reviewers because they don't deserve
that either, but no party should have that kind of pressure put on them. We
should acknowledge that most people are doing their best to read and consume
media with that kind of critical eye and consider when things might not be done
well, but no one person can figure out every single problem one piece of media
or one piece of literature has. I think it's important that people do get
a warning if representation is going to be bad or harmful for them because that
kind of stuff can be triggering and harmful to people and no one deserves
that, but that shouldn't be done at the cost of another reviewer. I think that we
just need to be considerate about how much we expect from people because a lot
of times people are doing their best and just like I'm not perfect and you are
not perfect, no other author or reviewer is going to be and I think that
sometimes we do need to cut people a little bit of
slack. The other biggest criticism that comes with the ownvoices term exists
mainly in terms of queer representation but it can exist in terms of other forms
of representation and that's that some authors or reviewers might not be out.
And that is definitely true and that's something I've tried to be more mindful
of when I describe books that might not necessarily be ownvoices because I
don't always know how the author identifies because just because an
author might not be out as not cis or not straight, I can't make that blanket
statement to other people. And that's not to say that just because something might
be ownvoices that means that it has to be perfect because ownvoices
representation can be harmful as well, but it's more, I think, the rush to
categorize this book as completely not ownvoices, the author is straight because we
don't always know. And I try to word it more so I say 'this author, as far as I
know, is straight' or 'this author, to my knowledge, has not come out as anything
other than straight,' but just because someone hasn't come out that doesn't
make the default straight, and that's a different conversation about defaulting
to cis and straight, but that's also another thing we need to acknowledge
that we don't always know everyone's exact identity. We don't always know their
religion or their sexuality or some parts of their identity and we can't
always rush judgment, and I'm not saying I haven't been guilty of it because I
have to, but it's something I'm trying to be more mindful of going forward and
consider that there might be parts of the story we don't know yet. But those
negatives being said, there are also positives to the term ownvoices. It gives
authors and content creators and reviewers with the same identity as
their marginalized character a term to hold on to, a term to show that 'hey, I
wrote this from my own experience' or 'I read this from my own experience.' It
gives a term to describe an important part of a representation experience. You
know, and in my journey of reading and consuming a lot of media, I've found that a
lot of times ownvoices representation has an authenticity to it that non-own
voices representation doesn't always give. There is an authentic
feel that comes. Specifically in representation of people of color, I've
seen that that is very, very prevalent because there are so many intricate
details when you come from another culture and a lot of times if you
haven't lived that experience it's hard to get all of that down on the page and
I find that ownvoices content creators have a much easier time of doing that. So
there are also positives to this term and I think that we in this community
and me included obviously just need to start using the term ownvoices for what
it is and consider that it does have power, but not give it too much power and
not make it the end-all be-all. Just consider that it's a term used to
describe an important part of the representation experience, but that it's
not the end-all be-all and that it shouldn't be the only thing we focus on,
it's just an important contributor. So, that's my two cents on the term own
voices and I'm very interested in hearing what you guys have to say. You
know, this is a relatively new term that's just kind of grown and evolved
into something bigger and not always better.
So what do you think about the term? Let me know in the comments below because I
am interested to continue this discussion and hear your guys' thoughts
as well as that's part of the reason I am doing this series. Thank you all so
much for watching. I hope you enjoyed this video - if you did, please give it a
like and subscribe because that stuff makes me happy. And as I said, comment down
below and let me know more of your thoughts, so we can continue having an
important discussion. And that is all. Thank you all so much for watching. I hope
you're having a lovely day or night at wherever you are.
Please remember that you are beautiful and you deserve the world and I will see
you soon for a brand new video. Goodbye!
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