All Mixed Characters in a Dystopia
I’ve 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 “criminals” 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 today’s world?
Good question. With a dystopian world like that it’s good to really look at your world-building process and ask the right questions.
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 don’t want to mix (for any possible reason)?
What effect does this “we’re all mixed” 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. I’ve had people tell them right to my face more than once, as well as seen them on the internet. There’s obviously the people who feel like “race purity” is a thing. The people who feel their or a certain race are superior *cough* white supremacists *cough*.
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 people’s minds, some I’d say good for you while other’s I’d personally want to dump on a faraway island so they don’t 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 country’s 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.
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.
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 aren’t 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.
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. They’re only POC in a superficial way. It’s not a problem because such mixed race characters exist, it’s a problem because it’s the norm. It’s a problem because they get whitewashed so easily and frequently.
The whole “we’re all mixed” 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 don’t like it.
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 you’re representing as well as the ones whom you’re actively NOT representing. POC often see themselves overlooked and erased from stories, even their own, so think about how a world where they’ve been consciously taken out (maybe not literally, but that’s how it could feel) feels to POC.
