Recs for stories that are good at representation!

AudryT 2024-04-29 18:17:13 UTC #1

I am trying to get writing peers in my age range (over 40, yes I'm ancient) to understand how incredibly inclusive comics and fiction are now in venues where creatives are free to write/draw whatever they choose. They are worried that younger creatives are being censored by being told they "can't" write a character this way or that way in critique groups or when asking for feedback in general. But I completely disagree with that perspective -- what I see is a whole lot of creatives working their asses off to be inclusive and to accurately represent oppressed groups. I feel like there is a cultural gap going on since most of my peers were very radical and inclusive authors from a young age and they may be misinterpreting a desire to accurately represent groups that are often stereotyped with writers silencing themselves out of fear of criticism.

So I would love some links or lists of titles of the stories here, written or drawn, that you think are really, really inclusive and doing a really great job of covering dark, scary and challenging topics. That have complicated, messy characters filled with flaws. Because those are the kinds of stories they are worried are being silenced. I don't know if I can convince them to join Tapas and start reading online serials as they're used to buying physical books but I can show them what kinds of topics and characters are being represented here.

Leyelle 2024-04-29 18:44:24 UTC #2

So this is my own story, but almost the whole cast is POC.

It shows the struggles of mental health, childhood trauma, negligence, poverty and such. All these issues are being represented by someone who has experienced such things. As well as the struggles people can go through trying to get forward in life because they can't read and things like that, which is a very big problem for people in my country.

I myself am Hispanic, as are my leads, and I've experienced first hand growing up without enough food, with depression and loved ones with depression and social anxiety and such, and I think it's safe to say I am not silencing these ideas in the story. It deals with dark, scary and challenging topics, so if that's what you're looking for, you could look at "Damsel in the Red Dress."

I'd also suggest "Rescue Me" by Sharean Morishita. It's about a woman living in an unsafe living condition with her father who struggles with alcoholism. It's not overly graphic, but it it does address these topics while promoting the importance of taking care of yourself, your mental health and safety, no matter how much you might love the people mistreating you.

She has another called "Love Love Fighting" (better than the name would suggest I assure you) that addresses issues of size-ism in the media.

kyupol 2024-04-29 22:18:36 UTC #3

My previous webtoon features a Filipino MC and it represents the other side of the coin of racism that isn't usually presented...

And the one I'm currently working on features the insecurities Asian males have in Western countries...

jadendouglas 2024-04-30 04:07:31 UTC #4

Right now it’s a bit goofy because we are only 12 chapters in, but I mean a lot will be meditations on power, freewill, trauma and much more later on. Genocide, slavery, selling human connection for power through resource collection. How propaganda is weaponized. Good intentions leading to bad outcomes. Good people in mislead organizations. Idk there is gonna be a lot, but I also want to keep it light as you go through all these things cause that’s the only way to actually get through it. The world is to heavy without a sense of humor.

GarzaGoose 2024-04-30 05:38:13 UTC #5

Lmao stick to one shots for right now. Mogged? Wrong forums xd

NickRowler 2024-04-30 06:06:41 UTC #6

It feels like you are talking about cultural barriers, which is the struggle to understand people from other backgrounds due to cultural differences. This can lead to stereotyping because one’s understanding of another culture might be very surface level or based on misunderstanding.

A good way to tackle this is through cultural humility. This can be difficult for some people because it involves reevaluating your own biases. It’s not censorship, it’s being willing to admit your perspective might be wrong and being open to learn.

I personally don’t think someone should be adding characters just to seem more inclusive. It might come off a bit disingenuous because they aren’t comfortable writing those types of characters. But if they have a preexisting character that could be written better, I think it’s better for them to focus on that.

SumireHime 2024-04-30 09:38:08 UTC #7

"Lyra's Magnum Opus". About a feminine transgender man who has a terminal illness and is a new wheelchair user due to this illness who struggles with both of these things in a very realistic way. His husband is a person who's discovering himself as a nonbinary person who might be transgender, but male to female. He's an onnagata, which you might more understand as akin to a drag queen in the west. Both of these characters are Japanese, and this takes place in Japan, where being LGBTQ is still not widely accepted, but things are changing. There's a few other queer people in this, including a transgender girl who is best friends with them. She tries to guide this nonbinary character in their journey. All of this is told in an extremely realistic and raw way. Everyone is over 30, and the main character's husband (who also has a represented POV narrative in this) turns 40 in the book. Many of their friends are near 40 and going through crises of pleasing their parents and feeling like they should get married and have kids due to societal pressure, including the main characters. One of the characters has decided not to have children though she is married, and faces unfavorability by her mother due to this decision. The whole thing is 360+ chapters long and finished, but one chapter uploaded per day and I just started uploading.

sophialyn 2024-05-01 00:59:27 UTC #8

Thank you for being thoughtful enough to ask for inclusivity!
The story I wrote is a bit of a parody in fantasy teen dramas, I noticed, growing up, that the topic of vampires or other immortal beings were only told from the perspective of white history. I wanted to challenge that idea by creating POC immortal characters that lived through POC history.
I am still at the beginning stages of this comic book, getting to know the characters and the universe, however I hope you and your peers will take a look and stick around for some interesting conversations I will have in this story️