The problem with -ism "free" world building
This is not an indictment of escapist literature as a whole, nor do I seek to assert that one cannot or should not mitigate these issues in their world building if they so choose. However, I have noticed that a lot of literature that sets out to erase the “-isms” of our modern world (e.g. sexism, racism, classism, abilism, homophobia, transphobia) actually serve to reinforce them. Or, in other instances, create a similarly flawed system unintentionally and, in ignorance of what these authors created, ignore those flaws within the narrative.
For example, often I will read a book that exists in a world “without sexism.” However, because the author’s notions of what sexism entails are surface level, sexism seeps in. Soldiers are still revered. Textiles are undervalued. Relationships still suffer from inequity, despite the male lead and female lead’s insistence this is not the case. Women are still expected to be thin and pretty. Or, if the author wants to make a point against fatphobia, she’s expected to be curvy and pretty. Sometimes she’s ugly, but not to the male lead. His lens is the exception to her otherwise plain or ugly appearance.
In other cases, homophobia and transphobia are done away with but gender norms are still intact. That could be interesting to explore if the author is actually willing to explore it.
Worlds without abilism will often forget disabilities are still… disabling.
I’ve read a book that tries to get rid of capitalism. The system they set up gives every act of labor a set of points that can be exchanged. These points can be traded. Everyone’s points are listed in the town center. When asked if this might cause problems where people become competitive about their points or are ashamed when they are in the negatives, the person explaining the system basically said “no,” and then moved on without ever addressing this again.
Well, they also explained that the whole town rallies around those that are in the negatives to help them. This, at the very least, is a privacy concern. It doesn’t matter how collectivist and caring your town is. People are going to want help at their own pace and on their own terms. Broadcasting someone’s depressive episode for all to see is mortifying. (Mind you, the main character went through a depressive episode in the first book and felt shame for not feeling like they contributed to their community enough or correctly. That was their whole arc in book one. Why are we not addressing how this system might have contributed to that in book two???)
Or, what if someone is chronically disabled and can never get into the positives? What if there is no rallying the town can do that will allow them to contribute the same amount or more as their abled peers? Is it not dehumanizing to constantly broadcast someone’s inability to an entire town? The main character would say no, and move on. It will not be addressed again.
The point is, when you take away an “ism,” you canNOT only focus on the surface level. Sexism and racism and abilism and more are not simply issues of blatant, unapologetic bias. They are systemic problems that need to be solved systemically.
Now, what if you do not want to address that at all in your world building. You want something that doesn’t disrupt the status quo of our world today too much, but you also don’t want to dive heavily into all these systemic issues. You want your escapism set in this familiar, flawed world, but you don’t want to address all those pesky flaws. You can do that! As long as you ensure your fluffy story isn’t accidentally reinforcing oppressive systems, you can still set fluff in our oppressive systems. You must write with intention, or you will end up writing those very biases you hoped to avoid.
HOWEVER, if you want to genuinely get rid of those oppressive systems for your fantasy world, you HAVE TO do the work. How does getting rid of the rotten roots of our modern society fundamentally change every aspect of the society you are creating? EXPLORE THAT! Then, if you accidentally embed new issues into your world, you can work to get rid of them, or embrace them or explore them. But creating a new world with rotten roots and having the narrative itself–not only the characters who may be unreliable in their biases–ignore all the issues inherent here just recreates the very monsters you sought to destroy.
As a reader, I don’t feel like I am escaping. This isn’t escapism. It’s bias in a pretty bow, and I don’t like it.
