Okay everyone, let’s have a talk. A talk about discrimination in the writing community. It’s been happening far too long. This includes discrimination against gender, race, English language proficiency, and now I’m hearing my writer colleagues with reading and writing disabilities facing discrimination.

C’mon everyone. This isn’t cool. Let’s discuss this a bit more and how we can find a way to combat this.

Gender Discrimination

Yes, some of the most prominent writers in history have been men. But women have been responsible for some of the greatest literary works in the entire world. Unfortunately, women writers still face discrimination.

Women have obstacles in achieving, well, just about anything they want. 42% of women claim they face gender discrimination in the workplace. Some of these examples include pay-based discrimination, receiving less support from company leaders, small slights from colleagues, isolation, passed over on assignments, being turned down for a job, being turned down from a promotion, and more.

So, what’s the big deal? If notable women, from Jane Austen all the way to J.K. Rowling, are responsible for iconic stories we adore, then why are female writers today still struggling? Well, discrimination is more complex than we think.

First, the hardest part about writing IS writing. This is the golden rule I was taught by my high school writing teacher, and I can see why. After a long day at work (assuming your writing doesn’t cover your livelihood) and other life responsibilities, the last thing you want is to write a chapter of your novel.

This extends to all writers, but especially women. Let’s take one major factor into consideration: motherhood. Women adjust their careers to family life more than men. This may include full career interruptions and reducing the hours they work. My own mother quit her career in law when she became a mom, so I’m sure there are women who give up writing in order to devote more time to the family.

But there are unique challenges that outcast women writers. For example, there are those who believe certain ideas and subjects are specific to women’s writing. I remember a friend of mine saying, “I can tell when I’m reading a female author. The writing is more emotional.” Now, I don’t necessarily think that was a criticism. But I have two thoughts on his judgment: 1. Shouldn’t all writing have some sort of emotional depth? And 2. That’s such an overrated stereotype. Oh yes, I’m going to emotionally describe this brutal murder scene. Seriously?

There are other factors to consider. Examples include women writers who score publishing deals in comparison to men, women who win major writing achievements in comparison to men, etc. Hell, practically 80% of the books reviewed in the New York Review of Books were written by men.

There is no simple solution to gender discrimination in writing. Some of these issues, such as a woman’s pressure to conceive and be a mother, are ingrained so far in human history to where it may not ever be resolved (or I don’t think it will).

As far as the gender stereotypes in writing and the lack of opportunities women have in the writing world, all we can do is acknowledge them and hope readers, agents, publishing houses, and reviewers all get on board.

Racial Discrimination

It’s 2021 and racism still persists. There’s absolutely no excuse for that, and there’s especially no reason why people of color should continue to face discrimination for their works.

Unfortunately, this isn’t an issue strictly subjected to the U.S. Race discrimination in writing is not only prevalent in British writing communities but also in European writing communities. Since this is a global issue, it’s more essential that we understand racial discrimination in writing.

But what does it boil down to? Many suggest it’s just general disdain toward people of color and has nothing to do with their ability to write.

However, there does seem to be a race problem in the writing world. People of color have to jump through hoops to reach an audience. In addition, writers of color aren’t employed by newspapers and other publications nearly as often as white writers.

And yet, with that said, there are so many amazing literary works that cover race. And these works aren’t all recent — many of them date back throughout U.S. history. From the slave trade to the decimation of our Natives, all of these integral topics have been covered in both fiction and nonfiction realms.

Unfortunately, racism is still an issue in our society. Tackling the issue of racism will help achieve equality in all areas of life, not just racism in the writing world. Achieving equality requires many solutions, all of which are complex. This extends from issues we’re currently facing, such as de-ghettoization and tackling police brutality, all the way to ending white supremacy. Rather than discussing some of these methods in-depth, I’ll refer you to this awesome interview with Orlando Patterson, who is the John Cowles Professor of Sociology and a scholar of slavery and issues of race.

LGBTQ Discrimination

LGBTQ writers also face their fair share of discrimination. Now that it’s Pride Month, it’s only appropriate to discuss these issues. According to this source, LGBTQ writers face problems such as the perception that heterosexual readers are not interested in reading works by LGBTQ writers, discrimination against transgender writers, not receiving grants based on LGBT sex scenes in books, gay writers are paid less than straight writers, and more.

Like with all of these forms of discrimination, progress is just as complex as these issues. While the writing and entertainment communities are becoming more inclusive and even more LGBTQ characters are welcomed in fiction, more needs to be done.

Language Discrimination

Guys, this is one that’s starting to get to me the most. Just because this is an issue I see CONSTANTLY, in both the professional and fiction writing realms.

First, let me tell you a story. I joined a Facebook group (I think it was a group of female heavy metal fans, but don’t quote me on that). Through the group, I met this young woman. She discovered that I’m a writer and said she was interested in becoming a writer. I gave her some advice and she sent me some of her work to review. She was an outstanding writer! I gave her my honest insight, which was largely positive, and she seemed very grateful for my feedback. Then she was telling me how much she always wanted to write but English isn’t her first language. Because of that fact, she admitted she was very insecure about her grammar, spelling, etc. I don’t remember finding any errors in her writing.

Yet, language discrimination occurs constantly. Most of the writing agencies I see only open their applications to “Native English speakers.” If the role is English-writing specific, why can’t you just require fluency in English?

I think what hurts the most is the lack of support that ESL fiction writers receive. I saw one Twitter thread where someone asked something along the lines of, “should non-native English speakers become writers?” And the ignorant comments were staggering. No wonder the young woman I met a few years back was so insecure about her writing.

I also saw another Twitter thread a while back where a writer (I can’t remember her name) posted a review left on one of her books. The reviewer gave her a one-star review, solely because of the fact that she’s an immigrant.

So, why does this issue bother me? For one, I’m grateful to have tons of friends from around the world. Most of them speak and write English better than native speakers. Second, I’m learning French. Trust me, learning a second language isn’t easy. I have all respect for anyone who can speak a second language (or more).

Not only that, but ESL discrimination seems to exist everywhere. This article states that 70% of the jobs advertised on a specific platform require native speakers. The article was in regard to teaching English, but I’m sure this rings true for a variety of different industries.

In short, if an ESL writer has fluency in English and is a skilled writer, why should they face discrimination? All of this simply sounds like discrimination to me.

Disability Discrimination

Last but not least, let’s go into disability discrimination. I had the thought about this topic after reading a Facebook post from one of my colleagues. His post was about dyslexic writers and if they should be given the same opportunities as writers without disabilities.

In writing, there’s either correct or incorrect grammar. Right? Well, the line can get blurry. Especially when learning disabilities are involved.

The two learning disabilities I’m covering in this section are dysgraphia and dyslexia.

Dysgraphia is a neurological condition that impairs writing ability, written expression, and even the motor skills used when writing. People with dysgraphia often have high IQs and hold excellent reading skills, but struggle with the act of writing and even handwriting. Living with dysgraphia can be a struggle, especially for writers. I found a blog written by a dysgraphic author, whose byline is simply RR. The blog details the struggles he/she has endured throughout their education and career, and it shows the severity behind learning disabilities such as this one. However, the author of the blog went on to write several books!

Dyslexia is a learning disability where the individual has difficulty interpreting words, reading, and struggles to differentiate letters and other symbols. While it’s more of a reading disability, it can also affect the writing ability. This study does show that children with dyslexia struggle with writing.

I also found this interesting article written by a dyslexic writer. The writer, Brittny Pierre, explains the road to success wasn’t easy for her; she would misread assignments, not catch simple grammatical errors, and struggled in other areas. But did that stop her from becoming a successful writer? Not at all. And when I was conducting research for this article, I discover that many famous writers had some sort of disability, and a large percentage of them struggled with dyslexia.

First, let’s start to recognize that dysgraphia, dyslexia, and other similar disabilities exist. And instead of us writers and editors going crazy about small grammatical errors, let’s educate. If we notice a pattern with another writer, let’s help them rather than discriminate.

Time to End Writer Discrimination

I usually end my blogs with a CTA telling the reader to buy my book. But this isn’t a time to promote my own writing. Instead, I will end this blog on this note: writer discrimination is unfair and it’s pissing off me and countless other writers. Everyone should be allowed to write. Nothing should hold them back. Let’s make the writing community more inclusive and accepting so everyone can feel welcome.

Featured image credit: Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash