Pink Think: “When I first started writing I was not conscious that the subject was the Indian-American experience. What drew me to my craft was the desire to force the two worlds I occupied to mingle on the page as I was not brave enough, or mature enough, to allow in life.” – Jhumpa Lahiri
I recently indulged in three books by Jhumpa Lahiri, who is the Pulitzer-prize winning author of “Interpreter of Maladies,” “The Namesake” and “Unaccustomed Earth.” Her books aren’t my typical reading fare; they are low on dialogue and the conflicts and action are mostly internal. Still, the beautiful language and emotional truth pulled me in.
What amazes me is that she is a writer of color who has found literary success (I mean, Pulitzer Prize!) writing about Indian culture.
I worry that if I write about the Philippine culture, or when readers see my skin color, I will have difficulty gaining a readership, let alone get published. This inferiority complex goes back to my childhood, when I got told, “Fair skin is prettier,” or “Speaking in English is better than speaking in Tagalog.”
This persisted throughout my college years.
When I was a freshman at Utah State University, I auditioned for a musical. I didn’t do very well. I couldn’t learn the dance routine fast enough and when I sang soprano (I am an alto), my voice cracked. I did not get the part. Later, I was talking to a friend on the phone, I lamented, “It’s because I am not white…”
I know; it was a lame excuse. Truth of the matter was, if I had been any good, it would not have mattered if my skin was pink, or blue, or purple. There are certainly cases of racism still out there, but I know better now than to ascribe any personal failings to my skin color. I have been fortunate to go through life relatively unscathed by racism.
My husband asks, “As a writer, who cares how you look?”
I think the answer is somewhere in between. If my writing rises to the top, it’ll be because it’s good writing. Still, my ethnic background, my skin color is part of the package deal. It’s part of me and the experience I share on the page. I’m sure there will be some who will judge me, for good or ill, based on that.
Nevertheless, today, I’ve decided: I will write my best, about the Philippines or not, about things that I KNOW, and success will follow.
How about you, have you ever felt judged based on your looks?
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I have a close friend that wants to be an actress. She is obsessed with her looks. She has had four laser surgeries on her face to lighten sun spots (they’re hereditary), not to mention many many other minor cosmetic procedures. Oh, and she has a very interesting wardrobe.
When I see her I think about how much I love the writing industry. One is not judged on how People Magazine cover-worthy they are, but on depth and skill and even heart.
I think if someone writes about another country or culture, it lends great credibility to them as an author, if they are a native, or at least lived there for quite sometime.
So you have a great formula for success going for you.
Yes, I have felt judged by my looks, many times throughout my life. It bothered me when I was younger, but it doesn’t bother me any more.
I think you have intriguing and wonderful stories to write because of your background. You are a talented writer. When I look at you, I see a beautiful (inside and out), sweet and talented person.
There will always be someone out there who will not appreciate your work. That goes for all of us, I think.
You will be successful. I have no doubt.
So here I am, this middle-aged white man living in Texas writing a book about college students in Hawaii. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t wonder how my appearance will affect the way people judge my book.
Melinda: I agree, compared to a lot of other careers, writing doesn’t/shouldn’t hinge as much on how we look. So why is it that I usually go to the book flap to look at an author’s photo, I wonder? 🙂
Shari: Yeah, not everyone will necessarily like our work. Even if I get detractors, it’s still a reaction, and I would still be grateful for that.
Don: It might not fit like your own skin, but you’ve lived in that culture, so you will have some insight. For a long time actually, like several blog posts, I thought you were native Hawaiian. (I saw your photo and all, so go figure 🙂 Probably because you THINK Hawaiian!
Kashuo Iziguro (“The Remains of the Day”)comes to mind. He’s a Japanese-British writer whose characters are white.
I’m most at home writing about the Philippines, although I have written from the POV of a white male before, and it’s actually quite fun. It probably helps that I have lived here in the US over half my life. But I always make sure I run it past my hubby to see if I am getting the male stuff right.
It’d be interesting to get Tristi Pinkston’s insight, too, on writing from the POV of a race different than your own.
Wow, this is pretty intense. I’m proud of you for facing your fears. As a white woman- I can’t say I know exactky how you feel because I don’t. But we all have our insecurities and doubts that’s for sure. Mine is my weight. But I totally agree with you in that if our writing id goods enough- it won’t matter. At least I hope so. I’m having faith in that.
If you are haqving desires to write about your heritage or even a little bit of your culture- it’s probably inspired. Heavenly Father touches people in different ways. Why wouldn’t He use you as a tool for some of His children who need to know, understand or learn something? Keep it up- you’re doing what your supposed to do- but evil Lucifer is giving you these doubt and insecurities!
No, I’ve never felt judged by color, but I have by height. (In my day, six foot tall women weren’t that common.) And may I say, Jewel, that your heritage is what helped you write that haunting and suspenseful book, “Ghost Moon Night.” I love that book! I could never have written it. I’m too white.
Autumn: Thanks for putting it in a spiritual perspective. Sometimes I forget that perhaps our writing has a “higher” purpose.
Shirley: Being too tall has never been an issue in our house :-)Thanks for reading GMN! It was fun and satisfying to write it. I listened to Filipino music the whole time…the only bad thing was I got homesick :-).
I try to be as much myself as possible, because anyone who wants to work with me should know that that’s just how I am, and for the most part I can’t change that.
I think I’m an oddity in this department – as the only fair-skinned child in a family that looks mostly native american, and spending several of my younger years on an indian reservation, I’ve been treated badly because I was white. The rest of my family fit right in, but I think people used to ask my mother where she got that blonde kid.
I’ve actually been treated unfairly for several things – but if I let those things stop me, I’d never have done anything but hide under my bed and refuse to come out. It might hurt, but it really is a small number of people that are so harsh. There will always be those sorts of people. (see my blog for more on that topic! LOL)
q: Good for you! I like people who are upfront, this-is-how-I-am-live-with-it. You know what you’re going to get.
As I get older, it’s easier now to say, “I’m not going to do this just to play nice,” or “If they don’t like it, too bad.”
W: That’s great you won’t let your past rule you. It’s too easy to blame others for our success or failure, when ultimately, it is up to us!!
I think that your heritage will be part of what makes your writing unique and will help you stand out in the crowd. You’ll be able to describe the area in a way that others wouldn’t be able to, and you can help the reader come to a deeper understanding and appreciation of where you come from.
I think this is part of what helps to put an end to racism — learning about other cultures.
As far as my own looks . . . that’s an interesting thought. I’m a large woman and while that doesn’t affect my writing, I do wonder if it affects how people view me at book signings and speaking events. I have a good self-esteem as far as my intelligence and my personality, but I’ve never had a good body image and I have to admit, I do wonder how others view me.
I’m sorry — now that I’m reading through the comments, I see that you wanted my input on writing someone from a different race. I immediately thought of the weight issue, since that’s what I deal with more often. Okay, now I’ll talk about race! 🙂
When I wrote “Nothing to Regret,” I was very concerned that I accurately portray the Japanese American people without making it seem as though I was mocking them in any way. I hate those old Westerns where they paint a white man brown and have him say “Ugh, me Indian” rather than simply hiring a Native actor. That kind of mockery of race just really bothers me and I didn’t want my characters to come across that way. So I did a lot of reading and immersed myself in the Japanese American culture, and when the book was finished, I sent it off to the president of the Japanese American Citizens League here in Utah, and he said it was just about right. Phew! I was so nervous about that.
I have gotten some strange looks, being a white woman writing from the POV of a JA man. But when you’ve done your research and you’ve gotten a feeling for their experiences, it does make it easier, although I will never really *know* what they endured, I can only listen and imagine.
It may not be “right” — as in ethical — but we all judge people and things by their looks all the time. A great book with a lousy cover is less likely to be sold. A wonderful house in a less-desireable neighborhood is less likely to be sold at a high price. I’ve read about various studies that show that attractive people get job promotions faster. And we all know that no one puts fat/old/ugly people on ads to sell clothes or anything that’s supposed to be “cool.”
What about writers? Well, writers with good looks or good stage presence get bigger crowds at appearances and have bigger fan clubs. JK Rowlind looks good — and gets tons of press for every appearance. Neil Gaiman is a handsome man. This is that same old trick of putting a good-looking person on a product. Alexander McCall-Smith is not handsome, but he has wonderful stage presence and delights his audiences. The crowd to see him in SLC a couple of years ago was HUGE. It sure doesn’t hurt Stephenie Meyer and Shannon Hale that they’re both very pretty women, either.
Now, famous Scottish author AL Kennedy is quite an ordinary-looking woman. She does her appearances with no make up and wearing tees and jeans. I admire her greatly, but no one follows her around to snap her pic, either. She has no celebrity status, even though her writing is well-known. Would it help her if she looked more like Meyer or Rowling? I bet it wouldn’t hurt her publicity.
Right or wrong: we’re judged at least somewhat by our looks all the time. You can’t get away from it unless you only work with blind people — and then you’d have to worry about your voice!!
I’m no beauty, so I’ve learned to cultivate a stage presence so that people want to keep looking at me to see what I’ll do next. It helps. But I still shudder at the thought of having to put a photo of myself anywhere public.
Welcome, paperback writer. I think you’ve been pretty successful creating a following based on your writing, and not a public photo 🙂 Great blog btw.
“Attractiveness” is such a subjective term. “Stage presence” is pretty useful, I would say, for anyone of any profession. And that goes for writers, too.
That is cool, Tristi. Thanks for your comments.