Opinion: The inclusion of Black female protagonists in fiction books is crucial for self development
BY LUCELIS MARTINEZ
March 21, 2022 5:42 PM PT
The yellowed pages of “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett are my safe haven. When I was 13, I found my way to a free online reading and writing platform named Wattpad. The other day, I got a new phone and downloaded Wattpad before my banking apps.
Books tell me who I should want to be. They’re my metaphorical lanterns on an empty road, the friends that never leave, and the soul within my body. But books have so rarely ever been my mirror.
Until now, I never saw myself in the books I read and apparently, I’m not the only one who feels that way.
Researchers at The New School in New York City conducted studies in 2013 in order to find out how reading fiction helps school children socialize.
“Researchers at The New School in New York City have found evidence that literary fiction improves a reader’s capacity to understand what others are thinking and feeling,” the article said.
The term literary fiction refers to books which focus on character-driven stories, according to Jessica Dukes from Celadon Books.com.
Aaliyah Alexander is a 21 year old San Diego State University (SDSU) student, majoring in journalism with an emphasis in media studies.
She’s the editor of the Opinion section for SDSU’s independent newspaper (The Daily Aztec).
Alexander shares daily doses of inspiration on all her platforms.
She’s an avid reader, ukulele player, writer and she’s also Black.
In a recent interview, Alexander shared some of the trends she’s noticed as she’s read throughout the years.
“Black characters are mainly just supporting characters, they’re never the main character,”Alexander said, “It’s a problem because when you’re the side character a lot of the character development is not focused on you.”
Alexander said even though there is now more representation in regard to race, there needs to be more inclusion of personality and storylines.
What Alexander described is similar to what was found in The New School Study in regards to fiction. As was put in the article about the study, literary fiction improves a reader’s understanding of others.
As an example, Dukes points to a bestseller first published in the 50s known as “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. I’ve often heard of people getting addicted to the book and having read it myself, I can see why.
It’s one of those books I just couldn’t put down because of the main character, Holden.
Reading Holden’s internal conversations made me feel like I was intruding on someone’s thoughts.It was brought to life in a way that felt illicit.
The study conducted by researchers at The New School explains something I’d started to comprehend by reading books like “The Catcher in the Rye”.
While the stories may not be wholly true, they are based on reality. Carefully written fiction creates faces for narratives and this helps us understand the world around us.
Jenny Peck,a specialized librarian for the Department of Education and Training in Australia, claims that intercultural understanding can be developed through reading.
On Wattpad there’s a feature that allows an author to pick a dream lineup they’d like to cast if their book ever became a movie.
I have read what’s probably an unhealthy amount of books on Wattpad but can’t remember the last time I saw a person of color picked in the cast, even if the writer was of color. More than that, even if there was a Black person in the story, they felt like a gimmick more than a character.
What lesson am I supposed to take from the fact that I’ve never read about an Afro Latina on there?
If out of all the romance books I’ve read there is only one woman of color, am I supposed to assume that there are no stories of true love amongst those with my skin color?
“Am I different from others?” I’d ask myself.
“What does it mean if I am?”
We need more Black female protagonists in fiction books, and we also need them to feel real. We need them to have real traits even if they’re not perfect, because that’s one of the lessons that’s most important in the search of finding oneself.
Still, Alexander and I can point to a few examples of the representation that’s stuck with us most in recent times.
For Alexander, a book worth noting is Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi.
“That’s the first book in like years that had a Black main character that I picked up,” Alexander said, “I found myself relating so much to the topics that she brought up.”
For me, a book worth noting is “Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry” by Joya Goffney. Goffney’s debut novel centers around a Black female protagonist and how she deals with a secret journal being exposed to a judgmental high school student body.
Seeing the main character, Quinn, navigate through her fears (some of them being there due to preconceived notions about her race) is relatable. Watching as she allows herself to fall in love with a Black male lead who feels just as real, is inspiring.
I cannot help but think that the reason the book feels so realistic is because Goffney is of color herself. Diversity in the book publishing industry has been a hot topic for a while.
In 2016, NPR released an article which specifically touched on the topic of lack of diversity in book marketing.
Though these concepts may seem arbitrary to some, I definitely understand the need for there to be Black writers, Black protagonists, Black publishers and Black marketeers. Having more inclusion means telling more stories correctly. It means actually having memorable and significant representation.
Although Goffney’s book fits into the Young Adult genre, I am 20 and a book about high schoolers doesn’t interest me as much as it once did. I used to consume so many teen fiction romances and cannot point to many like that one. As I read, I wondered why I hadn’t.
My younger sister let me borrow “Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry” and I lent her a book named “Blackout” which was written by six Black authors.
It’s an exciting prospect, the fact my sister and I can walk into a Barnes and Noble and simply pick up books like the ones mentioned.
