Cultures borrow. But sometimes people borrow too much- or make sad, inauthentic passes at borrowing. For example, there was a genre of romance that used slave heroes with white girls in the 70's, I think- written (often) from the "POV" of a black person (by a white author). It's called plantation porn, I think. Now there are all kinds of degrees of this, but white people have been writing stories "for" people of other races for a long time (people of other races who are perfectly capable of writing their own stories.) Jane Austen discusses this wrt men writing women's stories in Persuasion- in which one of her characters responds to a man, thusly:
“I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman's inconstancy. Songs and proverbs, all talk of woman's fickleness. But perhaps you will say, these were all written by men."
"Perhaps I shall. Yes, yes, if you please, no reference to examples in books. Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything.”
? Jane Austen, Persuasion
And there you have it from Austen- we should probably write our own stories, since we understand them best. And if you choose to take on the cultural mantle of another, you should know you do it at your peril- because decisions like that should have consequences. That's not PC- that's just life and responsibility for your actions. |
