These are FB posts of mine from various threads. They are, in effect, little mini essays in response to what the thread presented. Though they are also self-contained thoughts.
LaSasha, I do understand the rationale, but as a writer (& person) not given to stereotyping, as well as a writer whose own experiences & impressions are no less valuable than the characters I write, there is no way I’m gonna ask anybody’s affirmation for what I present. But in fairness to your p.o.v. on the subject, it is true that many do not share my fair-minded heart, & who arrogantly believe they can write of other cultures yet rely on stereotypes which could be taken as insulting. Finally, 2 more things: 1) when I write a character outside of my own direct life experience, I am writing about THAT character, not his/her group; 2) IMO, about 80% of life experience is shared by ALL people, no matter race, class, gender, sexual preference, etc., e.g., despair, joy, love, hate, tribalism, etc. So when writing a character of a group different from mine, I try to keep stuff w/in that 80%.