All Mixed Characters in a Dystopia
Iâve come up with a dystopian world where everyone is of multiple/mixed races to some extent, including the main characters. The MCs are the heroes but are portrayed by the government as criminals, and, for some time, they also believe that they are criminals too. The president of the country is of mainly European decent, however, she has tan skin, coming from families with North African and East African ancestry as well. And four out of the six main characters have darker skin tones. Would this come off as racism towards darker-skinned mixed people (because they are âcriminalsâ but are actually on the good side), even if there are lighter-toned mixed people on the good side and darker-skinned mixed people on the bad side too?
And everyone in my story is of mixed heritage, naturally, including part-east-asian/part-blacks, part-arab/part-latinx, and so on. Would this in any way come off as fetishization towards uncommon mixed people in todayâs world?
Good question. With a dystopian world like that itâs good to really look at your world-building process and ask the right questions.Â
How did the world turn out the way it did?
Why would everyone mix until everyone is mixed race?
What happened to the people who donât want to mix (for any possible reason)?
What effect does this âweâre all mixedâ situation have on the racism happening globally? (chances of racism being solves are next to 0 to be honest, so really think and do some research to make this realistic)
How does this affect the current views on race as a (social) construct?
Personally, I have to say that speculative worlds where everyone is mixed feel very unrealistic to me. I know interracial couples could easily increase over time and be more normalized, but I hardly think all people would let go of their reasons not to. Iâve had people tell them right to my face more than once, as well as seen them on the internet. Thereâs obviously the people who feel like ârace purityâ is a thing. The people who feel their or a certain race are superior *cough* white supremacists *cough*.Â
You also have the people who see how other races keep on hating on them and decide to date people who actually appreciate and understand them. I bet there are more reasons on peopleâs minds, some Iâd say good for you while otherâs Iâd personally want to dump on a faraway island so they donât ruin the world for the rest of us. Reality is, all of those people exist, so what happened to those groups in your world?
Racism, colorism and anti-Blackness
Your question about the racism against darker-skinned people (colorism) is a good one to ask. Yes, I think colorism would most definitely exist in your world and could even be a hugely popular sentiment. Just think about how anti-Black racism can be found almost anywhere in the world and see how dark-skinned Black people are being treated the worst compared to lighter skinned Black people.
Your countryâs leader demonizing your main characters by portraying them as criminals could easily be seen as an act of colorism. It depends on how they treat other dark-skinned people, if the discrimination is systematic and structural, and if and how you portray them in your writing.Â
However, with how racism works in our world, many people could easily see this leader as racist or stereotype your main characters, consciously or unconsciously. Good thing to keep in mind.Â
Mixed race and stereotypes
Another pitfall are the stereotypes surrounding mixed people that can seep into your writing. Multiracial people are not the epitome of the human race. We are not the answer to ending racism and we arenât all a clear representation of our cultures and races in terms of our appearances. There are vastly different ways to identify as well. Some identify as one of their races, some as a few and some as all. Some identify as mixed, bi- or multiracial. I bet there could be more.Â
Also be careful about the ambiguously brown thing. A common thing with mixed race characters is that writings find ways to omit culture or any sense they might have of their race and how it impacts their identity. Theyâre only POC in a superficial way. Itâs not a problem because such mixed race characters exist, itâs a problem because itâs the norm. Itâs a problem because they get whitewashed so easily and frequently.Â
On âweâre all mixedâ
The whole âweâre all mixedâ scenarios leads to and ignores many problems due to (internalized) oppressive views and systems being seen as the default. This is one of the many reasons why many people donât like it.Â
If you want to write such a world, do your research, and ask appropriate beta-readers to check out your story. Be respectful and listen to the people youâre representing as well as the ones whom youâre actively NOT representing. POC often see themselves overlooked and erased from  stories, even their own, so think about how a world where theyâve been consciously taken out (maybe not literally, but thatâs how it could feel) feels to POC.
