Thread: Do you have to show your characters race?

Hey guys this might seem like an odd question but it's one that I've been asking myself. I'm black and notice that most black authors tend to make their main characters black as well. This isn't necessarily limited to black authors as authors of other races tend to make their characters reflect their respective races.

My problem is that I don't really want my character to be representative of any particular race, however, I know that readers like their main characters to be described as it helps them envision and feel for the character more.

So is it necessary to make the character a particular race, and is it necessary to describe your character all that much?

If anyone can voice their opinion on this it would be greatly appreciated.

If you want to stand up for the minorities, then go ahead.

Otherwise, a reader will always assume the main character is white.

Originally Posted by GodofLiterature

If you want to stand up for the minorities, then go ahead.

Otherwise, a reader will always assume the main character is white.

I wonder why that is?

Originally Posted by Cyric

I wonder why that is?

Racism is still prevelent, even if it is at the micro level. Americans in particular are taught that white is normal, while everything else is ethnic; as if whiteness does not pertain to an ethnic group. I remember a quote from Mad TV bringing this up and parodying the attitude: "It doesn't matter if your skin is black...or normal." I can go on forever about this; I study sociology in school and critical race theory is at the top of my interests.

Anyway, answering RyeCatcher24's question, I say don't mention race if it is not important to your story or your character's background and personality. Basically, be like Hemingway (God knows I hate that man), be efficient. If it is important, add it.

Originally Posted by GodofLiterature

a reader will always assume the main character is white.

Where the hell did you pull that from? Where's your proof to back up this statement? How can you speak for the millions of readers out there? For Godsakes, man, don't make statements like this. They make you sound ignorant.

I would say a reader sort of assumes the character is like themselves unless there is some reason not to.

Apart from all the typical "ay, ay, evil American racism" bullshit here, we tend to assume the race of the character is the default for the setting. It's in Norway,we kind of figure the character is white, etc.

I am constantly astounded at how deep people will dredge to sound off of petty "ooooo, everybody but me is racist" crap.

Actually I would say that the vast majority of books don't state the race of the main character, though descriptions make it clear in many cases.

Well, I'm white. If the character's race isn't specified (and the writer isn't playing on every single racial stereotype), I assume the character's white.

However, a previous roommate of mine was black and assumed every character she read was black unless otherwise stated.

People tend to imagine what's familiar. That's all. So if you don't want to choose a race and become a spokesman for that race, leave it ambiguous. You'll probably end up with more people being able to relate. Whites can think the dude's white, blacks can think he's black, and polka dotted monkeys can assume he's a polka dotted monkey.

Everyone's happy.

Well, lin and Tiamat covered everything I was going to say.

I wouldn't mention race if it's really not important for the storyline or themes. I can't think of other reason why you would include it.

Wow... Thanks for all the responses guys. You pretty much backed up how I was feeling. I guess I just needed confirmation. I really didn't mean to spark any kind of broad race discussion and I feel that saying "People automatically assume the character is white", would mean all readers are racially biased. That wasn't the point I was trying to make. I was more alluding to the fact that when I tell people about my stories they tend to think that my character will automatically be black.

I'm really trying for neutral because I want the reader to relate to the character.

Thanks again for the responses

Originally Posted by Sam Winchester

Where the hell did you pull that from? Where's your proof to back up this statement? How can you speak for the millions of readers out there? For Godsakes, man, don't make statements like this. They make you sound ignorant.

You are right Sam, absolutist statements are often like that.
If you were to say that many people will assume the character is like themselves if they are invited to associate with his values and actions by the author it would probably be true in the main. This raises two possibilities to me, leaving it that way would allow the readers each to build his own picture, it is perfectly possible to build a convincing picture of some one without ever mentioning race using phraseology like a small, meek, unassuming, small featured man blinking rapidly in the sunlight (or his opposite) so that you appeal to the maximum number of readers. The other possibility I see is leaving it until some twist in the story line allows you to reveal it casually thus getting the maximum dramatic effect out of it. Of course neither of these work if the story has a setting where race is vitally important, like an historical novel set in the deep south, but I don't imagine you would be asking if this were the case. The questions you really want to be asking yourself are "What am I trying to get across?" and "Will this help me do it?" Then you will answer your own question.

This one really got me thinking. In a normal story, set in a normal place, race is an irrelevance, it shouldn't even be the subject of discussion.


Should you ever have to refer to it in your story? I would say not, unless you're using it to make a point.


The story of a New York detective, or a detective anywhere, doesn't need to refer to his race, it's an irrelevance. I suppose I could reluctantly concede that we still haven't progressed to the point where race truly is irrelevant, but we're nearly there, thank God. It just needs a bit more time and more Obamas and Condies.

I never mention race in my stories, because I've never had a need to. All my characters are automatically white, but that's probably because I'm white, but I'm not being racist or anything about it. I've never honestly thought about the colour of my characters until now.

I wouldn't care if someone thought my characters were black, though. There's more important parts of the story than arguing about race of the characters.

One of my favorite authors, Haruki Murakami, writes these wonderful stories and novels. The only thing that clues you in that the characters tend to be Japanese is the fact that they tend to have Japanese names. Beyond that, their experiences are universal.

I think there's often a lot of pressure placed on writers of color to primarily write through characters of color. I don't agree with that, as it's a silly and unnecessary burden. There are more than enough people to write about whatever they want, and no one should feel compelled to insert (or remove) their ethnicities into stories against his or her will.

Describing a person's race is as important in literature is describing whether they are fat or thin, short or tall, blonde, brunette or red head, blue eyed, brown eyed, green eyed, elegant, confident, clumsy, a slouch, athletic, a couch potato, career minded, homemaker, crippled, retarded, a genious, psychopathic, despressed, quiet, loud, compulsive, obssessive, level headed - and on and on. It's all about using word to paint a picture in the reader's mind of what your character is like physically and as a person then applying key attributes of that character to the context of plot to tell your story.

It's all about context.

Originally Posted by lisajane

I never mention race in my stories, because I've never had a need to. All my characters are automatically white, but that's probably because I'm white, but I'm not being racist or anything about it. I've never honestly thought about the colour of my characters until now.

I wouldn't care if someone thought my characters were black, though. There's more important parts of the story than arguing about race of the characters.

Geography can determine race as well e.g. In the No.1 Ladies Detective Agency Alexander Mcall Smith (the author) is white but his characters are residents of Botswana in Africa - since no mention is made of their colour we assume they are black. Hope this makes sense and a point - if not my apologies.