cupiscent
Sage
On the one hand: no story will ever be beloved by every reader. And if you set out to not bother anyone, you probably won't write anything that's magnificent either.
On the other hand: If you're genuinely interested in including the diversity of human experience in your work, you can't ignore those who take issue with your representations, especially if they have the experiences that you were trying to include. I believe it behooves us as writers to listen to people, try to understand their experiences (including with our stories) and try to do better next time. That's how you write better, richer, fuller characters and stories.
It's a sad fact of the publishing and bookselling industry at present that white folk, and especially men, are most strongly represented on the shelves. I believe we should be using that privilege to show a broader scope of humanity. And if it's difficult, well, at least we're being published. Imagine how hard it is to tell a story when no one will publish or buy it.
On the other hand: If you're genuinely interested in including the diversity of human experience in your work, you can't ignore those who take issue with your representations, especially if they have the experiences that you were trying to include. I believe it behooves us as writers to listen to people, try to understand their experiences (including with our stories) and try to do better next time. That's how you write better, richer, fuller characters and stories.
It's a sad fact of the publishing and bookselling industry at present that white folk, and especially men, are most strongly represented on the shelves. I believe we should be using that privilege to show a broader scope of humanity. And if it's difficult, well, at least we're being published. Imagine how hard it is to tell a story when no one will publish or buy it.