Voice, Representation & Empathy

Who can write whom? Who can’t write whom? Are there certain things you should or shouldn’t write about when you write about: a different culture, or your own culture? 

These are difficult questions with a lot of grey area but they are questions that as readers and writers we need to be aware of. I am not going to claim to have the ultimate answer as I am still learning and trying to understand these issues more and more; but I believe the core of the answer is about understanding and respect.

Representation and the idea of voices of a community is a complex issue. Many voices are lacking from dominant narratives however I believe the world is changing. Writers and artists are increasingly aware of this and many are trying to create a voice for those voices that are small, have been overridden, or have never had a platform.

Writing about another culture is difficult because it is something different, it can’t be easily extracted from your own experience and mind. It takes more care, time and research. It takes time and effort to develop empathy and understanding between different cultures, but it can be done. If you want to write about a culture different to your own I don’t think you should be stopped by the classic rule “write what you know,” because then you may block a path towards learning something new. There is always room to add to the things we know; after all, for everything that is known to us, initially it was new.

While I think it is important to write as a way of understanding others, I believe that people of their own culture should have first priority in telling their own stories. I’m not saying don’t write stories from another culture, because although it is difficult, if researched, handled carefully and given respect and understanding, beautiful work can be produced. However, I think we should keep in mind that the voice of the writer looking inside, shouldn’t override or shadow the voices from within the culture.

There are concerns that if you write about a culture different from yours it can seem inauthentic, and how can you compare your portrayal of that culture to people who have really lived it? Authenticity is complex. But why not collaborate to check how authentic your portrayal is? Talk to people from that culture, ask them how accurate they think your writing is, ask them where it is lacking. If it’s “authentic”, then I think people of that culture will appreciate and connect to it, because you have captured an essence of their life – then, empathy has served well.