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Re: Reading Diversity Analysis
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From: Sarah Park Dahlen <spark_at_stkate.edu>
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:37:54 -0600
While I do believe that numbers matter (after all, the CCBC keeps tabs on insider/outsider authorship and publications by and about non-white authors - thank you!), I strongly agree with Colleen Kelley that personal experiences can provide powerful data. Colleen, thank you for your thoughtful email. You asked for personal experiences; here it is. The absence or marginalization of Korean Americans in children's literature propelled me into a career studying children's literature, and a career making sure that future children's librarians are aware of issues of race and diversity in children's literature.
The only 2 books I remember from my childhood depicting Asian Americans were 1) The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
and 2) Baby-Sitters Club
. My experiences as a Korean American, while they could resonate somewhat with those two characters, don't do so completely. As Colleen said, color (and I'll add race, ethnicity, ethnonational affiliation, etc.) is one of the most obvious and common ways we identify ourselves. Despite some commonalities, Korean, Chinese and Japanese people tend to be very clear that we are not the same people group. It wasn't until 2001, when An Na published her award-winning novel A Step from Heaven, that I really saw myself and my family in youth literature - and this, regardless of the fact that I wasn't 3 when we immigrated; that my dad never got a DUI or cheated on my mom; that my brother is older than me and not younger. I don't need 100% conformity to see myself in literature, but I need some, and I need some that I've never had. For someone who *never* saw a Korean American girl in children's literature, the fact that Young Ju is a Korean American girl meant a great deal to me. The impact is immeasurable.
The relative absence of nonwhite faces in children's and young adult literature renders us less visible. It means that readers who aren't familiar with our experiences as nonwhite members of a majority white society may be less able to understand and empathize with us. I just attended a Booklist webinar sharing new YA books for spring. Of the many books promoted, I believe only one had an obvious nonwhite person on the cover: Gabby Douglas. So I don't understand Charles' comment regarding the "limitless supply" of new books. Nor do I understand what he means when he says that "the reading public is already open and accustomed to non-conforming, multicultural, diverse reading" when we see things like the racist tweets coming from readers after The Hunger Games movie posters were released. *These* readers don't seem open to diverse reading. In fact, they seem to be actively resisting it. ( And finally, ask author Zetta Elliott about the "low barriers to writing and publishing."(http://zettaelliott.wordpress.co m/2012/06/16/hot-mess/)
If you want a statistical, numbers-oriented research study commenting on the effects of how images impact real people, I recommend:
Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., Oyserman, D., & Stone, J. M. (2008). Of Warrior Chiefs and Indian Princesses: The Psychological Consequences of American Indian Mascots.* Basic and Applied Social Psychology, **30*, 208-218.
To understand why it's important to INCREASE the stories that are told about nonwhite people, I recommend:
Adichie,* *Chimamanda. (2009 October 7). The Danger of a Single Story. *Ted Talks*. http://www.youtube.com/watch?vЩIhs241zeg
Respectfully, visibly yours, Sarah
-- Sarah Park Dahlen, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of LIS St. Catherine University spark_at_stkate.edu http://sarahpark.com 651.690.8791
Received on Thu 28 Feb 2013 02:37:54 PM CST
Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2013 14:37:54 -0600
While I do believe that numbers matter (after all, the CCBC keeps tabs on insider/outsider authorship and publications by and about non-white authors - thank you!), I strongly agree with Colleen Kelley that personal experiences can provide powerful data. Colleen, thank you for your thoughtful email. You asked for personal experiences; here it is. The absence or marginalization of Korean Americans in children's literature propelled me into a career studying children's literature, and a career making sure that future children's librarians are aware of issues of race and diversity in children's literature.
The only 2 books I remember from my childhood depicting Asian Americans were 1) The Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson
and 2) Baby-Sitters Club
. My experiences as a Korean American, while they could resonate somewhat with those two characters, don't do so completely. As Colleen said, color (and I'll add race, ethnicity, ethnonational affiliation, etc.) is one of the most obvious and common ways we identify ourselves. Despite some commonalities, Korean, Chinese and Japanese people tend to be very clear that we are not the same people group. It wasn't until 2001, when An Na published her award-winning novel A Step from Heaven, that I really saw myself and my family in youth literature - and this, regardless of the fact that I wasn't 3 when we immigrated; that my dad never got a DUI or cheated on my mom; that my brother is older than me and not younger. I don't need 100% conformity to see myself in literature, but I need some, and I need some that I've never had. For someone who *never* saw a Korean American girl in children's literature, the fact that Young Ju is a Korean American girl meant a great deal to me. The impact is immeasurable.
The relative absence of nonwhite faces in children's and young adult literature renders us less visible. It means that readers who aren't familiar with our experiences as nonwhite members of a majority white society may be less able to understand and empathize with us. I just attended a Booklist webinar sharing new YA books for spring. Of the many books promoted, I believe only one had an obvious nonwhite person on the cover: Gabby Douglas. So I don't understand Charles' comment regarding the "limitless supply" of new books. Nor do I understand what he means when he says that "the reading public is already open and accustomed to non-conforming, multicultural, diverse reading" when we see things like the racist tweets coming from readers after The Hunger Games movie posters were released. *These* readers don't seem open to diverse reading. In fact, they seem to be actively resisting it. ( And finally, ask author Zetta Elliott about the "low barriers to writing and publishing."(http://zettaelliott.wordpress.co m/2012/06/16/hot-mess/)
If you want a statistical, numbers-oriented research study commenting on the effects of how images impact real people, I recommend:
Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., Oyserman, D., & Stone, J. M. (2008). Of Warrior Chiefs and Indian Princesses: The Psychological Consequences of American Indian Mascots.* Basic and Applied Social Psychology, **30*, 208-218.
To understand why it's important to INCREASE the stories that are told about nonwhite people, I recommend:
Adichie,* *Chimamanda. (2009 October 7). The Danger of a Single Story. *Ted Talks*. http://www.youtube.com/watch?vЩIhs241zeg
Respectfully, visibly yours, Sarah
-- Sarah Park Dahlen, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of LIS St. Catherine University spark_at_stkate.edu http://sarahpark.com 651.690.8791
Received on Thu 28 Feb 2013 02:37:54 PM CST
