Unpacking...
DISCLAIMER: This is a vent post. All opinions expressed are solely my own.
Twitter is where hope goes to die. Anytime I'm feeling good about my day, all I have to do is check Twitter (okay, Facebook too) and poof my good mood is gone. Why, you ask?
*Okay so I'm going to try and stick to book twitter here, as we all know anything relating US Politics is an automatic s**t show.
For every post announcing a new book, or writing workshop, for every person giving a word of encouragement or advice; there are fifty million plus others who have something negative to say. By no means am I saying not to post your grievances with problematic storylines, cover art, or people in general. It's actually kind of great sometimes to just scroll twitter every once and awhile to thin out my TBR. That being said, there is just too much real life BS going on that it's becoming too much.
Take for instance the recent to do with an AOC's problematic storyline/ hero.
No idea what I'm talking about? Get the rundown here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3522832254
TW: racism, colorism
Should the work be critiqued, hell yes! Should the critiques hold more or less weight depending on who wrote them? Maybe?
As a Black reader, I read a crap ton of problematic things across the romance genrescape (If that's not a word I just made it one. You're Welcome!). I DNF or don't even buy books if my Nope meter gets pinged. That being said, I don't typically leave more than a low star rating on said books because sometimes it's traumatizing AF to have to hash out why exactly I feel something is problematic. Especially for books like this one where the offending party is another person of color. We POC readers get enough trauma from non POC and non own voices works.
In short: Stop asking POC to continually shoulder the burden of calling out problematic BS!
I'm not going to do too much more venting. Even writing this was more exhausting than I thought it would be.
For Non BIPOC readers and reviewers:
It's okay to call out problematic stuff as long as you understand that not everyone will be okay with what you say or how you say it. Somewhere a BIPOC maybe silently agreeing and thanking you for putting in the work they were too exhausted to do. However, we will also call you out if your review is equally problematic. Such is life.
For BIPOC readers and reviewers:
No matter where you fall on the spectrum of opinions about this issue. Remember that your time and effort are valuable and you alone reserve the right to decide how and when you spend it.
That's all I have for y'all. Stay safe, stay sane, 2020 is almost over.
Peace, Love & Happy Reading!
Stella Williams
@StellaLove4Life on Twitter and IG