So I have some different race characters in my story like Indian American and Latina, and I was wondering if anyone had advice on how to not make these characters cliche or offensive
Thanks
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It’s helpful to always write a short background on the characters. Who are their parents, where did they go to school, what are their hobbies. What do they like what don’t they like? That way you aren’t just creating an extra diverse character but an actual person. It’s important to keep in mind that their ethnicity is part of them but it doesn’t complete them, they’re more than that. It’s however important to maybe look up usual habits and dos/fonts within these particular cultures so that you properly represent them.
Sorry if this doesn’t really help, but you can always send me a description of them and I’ll see how I can help
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Hey here are the characters
And I wanted to make sure I had their looks right…I’m pretty sure I messed them up 
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Your Latina characters looks like she could be Asian too.
I’m Latina and we have people like this here. Some indigenous people tend to look Asian here in South America
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I’ve meet Peruvians who look Japanese and it’s due to immigration. Latinos are so diverse and people forget that sometimes :((
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Hey! Is the Indian american fully indian? If so indians usually have bigger noses ! I had alot of Indian family through my bloodline so I got the big nose part of it 
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And happy birthday 
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For Indian-Americans, there’s a lot of diversity in terms of appearance, so you should be fine 
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Happy Birthday! 
Thank you 
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Thank youuu
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She part African American on her dad’s side, and part Indian American on her mom’s side
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Yep. I know this!
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Yep, a lot of people do. There is no one size fits all.
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Hey there, April. Happy birthday! 
I’m latina, born and raised in Brazil.
It’s hard to determine something about your latina character, which country is she from? What about her origins?
Latin America is rich in cultural diversity due to miscegenation. 
What to avoid in latino characters: don’t make them loud, aggressive or anything like this. People tend to associate us as loud.
Feel free to PM me if you need
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Oooo that’s cool! And you’re welcome 
Honestly, Google and ask people who are of that culture questions.
Google things like:
Ethnicity and -
- family values
- religion
- myths/history
- special events/important rites of passage
- stereotypes
- food
- old wives tales
- what people get wrong about -Ethnicity-
Just do the research and dive as deeply as you can into the background, their values/beliefs/everyday lives/struggles etc.
As far as advice about what not to do:
Play up stereotypes like the ghetto, loud, obnoxious, seductive/provocative Latina. Latinas have been so sexualized by big media that it’s insane. the Latinx culture is so widespread and varying… do research into that. Like something that’s totally normal for a Mexican can be really weird for a Bolivian… So make sure you aren’t lumping all Latin Americans into one.
Do not use lines like “she’s so exotic” - that’s beyond annoying and offensive to any woman of color, ever. lol
You could ask for Beta Readers that are a part of the culture you are trying to portray… they can point out anything they think would be offensive or incorrect … The key to that tip is to actually listen, take the constructive criticism and change the stuff they point out.
Another way to flesh out your characters (and help steer your research) get a character sheet that goes into great detail- chances are you won’t know the answer to every single question- but there are a lot of cultural and background questions that shape a character so they are guaranteed to send you at least in the right direction.
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Thanks to everyone who responded, I have a quick question, for anyone who can answer.
Can anyone explain the difference between a latino and hispanic?
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