Who Should Write Our Mixed Asian Stories?

A Conversation with New York Times Bestselling Author Erin Entrada Kelly

Mixed Asian Media - June 9, 2021

By Donna Berry

Authentic characters are a hallmark of good fiction, but writing authentic characters with identities removed from the person writing them can be problematic. Just Google Cho Chang from Harry Potter. No one needs permission to write outside their own experience, but thoughtful writers are asking themselves whether they should — especially when a powerhouse like J.K. Rowling is taking heat for doing it unsuccessfully. With all the Asian and mixed Asian stereotyping in popular culture, the question of who should tell our AAPI stories is critical in the effort to dismantle hateful stereotypes and prejudices. But should mixed Asian stories be the exclusive domain of mixed Asian writers? Some would say, yes. In fact, there are more than a few AAPI authors who are vocal about not wanting to read stories told by someone who doesn’t share their cultural history.

Recently, social media was in an uproar over the announcement that Rainbow Rowell’s young adult novel, Eleanor and Park, a #1 New York Times Bestseller, would be made into a movie. Park Sheridan, a title character, is a biracial teenager with a Korean mother and a white American father. Rowell, who is white, and from a predominantly white neighborhood in Omaha, Nebraska, has been criticized for perpetuating harmful Asian stereotypes and for using racist Asian tropes in her novel — Park’s mother, for example, is a Korean woman described as a “dainty China person” while Park is compared to Bruce Lee (Chinese, not Korean) and described as having “ninja magic” (Japanese, not Korean).

So what do mixed Asian authors think about who should tell our stories? Recently, I spoke with New York Times Bestselling and Filipina American Author, Erin Entrada Kelly, about the most divisive question in fiction.

Erin: Authors who write outside of their identities will be — and should be — scrutinized at a higher standard than own-voices writers. There are many levels of nuance to a lived experience, which cannot be gleaned from a Google search or reading list or even immersion within that community. There's also the complicated issue of marginalized communities being sidelined in favor of other voices. There are many potential detriments to this; primarily, irresponsible or incomplete representation. That said, it's difficult to give a blanket statement on an issue like this. I can't say, "writers should never write outside of their community," just as I can't say, "writers should only write about their own communities." Instead, I'll say that writers should look at their work and ask themselves: Why am I writing this? Do I have the understanding to write this? If so, why? If not, why not? What are my motivations for writing this? Most importantly: What stereotypes do I have that I might bring to the table? What are my shortcomings? What are my blind spots? People often don't want to examine or recognize their own blind spots. We like to believe we don't have them. But we ALL have them. No one is immune. If you aren't willing to admit it, I'd consider that a red flag.

Donna: In Hello, Universe, you clearly call on your experience as a half Filipino, half white author to beautifully write the character of Virgil Salinas, who shares your ethnic background. Virgil is written so authentically that I wonder if someone who was not mixed could write Virgil’s truth as you did. (I love how his Lola cuts up his mango. My Lola did it the exact same way!) By the same token, I thought you did a wonderful job writing the character of Valencia Somerset, who is deaf, though you are not hard-of-hearing. What was your process in writing Valencia, a character whose identity is removed from your own experience?

Erin: Although Valencia is a very important character in the book, I wanted to make sure that I wasn't centering the d/Deaf or hard-of-hearing experience. That's not a book that I feel qualified to write. This isn't a book about what it's like to be a deaf girl in modern society. It's a book with a character who is deaf. In my mind, there's an important delineation. Virgil is the centered experience and the main character. Valencia is part of his world, and she is deaf... among many other things, of course.

When writing Valencia, the first thing I did was ask myself all those questions I mentioned earlier. It was clear right away that I did not have the understanding to write Valencia, and that I had many blind spots, many of which are uncomfortable and embarrassing for me to admit today. For example, I didn't understand how hearing aids worked. I didn't understand what it meant to "read lips." I didn't understand the intricacies and nuances of sign language. As a hearing person, I had a lot of stereotypes and short-sighted beliefs about what it meant to be deaf and hard-of-hearing. I had to be willing to face those stereotypes, and talk openly about them to other people, even if it made me look foolish and uninformed. Thankfully, I talked to the right people. I connected with the American Society for Deaf Children and spoke to several people there. I connected with professors at Gallaudet, the premier university for the deaf and HoH. I enrolled in sign language classes through the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre of Swarthmore. I read books, many books. One of them was Alone in the Mainstream: A Deaf Woman Remembers Public School by Dr. Gina Oliva. Dr. Oliva became a friend; a pivotal piece of Valencia's puzzle. Over lunches and emails, I asked question after question, and she graciously answered them, even the ones that embarrassed me. I sent her pages of the manuscript, and she provided feedback.

Along the way, it was important for me to remember — always — that being deaf was only one aspect of Valencia. It's an important part of who she is, but it's not all she is. Valencia is also a twelve-year-old girl with all the feelings that go along with it. She is outgoing, independent, and stubborn. She has opinions. She isn't afraid to speak her mind or stand up for herself. It's those qualities that Virgil likes so much about her.

Donna: After learning how thoughtfully and extensively you researched to write Valencia and after talking with several authors who have also successfully written outside their own identities as you have, the main takeaway seems to be, if you are going to do it, do it well. No Cho Chang’s, or sexy Asian moms, or descriptors like almond eyes, and don’t even think of including words like exotic to describe mixed Asians (We should have a seminar on the Don’ts of writing mixed Asian characters!). But are some identities just too nuanced and specific to write for someone who isn’t familiar with that experience? Should mixed Asian characters be just for mixed Asian authors to write?

Erin: I don't have an easy answer to that. If I said yes, someone could easily say: But you're a mixed author, and you wrote about full-blooded pinoys! Maybe they'd have a point. Maybe they wouldn't. Maybe it depends on who you ask. The best I can say is: If you do it, do it well, be prepared for scrutiny, and don't be afraid to scrutinize yourself.

Donna: Lastly, congratulations on your latest novel, Maybe, Maybe Marisol Rainey! We are so excited that you are telling our mixed Asian stories! Please tell us about the book and its Hapa main character, Marisol.

Erin: Maybe, Maybe Marisol Rainey is an illustrated novel about summer, friendship, and overcoming fears, told with warm humor. It's great for fans of Clementine, The Year of Billy Miller, and Ramona the Pest. It's my first novel as an author and illustrator, which is very exciting! There are black-and-white illustrations on nearly every page.

Marisol's mother was born in the Philippines and her father works and lives part-time on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. And Marisol, who has a big imagination and likes to name inanimate objects, has a tree in her backyard named Peppina…  but she’s way too scared to climb it.

Marisol is basically me when I was 8 years old.

Erin and I discovered we looked exactly alike as young girls, even with the same bowl haircuts, when we were around the same age as the main character, Marisol, in her new novel. Since Erin's interview ends with “Marisol is basically me when I was 8 years old,” I thought it would be cute to include a picture of Erin when she was young.

Donna Berry is a Filipina American writer, mom-of-twin-boys, sometimes lawyer, and doodle-lover. She lives in Phoenix with her husband and twin boys. You can follow her on twitter @ucladonna.