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dragonlady7via http://ift.tt/2j9AR3L:
You’re absolutely right, there are some things about Mexican culture that are best left to Mexicans to write about.
So I’m not writing about those things.
I’m adhering as best I can to the best practices as I understand them for writing about groups I’m not part of. I’m steering away from any real-life religious practices, for example. I’m trying to avoid having any characters be two-dimensional stereotypes. I’m doing my best not to be flippant about any real-life issues faced by real-life people of the relevant demographics.
I haven’t actually written much about Mexico, as it happens; mostly, in Found Cat, jokes by the POV character, Poe, about not being Mexican. That’s about it.
The Lost Kings thing is expressly based on real-life Earth cultures, yeah, but not really Mexico? I was enchanted by the idea of mapping the idea of a persecuted indigenous culture onto the canon fairly-blank-slate of Kes Dameron, but I’ve been pretty open about my sources there– I’m drawing pretty heavily from the Maya real-life story, and I guess it’s been a while since I reiterated where I’m coming from on that, but I have given it a lot of thought. [I know there are tons of Maya in Mexico, but I specifically researched the communities in Guatemala, so I don’t know that I could intelligently comment, specifically, on that?] I admit I was really mostly excited to have an agrarian culture in space so I could write about my extensive real-life farming experience, recently first-hand acquired. Turns out chicken farming isn’t really a culture-specific thing, especially not when set in space.
So– I mean, I’m not sure what you’re objecting to, specifically? But I don’t disagree with you– there absolutely are things that should be left to Mexicans to write about, and I’m not writing those things.
If I’m wrong, please do feel free to tell me where, exactly, but I don’t think a blanket assertion that nobody not-Mexican should write about Mexico is particularly useful.
You’re absolutely right, there are some things about Mexican culture that are best left to Mexicans to write about.
So I’m not writing about those things.
I’m adhering as best I can to the best practices as I understand them for writing about groups I’m not part of. I’m steering away from any real-life religious practices, for example. I’m trying to avoid having any characters be two-dimensional stereotypes. I’m doing my best not to be flippant about any real-life issues faced by real-life people of the relevant demographics.
I haven’t actually written much about Mexico, as it happens; mostly, in Found Cat, jokes by the POV character, Poe, about not being Mexican. That’s about it.
The Lost Kings thing is expressly based on real-life Earth cultures, yeah, but not really Mexico? I was enchanted by the idea of mapping the idea of a persecuted indigenous culture onto the canon fairly-blank-slate of Kes Dameron, but I’ve been pretty open about my sources there– I’m drawing pretty heavily from the Maya real-life story, and I guess it’s been a while since I reiterated where I’m coming from on that, but I have given it a lot of thought. [I know there are tons of Maya in Mexico, but I specifically researched the communities in Guatemala, so I don’t know that I could intelligently comment, specifically, on that?] I admit I was really mostly excited to have an agrarian culture in space so I could write about my extensive real-life farming experience, recently first-hand acquired. Turns out chicken farming isn’t really a culture-specific thing, especially not when set in space.
So– I mean, I’m not sure what you’re objecting to, specifically? But I don’t disagree with you– there absolutely are things that should be left to Mexicans to write about, and I’m not writing those things.
If I’m wrong, please do feel free to tell me where, exactly, but I don’t think a blanket assertion that nobody not-Mexican should write about Mexico is particularly useful.
