Should the Label Stick?
Not wanting to feel alone in my mourning, I read a couple of others blogs about Ms. Butler. One even had her name wrong. They had her listed as Octavia Brown. This in and of itself is a small matter although I found it totally amazing that the author hadn’t heard of her. Anyone can make a mistake, especially if they are not familiar with her work, which the author of the blog confessed upfront. He pondered if there were other African American science fiction writers.
I, of course, left him a hyperlink to my recent 10 best black science fiction writers. How can I allow someone to wonder around thinking and believing that only two African Americans wrote sf? I wouldn’t be doing my civic duty as an African American, female author if I let that pass, now would I?
Which leads me to the point of this blog…
Another blog I recently read argued about Butler being labeled—forever—as a black science fiction writer instead of just one damn good sf writer. Should the label stick to her in the historical, great legends of science fiction?
To me labels are misleading—in cases—and can limit one’s appeal to an audience. If identified as solely an African American author, then assumptions are made about me and my work before the audience/reader has even had an opportunity to read my stuff. These assumptions could go so far as to drive the reader away.
Assuming—of course—that the assumptions are themselves negative. They could, after all be positive assumptions.
This question came up on another blog about Jim Crow’s Publishing world. Does race matter? Should there be segregated sections of bookstores (i.e. the African American section)? I live in New Mexico, and many of our big chain bookstores have “native American” sections. Is this a good or bad thing?
Should a writer like Butler, who’s won a Nebula and a Hugo, sport the label of “black” science fiction writer, or should she simply be a “great writer?”
Her characters, storylines and works often had black main characters and situations. They dealt with those of darker skins, so does this mean race mattered to her and thus the label should stick?
No. Just because one writes about situations or has characters of various races doesn’t mean the book should be labeled a “Hispanic” book, or whatever. I think the labels start to stick more because the author and the characters of his or her books share a common ethnicity.
I want everyone to read my books and stories. That doesn’t mean I am ashamed of being African American. I’m not. So if someone attaches the label of African American science fiction writer to my name, I am not going to be upset. Though I will readily admit I’d like to be accepted as a science fiction writer first and foremost who just happens to be African American and a female.
Still a fantastic, heck, legend, science fiction hall of-famer, Butler doesn’t need any labels. She was simply brilliant.
That’s a label too!
Darn.
