Through the Wringer

Black characters and their place in the whump community:

Whump as a genre is notoriously hard to define. It has many, many different facets, and encompasses so many variations of its own themes. But whether it's tooth-rotting fluff/comfort, violence, sick fic, environmental whump, all-hurt-no-comfort, or any other of the hundreds of variations whump can take on, there is one underlying theme across all of them:

Whump, as a genre, is defined by its compassion for the victim.

For as much as we put our whumpees through, our stories are always defined by their focus on the person behind the suffering.

Our fiction grapples with darker topics, taboo subjects, and the deepest lows that a character can sink to. But always, always, we do so with respect for the trauma these things cause, and the complicated mess that comes of surviving.

That is the reason why so many survivors of abuse, neglect, and trauma flock to the whump community: this is where we can see ourselves and the things we endured reflected back to us, with characters being shown the sympathy we don't often receive in person. This is why we turn to whump when we're feeling down, why we find so much catharsis and escape in whump, and why there is so much satisfaction in Hurting The Character. It is because we are treating their suffering with the weight it truly deserves.

Once you understand this, every argument in favor of keeping characters of color out of whump falls apart completely.

Many people shy from writing whumpees that aren't white, because of discomfort around the idea of inflicting suffering on characters of color. Racialized minorities are disproportionately the victims of violence and trauma in real life—the argument usually goes that we "don't want to make them see that in fiction, too."

This is where we're getting it wrong. We're not sparing Black people by excluding them from our writing—we are depriving them of the stories that treat them and their pain as deserving of our compassion.

Like @amonthofwhump recently said, "Black characters are often underrepresented, sidelined, stereotyped, or excluded from whump spaces altogether." They deserve to be, "...allowed to inhabit the full range of fiction—including dark, painful, complicated stories—without their presence being reduced to a political contradiction."

Black people, and all people of color, deserve to see themselves reflected in whump. They deserve to see people like them shown the softness and understanding that this entire genre is built around.

If you listen to Black members of the whump community, they will tell you this themselves. They have told us exactly what they want to see more of in terms of representation, talked about how to navigate complicated subjects like the BBU, pointed us toward what to steer clear of, and spoken on why representation in whump is important to them.

What we have to do is listen.

Across the whole of the whump community, whumpees overwhelmingly consist of queer, cis, perisex, white men. We are beginning to successfully change this, with intra-commmunity movements like lady whump and genderqueer whumpees finally gaining some traction.

This event, Black Whump Blues, is the next facet of that progress. This is a celebration of Black characters and diverse racial representation in whump. Black members of our community deserve to see themselves, and characters like them, treated with the same respect shown to their white counterparts.

But Wick, even knowing all this, I'm still uncomfortable with the thought of Black characters getting hurt. Something about it feels wrong.

There's every chance that your discomfort is rooted in sympathy—but it's going to require some introspection to get it pointing in the right direction. Trauma is still happening to Black people out in the world, whether you write about it or not. Refusing to acknowledge racial minorities in fiction doesn't erase anything, it just leaves the survivors isolated—even from the community that should understand their struggle better than anyone.

This is a good chance for you to see what Black representation in whump should look like. It's an opportunity to follow Black creators, and to learn what they want to see. Listen to them, and believe them at their word. As always, remember: discomfort ≠ truth.

But Wick, I don't know for sure how to identify racism when it happens, and I'm afraid of calling out the wrong person, even if I do see something questionable:

Okay! Then your focus should instead be on supporting Black writers and characters, and celebrating the Black Whump Blues event itself. Spend your energy uplifting their voices, and showing every ounce of enthusiasm you can for Black characters. Your role in the shield is to make joy louder than hate.

Ways you can show your support:

Priority Number One: Your love for Black community members is more important than your anger towards racists. Do not lose sight of this: you have to care for the people being hurt more than you hate the people who are hurting them.

Be outspoken in your support of Black whump. Share your enthusiasm the same way you would for any other whump event. Share updates, engage with the creators who participate, and show your love for their characters. Be LOUD about it! Spread the word! Do not let bigotry overshadow joy. This event is going to be wonderful, and your focus should be on celebrating it.

Black members of the community are the experts on Black representation, and the best resource on what whumping Black characters should look like. Amplify their voices. Learn from them.

If you're not comfortable writing a Black character for this event, that's okay! Instead, you can focus on supporting the people who are comfortable participating. Read, comment, and share their work! That's just as much a part of this as the writing itself.

If you DO want to participate, do your research! Although it's not whump-specific, Ice has a fantastic, in-depth guide on Creating Black Characters. There's even a chapter on violence in fiction, where you can learn about what to avoid in your writing. Sami is collecting resources and guides on the @black-whump-blues page, and will be adding more as it goes. @whumppets also has a fantastic archive on the same topic.

The purpose of fighting bigotry isn't to punish the bigot. It's to keep them away from the minorities they're trying to hurt, and to make it abundantly clear that their behavior isn't welcome in the whump community.

The people who expose themselves as racists may very well be your friends. You may have been mutuals for years, and not seen any hint of this before. The instinct to defend them may be strong, and the instinct to ignore it even stronger. So you have to ask yourself the hard question:

Are you okay with knowingly being friends with a racist?

Only you can answer that. I sure as hell know my answer.

Protecting Black Members of the Whump Community from Racism

Recognizing racism, and watching for red flags:

This event is going to send some members of the community into a shit-fit. You and I are going to put ourselves between them and the Black creators that they're trying to hurt.

There's a big difference between someone asking questions with good intentions, and someone being an obtuse asshole.

The main difference is whether or not they're listening. Someone who is sitting down and truly hearing what Black creators have to say can still ask clarifying questions, provided they're ready to accept the answers in good faith.

Someone who starts bad-faith arguments, ignores the answers they're given, tries to make the celebration of Black characters out to be an act of ~reverse-racism~, or harasses Black creators for wanting to be included? Now that's something else entirely.

How will you know the difference? The simple answer is that, at first, you might not. Not on your own. Learning how to spot racism can take practice, especially in cases where it's not as clear-cut as someone using racist slurs outright.

Let's put this in a more familiar context: Can you tell the difference between when a guy is asking clumsy, but well intentioned questions, and actually listening to the answers—versus when his comments are thinly-veiled, misogynistic bullshit? Can you tell the difference between him trying to understand, and simply arguing because he doesn't want to listen?

When you can't tell the difference for yourself, who do you look to? Do you take the guy and his male friends at their word when they say that she's “blowing things out of proportion just to be a bitch”? Or do you listen to the women involved, and believe them when they tell you that harassment has a pattern?

Minority groups have a lot more experience determining when someone is being bigoted toward them than outsiders do. They also have a lot less incentive to lie about said harassment, given that they're less likely to be believed in the first place.

Your job is to believe them.

When it's best not to speak:

White people chiming in is not always needed. The hardest damn thing to get through our heads—even those of us with only good intentions—is that not every situation needs our two cents.

If you're not sure whether or not something is racist, you don't need to write your own response. What you do instead is:

LISTEN to the Black people involved, and actively hear what they're saying. Slow down and read things multiple times if you need to.

AMPLIFY their voices, by sharing their words without adding your own.

BELIEVE Black people about their own experiences, and treat them as the authority on anti-black racism.

Defending Black people doesn't always mean coming up with a new argument. Far more often, it means showing outspoken support for a response they already made. That can look like:

reblogging Black people's posts without making ANY tags/additions ← this is The Thing™ we most often see Black people asking us to do more of! This should be your default!

making brief comments of support ← “well said!” / “you clarified XYZ really well!” / “thank you for making such a thoughtful response!” / “ohh, okay, I understand __ better now!”

not letting assholes pretend they haven't already been shut down ← “ZYX already answered your question, now you're just being willfully ignorant”

Okay, what I just saw was definitely racist. What do I do about it?

You have a few different options. You should always follow Priority Number One, but following that, you have the option to:

- Block the racist. Some people aren't worth your time. Blocking them is a simple way to cut them out of the community, while keeping the overall focus on positive aspects of the event instead.

- Amplify the voices of the Black people who have already responded. I guarantee they said it better than you could—show your support by giving them the final word.

(The single least helpful phrase in the world is, "As a white person, I..." —No. Ah-ah. Hit backspace.)

- Racists will often try to hide their tantrums in the comments section of posts, hoping that the only people to see it will be the Black users they are harassing (*cough* @caffeinefafnir *cough*). Unfortunately for them, the screenshot function works juuuust fine.

These people know perfectly well that if their racist tirades get seen by their peers, the whump community will cut them out like a tumor. If they are persistently making an issue of themselves, then sometimes they have to learn this the hard way.

However, call out posts seldom lead to net good. Dragging a racist comment into the spotlight isn't something you should be doing unless you are COMPLETELY sure of what you're talking about, and your other options (including telling the racist to fuck off) have been exhausted.

However, I know perfectly well that I am writing this on Tumblr Dot Com. That said, there are four rules that YOU MUST FOLLOW if you're considering a call out post:

In private, give the Black creators involved the chance to veto any form of call out. Sometimes they simply don't want for one racist jackass to take away from the joy of the event as a whole. If they tell you to leave it be, then leave it be.

Don't start a fight and then expect Black creators to finish it for you. If you're going to put someone in the spotlight, you better be prepared to handle it on your own. Your role is to shield Black people from the racist, not the other way around. — [ Yes, this includes instances where you got “approval” from the creator(s) you spoke to in step one! Even when the racist pressures you to throw them under the bus and 'prove you had permission', you KEEP THAT SHIT TO YOURSELF. Protect the Black creator’s privacy: don't pick a fight and then cry that “they told you to do it” when things get ugly. If you call someone out, you do so knowing you're on your own. If you aren't willing to accept that responsibility, you're going to do more harm than good. ]

Make it a separate post, rather than adding it in the reblogs of an event post. Keep any negativity separate from the main event.

Tag for racism / anti-blackness / slurs, so that Black creators can avoid seeing it unless they choose to.

Don't bring up anything you can't prove in its entirety, don't leave out context (especially if that context doesn't work in your favor), and don't go digging for “more dirt”. It's one thing to shine light on something someone has already said on a public forum, it's another thing entirely to try to dig for worse. The point is not to paint this person in the worst light you can, it's to make them live with the consequences of exactly what they already said.

For the most part, knowing they will be held accountable to the entire whump community is enough to make racists think twice. In the rare case where there really are Just That Stupid… well. The rest of us can see them out.

All this said, don't just abandon the Black members of our community to handle racism alone. If you have racial privilege, and if you know what you're talking about, then use it. Back them up. Be there for them.

Always, ALWAYS, remember Priority Number One. The joy of Black people is always more important than the persecution of racists. Don't let the overwhelming positivity of this event get overshadowed by the shittiest person in the room.

Conclusion

This event is a big next step towards diversifying stories within the whump community. It is about integrating Black characters into all the roles that have historically excluded them. It is about acknowledging their personhood, and treating them with the same enthusiasm we show all our other whumpees.

It is also about bringing Black creators into the core of the community where they belong. The Black community members we have are few and unspeakably precious. They deserve our respect, our protection, and every ounce of our support. They deserve to see themselves depicted with every bit of humanity and sympathy that we show our own reflections.

Compassion is the heart of everything that whump is. Use it for good.

The Black Whump Blues is going to be an incredible event, and I cannot wait to take part in it <3

Expert guides on how to handle racism:

These are a VERY good opportunity to listen—take the time to process them, even when (especially when) they're a difficult read.