busyThe thing is ... there are people with multiple minority traits. There are gay Asians. There are autistic Pagans. There are poor black lesbians in wheelchairs. And those people sometimes feel overlooked because the stacking effect can change their experiences so much that a single-trait character doesn't feel much like them. I've read essays upholding this end of the debate but couldn't find one to use as an example here.
My stance is that I write characters as they need to be. I have a lot of characters who are female/other trait because roughly half of humanity is female. Other combinations are less common but also appear. Brelig is a normal-sized Duurludirj man (which we'd consider a dwarf) and missing one hand. Maryam Smith is African-British, genderqueer, duoclass, and of illegitimate birth. I'm more likely to focus on minority protagonists than to use them as filler, something my audience seems to enjoy if you look over what's been published. I don't tend to write a lot of straight white Christian men, though, so the core of the mainstream doesn't get a lot of traffic from me. Meh.
Also, if I haven't specified a trait in canon, yes it could fall outside the mainstream. Characters have done this to me often enough, and my cultural awareness is diverse enough, that there's no permanent default. They may pop out an uncommon religion or sexual orientation or invisible handicap or whatnot, and they may do that after two stories or six poems or twenty years. I'm more likely to mention physical features such as skin tone and gender up front, because they're noticeable points of diversity. But I've also had characters refuse to reveal their sex/gender, and not just the ones for whom "I'm not telling" is their gender.
I'm interested in other people's perspectives on the matter of single vs. stacked traits.
Re: Thoughts
June 13 2013, 22:54:14 UTC 8 years ago
As an example, I know that even the specific and limited ability to change the color of a single small spot on a nearby surface could be used to play mind tricks on people, or communicate (in code or otherwise), or even to obscure visual details (like blotting out or altering part of a phone number or password). And what if that could be expanded to a full-on alteration across the entire target surface, given the right user?
So there are ways to involve specific skills, as well as integrative skills. Perhaps this hero group needs to improve teamwork and leadership skills, or even work on simultaneous fronting, to gain more effective use of their powers.
That'd be a heck of a storyline, I think.
Re: Thoughts
June 14 2013, 03:38:29 UTC 8 years ago
I think I'd set it so that the members had different skills. Another member might be able to use the same base ability, but not as well, and there might be certain techniques that only one member could do.
>> So there are ways to involve specific skills, as well as integrative skills. Perhaps this hero group needs to improve teamwork and leadership skills, or even work on simultaneous fronting, to gain more effective use of their powers. <<
It would probably start with a system in chaos. They would have to learn how to work together and discover their talents. Then they would logically be able to combine their efforts -- or divide them effectively to cope with several enemies at once. That would give multitasking a whole new meaning.
The origin story would be important, and the character's background in general. Most superheroes, like most multiples, have survived some pretty awful stuff. Then there's the question of how fast can they get out of the hot spot once the superhero stuff engages -- are they safe fairly soon, or is someone hunting them and trying to kill them for quite a while?
I'd want a good range of different superhero powers, too; probably slanted toward the metaphysical rather than purely physical. I don't think in this case that I want a shapeshifting character, because most multiples can't shapeshift and I want a relatable character. So I think that tones down things like speed and strength; they might get a little enhancement but probably not a lot. I could go with fast healing, though, that's always useful and some humans have a measure of it.