Writing Fictional race/ethnicities in story vs real-life counterparts

[Feudyn]

Hi, apologies if this is too much of a sensitive subject for some, but I'm asking this as a writer.

So the question:
Is there a particular way to write and discuss fictional/fantasy race, ethnicities, and cultures in novels?

I also ask on the basis of the sensitivity on the subject in mind — I understand that this (sensitivity) is something that can sometimes come with it.

In my web-novel, there are different races and ethnicities. Although I have not gotten to the part yet, but I will be coming up to arcs where the character's race/ethnicity will become important. I know that it is human-nature for readers to relate on a character's particular race with a real-life counterpart that might be similar in their mind, so will this put me in a spot where it could land me in hot water or major backlash?

Of course, there isn't anything that glorifies racism or anything like that, but I can't help but thought to double check to see if any other writers here have any experience with this before.

 

[Eldoria]

I know that it is human-nature for readers to relate on a character's particular race with a real-life counterpart that might be similar in their mind, so will this put me in a spot where it could land me in hot water or major backlash?

Eh... do readers think that way? If so, their priorities might be misplaced. There are even more extreme narratives like murder, r*p*, and genocide, which are often the main conflicts in mainstream stories. Will the author be labeled as glorifying those atrocities simply because they include those dark elements? Well, perhaps a narrative can fall into glorification if it doesn't handle sensitive content appropriately. But that's beyond this discussion.

The problem might be that the author wants to criticize atrocities through their narrative. But it's impossible to narrate without writing about scenes of atrocities, either explicitly or implicitly. If the author, through the narrator, is an eyewitness to an atrocity, will the witness be accused of being a criminal simply because he/she describes the crime that occurred?

 

[Juia_Darkcrest]

Hehe, I had a similar thought.

If they ARE fantasy races I see no issues,

If you are worried about actual world racism, take a look at this post... I would say long as it isnt being glorified, you are fine.

(1) Thoughts of putting racism in your works | Scribble Hub Forum

 

[TheKillingAlice]

To be honest, this sensitivity you speak of is poison to creative writing. Just make it make sense.
If your world works the way ours does, make it make sense what people look like. If there is no possibility of safe and fast travel, don't pretend that everyone can be anywhere, as if globalization hit early.
If you do reference existing nations in your ficional world (if it's not an actual version of earth, but a fantasy world in the sense of a fantasy world, but it has, for example, "european ambience", as it is very beloved in all sorts of Isekai), then let them speak for themselves; it's your world. As long as you didn't bring them in, specifically to have some rancid moral message, or because you want to take a shit on the real-life nation as such, nobody will actually give a shit.
In all honesty, just write a story with its own voice; leave weird direct cues to whatever political argument in 20-something and we're all cool.
I doubt anyone will actually care. And those who would stop reading, because they call issues with a non-issue, weren't actually readers interested in your story to begin with.

 

[Zagaroth]

So: Species, or 'races'? Elves and Dwarves are species, not races.

The concept of race/ethnicity is basically a fiction already.

"Hispanic" is the biggest example of this, as it is liberally used on both Native Americans from Mexico and nearby areas, as well as on the descendants of Spanish immigrants to that areas. "White" is an example in another way: who is and who is not white is a definition that varies by the person making the definition, where they are, and what time period they are.

There is no logically consistent way to define any ethnicity.

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So, in a world with other sapient species, I doubt the concept of race/ethnicity even exists. In a fantasy world that is all humans, it may exist, but if so, there is no particular reason that the definitions parallel ours, given that our definitions are basically arbitrary to begin with.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

So: Species, or 'races'? Elves and Dwarves are species, not races.

The concept of race/ethnicity is basically a fiction already.

"Hispanic" is the biggest example of this, as it is liberally used on both Native Americans from Mexico and nearby areas, as well as on the descendants of Spanish immigrants to that areas. "White" is an example in another way: who is and who is not white is a definition that varies by the person making the definition, where they are, and what time period they are.

There is no logically consistent way to define any ethnicity.

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I had an International Literature (African Literature) class in college, and it was jarring to see how race was depicted in South African "contemporary" (written between 1950 and 1989) fiction. IIRC, there were seven levels of "color" PLUS Indian (anyone who looked like they had ancestors from India - they were the absolute bottom of the hierarchy) with the lighter your skin the higher your social status. And this was described, in a detailed paragraph, as just a fact of life.