Writing POC 101

Black and Mexican Characters - @lukeseleles

Hi! It's @lukeseleles here. So there's a lot to consider when making biracial characters: specifically black and Mexican. It ranges from names, attitudes, preferences, and so many other concepts. So here is more of a personal outlook on how someone can approach writing about people like many of us.

SOCIAL CULTURE

I think it shows a lot of dynamic if you incorporate how the character engages in both cultures. If there's one predominant influence. Or if there is an equally shared influence of both cultures. This all has to do with how the character is raised. I spent most of my childhood with my Mexican grandmother so I am exposed to more Mexican traditions and ideas. This being said I know Spanish. I grew up Catholic and can cook various Mexican meals (more on that later). However, my sister spent her time with more of our black side of the family and so she has more traditional African-American exposure. (Side note: some of us say black and some of us say African-American so it's more of a "what do I feel comfortable saying" kind of thing).

If you want to make it a bit more realistic, you can (should) include how we deal with a lot of social identity problems. Not everyone has this problem but I know a lot do. At one point we kind of question where we belong. Which race to follow. Which will accept me. Now-a-days, the world is much more diverse so "fitting in" is more accommodating. However growing up, where I grew up it was heavily separated by either sub groups of African-Americans and sub groups of Mexican-Americans. I had a particularly difficult time trying to find a "group" to identify as because I could relate to some aspects of both but they never fully understood me.

MUSIC

I can only speak from my perspective really but I love all kinds of music. Pop, rock, Latin, indie,some hip-hop, classical, K-pop, and country. The list goes on and on. So it's really a lot of what the primary family listens and how you personally grow in the world and accept music.

FOOD

Watch. Stereo. Types. Of course, stereotypes came from somewhere. So there are some people who love fried chicken and corn tortillas with eggs. But 1. Jack-in-the-box tacos are NOT traditional tacos. 2. Churches Chicken or Popeyes is NOT the only fast food we eat. There are so many interesting foods from both cultures that white cultures generally don't even acknowledge. Ox tails, black eyed peas, GUMBO, po-boys. All delicious and there are so many variants. Menudo, Pozole, Atole , arroz con leche, chilaquiles, guaraches, barbacoa, lengua, chorizo de puerco, carnitas, are all equally as great as tamales. Explore the vast possibilities. I personally HATE Kool aid. I have never like it, and come to think of it, neither did my family. I also never liked Horchata. Aguas frescas are a MORE acceptable beverage of choice than throwing around tequila in the story for the heck of it. Manzanita (an apple soda) and Jarritos are GREAT. So please expand from the day to day typical foods you associate with us.

STEREOTYPES

The downfall of our writing community. Use stereotypes sparingly. Because it's really a less than 50/50 chance that the stereotypes are even practiced or true. Not everyone has a "super black" or "really Mexican" name. My name is Adrianna. I know a Maya, George, Robert, Miguel, Sarah, Iliana. So many different "normal" sounding names. But it's okay to use a traditional Maria, Maricela, Tiana, Desiree, Darrell because that's just how it is. Some stick with tradition and some don't. "Blacksican or Blaxican". I don't know why. But my gears really grind when someone says that. While there is a whole cultural combination going on, I think acknowledging both cultures beautifully as their own is perfectly okay. There is a great blend in both depending on who you are but I feel like when a non-POC calls me that, they don't really acknowledge both cultures as they should. That's probably just me.

When it comes to family, we don't always have 739937262627 children in one car. We have big families. We have small families. We are loud and obnoxious at times. But mostly we stay reserved and away from the out of control party scene. We aren't always blasting vulgar rap or loud mariachi music. (While that can happen is not every family).

We aren't the sassy black woman or the loud Mexican woman. We are people. We are human. And as humans we vary. I am "sassy" to my friends but I'm not patting my weave and speaking in Ebonics like the media represents us. I don't go off in Spanish like the novelas. We are a lottery. Spontaneous. Quiet. Loud. Crazy. Intellectual. Intelligent.

We can easily be "ghetto" with our personally settings but just as easily accommodate to a professional setting. There's not a set thing when writing about us except just see there's more than one way to do it.

HAIR

A MAJOR concept is hair. Have your beautiful biracial characters have different hair. Some have really straight almost blonde hair. Some have wavy dark hair. Some people have tight curls and some people have kinky curls. Some have thin and thick. Some have falling hair, or very tight Afros. Because we are biracial, we have a lot of gene makeup that can differentiate us. I don't see this a lot but male characters also have high hair care routines. We see the females with their conditioners, moisturizers, and shampoos. But we hardly see males who do the same in the stories. They can have just as long, kinky, straight, thick and thin hair. They clean up as well. Show that. Show them in the morning detangling their hair and conditioning. Include people who get perms or relaxers. Braids. Straighten. Natural. There are so many ways to write about us.

PHYSIQUE

This leads me to my final area of discussion. We are not built the same way! We are not all busty and curvy. We are not all fat. We are not all short. We can be tall, lanky, skinny. We can lack curves and we can have some. Some of us have eye colora that range from the bluest blues to the darkest Browns and they are all great. I notice a lot have brown and green eyes but as I said, everyone is different. Skin tone: change it up. Yes I am a "light skin". But dang it, show more dark skinned characters. Usually media portrays us as the perfect mix of skin tones: light hair, light eyes, lighter skin. But that's not the case. Dark black/Mexican people deserve to be seen. I've seen my own cousins get put against each other by their friends just because one is darker than the other. That's really sad. Also, siblings don't always look alike. Some may look like they are not even related but they are.

So when writing about Black and Mexican American characters, variety is key. That's the best thing I can advise. Vary the foods typically seen. Vary the beliefs. Vary the physique. Vary the behavior. Make your POC quiet or make them the next Punk royalty. Have them rock their cultures and have them pull off generic white trends if you want. Just don't be offensive. Talk to someone for their personal input and see what they may be offended by.

All the love! Have fun writing!