About outing queer authors: As a queer reader, I do understand being annoyed and/or offended at the way many heterosexual writers portray queer character. That being said, I find it quite hypocritical since online LGBTQ+ communities are always saying that it's never too late to understand yourself and that it is ok to not know/not be confident to come out. So, when someone publishes a queer book and they haven't come out yet, many readers already jump to the "they didn't say their sexuality, therefore they're heterosexual"; this is hypocritical for: 1. What happened to fighting heteronormality? 2. What happened to "take your time"? Like I mentioned, I know how annoying and sometimes downright harmful it is the way many cishet authors portray queer people but there's such an invisible line between wanting a queer-written book and outing an author that I, personally, feel that you either just read books of authors you know are queer or read any queer book and judge them by their content (since even queer writers can write harmful queer characters). It is a personal opinion, sure.
I think the problem with performative diversity is that people pick up books that are "in" but not something that they necessarily want to read. For example The Hate You Give was widely read when it came out, and people were sharing it everywhere, but not everyone wants to read YA or something with heavy topics. It's much better if you go looking for diverse books within the niches that you like (e.e romance, or fantasy, or YA, or mafia books etc.) rather than just buying these books that people talk about and then never actually reading them. It might be a lot harder to find these books, and you might need to do a lot of the work yourself, but I think it'll be better in the long run.
I started reading diversely in my fiction out of boredom. I don't know if it is good or bad I just wanted to hear new stories from a different pov. I really do wish there were more books about people with disabilities that aren't inspiration porn.
I hate that non white books are still referred to as something outside of the norm. "Reading diversely" sets the idea that books written by white authors are the norm and idk how it can rephrase so BIPOC/Disabled/Queer books are recognized as the norm too because we are.
While I agree with the sentiment, I believe that diverse doesn't necessarily refer to non white, but more to broad. Diverse means different and you should include different authors and stories into your reading. If you for example only read from japanese authors, your reading wouldn't be diverse either.
@@ICHMUSSMALPIPI if the Japanese authors are from a range of backgrounds and identities along with being Japanese like having a disability, being queer, and stuff then I would consider their works diverse even though you are only reading from Japanese authors
This is so true with how "diversity" is used in the bookish community. Especially when you see reading challenges and such with a prompt that's like "read diversely" ... implying that readers would select white/straight books for every other prompt, of course.
I think education is too often confused for activism. Education is there to merely inform your activism, and to improve your effectiveness when combating prejudice and injustice either on a personal level or a political level. Going to school for a career does not automatically make you adept at that career, does it? No, only doing the job will make you adept at the career. Education does help improve your chances to understand the purpose of that career, the nomenclature being utilized in that career and what needs to be done overall in that career. It's exactly the same for activism, I think. Learning, while beneficial, is not activism itself.
I love readathons that are aiming at diversifying the books that are being read, mainly because so many fantastic recommendations of less known books come from these readathons. I always add the ones I can't get to during the readathon to my tbr to read over the year.
So do I. I'm also a mood reader and these help me create an actual tbr for the month that can actually help me break out of a rut and learn at the same time. I've always read a bit diversely because I like learning about the world and different cultures, but these readathons have helped me to read even more.
Didnt expect to see biphobia discussion here. Im actually really happy to hear this. Im a bi male happily living with my male life partner, but dating was not fun as I navigated issues on both sides :/
Great discussions here! And I really relate to the compulsory heterosexuality thing. This is why I didn't figure out I was bi until I was 30 and had been married to my husband for years. It sucks that there's so much erasure of that on both sides.
I never thought about how diverse my reading history/TBR was until I joined the online reading community. At first I thought, "Oh shit, I guess reading diversely is what good, intelligent, worldly people do, I'd better do more of that so I can become more like that." And then more booktubers were criticizing the movement to read more diversely for its virtue signaling and lip service and criticized how we even define "diverse" authors and books, and I realized this discussion goes so much deeper. Anyway, my point is, I'm glad you're talking about this too, Jess, because discussions like this definitely help out. Discussions like this sometimes make me ashamed that I'm too lazy or self-centered for not doing enough "work", but that's my problem, not the fault of the diverse reading movement. It's a good movement overall. (I'm nervous writing this, but your comment section is usually pretty cool! I think that's largely thanks to the tone you set for us in your videos.)
Honestly, I feel like a lot of people are just going through the motions when reading diversely. Like I have seen THUG and Red White and Royal Blue recommended so many times it’s insane. And if someone really liked THUG as much as they say they do, then why don’t they have any other recommendations? Like, the first thing I do after I read a book that *meant* something to me is look for lists everywhere on similar or recommended books. But people who recommend THUG hardly ever have any other books on their list besides other Angie Thomas books or NYT bestsellers which seems a bit sus. I NEVER see anyone recommend Dear Martin which came out around the same time, and also has similar themes and I think Goodreads recommends it to read too?? It’s a little sus. Like Angie is their token POC person…
Yes! So often these "diverse" lists and the big booktubers mention the same three generic books. There are so many smaller creators recommending incredible books that aren't on every bestseller list or tiktok yet.
@@katharinamuller6168 I agree! I feel like it’s kind of a catch 22 for recommending on social media. Because it’s always smaller creators recommending the most diverse, but it’s also hard to find them since they wouldn’t be using the hashtags for a big book that everyone’s familiar with.
@@heathermalmal9943 have u read Concrete Rose? Towards the end a woman at a college is pregnant and says she's going to name her baby Justyce and I think it connected Concrete Rose to Dear Justyce
My boyfriend and I constantly discuss the fact that more often that not we say “I read this headline today” and then admit we don’t read the full article. It’s become the norm to just skim big issues. This is a great reminder if you are going to share information please read the entire article.
Hi Jess! I'm the author of the essay you mention :) I love the video, and I'm so glad you edited in the portion mentioning it! Thank you so much for that, and for linking to it. You've made a great addition to the discourse on this issue.
The whole own voices conversation is super interesting. I'd love to hear you have The Artisan Geek in one of your live streams with maybe a couple other people, because she's made a couple videos about yaoi and gay manga and their authors. Her latest video discusses how it's really impossible for readers to only read gay manga by gay authors, simply because authors often have to use pen names or are extremely private simply because of the stigma still attached to queerness in Japan. Anyway, all that to say, this discussion made me think about her video, and I love her and I love you. 🖤
I understand both sides of the “own voices” argument. It’s important to read things from own voices but also I hate when I hear about someone forced to share something they don’t want to. Some authors don’t even use their real names … sooo … it’s tough. Especially coming from a white woman who’s married to a white man lol. It’s not something I would ever have to struggle with.
I feel that when I found the Booktube community last year I have read more diversely than I did on my own in years past. I am still working on reading the books that I have bought by BIPOC authors and am inspired to read them and seriously everyone should read Amari and the Night Brothers and the Aru Shah series, I know they're middle grades, but they are excellent books that have lessons of empathy in them. Thank you for sharing this and anyone who needs someone to have their back can count on me. Love you back and love all of you. No one should ever feel less because of who they are or born the way they are, never let anyone tear you down, not even family. Always know that you are loved. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I'm surprised nobody mentioned the practical (not political) aspect or reading diversely. As far as I understand US book market, it's huge and there is no way to know about all new releases, so you will mostly hear only about "key" releases (I don't know proper term in English tbh) that publisher promote the most. And these releases are usually by white straight authors and also include some generic boring books that are "almost like this huge bestseller so we need to sell them right now" (generic YA paranormal romances after Twilight or generic YA dystopias after The Hunger Games and so on). And it means there are some good underpromoted books by marginalised authors or translated books that can give you way more pleasure that another "key" release by big publishers. And regarding just reading books... I think it's complicated. I don't like when people tread reading diverse books like it's some heroic act of activism but in the same it's not like everyone can be an activist. Some people can just read diverse books and silently become less ignorant and it's good.
I feel like the #ownvoices tag is just feeding into the over-policing of who can write which stories. I have deleted the tag from my tags on @thestorygraph and have been trying to identify authors more specifically as to how they identify. It is messier because there are so many diversities out there but it is very interesting and perhaps helps me identify gaps in types of stories or groups that I have not learned anything about.
Hi Jess! Thank you so much for this. I appreciate the fact that you are addressing diversity, and diverse books. They ought to be read, dissected, and the messages need to be taken to heart. Your dog is adorable!
For the first half of Communitea I do think what’s being talked is really the intention, because all activism can be performative with the wrong intention. I also think there’s a tension between individual self growth and societal/policy change. The policy change can happen without the self growth. Reading diversely and engaging diversely can grow an individual but that itself doesn’t lead to policy change.
Here are some interesting/good diverse reads that I haven't really seen on booktube before: - 'The Reason I Jump' by Naoki Higashida (=Autism, written from a 13-year olds perspective, who has been diagnosed on the spectrum). - 'Hi!My Name is Loco and I'm a Racist' by Baye McNeil (An African-American man and his experiences living in Japan for 10+ years) - 'Don't Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves' triology by Jonas Gardell (Based upon a true story, (not the author's own story) LGBTQ+, HIV&AIDS crisis in Stockholm, Sweden during the 80s. Also one of the main character's and family are members of the Jehovah's Witness, which makes it even harder for him to come out as gay.)
Lou's video was great and sparked conversation in my community too. Thank you for sharing that video. It's an interesting line to walk, because there are people who have their head in the sand on many global issues and issues around them, and adding some diversity to their reading list may open their eyes to various injustices and cruelties. And it's awesome if people start picking up a more diverse selection of books and hopefully actually read them. That said, there are a lot of lovely people out there on the booktube and Bookstagram world who agree with us on BLM, Israel Palestine, colonialzation, war & peace, misogyny, healthcare injustices, etc. How do we organize all these people to take the next step and continue making the world a better place? That is the question that has been bouncing around my head for a few weeks, and is something that is much harder for our community to do than promoting progressive books or sharing a couple links. I'd love more strategy talk on this issue. I still say go hard in the paint, but I'm not a kid any more. 😂 I hate when people clearly and take MLK out of context too. Pence saying MLK would be a republican today is so comically absurd. I need to work on my breathy Ronald Reagan impression to mock these delusional talking points. I'm not a huge fan of the own voices stuff to being used to credit or discredit the validity of people and their works, particularly when it comes to the LGBTQ community. I remember in 2004, when the Bush administration was trying to pass a constitutional amendment to make marriage one man and one women, a random college reporter asked Lynn Cheney about constitutionally oppressing her lesbian daughter, (the Cheney's had been doing a great job avoiding all questions on the topic). And a lot of the stories were about the reporter that asked the question's sexual orientation. The administration tried to discredit the reporter for disingenuously asking about LGBTQ rights when the reporter was straight (they would have probably used the term "virtual signaling" if it had existed then.) But yes, sometimes I feel like own voices overly fixates on the messenger rather than the message. Of course a diverse group of messengers is important too. The more modern version of this story is definitely the bisexual ignorance referenced in those articles. The problem of publishers using own voices or whatever the future hashtags as a marketing strategy rather than a societal improvement and educational strategy will continue to exist within publishing. I was listening to a person who used to pitch sitcoms to Hollywood executives, and he said that executives loved when you would pretend that your script is being pulled from your own experiences, so he would always pitch his scripts like they were some version of his own personal experiences. With all that said, I think own voices has probably been a good thing overall in terms of getting PoC and other marginalized voices out there.
I have no idea how we can organize/ strategize within the book community but it would be amazing if we could figure out a way to take it beyond our online activism- I don’t know how tho 🧐. And own voices 😒 started out so positive and I love knowing that the author has lived this experience but it should never come at the cost of someone having to share something they’re not ready to share
Thank you for bringing up this topic. No one should be forced out before they are ready as in some cases it can cause mental, emotional and physical harm. I agree that we need to read a diverse section of literature from multiple perspectives to grow and to acknowledge what happened in the past as well as what is going on now .
While I definitely support the hashtag OwnVoices as it was intended (geez I sound pompous) and think it's important, it made me uncomfortable to use as a cudgel to use against authors and their works. But I guess a lot of hashtags start as one thing and get co-opted for other, unintended and possibly negative uses. PS: the concept of "negative peace" just blew my mind and I need a minute
This branches off of one of your reasons for reading, to learn, so I wanted to share. I was thinking about my reasons for reading, and my main reason is the feeling of connection to others and the world I get from stories. I usually get that feeling from learning about people’s reactions to experiences that are different from mine, whether fictitious or not, because I still feel connected to lot of the emotional reactions.
Im honeslty never gonna critique another "straight" author for writing queer stories again after these stories about people feeling forced. Gatekeeping isnt it when it comes to this
I started a project of reading self published memoirs by elders, it led to a project to combat elder financial abuse. Respect to everyone who's seen the century.
8:08 This is why I hate the new phenomenon of carrds on Twitter. They’re just filled with bare bones info most of the time and people retweet and pin them to their profiles and then move on. Their own personal posting never changed - people just retweet more stuff and hound other people into doing the same thing before diving back into their normal lives. Makes me feel like shit. Like if you don’t wanna read the stuff maybe ask someone in local activist community to explain it to you or see if you can volunteer your services which would have a much larger impact than retweeting a carrd that none of your followers click on and you just do to feel like you’re doing your part. Slacktivism is so normalized now it makes me sick because then the real activists are being drowned out by people like Chrissy Teigen tweeting bare bones “uwu don’t be racist guys!!” like ah yes problem solved :// And the way people only really do it while also circulating traumatic images and videos of people being brutalized by people of authority or random attackers…I feel like in the past year especially I have been exposed to how normalized the “othering” of marginalized communities in America is, even by self proclaimed activists on Twitter. Like it’s OK to share uncensored bodycams and security footage of black people being murdered and I’m a bad person if I’m so horrified by the death and violence I’m seeing on my screen that I have to log off? I had a panic attack a couple weeks ago just thinking about how bizarre the environment was online especially last summer. Like things were bad enough I didn’t need to be constantly inundated with uncensored videos of people being murdered. And it felt so “othering” like why were people so eager to share those videos for “awareness” and not just descriptions…IDK I think I am still unpacking some kind of trauma I endured from last summer that was worsened by how people handled it online.
I think something that gets lost in a lot of these discussions is that it's also important to curate who you're taking recommendations from. Diversifying reading is great...diversifying the reviewers/bloggers/etc you pay attention to is even better. It supports even more marginalized creators, and it adds another hard-hitting element to the effort to empathize and understand. Like...it's very hard to not feel things when you watch or read or hear someone talk about the way a story echoes their lived experiences and makes them feel seen. It also ties into OwnVoices - OwnVoices authors are great, but I also seek out OwnVoices reviews. It helps me paint a fuller picture of the quality of representation in any given book. No one person is a spokesperson for a whole group. Reading reviews from the groups being represented highlights commonalities and differences in those experiences. And it means authors who don't feel comfortable revealing something - their sexuality, disabilities, trauma, struggles - are still able to write and publish their stories and not feel pressured to put every detail of their personal lives out there for the world to dissect.
Such a good discussion and I love hearing your thoughts about this topic. These are really important concepts that are definitely not easy to fix and I think it’s so important that there’s some complex discussion in the online book community
I feel like these lists are supposed to be starting points; they're supposed to get you in the door, but *you* need to finish the job (so to speak). And that goes beyond just reading the books, imo; if you're gonna say you have a diverse reading list (or want to have a diverse reading list), you can't only be buying books or reading them when tragedies happen or it happens to be a heritage or pride month.
Maybe an Author's Note could help, if the author is willing to talk openly about their lived experience and how they put those experiences into their book? But for authors who are still questioning facets of their identity or feel unsafe outing themselves but still want to write about those experiences, I can see how doing away with OwnVoices can be frustrating. I wish Questioning as an identity was seen as valid (not even just for Queer people, but for disabled people without a diagnosis as well). I worry the same way publishing weaponized OwnVoices, the blame will also be put on authors for it being taken away.
Here is what I think. I think that if you want to read diversely that it should be done throughout the year. I believe that part of supporting and normalizing the experiences, beliefs and cultures of marginalized groups is by consuming media made by those groups about those groups. (I hope that makes sense). I also think that sharing lists and boosting certain groups during their heritage month is also great. However, when you compile lists after a tragedy, despite good intentions, it feels a little performative to me. I understand wanting to support the communities after a tragedy as a show of faith but we need that support all year round.
Another great video! I loved the convo with Emory. There were so many points I hadn't considered before. It's easy to feel hopeless when something like own voices gets hijacked by corporations for money making purposes (yaaay capitalism! 💔) and it's hard to know what the next step is. Also, I love when people put infographics in their stories and put "Read all slides" because it kind of jolts me out of my doom scrolling and reminds me to be more present. Lol. I need to get better about not just coasting through important content and analyzing my own actions/intentions.
In regards to reading diversely, I think we also should be doing more work to support movements like #disrupttexts. Of course reading more diversely on a personal level is great but to see a broader change we have to diversify required reading and push for legislation that mandates it.
The school.reading ciriculums have been soo white for a long time but with the way these crazy parents have been going on about lgbtq books its gonna be a big struggle to diversify the ciriculum. Maybe it could start by putting an order in at local libraries that dont have more books of people of color. I really want to read the sun and the void (i dont think i got the title right) and sisters of the lost nation and Babel but i doubt my library currently has them.
Been catching up on the Bookish TEA. I am really loving this series you do because the topics are always so important and you get so in depth with your research. Don't see the point in buying books that you aren't going to read. I don't buy anything unless I truly intend to read it. It's just how it is. I don't have money to throw away on books I don't intend to read either. Be selective about what you know you are going to use and enjoy.
Thanks for the discussion. These are things we need to examine as we try and be better and do better. There are no simple answers for the OwnVoices dilema. But absolutely no one should be pressured into revealing things about themselves or their identity that they are not fully safe and ready to be public about.
25:32 I think in this situation intention!!!! Is everything if your intention is to write someone who gets actively oppressed whether that’s because of their sexuality skin color ect because you want diversity in your book and you’re actively helping those causes and being an ally to those communities even though you’re not necessarily in The community (I really hope this is making sense) but if someone has the intention of I’m ONLY gonna have the certain sexuality in here because I want them to be to be the villain or the punching bag or you know the bury your gay trope and your political and moral beliefs don’t match up to the diversity that you’re doing and you’re using it in a negative way then yeah that’s when the red flags come up for me but if a author writes a gay story and they’re not gay they’re just an ally and supportive to those communities that they portrayed in the story’s im not bring out the pitchforks it’s only if someone’s beliefs align with the representation of the character that the writing
I just keep laughing at people who say they read diversely but all of the books they read are by US or UK authors. Lol. How can anyone say they know about the world when they only see it through a US/UK lens?
Idk I'm not comfortable with the idea of gatekeeping "diversity" (i.e. "You're not reading diversely if you don't read outside US/UK"). And that's not to downplay the brilliance of authors outside the US/UK, I wish they got talked about more. But countries like the US are also diverse and I think not recognizing that is kind of a shame? Not to mention the books written by US authors who are immigrants or children of immigrants whose experiences and "lens" is different. It also becomes a question of accessibility (like with public libraries). Sorry this is rambly, but shaming other people who are at least trying to read more broadly bothers me.
@@marymik7372 why do you feel that saying "don't only read US/UK authors if you want to read diversely" is "gatekeeping"? It's not an unimaginable difficulty to read, for example, translated works. I guarantee you translated books are available at every public library. All of us in the countries outside of US/UK have grown up reading translated works and it's completely normalized. Yet when we suggest the opposite (US/UK audiences to try to read something outside of US/UK authors), it's somehow "gatekeeping"?
@@4erepawko Encouraging people to read translated works is definitely not gatekeeping, it's great! But saying you are *not* a "diverse reader" *unless* you read translated works is "gatekeeping", based on this definition: "when someone takes it upon themselves to decide who does or does not have access or rights to an identity." Does reading translated works diversify your reading? Yes, of course. Is that the only way to be diverse? Nope.
i've been guilty of this cause sometimes i buy books and i honestly forget about them. So now I try to be more aware of what I'm doing so I can do better thank you for this video.
I've always had problems with the term owns voices creating this assumption that no one who isn't own voices could possibly be qualified to discuss a subject. What if that person is very close to someone or many someones who are part of a minority, and has done substantial research through firsthand and second hand accounts. If that is invalidated, doesn't that call into question the validity the entirety of journalism? Clearly, own voices does make them infinitely more qualified to speak on the subject, but does that mean people who are not own voices cannot add to the conversation in a positive fashion? That said, I think Ashley did point out to me that even own voices can misrepresent a population as well. Say you have a zionist author speak on the Jewish occupation of Palenstine. It does not mean they are qualified to speak for all Jewish people. In One to Watch, the fat rep is notoriously bad and it is also considered an own voices piece. Just because one is part of a minority does not mean their own attitudes cannot be influenced by social prejudice. I just think relying on own voices is not as clear cut as everyone assumes. I think you have to look at the credentials of the author, at who they are as a person, and think for yourself a bit with regards to how much you trust their opinion.
This is an interesting video. I do read specific books on specific months to read books I wouldn’t normally read. It’s not that I intentionally avoid them I just like romance a lot so interrupting that for important things is worth it to me. I’m Indigenous and Mexican and my wife is African American. We both have masters degrees and just like using those opportunities to learn. We donate to causes and what not but I genuinely think if you’re participating it’s a good thing. If you’re doing marketing and not reading that’s still a good thing. It’s about having more voices in your head than your own and your usual company. In anthropology we have a term called cultural relativism and it’s the idea that a group must be understood in their own context. Give your self the opportunity to have context. Love your vids all the best
Really great video and discussion as always! I don't really know how the own voices thing could work out but like you I hate when something that starts out with good intentions gets warped into something else
yes to being about it and our thing at work has been say the thing like we're just out here speaking up and out because enough is enough on so many things just not being said and needing to be brought to light.
I feel like the own voices discussion has a lot of nuance to it and it's so complicated. I think own voices can definitely be useful in helping select some authors to read, because you can guarantee that you'll see things portrayed in an authentic light, but it's the not the end all be all and people need to understand that. Like we can't be judging authors who write queer books just because they appear straight because you never really know. Anyway i guess that's my main view, like it's helpful, but it can't be the only thing that matters and the only consideration into reading diverse books.
The discussion on reading diversely is relatively new to me. I've always been an indiscriminate reader; if I see a book that looks good (regardless of who the author is), I will read it. Of course, I do read a lot of white, straight authors but that does not mean that I don't read other people's books. I don't even look at the name of the author when I'm browsing the store! Maybe we should start selling books with the backs on display and see how that goes (unless it has reviews from people on the back lol)
This whole thing is a really valuable discussion that definitely got me thinking...reading diversely and ownvoices are both things that are never gonna have one clear cut answer or solution. The whole sub-discussion on authors writing queer stories gives me major tumblr discourse flashbacks...not in a good way, lol. I think it's valid for readers to want to spend their money on books they know are written by queer authors, but the other side of that coin shouldn't be harassment and pressure of authors to be out as that creates this extremely toxic environment.
“cishets can’t write queer books” drives me fucking insane. the implication that lgbt+ then in turn can’t write cishet books is so. weird. the only reason an identity should come into play period is for insert marginalised author to defend their reasoning behind using a problematic trope. like that is the only time it should matter.
Ya I noticed after the George Floyd stuff I didn’t hear much from the book community about suggesting new poc authors 🙃 but I do applaud the ones who still did 😩✋🏾
I think the WNDB decision makes sense but I also agree with Emery, Rod, and Adiba's comments - it's not really getting at the core problem, plus I think the more umbrella term of ownvoices may be more helpful or safer in some cases? Publishing is still going to use identity as a marketing tool and I don't really know how we can ensure people find books that reflect themselves while also protecting authors from being forced to reveal more than they are comfortable with, all with one term or system
I think for those of us following bookish creators online, if we are supporting diverse creators we can support diverse stories that those creators say reflect their experiences pretty easily. If you want to read great books about people in the lgbtq community, you could research and make sure the authors you read are own voices and potentially gatekeep yourself from some great books.... or (or in addition to this) you could find creators with an identity different than yours and listen to them when they recommend stories they've connected with. NOTE: I'm not saying we should solicit recommendations from creators we've never interacted with. Most creators already have videos/ posts with their top books in certain categories. People are dealing with enough. Please don't pester them. :)
My first read by a black author was 'Bailey's Cafe' by Gloria Naylor. I surely didn't ease myself in with such a read, but damn it's a good book by a great writer, covering some very heavy themes but also having a feeling of hope echoing within the walls of the cafe. From that moment I ordered 'The Women of Brewster Place' and never looked back. The best read I've had so far in my life is 'Sugar' by Bernice McFadden. It'll take a bloody good book to knock it off it's perch. Reading diversely is what I have found I like the best. I love to hear the voices of so many different authors, and be witness to some of the best written characters, of all races and colours and sexualities and ages. Thanks for the video, it was a very good listen. I really liked Yaa Gyasi's comments. Oh, and give Nige a belly rub for me.
Yess, I love learning about other lives and cultures and experiences different from my own. I need to read The Women of Brewster Place! Nigel will get all the belly rubs 💜
More tea yaaaaaaaaaas! I agree with the lists. I do appreciate that they give attention to the books but at the same time, why do we get this lists right after something bad happens? It's also really unfortunate that we need white voices to give attention to BIPOC voices ugh. The #OwnVoices thing, I'm conflicted. It does suck that something that was supposed to be positive has now turned into something negative. I guess it was an umbrella term for everything might've been the reason. I can only hope that it doesn't distract from diverse books. Hope you guys have a good day!
I feel like I never really notice the own voices marketing thing anyways. Obviously as a consumer I am mostly seeing the books that are picked up by large publishers, and I'm even more likely to see the ones they put a lot of money behind marketing, and by the sounds of those authors' experiences, being own voices is highly desired in those spaces. But as a reader, if I am curious if a book is own voices, I try to do that research on my own. If it's something like race or ethnicity, it's usually easy enough to find out by reading the "about the author" page. Obviously this is more difficult for things like sexuality or disability, but if the author has been open about that, you might be able to find it online. I also will not discount a book if it's not own voices or if I'm not sure unless people from that community tell me the book has harmful representation or something and the author is unwilling to address it. i.e. what happened with American Dirt made me personally not want to read that book because of the issues of representation. So for me, getting rid of #ownvoices won't change much, but I think Emery Lee's points that something else will probably just replace it in the publishing sphere are totally valid. They'll just do whatever makes them the most money. Also sidenote: I work at a bookstore and I would love for us to not use #ownvoices because once I was trying to fill a shelf of own voices books and my coworker and I were struggling so hard to find out which lgbtq books were own voices, and it just felt so dumb to be searching into these authors' private lives to decide whether they deserved shelf space.
I also agree that sexuality and gender might have to be treated differently than race, ethnicity, culture or religion in marketing and by us with social media. Not sure how to do that fairly though. We can’t create dangerous situations for authors - because we need those stories.
14:48 I feel like people have forgotten that callouts are not condemnations, they're calls to action. You are being made aware that your behavior (or beliefs) are harming other people. What are you gonna do about it?! (Ofc, there are situations where callouts *are* condemnations because you have no fucking excuse, but like... 90% of the time, that's not what's happening. You only feel like you're being condemned, because you don't see what you're doing as wrong/don't want to change your behavior.)
i agree that i wish more cis people would standup/speak for trans people. like yes, share my voice, platform me etc. but like i am so tired of always being my own advocate, i would love some cis people speaking for me lol 🥲
As always you speak my mind!! I'll be the first to admit that the diversity on my shelves is fucking appalling, and I'm working on it! Still not good enough but I'm gunna keep working till it is
Ally_ship needs to stand on the same principle as we all in book_community want authors to stand in their writing...DON'T TELL, U NEED TO SHOW!! Just knowing doesn't let me escape...I need to see that world where I must escape too...personally relatable, atmosphere fantastically believable through the storytelling...see the alignment, you better!?! I'm not a writer so you might wanna work for it...lol 👍👍👍
Education is important but I think it's more important to remember the issue long after it's hyped up in the news/social media because usually it is still going on months/years later. We are all just busy on the next thing. We have that luxury here in the west of being able to tune in and out of issues as it suits us (same with me being a white person in regards to racism). Also, the fact that authors have come out prematurely because of pressure from readers is so gross. This is why I can't with the internet sometimes I swear.
barely related to the content in this video: but i really love those purple-ish glasses (from editing Jess) and was curious as to where you got them? they look super cute!
I strongly dislike the policing that happens over what authors write nowadays. It's super limiting to creativity, in my opinion. Authors write from the pov of characters who are different from them all the time. As an example, do thriller authors need to have committed a crime to be able to write cases? Do they need to have experience with investigation to be able to write detective characters? Authors should only be criticized when they write harmful stereotypes of minority groups, not for just writing outside of their experience.
100%, please don't treat diverse books as brownie points... If you didn't really read it/absorb it, please don't post about it... That does more harm than good. As a reader, if I see a bunch of vague posts about a book with no hooks to convince me I should read it, I'm more likely to pass it up and not give it a try.
I don't tend to purchase anything that I don't plan to read. I don't know why you talk about books or buy books that you aren't going to read. It makes no sense. I agree with you.
readathons and times dedicated to a focus on books by certain groups is great, but I'd be embarrassed if I only read books by asian authors for asian readathon or only read books by black people because of a death in the community. That is very performative, esp. considering that one can use those readathons etc to gain clicks if you're on booktube, booktok or bookstagram. If someone only reads and posts about books by or about marginalised identities when there's hype around it and not at all outside of it, it's immediately suspicious. For me, reading those books is something i normally do, and I focus on reading only those books if I'm participating in a reading event surrounding it, but it is still something I simply just normally do and seek out regardless.
Jess this is so off topic, but COME THROUGH SKIN!!!! Woo you are glowing. Tell Nigel's daddy ( i'm sorry your husband's name is escaping me right now {insert Kiki Palmer gif: sorry to this man}) I said to take you on a date. You look really good miss mama's. 😍
My mom has been living with us for about a year now. We live in a racist town and she gets all her news about everything from random people that come into her workplace. We joke all the time that she gets her news via carrier pigeon. I have been slowly trying to get her to fact check everything they tell her. I think I've turned my mom from a Trump supporter to a Trump anti! It was not easy.
Maybe a controversial take but no one has to read diversely just for the sake of it. Nor does anyone who reads diversely has to become an activist. If we say people have to do these things, you will get performative virtue signalling. White guilt reading manifests imo if you make what someone read/doesn't an issue (even if it is). Diverse reading should be encouraged though. Writing and reading is in itself an important tool for activism. But people should let their curiosity guide their reading and read what they are interested in. Reading challenges and Buddy Reads are a good tool but they need to be fun and accessible. A lot of the time they have time limits for a certain month and yet you need to read multiple books and the prompts are restrictive, so either I can't find an appropriate book from my library or its already been taken out so I can't read it for that month's readathon anyway. This video challenged me. But also we need to make everyday activism attainable and less judgemental. Activists need to stop pressuring people (and themselves) and stop judging people's hearts. We need to understand there is nuance and there is not a black and white manifesto about how to be an activist. Also, it takes a while for one to change their mind about things. It is normal for it to take more than one book to change their mindset. We need to acknowledge change is often more gradual, especially when we are talking about systemic issues and societal beliefs, and give space and time to unlearn. The more 'privileged' a person is, typically the more they have to undo or unlearn.
I'm not personally a fan of things like #own voices or "guilt driven" diversity reading. If I like the storyline/plot of a book then I read it. I had no idea that Kennedy Ryan was an author of color until a couple of months ago . Ditto for Kenya Wright. I like their stuff so I read it not because they're "part of a marginalized group ". Ditto for TJ Klune. Love his stuff so I read it, Not because he is part of the LGBTQ community. I think people who are "reading" from authors for those reasons rarely actually read those books. It's for the Instagram or Facebook post so they can make themselves look good or to get likes. (I know Facebook has likes not 100% sure about the Instagram like situation as I'm not on any of those platforms since I think they're dumpster 🔥 trainwrecks). Strongly dislike the whole notion of "own voices". If you like to read those that's fine as I'm Not the book police. But there's nothing wrong with authors who write outside the "lines" if they do the research. Particularly in fiction. Lisa Kleypas, for example, writes excellent historical romance but as she's not 200 years old she has to do research. Her novels have info available on the source material she researched for a given novel. I see nothing wrong with this, in fact, it used to be the norm (as long as your giving credit to your source /research materials). Luckily for me I tend to read from authors who aren't very messy. But I don't read YA which I think cuts down on like 90% of this. I'm also not big on women's fiction or standard contemporary romance, which I have to say is where some of the other "problematic" authors tend to live. So yeah for mystery and urban fantasy, which makes up about 90% of my reading. The remainder being historical romance and dark romance.
I think that if well researched and enough care given, anyone can write about another group. But sometimes it’s hard to get it right. I also don’t think it’s wrong to seek out a Black author or queer author to improve your reading, if your intent is to truly read those books. But a lot of people do go for those books/ buy them just to post about it
Publishing in itself puts up barriers when it comes to reading diverse books our book club picked a book written by a female Asian author this month and we had no idea how hard it would be to actually find physical copies of a book written by an Asian author we've looked in book stores big and small and can't find it and we've never had this issue with books by white authors even older books its insane how can reading diverse voices become the norm if publishers and retailers aren't even trying to sell these books why is a a trad pub new release not on the new release table at Barnes and Noble or anywhere else for that matter
I have a degree in History, which I love and am happy I have it, but it’s definitely not needed when trying to understand someone else’s experience. Read a book, do the research! I felt like I sounded super cocky last summer after George Floyd’s murder, because, while I don’t know what it is like to be a black person in America, I do know more than the average person. And since I am a licensed teacher (now), I tried to use my knowledge to the best of my ability to make those around me understand, with historical context. But even then, I needed to do my own research. Everything that happened finally gave me the push to read The New Jim Crow, which was a great book.
I think the only solution to this "#ownvoices" issue is that publishing houses and authors take on the actual responsibility of their platforms and actually just research/make sure the research has been done on their chosen topics by having people who are the subject of these topics irl read them before publication! I know it's an extra step, but seems necessary?
I really like to read the posts full information and those with references are the best! I did one on my field to cut out some myths about chemicals and science stuff I saw one post about own voices about a ballerina who wrote about a ballerina and I was like okay.. I think that is not right and it was not
I’m assuming the author is using #OwnVoices because they’re a ballerina who has a ballerina as the main character in their book. It would be like every book where the main character is an aspiring writer be #OwnVoices. 🙄
@@NububuChan Yeah that Julie said! it would like me a scientist who wrote about a scientist so it is an Ownvoices. although if he was like me gay it could be but the point was people using ownvoices just because the character has something of the author like profession
I've been thinking a lot about this since you boosted the video from Lou Reading Things about supporting the global south, as well as when you were talking about Simon & Schuster virtue signaling. My reading goals this year are centered around books by African authors and my latest review (ruclips.net/video/pJxpOBnr8rY/видео.html) was published by an and I'm so glad the book is being released in the west, but it really doesn't let S&S off the hook for other missteps and mis-ordered priorities. I'm not sure I have anything poignant to add to the topic, but I wanted you to know that its always on my mind because you are keeping this conversation front and center. I hope my content is careful and thoughtful. Thank you!
![Book CommuniTEA Tuesday: Fetishizing M/M Romance on BookTok, Chimamanda's Newest Essay..[CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/qO6LwFQM2Ik/mqdefault.jpg)
![Book CommuniTEA Tuesday: Fetishizing M/M Romance on BookTok, Chimamanda's Newest Essay..[CC]](/img/tr.png)
![Spot of Book CommuniTEA Tuesday: Way Too Much Disrespect [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ZpfrBHSD4CE/mqdefault.jpg)
About outing queer authors:
As a queer reader, I do understand being annoyed and/or offended at the way many heterosexual writers portray queer character. That being said, I find it quite hypocritical since online LGBTQ+ communities are always saying that it's never too late to understand yourself and that it is ok to not know/not be confident to come out. So, when someone publishes a queer book and they haven't come out yet, many readers already jump to the "they didn't say their sexuality, therefore they're heterosexual"; this is hypocritical for:
1. What happened to fighting heteronormality?
2. What happened to "take your time"?
Like I mentioned, I know how annoying and sometimes downright harmful it is the way many cishet authors portray queer people but there's such an invisible line between wanting a queer-written book and outing an author that I, personally, feel that you either just read books of authors you know are queer or read any queer book and judge them by their content (since even queer writers can write harmful queer characters). It is a personal opinion, sure.
I think the problem with performative diversity is that people pick up books that are "in" but not something that they necessarily want to read.
For example The Hate You Give was widely read when it came out, and people were sharing it everywhere, but not everyone wants to read YA or something with heavy topics.
It's much better if you go looking for diverse books within the niches that you like (e.e romance, or fantasy, or YA, or mafia books etc.) rather than just buying these books that people talk about and then never actually reading them. It might be a lot harder to find these books, and you might need to do a lot of the work yourself, but I think it'll be better in the long run.
I started reading diversely in my fiction out of boredom. I don't know if it is good or bad I just wanted to hear new stories from a different pov. I really do wish there were more books about people with disabilities that aren't inspiration porn.
I hate that non white books are still referred to as something outside of the norm. "Reading diversely" sets the idea that books written by white authors are the norm and idk how it can rephrase so BIPOC/Disabled/Queer books are recognized as the norm too because we are.
YES BESTIE GOO
While I agree with the sentiment, I believe that diverse doesn't necessarily refer to non white, but more to broad. Diverse means different and you should include different authors and stories into your reading. If you for example only read from japanese authors, your reading wouldn't be diverse either.
@@ICHMUSSMALPIPI if the Japanese authors are from a range of backgrounds and identities along with being Japanese like having a disability, being queer, and stuff then I would consider their works diverse even though you are only reading from Japanese authors
@@KD-CD yeah, of course. What I meant was that diverse reading means reading broadly, not reading outside the norm.
This is so true with how "diversity" is used in the bookish community. Especially when you see reading challenges and such with a prompt that's like "read diversely" ... implying that readers would select white/straight books for every other prompt, of course.
I think education is too often confused for activism. Education is there to merely inform your activism, and to improve your effectiveness when combating prejudice and injustice either on a personal level or a political level. Going to school for a career does not automatically make you adept at that career, does it? No, only doing the job will make you adept at the career. Education does help improve your chances to understand the purpose of that career, the nomenclature being utilized in that career and what needs to be done overall in that career. It's exactly the same for activism, I think. Learning, while beneficial, is not activism itself.
this is really well put. its similar to what yaa was saying in the article
I love readathons that are aiming at diversifying the books that are being read, mainly because so many fantastic recommendations of less known books come from these readathons. I always add the ones I can't get to during the readathon to my tbr to read over the year.
So do I. I'm also a mood reader and these help me create an actual tbr for the month that can actually help me break out of a rut and learn at the same time. I've always read a bit diversely because I like learning about the world and different cultures, but these readathons have helped me to read even more.
Didnt expect to see biphobia discussion here. Im actually really happy to hear this. Im a bi male happily living with my male life partner, but dating was not fun as I navigated issues on both sides :/
"The system isn't broken, it was built like this for a reason" 🙌🙌
Great discussions here! And I really relate to the compulsory heterosexuality thing. This is why I didn't figure out I was bi until I was 30 and had been married to my husband for years. It sucks that there's so much erasure of that on both sides.
Yes ! I think it’s funny when people complain that “queer agendas” are being promoted/pushed on their kids when it’s the exact opposite.
I never thought about how diverse my reading history/TBR was until I joined the online reading community. At first I thought, "Oh shit, I guess reading diversely is what good, intelligent, worldly people do, I'd better do more of that so I can become more like that." And then more booktubers were criticizing the movement to read more diversely for its virtue signaling and lip service and criticized how we even define "diverse" authors and books, and I realized this discussion goes so much deeper. Anyway, my point is, I'm glad you're talking about this too, Jess, because discussions like this definitely help out. Discussions like this sometimes make me ashamed that I'm too lazy or self-centered for not doing enough "work", but that's my problem, not the fault of the diverse reading movement. It's a good movement overall. (I'm nervous writing this, but your comment section is usually pretty cool! I think that's largely thanks to the tone you set for us in your videos.)
Fuck, my comment is too long 😳
Never too long 💜
Honestly, I feel like a lot of people are just going through the motions when reading diversely. Like I have seen THUG and Red White and Royal Blue recommended so many times it’s insane. And if someone really liked THUG as much as they say they do, then why don’t they have any other recommendations? Like, the first thing I do after I read a book that *meant* something to me is look for lists everywhere on similar or recommended books. But people who recommend THUG hardly ever have any other books on their list besides other Angie Thomas books or NYT bestsellers which seems a bit sus. I NEVER see anyone recommend Dear Martin which came out around the same time, and also has similar themes and I think Goodreads recommends it to read too?? It’s a little sus. Like Angie is their token POC person…
Yes! So often these "diverse" lists and the big booktubers mention the same three generic books. There are so many smaller creators recommending incredible books that aren't on every bestseller list or tiktok yet.
@@katharinamuller6168 I agree! I feel like it’s kind of a catch 22 for recommending on social media. Because it’s always smaller creators recommending the most diverse, but it’s also hard to find them since they wouldn’t be using the hashtags for a big book that everyone’s familiar with.
I love Nic Stone
@@KD-CD yes! I’ve met her a few times and she is so amazing. It’s just upsetting that her books haven’t received the recognition they deserve.
@@heathermalmal9943 have u read Concrete Rose? Towards the end a woman at a college is pregnant and says she's going to name her baby Justyce and I think it connected Concrete Rose to Dear Justyce
My boyfriend and I constantly discuss the fact that more often that not we say “I read this headline today” and then admit we don’t read the full article. It’s become the norm to just skim big issues. This is a great reminder if you are going to share information please read the entire article.
So true. I’ve had to get in the habit of making sure I read a full article bc it’s easy to read the headline and keep going
Nigel looking like royalty as always 😍
🎩👑
A King 👑
Hi Jess! I'm the author of the essay you mention :) I love the video, and I'm so glad you edited in the portion mentioning it! Thank you so much for that, and for linking to it. You've made a great addition to the discourse on this issue.
The whole own voices conversation is super interesting. I'd love to hear you have The Artisan Geek in one of your live streams with maybe a couple other people, because she's made a couple videos about yaoi and gay manga and their authors. Her latest video discusses how it's really impossible for readers to only read gay manga by gay authors, simply because authors often have to use pen names or are extremely private simply because of the stigma still attached to queerness in Japan. Anyway, all that to say, this discussion made me think about her video, and I love her and I love you. 🖤
I love The Artisan Geek, I’d love to collaborate with her !
Seems like on social media there is a lot more buying diversely rather than reading diversely!
Oooo facts
I understand both sides of the “own voices” argument. It’s important to read things from own voices but also I hate when I hear about someone forced to share something they don’t want to. Some authors don’t even use their real names … sooo … it’s tough. Especially coming from a white woman who’s married to a white man lol. It’s not something I would ever have to struggle with.
I feel that when I found the Booktube community last year I have read more diversely than I did on my own in years past. I am still working on reading the books that I have bought by BIPOC authors and am inspired to read them and seriously everyone should read Amari and the Night Brothers and the Aru Shah series, I know they're middle grades, but they are excellent books that have lessons of empathy in them.
Thank you for sharing this and anyone who needs someone to have their back can count on me. Love you back and love all of you. No one should ever feel less because of who they are or born the way they are, never let anyone tear you down, not even family. Always know that you are loved. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
I'm surprised nobody mentioned the practical (not political) aspect or reading diversely. As far as I understand US book market, it's huge and there is no way to know about all new releases, so you will mostly hear only about "key" releases (I don't know proper term in English tbh) that publisher promote the most. And these releases are usually by white straight authors and also include some generic boring books that are "almost like this huge bestseller so we need to sell them right now" (generic YA paranormal romances after Twilight or generic YA dystopias after The Hunger Games and so on). And it means there are some good underpromoted books by marginalised authors or translated books that can give you way more pleasure that another "key" release by big publishers.
And regarding just reading books... I think it's complicated. I don't like when people tread reading diverse books like it's some heroic act of activism but in the same it's not like everyone can be an activist. Some people can just read diverse books and silently become less ignorant and it's good.
I feel like the #ownvoices tag is just feeding into the over-policing of who can write which stories. I have deleted the tag from my tags on @thestorygraph and have been trying to identify authors more specifically as to how they identify. It is messier because there are so many diversities out there but it is very interesting and perhaps helps me identify gaps in types of stories or groups that I have not learned anything about.
Hi Jess! Thank you so much for this. I appreciate the fact that you are addressing diversity, and diverse books. They ought to be read, dissected, and the messages need to be taken to heart. Your dog is adorable!
For the first half of Communitea I do think what’s being talked is really the intention, because all activism can be performative with the wrong intention. I also think there’s a tension between individual self growth and societal/policy change. The policy change can happen without the self growth. Reading diversely and engaging diversely can grow an individual but that itself doesn’t lead to policy change.
Here are some interesting/good diverse reads that I haven't really seen on booktube before:
- 'The Reason I Jump' by Naoki Higashida (=Autism, written from a 13-year olds perspective, who has been diagnosed on the spectrum).
- 'Hi!My Name is Loco and I'm a Racist' by Baye McNeil (An African-American man and his experiences living in Japan for 10+ years)
- 'Don't Ever Wipe Tears Without Gloves' triology by Jonas Gardell
(Based upon a true story, (not the author's own story) LGBTQ+, HIV&AIDS crisis in Stockholm, Sweden during the 80s. Also one of the main character's and family are members of the Jehovah's Witness, which makes it even harder for him to come out as gay.)
Thanks
These sound great! Penciling them into my notebook, thanks 🧡
Thank you !
Lou's video was great and sparked conversation in my community too. Thank you for sharing that video.
It's an interesting line to walk, because there are people who have their head in the sand on many global issues and issues around them, and adding some diversity to their reading list may open their eyes to various injustices and cruelties. And it's awesome if people start picking up a more diverse selection of books and hopefully actually read them. That said, there are a lot of lovely people out there on the booktube and Bookstagram world who agree with us on BLM, Israel Palestine, colonialzation, war & peace, misogyny, healthcare injustices, etc. How do we organize all these people to take the next step and continue making the world a better place? That is the question that has been bouncing around my head for a few weeks, and is something that is much harder for our community to do than promoting progressive books or sharing a couple links. I'd love more strategy talk on this issue.
I still say go hard in the paint, but I'm not a kid any more. 😂
I hate when people clearly and take MLK out of context too. Pence saying MLK would be a republican today is so comically absurd. I need to work on my breathy Ronald Reagan impression to mock these delusional talking points.
I'm not a huge fan of the own voices stuff to being used to credit or discredit the validity of people and their works, particularly when it comes to the LGBTQ community. I remember in 2004, when the Bush administration was trying to pass a constitutional amendment to make marriage one man and one women, a random college reporter asked Lynn Cheney about constitutionally oppressing her lesbian daughter, (the Cheney's had been doing a great job avoiding all questions on the topic). And a lot of the stories were about the reporter that asked the question's sexual orientation. The administration tried to discredit the reporter for disingenuously asking about LGBTQ rights when the reporter was straight (they would have probably used the term "virtual signaling" if it had existed then.) But yes, sometimes I feel like own voices overly fixates on the messenger rather than the message. Of course a diverse group of messengers is important too. The more modern version of this story is definitely the bisexual ignorance referenced in those articles.
The problem of publishers using own voices or whatever the future hashtags as a marketing strategy rather than a societal improvement and educational strategy will continue to exist within publishing. I was listening to a person who used to pitch sitcoms to Hollywood executives, and he said that executives loved when you would pretend that your script is being pulled from your own experiences, so he would always pitch his scripts like they were some version of his own personal experiences.
With all that said, I think own voices has probably been a good thing overall in terms of getting PoC and other marginalized voices out there.
I have no idea how we can organize/ strategize within the book community but it would be amazing if we could figure out a way to take it beyond our online activism- I don’t know how tho 🧐. And own voices 😒 started out so positive and I love knowing that the author has lived this experience but it should never come at the cost of someone having to share something they’re not ready to share
"This is Nigel. He's grumpy. What's new."
Same, Nigel, sammmeeeeee
😂😂
Thank you for bringing up this topic. No one should be forced out before they are ready as in some cases it can cause mental, emotional and physical harm. I agree that we need to read a diverse section of literature from multiple perspectives to grow and to acknowledge what happened in the past as well as what is going on now .
While I definitely support the hashtag OwnVoices as it was intended (geez I sound pompous) and think it's important, it made me uncomfortable to use as a cudgel to use against authors and their works. But I guess a lot of hashtags start as one thing and get co-opted for other, unintended and possibly negative uses.
PS: the concept of "negative peace" just blew my mind and I need a minute
This branches off of one of your reasons for reading, to learn, so I wanted to share. I was thinking about my reasons for reading, and my main reason is the feeling of connection to others and the world I get from stories. I usually get that feeling from learning about people’s reactions to experiences that are different from mine, whether fictitious or not, because I still feel connected to lot of the emotional reactions.
Im honeslty never gonna critique another "straight" author for writing queer stories again after these stories about people feeling forced. Gatekeeping isnt it when it comes to this
💯
I started a project of reading self published memoirs by elders, it led to a project to combat elder financial abuse. Respect to everyone who's seen the century.
8:08 This is why I hate the new phenomenon of carrds on Twitter. They’re just filled with bare bones info most of the time and people retweet and pin them to their profiles and then move on. Their own personal posting never changed - people just retweet more stuff and hound other people into doing the same thing before diving back into their normal lives. Makes me feel like shit. Like if you don’t wanna read the stuff maybe ask someone in local activist community to explain it to you or see if you can volunteer your services which would have a much larger impact than retweeting a carrd that none of your followers click on and you just do to feel like you’re doing your part. Slacktivism is so normalized now it makes me sick because then the real activists are being drowned out by people like Chrissy Teigen tweeting bare bones “uwu don’t be racist guys!!” like ah yes problem solved :// And the way people only really do it while also circulating traumatic images and videos of people being brutalized by people of authority or random attackers…I feel like in the past year especially I have been exposed to how normalized the “othering” of marginalized communities in America is, even by self proclaimed activists on Twitter. Like it’s OK to share uncensored bodycams and security footage of black people being murdered and I’m a bad person if I’m so horrified by the death and violence I’m seeing on my screen that I have to log off? I had a panic attack a couple weeks ago just thinking about how bizarre the environment was online especially last summer. Like things were bad enough I didn’t need to be constantly inundated with uncensored videos of people being murdered. And it felt so “othering” like why were people so eager to share those videos for “awareness” and not just descriptions…IDK I think I am still unpacking some kind of trauma I endured from last summer that was worsened by how people handled it online.
THIS SWEATSHIRT!!!!!! I love it!
💜💜💜
I think something that gets lost in a lot of these discussions is that it's also important to curate who you're taking recommendations from. Diversifying reading is great...diversifying the reviewers/bloggers/etc you pay attention to is even better. It supports even more marginalized creators, and it adds another hard-hitting element to the effort to empathize and understand. Like...it's very hard to not feel things when you watch or read or hear someone talk about the way a story echoes their lived experiences and makes them feel seen.
It also ties into OwnVoices - OwnVoices authors are great, but I also seek out OwnVoices reviews. It helps me paint a fuller picture of the quality of representation in any given book. No one person is a spokesperson for a whole group. Reading reviews from the groups being represented highlights commonalities and differences in those experiences. And it means authors who don't feel comfortable revealing something - their sexuality, disabilities, trauma, struggles - are still able to write and publish their stories and not feel pressured to put every detail of their personal lives out there for the world to dissect.
So true, diversifying the people you follow is super important
Such a good discussion and I love hearing your thoughts about this topic. These are really important concepts that are definitely not easy to fix and I think it’s so important that there’s some complex discussion in the online book community
Every day I’m shocked by what I don’t know. I’m always interested in understanding more. Reading helps.
I feel like these lists are supposed to be starting points; they're supposed to get you in the door, but *you* need to finish the job (so to speak). And that goes beyond just reading the books, imo; if you're gonna say you have a diverse reading list (or want to have a diverse reading list), you can't only be buying books or reading them when tragedies happen or it happens to be a heritage or pride month.
True, great starting point !
Maybe an Author's Note could help, if the author is willing to talk openly about their lived experience and how they put those experiences into their book? But for authors who are still questioning facets of their identity or feel unsafe outing themselves but still want to write about those experiences, I can see how doing away with OwnVoices can be frustrating. I wish Questioning as an identity was seen as valid (not even just for Queer people, but for disabled people without a diagnosis as well). I worry the same way publishing weaponized OwnVoices, the blame will also be put on authors for it being taken away.
Here is what I think. I think that if you want to read diversely that it should be done throughout the year. I believe that part of supporting and normalizing the experiences, beliefs and cultures of marginalized groups is by consuming media made by those groups about those groups. (I hope that makes sense). I also think that sharing lists and boosting certain groups during their heritage month is also great. However, when you compile lists after a tragedy, despite good intentions, it feels a little performative to me. I understand wanting to support the communities after a tragedy as a show of faith but we need that support all year round.
"Going hard in the paint" *shakes my head in Waka Flacka*
LMAO YASSSSS
The headbow is amazing, I love it
Another great video! I loved the convo with Emory. There were so many points I hadn't considered before. It's easy to feel hopeless when something like own voices gets hijacked by corporations for money making purposes (yaaay capitalism! 💔) and it's hard to know what the next step is.
Also, I love when people put infographics in their stories and put "Read all slides" because it kind of jolts me out of my doom scrolling and reminds me to be more present. Lol. I need to get better about not just coasting through important content and analyzing my own actions/intentions.
Love it when capitalism ruins everything 😒 but also same, when people put read all the slides, it’s a nice reminder !
In regards to reading diversely, I think we also should be doing more work to support movements like #disrupttexts. Of course reading more diversely on a personal level is great but to see a broader change we have to diversify required reading and push for legislation that mandates it.
Yes ! Love the work they’re doing
The school.reading ciriculums have been soo white for a long time but with the way these crazy parents have been going on about lgbtq books its gonna be a big struggle to diversify the ciriculum. Maybe it could start by putting an order in at local libraries that dont have more books of people of color. I really want to read the sun and the void (i dont think i got the title right) and sisters of the lost nation and Babel but i doubt my library currently has them.
Been catching up on the Bookish TEA. I am really loving this series you do because the topics are always so important and you get so in depth with your research.
Don't see the point in buying books that you aren't going to read. I don't buy anything unless I truly intend to read it. It's just how it is. I don't have money to throw away on books I don't intend to read either. Be selective about what you know you are going to use and enjoy.
Thanks for the discussion. These are things we need to examine as we try and be better and do better. There are no simple answers for the OwnVoices dilema. But absolutely no one should be pressured into revealing things about themselves or their identity that they are not fully safe and ready to be public about.
25:32 I think in this situation intention!!!! Is everything
if your intention is to write someone who gets actively oppressed whether that’s because of their sexuality skin color ect because you want diversity in your book and you’re actively helping those causes and being an ally to those communities even though you’re not necessarily in The community (I really hope this is making sense)
but if someone has the intention of I’m ONLY gonna have the certain sexuality in here because I want them to be to be the villain or the punching bag or you know the bury your gay trope and your political and moral beliefs don’t match up to the diversity that you’re doing and you’re using it in a negative way then yeah that’s when the red flags come up for me
but if a author writes a gay story and they’re not gay they’re just an ally and supportive to those communities that they portrayed in the story’s im not bring out the pitchforks
it’s only if someone’s beliefs align with the representation of the character that the writing
I just keep laughing at people who say they read diversely but all of the books they read are by US or UK authors. Lol. How can anyone say they know about the world when they only see it through a US/UK lens?
1000% this
Soooo agree with you! Cultural imperialism at its "finest" ?
Idk I'm not comfortable with the idea of gatekeeping "diversity" (i.e. "You're not reading diversely if you don't read outside US/UK"). And that's not to downplay the brilliance of authors outside the US/UK, I wish they got talked about more. But countries like the US are also diverse and I think not recognizing that is kind of a shame? Not to mention the books written by US authors who are immigrants or children of immigrants whose experiences and "lens" is different. It also becomes a question of accessibility (like with public libraries). Sorry this is rambly, but shaming other people who are at least trying to read more broadly bothers me.
@@marymik7372 why do you feel that saying "don't only read US/UK authors if you want to read diversely" is "gatekeeping"? It's not an unimaginable difficulty to read, for example, translated works. I guarantee you translated books are available at every public library. All of us in the countries outside of US/UK have grown up reading translated works and it's completely normalized. Yet when we suggest the opposite (US/UK audiences to try to read something outside of US/UK authors), it's somehow "gatekeeping"?
@@4erepawko Encouraging people to read translated works is definitely not gatekeeping, it's great! But saying you are *not* a "diverse reader" *unless* you read translated works is "gatekeeping", based on this definition: "when someone takes it upon themselves to decide who does or does not have access or rights to an identity." Does reading translated works diversify your reading? Yes, of course. Is that the only way to be diverse? Nope.
i've been guilty of this cause sometimes i buy books and i honestly forget about them. So now I try to be more aware of what I'm doing so I can do better thank you for this video.
I've always had problems with the term owns voices creating this assumption that no one who isn't own voices could possibly be qualified to discuss a subject. What if that person is very close to someone or many someones who are part of a minority, and has done substantial research through firsthand and second hand accounts. If that is invalidated, doesn't that call into question the validity the entirety of journalism? Clearly, own voices does make them infinitely more qualified to speak on the subject, but does that mean people who are not own voices cannot add to the conversation in a positive fashion? That said, I think Ashley did point out to me that even own voices can misrepresent a population as well. Say you have a zionist author speak on the Jewish occupation of Palenstine. It does not mean they are qualified to speak for all Jewish people. In One to Watch, the fat rep is notoriously bad and it is also considered an own voices piece. Just because one is part of a minority does not mean their own attitudes cannot be influenced by social prejudice. I just think relying on own voices is not as clear cut as everyone assumes. I think you have to look at the credentials of the author, at who they are as a person, and think for yourself a bit with regards to how much you trust their opinion.
This is an interesting video. I do read specific books on specific months to read books I wouldn’t normally read. It’s not that I intentionally avoid them I just like romance a lot so interrupting that for important things is worth it to me. I’m Indigenous and Mexican and my wife is African American. We both have masters degrees and just like using those opportunities to learn. We donate to causes and what not but I genuinely think if you’re participating it’s a good thing. If you’re doing marketing and not reading that’s still a good thing. It’s about having more voices in your head than your own and your usual company. In anthropology we have a term called cultural relativism and it’s the idea that a group must be understood in their own context. Give your self the opportunity to have context. Love your vids all the best
💜💜 I do agree that certain months or readathons encourage people to read books they wouldn’t normally read and it’s a great thing
Really great video and discussion as always! I don't really know how the own voices thing could work out but like you I hate when something that starts out with good intentions gets warped into something else
I don’t think there’s a clear answer for the own voices topic 😭
yes to being about it and our thing at work has been say the thing like we're just out here speaking up and out because enough is enough on so many things just not being said and needing to be brought to light.
I feel like the own voices discussion has a lot of nuance to it and it's so complicated. I think own voices can definitely be useful in helping select some authors to read, because you can guarantee that you'll see things portrayed in an authentic light, but it's the not the end all be all and people need to understand that. Like we can't be judging authors who write queer books just because they appear straight because you never really know. Anyway i guess that's my main view, like it's helpful, but it can't be the only thing that matters and the only consideration into reading diverse books.
Definitely a complex conversation and there’s no answer that will work right for everyone
You and Nigel add such joy to my day🤗You are a delight. Thanks for the great video. Keep spilling that booktube ☕️!!
💜💜💜 thank you
The discussion on reading diversely is relatively new to me. I've always been an indiscriminate reader; if I see a book that looks good (regardless of who the author is), I will read it. Of course, I do read a lot of white, straight authors but that does not mean that I don't read other people's books. I don't even look at the name of the author when I'm browsing the store! Maybe we should start selling books with the backs on display and see how that goes (unless it has reviews from people on the back lol)
This whole thing is a really valuable discussion that definitely got me thinking...reading diversely and ownvoices are both things that are never gonna have one clear cut answer or solution. The whole sub-discussion on authors writing queer stories gives me major tumblr discourse flashbacks...not in a good way, lol. I think it's valid for readers to want to spend their money on books they know are written by queer authors, but the other side of that coin shouldn't be harassment and pressure of authors to be out as that creates this extremely toxic environment.
“cishets can’t write queer books” drives me fucking insane. the implication that lgbt+ then in turn can’t write cishet books is so. weird. the only reason an identity should come into play period is for insert marginalised author to defend their reasoning behind using a problematic trope. like that is the only time it should matter.
The other huge issue with saying that is that it forces closeted queer authors to out themselves to not be harrassed
Ya I noticed after the George Floyd stuff I didn’t hear much from the book community about suggesting new poc authors 🙃 but I do applaud the ones who still did 😩✋🏾
I agree so much. I don’t think you can determine someone else’s intent, beyond just deciding who you follow, but patterns do speak. ♥️🌵
💯
I think the WNDB decision makes sense but I also agree with Emery, Rod, and Adiba's comments - it's not really getting at the core problem, plus I think the more umbrella term of ownvoices may be more helpful or safer in some cases?
Publishing is still going to use identity as a marketing tool and I don't really know how we can ensure people find books that reflect themselves while also protecting authors from being forced to reveal more than they are comfortable with, all with one term or system
Publishing definitely will still use Own Voices or find a new term to replace it. I wish there was an easy solution but it’s complex
Agreed! I do need to do better too. But also, "Do it because you believe it."
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omg nigel is soooo cute 😍😍💖💖 thanks for another insightful video 💖
I think for those of us following bookish creators online, if we are supporting diverse creators we can support diverse stories that those creators say reflect their experiences pretty easily. If you want to read great books about people in the lgbtq community, you could research and make sure the authors you read are own voices and potentially gatekeep yourself from some great books.... or (or in addition to this) you could find creators with an identity different than yours and listen to them when they recommend stories they've connected with.
NOTE: I'm not saying we should solicit recommendations from creators we've never interacted with. Most creators already have videos/ posts with their top books in certain categories. People are dealing with enough. Please don't pester them. :)
Oh Nigel, we are Not worthy. 😂 The looks he gives. I just can't with him. #Adorable 🐶
King Nigel. We are blessed by his existence
Great video, Jess!!
My first read by a black author was 'Bailey's Cafe' by Gloria Naylor. I surely didn't ease myself in with such a read, but damn it's a good book by a great writer, covering some very heavy themes but also having a feeling of hope echoing within the walls of the cafe. From that moment I ordered 'The Women of Brewster Place' and never looked back. The best read I've had so far in my life is 'Sugar' by Bernice McFadden. It'll take a bloody good book to knock it off it's perch. Reading diversely is what I have found I like the best. I love to hear the voices of so many different authors, and be witness to some of the best written characters, of all races and colours and sexualities and ages. Thanks for the video, it was a very good listen. I really liked Yaa Gyasi's comments. Oh, and give Nige a belly rub for me.
Yess, I love learning about other lives and cultures and experiences different from my own. I need to read The Women of Brewster Place! Nigel will get all the belly rubs 💜
More tea yaaaaaaaaaas!
I agree with the lists. I do appreciate that they give attention to the books but at the same time, why do we get this lists right after something bad happens? It's also really unfortunate that we need white voices to give attention to BIPOC voices ugh.
The #OwnVoices thing, I'm conflicted. It does suck that something that was supposed to be positive has now turned into something negative. I guess it was an umbrella term for everything might've been the reason. I can only hope that it doesn't distract from diverse books.
Hope you guys have a good day!
loved this conversation!
I feel like I never really notice the own voices marketing thing anyways. Obviously as a consumer I am mostly seeing the books that are picked up by large publishers, and I'm even more likely to see the ones they put a lot of money behind marketing, and by the sounds of those authors' experiences, being own voices is highly desired in those spaces. But as a reader, if I am curious if a book is own voices, I try to do that research on my own. If it's something like race or ethnicity, it's usually easy enough to find out by reading the "about the author" page. Obviously this is more difficult for things like sexuality or disability, but if the author has been open about that, you might be able to find it online. I also will not discount a book if it's not own voices or if I'm not sure unless people from that community tell me the book has harmful representation or something and the author is unwilling to address it. i.e. what happened with American Dirt made me personally not want to read that book because of the issues of representation. So for me, getting rid of #ownvoices won't change much, but I think Emery Lee's points that something else will probably just replace it in the publishing sphere are totally valid. They'll just do whatever makes them the most money.
Also sidenote: I work at a bookstore and I would love for us to not use #ownvoices because once I was trying to fill a shelf of own voices books and my coworker and I were struggling so hard to find out which lgbtq books were own voices, and it just felt so dumb to be searching into these authors' private lives to decide whether they deserved shelf space.
Publishing will definitely find a new term to replace own voices - whatever makes them money ugh
I love this! I’m starting a series on my Tik Tok to talk about it because people over on booktok need to hear this
Oh yes they do😂
lou reading things is amazing !! her twitter is great as well for a book/political topics. i adore her
Love that head bow!
🥰🥰
I just want everyone who uses the #OwnVoices to also say WHAT identities this hashtag pertains to. At least do that.
I also agree that sexuality and gender might have to be treated differently than race, ethnicity, culture or religion in marketing and by us with social media. Not sure how to do that fairly though. We can’t create dangerous situations for authors - because we need those stories.
Our favorite ornery booktube doggy 🐕😍❤
14:48 I feel like people have forgotten that callouts are not condemnations, they're calls to action. You are being made aware that your behavior (or beliefs) are harming other people.
What are you gonna do about it?!
(Ofc, there are situations where callouts *are* condemnations because you have no fucking excuse, but like... 90% of the time, that's not what's happening. You only feel like you're being condemned, because you don't see what you're doing as wrong/don't want to change your behavior.)
i agree that i wish more cis people would standup/speak for trans people. like yes, share my voice, platform me etc. but like i am so tired of always being my own advocate, i would love some cis people speaking for me lol 🥲
As always you speak my mind!! I'll be the first to admit that the diversity on my shelves is fucking appalling, and I'm working on it! Still not good enough but I'm gunna keep working till it is
We’re all works in progress 🙌🏾
Ally_ship needs to stand on the same principle as we all in book_community want authors to stand in their writing...DON'T TELL, U NEED TO SHOW!! Just knowing doesn't let me escape...I need to see that world where I must escape too...personally relatable, atmosphere fantastically believable through the storytelling...see the alignment, you better!?! I'm not a writer so you might wanna work for it...lol 👍👍👍
Education is important but I think it's more important to remember the issue long after it's hyped up in the news/social media because usually it is still going on months/years later. We are all just busy on the next thing. We have that luxury here in the west of being able to tune in and out of issues as it suits us (same with me being a white person in regards to racism).
Also, the fact that authors have come out prematurely because of pressure from readers is so gross. This is why I can't with the internet sometimes I swear.
Oh I agree, in the west we focus on something for a time and then move on.
YAYY I was waiting for this!! This is why I look forward to Tuesday morning
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barely related to the content in this video: but i really love those purple-ish glasses (from editing Jess) and was curious as to where you got them? they look super cute!
Thank you ! Zenni optical
I strongly dislike the policing that happens over what authors write nowadays. It's super limiting to creativity, in my opinion. Authors write from the pov of characters who are different from them all the time. As an example, do thriller authors need to have committed a crime to be able to write cases? Do they need to have experience with investigation to be able to write detective characters? Authors should only be criticized when they write harmful stereotypes of minority groups, not for just writing outside of their experience.
100%, please don't treat diverse books as brownie points... If you didn't really read it/absorb it, please don't post about it... That does more harm than good. As a reader, if I see a bunch of vague posts about a book with no hooks to convince me I should read it, I'm more likely to pass it up and not give it a try.
I don't tend to purchase anything that I don't plan to read. I don't know why you talk about books or buy books that you aren't going to read. It makes no sense. I agree with you.
readathons and times dedicated to a focus on books by certain groups is great, but I'd be embarrassed if I only read books by asian authors for asian readathon or only read books by black people because of a death in the community. That is very performative, esp. considering that one can use those readathons etc to gain clicks if you're on booktube, booktok or bookstagram. If someone only reads and posts about books by or about marginalised identities when there's hype around it and not at all outside of it, it's immediately suspicious. For me, reading those books is something i normally do, and I focus on reading only those books if I'm participating in a reading event surrounding it, but it is still something I simply just normally do and seek out regardless.
Nigel is my spirit animal i love him
Jess this is so off topic, but COME THROUGH SKIN!!!! Woo you are glowing. Tell Nigel's daddy ( i'm sorry your husband's name is escaping me right now {insert Kiki Palmer gif: sorry to this man}) I said to take you on a date. You look really good miss mama's. 😍
🤣🤣🤣🤣 thank you !!! His name ain’t important - sorry to that man
My mom has been living with us for about a year now. We live in a racist town and she gets all her news about everything from random people that come into her workplace. We joke all the time that she gets her news via carrier pigeon. I have been slowly trying to get her to fact check everything they tell her. I think I've turned my mom from a Trump supporter to a Trump anti! It was not easy.
Good thing you didn't give up in the face of adversity 😁
Whew, I bet that’s been tough but bravo! That’s amazing 👏🏾👏🏾
Ive been wanting to get more diverse titles in a while. Books by authors of different backgrounds and im.not sure what titles to look for
Tax the rich, yes!
IMMEDIATELY!
Maybe a controversial take but no one has to read diversely just for the sake of it. Nor does anyone who reads diversely has to become an activist. If we say people have to do these things, you will get performative virtue signalling. White guilt reading manifests imo if you make what someone read/doesn't an issue (even if it is).
Diverse reading should be encouraged though. Writing and reading is in itself an important tool for activism. But people should let their curiosity guide their reading and read what they are interested in. Reading challenges and Buddy Reads are a good tool but they need to be fun and accessible. A lot of the time they have time limits for a certain month and yet you need to read multiple books and the prompts are restrictive, so either I can't find an appropriate book from my library or its already been taken out so I can't read it for that month's readathon anyway.
This video challenged me. But also we need to make everyday activism attainable and less judgemental. Activists need to stop pressuring people (and themselves) and stop judging people's hearts. We need to understand there is nuance and there is not a black and white manifesto about how to be an activist.
Also, it takes a while for one to change their mind about things. It is normal for it to take more than one book to change their mindset. We need to acknowledge change is often more gradual, especially when we are talking about systemic issues and societal beliefs, and give space and time to unlearn. The more 'privileged' a person is, typically the more they have to undo or unlearn.
I'm not personally a fan of things like #own voices or "guilt driven" diversity reading. If I like the storyline/plot of a book then I read it. I had no idea that Kennedy Ryan was an author of color until a couple of months ago . Ditto for Kenya Wright. I like their stuff so I read it not because they're "part of a marginalized group ". Ditto for TJ Klune. Love his stuff so I read it, Not because he is part of the LGBTQ community. I think people who are "reading" from authors for those reasons rarely actually read those books. It's for the Instagram or Facebook post so they can make themselves look good or to get likes. (I know Facebook has likes not 100% sure about the Instagram like situation as I'm not on any of those platforms since I think they're dumpster 🔥 trainwrecks). Strongly dislike the whole notion of "own voices". If you like to read those that's fine as I'm Not the book police. But there's nothing wrong with authors who write outside the "lines" if they do the research. Particularly in fiction. Lisa Kleypas, for example, writes excellent historical romance but as she's not 200 years old she has to do research. Her novels have info available on the source material she researched for a given novel. I see nothing wrong with this, in fact, it used to be the norm (as long as your giving credit to your source /research materials). Luckily for me I tend to read from authors who aren't very messy. But I don't read YA which I think cuts down on like 90% of this. I'm also not big on women's fiction or standard contemporary romance, which I have to say is where some of the other "problematic" authors tend to live. So yeah for mystery and urban fantasy, which makes up about 90% of my reading. The remainder being historical romance and dark romance.
I think that if well researched and enough care given, anyone can write about another group. But sometimes it’s hard to get it right. I also don’t think it’s wrong to seek out a Black author or queer author to improve your reading, if your intent is to truly read those books. But a lot of people do go for those books/ buy them just to post about it
Publishing in itself puts up barriers when it comes to reading diverse books our book club picked a book written by a female Asian author this month and we had no idea how hard it would be to actually find physical copies of a book written by an Asian author we've looked in book stores big and small and can't find it and we've never had this issue with books by white authors even older books its insane how can reading diverse voices become the norm if publishers and retailers aren't even trying to sell these books why is a a trad pub new release not on the new release table at Barnes and Noble or anywhere else for that matter
That’s ridiculous that you can’t find a new release
Hymen versus. 😆😆😆 I’m dying.
😆😆😆
I have a degree in History, which I love and am happy I have it, but it’s definitely not needed when trying to understand someone else’s experience. Read a book, do the research!
I felt like I sounded super cocky last summer after George Floyd’s murder, because, while I don’t know what it is like to be a black person in America, I do know more than the average person. And since I am a licensed teacher (now), I tried to use my knowledge to the best of my ability to make those around me understand, with historical context. But even then, I needed to do my own research. Everything that happened finally gave me the push to read The New Jim Crow, which was a great book.
Hymen vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda 😂😂 I'd read that
Hahahahahaha
How do you research for the bookcommunitea videos? Do your subscribers send you some articles to look into?
It’s a combination. People send me tweets/articles and some things I see myself and then I research myself.
I think the only solution to this "#ownvoices" issue is that publishing houses and authors take on the actual responsibility of their platforms and actually just research/make sure the research has been done on their chosen topics by having people who are the subject of these topics irl read them before publication! I know it's an extra step, but seems necessary?
idk if any of this makes sense I've had two cocktails lol
I think there should just be a question of, is this own voices? Do you feel comfortable sharing how with me? From the publishers.
I really like to read the posts full information and those with references are the best!
I did one on my field to cut out some myths about chemicals and science stuff
I saw one post about own voices about a ballerina who wrote about a ballerina and I was like okay.. I think that is not right and it was not
What was the ballerina post about?
I’m assuming the author is using #OwnVoices because they’re a ballerina who has a ballerina as the main character in their book. It would be like every book where the main character is an aspiring writer be #OwnVoices. 🙄
@@NububuChan Yeah that Julie said! it would like me a scientist who wrote about a scientist so it is an Ownvoices. although if he was like me gay it could be but the point was people using ownvoices just because the character has something of the author like profession
@@JulieTheReader Oh, I see! Yeah, that really defeats the purpose of #ownvoices 🤦♀️
I've been thinking a lot about this since you boosted the video from Lou Reading Things about supporting the global south, as well as when you were talking about Simon & Schuster virtue signaling. My reading goals this year are centered around books by African authors and my latest review (ruclips.net/video/pJxpOBnr8rY/видео.html) was published by an and I'm so glad the book is being released in the west, but it really doesn't let S&S off the hook for other missteps and mis-ordered priorities. I'm not sure I have anything poignant to add to the topic, but I wanted you to know that its always on my mind because you are keeping this conversation front and center. I hope my content is careful and thoughtful. Thank you!
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