Description: Making Representation Obvious
Sometimes you have to code characters, either because the terms they use to describe themselves donāt exist (like secondary world fantasy), or because they havenāt found the words themselves yet (undiagnosed illnesses and disabilities). But if at all possible, you should make it clear who these people are and own that youāre putting them in the story.
Even if you actively can say that somebody is part of a certain group, you still have to make sure youāre not -washing them in the narrative. Be it whitewashing, straightwashing, abledwashing, or any sort of situation where you say one thing, but the story itself doesnāt reflect that.
Here are some things to consider that will help you make it obvious thatā¦
Skin tone (just donāt use food metaphors)
Hair texture/colour (especially black hair)
Most commonly eaten foods at home
Cultural clues that they would have (either assimilated or not, because both will have tells)
Their opinion of white people/things outside of their experience
This character is LGBTQA+
Who theyāre attracted to (or lack thereof)/past crushes (or lack thereof)
Their circle of friends (seriously, we travel in packs, I know like five straight people)
For trans characters: hormones, binders, packers, breast forms, tucking. Also, for more subtle clues, pronoun asking, euphoria at gender affirming things (like them being proud of their particularly dapper, feminine, or āI have no idea what gender that is but I like itā style), dislike of off-gender things (like complaining about somebody getting them something that doesnāt match how they like to present)
The actual orientation that they are, for crying out loud
Their opinion of straight people/things outside of their experience
This character is disabled
Their disability. Preferably in the actual labels, or make up your own labels for a secondary world fantasy
Any mobility, hearing, or speaking aids
Behaviours that come with the disability (ie- stimming such as rocking or flapping for autistic/ADHD people, navigating through appropriately wide paths for wheelchairs/walkers, sitting on one side of the group conversations to make sure their good ear catches it, etc)
Levels of aid needed and any accommodations
Avoiding things that trip them up (like somebody autistic not wanting to go where itās crowded, a wheelchair user avoiding curbs, a Deaf person making sure thereās a sign language interpreter at a concert, somebody with celiac avoiding gluten like the plague)
Plan cancelling because itās a bad day,Ā or having to leave early because the environment is bad
Medications, doctors, etc, if applicable
Self care rituals for after a long day or during a flare up
Their opinion of abled people/things outside of their experience
This character is mentally/chronically ill
Their symptoms, from good to messy, consistently
Their energy levels, as many of us use the spoon theory
Self care rituals they practice during flare ups or after hard days
Medication, doctors, therapies, etc
Cancelling plans because a bad day came up, or having to leave early because the environment is bad
Triggers and their individual reaction to their triggers
Their opinion of well people/things outside of their experience
And so on. These lists are not meant to be exhaustive at all, but they are meant to get you thinking about how you need to go about describing representation.
One thing to note: you can go about establishing representation in one of two ways. Either have the characters noting their differences, or them nothing othersā differences. Neil Gaimanās Anansi Boys describes white skin when it appears, because within the narratorās world, black skin is the norm. But others note their own differences. Itās all about their character.
Either one requires a lot of careful thought and sensitivity readers, but both are valid* options for owning** representation.
Followers, feel free to add more!
*Do be aware that some groups are chronically under-represented when it comes to the actual word of their identity. Bisexual people hardly have characters say the word as their identity. Autistic people also hardly have characters say the word as their identity. Be very careful of not having characters talk about themselves if the group is prone to being coded but not explicitly represented
**You have to actually own it and say theyāre that when people put all the clues you left together
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