rotten to the core? | diversity and villains

So, I recently saw this post over at The Orangutan Librarian and, as all good discussion posts do, it really got me thinking! In particular, it got me thinking about villains and the tropes and stereotypes surrounding how they are coded, especially in regards to their physical appearance. I think this is such an interesting, albeit…delicate…topic to talk about because villains/antagonists are as old as heroes are in the world of stories, and so it’s interesting to think about where such tropes and stereotypes stem from! As a folklore and mythology minor currently in college, these are topics that I find absolutely fascinating! So, today I invite you to join me in thinking about how we can craft villains and antagonists with more care from a diversity perspective…

As a disabled woman, I am hyper aware of the “disabled/disfigured villain” trope (check out Betrie’s wonderful post all about this trope for more in-depth info on that subject), and as a BIPOC woman, I’m also hyper aware of how casting/coding only the antagonist(s) as a BIPOC can be incredibly othering and further xenophobia. On top of that, I’m also aware that many villain tropes and stereotypes have their roots in antisemitism and aware of the fact that certain villain stereotypes play into anti-aromantic and anti-sexual sentiment. So, in such a delicate environment how do authors go about writing good villains without accidentally punching down on real life marginalized groups???

Well, first off: research, research, research about the topic of villain stereotypes and tropes and their relationship with marginalized groups. It is impossible for any one human to know and experience everything, so all good books begin with good research! And don’t just limit yourself to Google searches and research papers either (although that’s a good start), get out there and talk to multiple different members of multiple different marginalized groups to hear how these things actually affect them and what they think the solution might be if they have one!

Second off, hire a sensitivity reader (or better yet, multiple sensitivity readers)! Having another pair of eyes on your work that you know will absolutely see things you don’t is truly essential. And be open to receiving their critique as well—remember: we’re all participants in an unjust society and thus we all must be open to receiving critique and adjusting our actions accordingly. In other words, being called out for unknowingly writing something racist, for example, does not necessarily make you a Racist™, but how you respond again and again and again to people calling out something like that can make you one, even if you don’t want or intend to be. You don’t have to be perfect to be considerate and compassionate, is a good thing to remember. And another thing to remember: your first, second, third, tenth, and/or five thousandth drafts don’t have to be perfect, after all, writers have a revision phase for a reason and things like these can be fixed in these revision phases along with other standard mistakes.

So that’s what I got for ya today. I hope this post helped get you thinking about villains and the negative tropes, cliches, and stereotypes involving their physical coding—whether from the perspective of a writer or a reader. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a nice cup of tea and a good book calling my name! Until next time, friends…

spill the beans, friends!

• What are your thoughts on villains and diversity?
• Do you have any tips for writing diverse villains?

Learn more the author of this post:

Lila @ Hardcover Haven

Lila is a 30 year old anthropology student and lover of literature who's been book blogging for an eternity. Her hobbies include reading, singing, writing, arts and crafts, and snuggling her two cats, Snoopy and Clementine.