A List of Things YA Characters of Color Are Not Allowed to Do
Jul 10, 2017 · 1 min read
· Have “meet cutes” in coffee shops.
· Throw coffee drinks.
· Play fight with boys.
· Dislike their rivals.
· Discuss structural racism.
· Dismantle gender roles in fantasy societies.
· Fall in love.
· Feel insecure.
· Have unrealistic body size expectations.
· Make fun of their white boyfriends.
· Be flawed.
· Be “unlikeable.”
· Be “too ethnic” acting.
· Use dialect authentic to their experience.
· Have a character arc.
· Make white readers nervous.
· Make white readers feel “left out”.
· Have actual dialogue.
· Have a happy ending.
· Have an unhappy ending.
· Exist.
· Exist.
· Exist.
