The Writer 10.2019

writermag.com • The Writer | 31

When Ramadan found himself

writing about lesbian Syrian women

while working on The Clothesline

Swing – which focuses on the experi-

ences of queer Syrian refugees, not

unlike himself – he sought out Syrian

lesbians in order to give the commu-

nity the authenticity it deserves.

“I’m doing my research at the

moment, through examining the cul-

ture of the local drag,” he says about a

work in progress involving Syrian drag

queens, “getting to know multiple drag

queens, participating in the drag scene

not only through my research but also

through integration into it: voting for

the drag royalty, attending drag shows,

and celebrating their ups and downs

with them, as well as advocating for

support for them.”

If you’re struggling for places to

start – unsure of how to find details

about a community, where to find

spaces that welcome you, who to

interview, etc. – Google is free! Start

an online search for events, centers, or

organizations in your area. Spend

time volunteering with LGBT youth

centers – maybe offer to do a work-

shop or two. Go out and talk to Black

people at Black events (provided you’re

welcome to the cookout, of course).

Engage meaningfully with any articles

(or videos) produced by queer or trans

or POC or disabled creators.

For interviews, social media is a

lifesaver. Tweet about your project and

that you need to interview subjects.

Writers and other creators do this

pretty often to solid results. If it doesn’t

work? Try using another social media

platform; ask people with a stronger

following to signal boost.

Recruit diverse beta readers – espe-

cially ones who share pillars of identity

with your characters. Diversify your

circle of critique partners if you have

one, and hire sensitivity readers.

Sensitivity readers are especially

important since their job is to help us

writers avoid negative biases,

insensitive language, or cultural inac-

curacies in their work. In other words,

their entire job is to make sure we

don’t screw up royally. Sindu’s advice?

Hire as many as you can manage.

If you’re stuck on where to find

them, writingdiversely.com’s directory

or quiethouseediting.com’s diversity

reading list are good places to start.

(They’re also among the first Google

results for “sensitivity reader list.”)

If all of this seems daunting to you,

good. It should be. The more con-

cerned you are about making a mis-

take, the more effort you’ll put in – and

the more likely you are to get it right in

the long run. After all, the end goal is

to avoid hurting whatever community

you’re representing and to avoid

exploiting them. The less authentic –

the less intimate – the narrative, the

more likely it manages to do both. Of

course, one size does not fit all, but

these are some solid first bases.

Respect requires tenacity and

humility. Tenacity in the drive to dive

deeper than you ever imagined you

would need to for the sake of the story

in the hopes of building that realness.

Humility – equally as important – in

being perfectly ready to accept and

acknowledge criticism as well as your

own shortcomings.

You’re going to make mistakes. It’s

inevitable when you aren’t directly

connected to your subject matter.

What is most important is that you do

everything you can to mitigate those

mistakes. And when members of the

community speak up about what you

got wrong, don’t get defensive. Don’t

hide behind the declarations of “am I

allowed” or “what do you want from

me” that so many others do. Instead,

own it.

Learn from it.

And do better moving forward.

Eden Squish Mackenzie is a queer and trans

writer of color currently studying at Ringling

College of Art and Design.

BY

EDEN SQUISH

MACKENZIE

explore and feel you can without snub-

bing more connected authors. In such

cases, there’s a follow-up question: How

do you represent the community well?

Research.

No, really. Research! Research the

community. Not like an anthropology

assignment, but if you want to accu-

rately write a community you aren’t a

part of, you have to engage with it. But

remember to engage when and how you

can as respectfully as possible.

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