#writing representation

I’ve been doing research and as a white person, I wanted it to be as accurate and respectful as possible, so I thought I’d come on here and ask some actual Mexican people about things like traditions you have and some things that people either get wrong or don’t come up on an average google search.

- a blind person

- a cane user

- a deaf person

- a forearm crutch user

- a mute person

- a person with arthritis

- a person with gastrointestinal problems

- a walker user

- a wheelchair user

- an amputee

- an asthmatic

- an autistic person

- an underarm crutch user

"'The heavens', as he'd known them, appeared as neither man nor woman, but bearing semblance of both's likeness. Their skin, dark as the night sky and adorned with blotches akin to starlight."

"...adorned with an artists' touch of speckled starlight."

"Their skin, as dark as the night sky and adorned with the finest touches of starlight. As if painted (or sculpted) by the world's finest artist." (Friend's suggestion)

"...adorned with scattered hues akin to starlight." (Another friend said, 'Yuck')

And, because I might as well, this is the working description. I still think I could do better than this.

I see you're open to beta and sensitivity reads! I'm not quite ready for that yet but the second book in my paranormal fantasy duology has a recurring role that's actually a vampire who's visually impaired with albinism! (and queer but that's not explicitly stated or relevant)

I did some research and tried to avoid harmful stereotypes as much as possible, but I was wondering if you had any quick pointers of what I should absolutely avoid? Or vice versa, something you'd really like to see.

Hello, hi! I really enjoyed what I saw on your blog when I first rejoined the tumblr writing community. I’m excited to see more of your work.

First of all, thank you for asking! And thank you also for researching albinism and the harmful stereotypes we unfortunately encounter in media. If I can help bring about more positive, realistic representation of albinism and the spectrum of visual impairment in fiction by acting as a source of advice— well, honestly, I’ve been waiting for someone to ask me this since I started writing. Maybe even before that, really. My childhood was marred by not-great fictional examples of my disability, and those few that exist were used by others as faulty measurements of comparison. Baby Luna would've loved to see someone like herself in books and films who wasn’t a villain or a sympathy-inducer in one of those “disability inspiration” movies.

Speaking of, this brings me to my list of what I’d like to see— and not ever see again— in media. This list’s advice may or may not be relevant, depending on the vampire lore you’re using and the specifics of your— for lack of a better phrase—mythical humanoid world-building. If you'd prefer to share specific bits of relevant info privately— just in case my notes here aren't helpful or specific enough— please feel welcome to pop by in my private messages.

1. Demon comparisons are not well received by the albinism community. I’d love less “omg, red eyes? must be a demon!” energy aimed at us. If that’s a vampire trait in your story’s world, or otherwise plot-necessary, I'd probably support it if the character with albinism bites back with some sass or a teasing threat. The amount of times I’ve had religious weirdos and children freak out on me in public is in the double digits. I'm known to be pretty feisty in response to negative comments, and most of the people with albinism I've met either react with tolerant “in good faith” education or dry humor.

2. Albinism comes with some co-morbid conditions. For example, nystagmus— a condition many people with albinism possess— is rarely represented in media, and therefore not understood by the general population. I’d love to see it casually touched upon in a book or film. Some other related conditions and experiences include extreme photophobia, skin cancer, strabismus, poor vision, astigmatism, squinting, eye fatigue and migraines, and more I'm probably forgetting to mention.

3. Please, please, if you can help it, don't give the world another villain or evil henchman with albinism. I'm begging writers and filmmakers to stop. I can go into detail as to why this is detrimental to the albinism community if requested, but I'm trying to keep this post brief.

4. Not all blind people wear sunglasses, and those who do don't wear them 24/7. I personally only wear mine outside and if I've been under fluorescent lights for more than a few hours. Bright lights physically hurt after awhile. The whole “blind people always wear sunglasses” trope was popularized so that blind characters could be easily recognized as blind in tv and film.

5. We’re clumsy and confused a good portion of the time. Visual impairments plus possible depth perception issues and questionable ability to perceive light do not make for the most graceful of humans. We bump into stationary objects, stumble over uneven or unpredictable surfaces, fail to notice people right in front of us, and fumble with items we can't perceive. If I had a dollar for every time I've taken a doorknob into the hip, knocked over clear glasses, fallen into the street from the pavement, walked by my own mother in a store whilst searching for her, and almost gotten into the wrong car… I'd be able to actually afford to exist under capitalism, wow