Sigh. I said Episode in capitals because this post is about the COMPANY, not every single writer.
Thank you for your intelligent and well-thought-out response. I have a few comments, a few disagreements and general points to add with regards to this and Iām grateful that youāre being kind enough to have a debate and consider my side. Iāll do my best to do the same!
I definitely agree with this! My main issue with the over-sexualisation of the featured section isnāt that itās an issue to have a sexuality. In fact, I promote women who want to explore their sexuality (even if Iām religious and donāt do the same myself). My problem is that they make sex seem cool and sexualise women too much. It normalises treating women as objects and making sex a gameā¦ with women as the prize. Very few of these stories are about sexual liberation. Theyāre about sex as a way to control.
In terms of diversity, all of the stories push a (slightly) liberal, middle class, American agendaā¦ even if the skin colours and locations change. It doesnāt matter if there is a black girl as a lead because itās still not diverse. She still acts like every other character that came before her and has the exact same priorities and motivations. What about cultural or socio-economic diversity? What about having an MC whose main problems arenāt annoying parents and mean girls? What about an MC who actually struggles to get by? I mean, look at Tangled Love! Itās set in France (supposedly), but everyone speaks English (I would much rather the author just make it clear that itās translated and they are actually speaking French), the education system is American and everyone acts like Paris is just a city in the US. Some stories take distinctly American names like āBrodyā, āTylerā or āChadā and give them to British kidsā¦ those names really not very common in the UK.
Definitely! People start to see bad things as normal if theyāre constantly exposed to it through the media they consume. Itās Episodeās responsibility as a platform with so much traction and influence to make sure that theyāre not normalising negative things (as they make very clear in the guidelines for stories).
I both agree and disagree with this. I mean, thereās a whole world in the 1800s and slavery is very entrenched in American life. Itās not so true of the rest of the world. I mean, sure there was the occasional slave here and there in Europe, but also important people of colour! For example, Mary Seacole and Equiano. Queen Victoria even had a man from the Indian colonies come to the palace to teach her Hindustani ā the language of India when it also included Pakistan and Bangladesh. There were even free men/women of colour in American society. People often forget about this kind of thing. And women were only really less than men in the middle classes. At the time, Britain had a female monarch and lower class women worked just as hard as their husbands and were valued in the households.
But at the same time, it is true that the vast majority of American black people of the time were slaves and that women were largely silenced in the circles that influenced the world. However, does that mean that they should be excluded from stories of the time? I donāt think so. In fact, I think it would be even more interesting if a writer is able to humanise a black slave from the 1800s and show their life and its strugglesā¦ even if the story isnāt about them. Shakespeare does it beautifully. Even when he brings āMoorsā into his plays, they arenāt bland characters with no personality. They all have motivations and lines and you can really sympathise with them. Take The Tempest as an example. Even though the story is about a, well, Tempest (it focusses on a shipwreck), there is a side story about the wizardās black slave and individuality. He isnāt the most likeable of characters, but he is a 3-dimensional character.
The same goes for women. Even though they had no formal say, both women and people of colour did influence the world in their own ways. It just gets brushed under the rug by the formal successes and failures of white men. For example, music today wouldnāt be what it is if it werenāt for the cultures that the slaves brought from Africa to America. Women could sometimes control their husbands like puppets even if they couldnāt gain any formal politicalā¦ and men would often consult their wives behind closed doors.
The main problem is that history is so well and truly āwhitewashedā, if it were. Many people forget that the history that we read in textbooks and are told about in school and documentariesā¦ well, itās the history that a bunch of old, dusty, white men want you to know about as they sit and rub their hands together in their University lairs. A lot of history that doesnāt involve clear political repercussions isnāt seen as āinterestingā, and so it gets abandoned or neglected for something āmore interestingā. Maybe itās time for more stories to open our eyes to the 99.9% of a periodās history that we donāt get in our standard books. The women who helped their husbands run a country. The slavesā struggles. The influential woman whose contributions are forgotten because they arenāt massively political. The evidence and sources are out there waiting to be discovered.
I disagree with this. There have always been underground LGBT communities and there have always been gay people in society. However, the way they responded to their sexuality and were treated because of it changed drastically over time. Of course, it would be historically inaccurate for a gay person to come out as gay and be dramatically fabulous in the 1700s (Iām going for this period because there are plenty of out gay writers like Oscar Wilde from the 1800s). But maybe thatās what makes their story so interesting! Gay people existed. They just didnāt have gay pride marches like we do now. I would be fascinated by a story of how a gay man or woman had to deal with their feelings.
I guess my main message here is that historical silence doesnāt always mean historical absense. James VI and I of Scotland and England was historically accused of homosexuality, but at the time, it was all euphemisms and āmale favouritesā at court becuase no one would even dare think about him and his (possible) lovers. Their silence says a lot. Itās often deliberate.
Yeah, thatās pretty much what I mean by that. Also, promises like a āgender fluid storyā. I was excited about that, but they really didnāt follow through. Also, I donāt mean to prioritise different types of diversity or claim that certain minorities arenāt important, but I donāt know why I trusted them to tackle gender fluidity when they havenāt even had a homosexual or male MC in a featured story. The closest theyāve come is appeasement by throwing in a poorly-thought-out love interest at the end of a story and suddenly claiming that the MC had been bisexual all along even though the story revolved around her relationship with the two men. I donāt know why I expected them to deliver on gender fluidity when they canāt even get the āmore commonā types of diversity right.
I think this is where we need a change. In order to truly embrace diversity as an app, Episode should start to promote stories that arenāt set in America with an American cast. Theyāre out there. Iāve read a lot and written a few. If Episode makes the first step, maybe they can make a positive change. Mybe people wonāt see foreign countries as too weird or scary to write a story about. The stories exist. Episode just decides itās going to keep promoting the same stuff.
I have to agree with you here. Although, I think that when it comes to negative things (like an abuse of power or a lack of diversity where it belongs), having a vague story with no clear morals can actually be equally as dangerous as promoting bad morals overtly. What it does it normalise bad behaviour. If a story neither promotes nor condemns a student-teacher relationship, what it is doing is desensitising its audience to the very idea of a student-teacher relationship. The more stories thet see like that, the more it seems normal as a thing in general. So, even though the writers arenāt necessarily trying to openly promote the abuse of power, they are contributing to people slowly thinking itās normal.
The same is true of a lack of diversity. A lot of really right-wing people will say āwell thatās just how the film industry is. Deal with it. I donāt cry when thereās a black lead in a filmā. Thatās because weāre so used to consuming media with predominantly white casts and white MCs that itās now odd for it to not be a thing. Granted, it is getting much better nowā¦ but it is still deeply ingrained in our minds. When you think of a character doing a heroic act, do you think of a man or a woman, for example? When you think of a terrorist, do you think of a specific race? When you think of a villain, do you think of either a British or a Russian accent? I know most people doā¦ because itās seen as normal. Itās what weāre often exposed to and the thing that needs to change. The story may not be promoting viewing women as weakā¦ but if all films have weak women in them, that doesnāt really matter. Weāll end up seeing that portrayal of women as normal anyway.
Thank you again for this post! I actually agree with most of what youāve said and I was delighted to read this and respond. Itās interesting to hear the perspective of someone who is so willing to hear other people out. Youāre yet more proof that people who are aware of the influence of the written word are less susceptible to it ā though not completely free.
My 2018 Diversity Standards Proposal
By the end of 2018, a portion of the Episode community sat down at their computers and looked at the Episode app to decide what we wanted the team to focus on in the coming year. Although we may have small disagreements about the execution and the philosophy, one thing was clear: Episodesās stories and platform have failed to reflect the amazing diversity of the players and the world around us. In regards to that, you have continued to let us down, and I (along with many others) have spent over a year reflecting on how we want you to do better.
When I use the term ādiversityā, this includes but is not limited to age, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, culture, socioeconomics, gender identity and expression, sexuality, mental health, and physical disability / chronic ailment.
I want to share a few suggestions I am hoping you will adopt as a team for the upcoming year (2019). I hope theyāre reasonable and will be heard by the Episode team:
-
A promise from you that you will commit to at least 50% of new Featured stories being created by Episode community members who havenāt been featured before. By April, I would love to see more liaison with Episode writers who are willing and able to provide the diversity that Episode so strives for. That starts with the writers themselves. I would like to see a diverse team of Episode feature writers from different backgrounds to spice up the stories that are being produced.
-
A promise that you will prioritise the promotion of more underground writers in your weekly shelves. As of recently, two of my favourite writers have been featured in the shelves, both of whom already had millions of reads before they got the extra promotion. I hope you will spend more time curating themes that are different and unique and look for undiscovered talent to place on them.
-
Your assurance that these partnerships with creators will see fruition. I would like to see more writers with interesting user stories placed on the app and not Wattpad stories with a negative representation of both men and women and promote the same middle-class, American story dynamic. I want to see your stories go around the world. The best way to do that is to form partnerships with writers from all around the world.
-
That you will continue your good work with your diversity of clothing, hair styles, character features and backgrounds to empower everyone to tell THEIR story. This means more landscape pictures of cities from around the world, along with the inclusion of longer skirts for Limelight.
-
That you set a time pre-production time that may include speaking to other Episode users who might be able to give an insight into the community.
-
That you will set aside some of your time to the dedicated search of underground, under-appreciated stories instead of relying on the users to do it, or that youāll add features to the app which allow for the discovery of stories with very few views that were written a long time ago. If a story hasnāt taken off, how are the users supposed to know that it is a good one?
-
Your promise that you will be more open and honest with whatās happening on Episode so that we know what to expect and what not to. As a team, you have been surprisingly silent about this issue since releasing this statement, which is beginning to make it seem like the forums are nothing but a pretence. I mean, even the shelf suggestions happen over Instagram instead of the forums. This is really lowering my (and many other peopleās) faith in the integrity of Episode and how much you as a team care about your users.
-
The implementation of some official guides so that writers can be up to date on what you think is the best way to approach diversity in a story. I hope that youāll work with some people to come up with a Google Docs tutorial on sensitive topics and diversity to help writers who want to help themselves. You have your own specific way of dealing with diversity (or at least the pretense of your own way) and I would like you to follow that through by introducing it to us.
-
For you to get some more community authors on board in your team. I cannot speak for the Episode budget (otherwise Iād ask you to put together a team who are responsible for finding good quality user stories to promote), but I am sure there are many Episode writers (myself included) who would be happy to team up with you for the perk of Writerās Payments at a lower read count in order to provide you with some insights on how WE think the community should move forward. I am unsure if there is actually a representative Episode council. If there is, why arenāt they being promoted on here for us to talk to?
Of course, I didnāt ā and still donāt ā expect these changes to happen overnight. I did, however, expect to see more visible improvements over a year on. I would love an update on the stories that you have in development which help to reflect your dedication to representing your diverse community. At the moment, very little has changed since the beginning of 2017 and I would like to know what happened to the stories you promised.
I hope that you will be as transparent as you claimed to be when you set out your diversity goals for 2017 and I hope you listen to our attempts to hold you accountable to them. I wish there was feedback and a dialogue, but there has not been so much as an update on this for over a year, which really makes it seem like this was disingenuous. You didnāt learn from your mistakes, and have let a lot of people down.
By the title alone supports the fact that Diversity is way too subjective to please everyone. Donāt get me wrong, you guys have come up with some points but all I see is people with different views on what Diversity should be. As long as we as a people- have different perspectives on diversity, then there is no way that Episode will be able to make everyone happy in regards to it.
Thatās not how Episode works. Thereās a whole process,
There are featured writers from different backgrounds but then again seems like a subjective statement.
Again, Episode has teamed up with writers around the world, but Iām not sure if you mean certain countries or cultures.
Agree with this. I was actually looking for long skirts the other day.
They do that. I donāt know if they still do it but I know for a fact that they get on Skype or make calls with members of the community.
And boom here we go. What does this have to do with diversity? Hey, to be fair maybe to some people this falls under diversity, like you. But to meā¦ this does not and it doesnāt belong in the standards. Subjectivity at its finest,
Since the statement, they released stories that they thought would make everyone happy with diversity but quickly found out that it didnāt. Again some of us have a view on how diversity should be and thought that their attempts were not good enough.
Again, āon what YOU think is the best way to approachā? Very subjective, still wonāt make everyone happy if they donāt agree on what they think is the best approach,
Ouch and now this statement might make your whole ādiversity Standards postā discreditable, I donāt know about other people, but this makes it look like you are trying to use Diversity for personal gain by suggesting to be PAID (what does getting paid have to do with diversity?) to provide insight and how āYOU thinkā (again subjectivity that will not account for everyone) the community should move forward.
So I donāt mean to be a killjoy but Episode is a business, there is a strict process, stories have to perform a certain way to get featured. This is reality, this is life, this wonāt change. They will not just āpick peopleā for featured stories.
And like I said, in my opinion, as long as people have their own versions of what diversity should be, it shall never completely be fulfilled.
Good points.
I agree with diversity being different for everyone. Iām okay with āwhite, cis, heterosexual, Christianā characters as long as the story is good.
(However I would prefer them not to be from the same country. Even a non English name is good enough)
Okay, here we go.
Of course itās going to be subjective. I donāt claim to speak for anyone but myself. People are free to agree or disagree. Iām not a spokesperson for the whole of Episode. Iām someone who is making suggestions. Hence:
Iām not trying to speak for the whole world and I wonāt try. We all have our own opinions on how this should work. As I said here:
Because most of us agree that Episode hasnāt met its goals, but we disagree on execution and philosophy.
How exactly is this a subjective statement? Itās stating what Iād like to see, sureā¦ but writers from different backgrounds is hardly a subjective idea.
Are there people from different countries but not different cultures? Or are there people from different cultures but not different countries? Often different countries will have a plethora of different cultures that vary massively from other countries.
Itās good if they do this already. It would be even better if there was a way to see the conclusions that are made in these discussions for us to access if we want to.
What it has to do with diversity is that it promotes stories that may not usually be made popular. Iām not sure if youāve noticed, but first and foremost, Episode does what sells. Straight, middle-class, high school American girl with boy troubles is the most common type of Featured story, regardless of ethnicity. Of course, if itās whatās normal, itās understandable that people cling to that as a crutch, but itās not very representative of Episode at a large. Promoting stories that are not as popular because theyāre out of the ordinary is a great way to show the diversity of Episode.
Theyāve released Venomous. They almost released Instant Princess. Iāll look through the featured section now. Living with my Crush, Back and Forth, It Started With a Bra, Love and Warā¦ these all follow the exact trope I was talking about. American, straight, middle class, boy troubles, most likely in High School. Because diversity isnāt just about producing stories from the same neck of the woods with different skin colours. Episode listed many, many things in their definition of diversity and I agree with it. But where are the straight-up gay MCs? What about the male ones? Disabled MCs? Iām not even going into skin colour, race or ethnicity here.
Again, I named this as MY proposal because I knew not everyone would agree with me. Of course, itās going to be subjective. Unless you expect me to just solve the issueā¦ I could solve the Israel and Palestine controversy whilst Iām at it.
Iād much rather people pick up on certain points to agree or disagree with than act like my proposal has no weight just because itās MY proposal.
To be honest, fair enough if some people think that. What I think is that Episode makes enough money to not expect people to give out all their aid and advice for free. I mean, I am already doing that with my own blog, which I link to on a regular basis for people who want to improve their writing, but I am also conscious of the fact that EPISODE is making money from diversity and maybe some people would want a little compensation for their time spent. Itās fair enough if you ask me. Trying to help with a messy subject like diversity can be gruelling and require a lot of hours.
This is the worrying thing for me. Episode does what sellsā¦ including falling flat on their own diversity standards? Why is it that these particular stories sell so well? Whereās the gender fluidity story they promised? Back and Forth is a great story and I love it dearly, but changing bodies with another person isnāt the same as gender fluidity. Iād love to know where that story is.
Which is trueā¦ but Episode should start first by meeting their own standards and following their own version of diversity.
I think that white, cis, heterosexual, Christian characters DO count as diversity if the whole cast isnāt white, cis, heterosexual and Christian. Diversity is about including people from various different backgrounds and walks of life. That does include cis white people.
First of all, that was an excellent reply, and just, incredibly amazing of you to reply with such length.
Iām sorry, but Iāll have to keep this reply short and sweet as Iām replying from school.I definitely agree with you that women needing to explore their sexuality is very normal and a good message to send out as a theme where women come to terms with themselves (same for weight)
I usually donāt talk about this when discussing episode, but here goes:
I both agree and disagree about your points on sex. When you argue that sex seems cool, I think what you mean is that they make the theme of sex overused and used in the wrong context. To some people, sex is a everyday thing, whether itās for strippers, for couples, but in context Iām assuming not all strippers (and Iām not here to judge, just what I think) are strippers for the love of stripping, but because they have financial situations that lead them to this. I think that these themes I would be fine with, but they should be used in context not just to be unrealistic and oversexualize women just for oversexualizing women. I agree with the fact that sex isnāt a game- but in context. You could argue that the sex seen in some of these stories may be what happens to some people in real life, but I think too much of this leads people to caution this subject. I think there should be different themes and the problem with this topic is people are making too much of the same thing. It all comes down to personality and character of each person in the story, and it should make sense or have a backstory or be able to explain their behaviour in a realistic way. I agree with your point when you state that in stories, sex is a way to control, which can be seen in themes (I will not point out) such as gangs and mafia. In reality, they are nothing like what is portrayed, and research should have been done prior to introducing this. I agree that there should be realistic situations for the MC, as untrue ideas of reality could get into readerās minds and influence their way of thinking in a bad way. I have not read tangled love as of now, but I think, and I donāt mean to offend you, that the way you saw the situation was wrong. I understand that as itās set in France, people should speak French. I agree that there should be at least some french dialogue with reader message or overlay translations, but you could also argue that around, I guess, 80% of Episode readers can speak and read English, as it is one of the most common languages in the world, and more people would be able to read and understand it with another language. However I agree that at least some language should have been used. I do think the problem with the kidās names arenāt huge. Many British people may like American names, and I donāt think thatās a defining problem at all. Iām so sorry about the way I explained period eras. First of all, I completely forgot I was talking about the world, and there is a movie about a black young aristocratic lady who is entitled to huge amounts and faces challenges in England due to her colour. The movieās called āBelleā, but obviously that isnāt my point. Yes, I agree that there were black people at these times with these problems, etc, and there should be more of these stories. However, I have to point out there are not as many episode stories or writers who are so interested in writing periodical stories. However, these themes could open the mind of people. There are some MCās whoās problems are not just mean girls and annoying parents. I know one amazing story I could recommend, and Iām assuming the other answer you arenāt looking for is from not high school stories, because they mainly involve not so appropriate themes and one theme thatās almost particularly consistent in almost everything I see- the so called hot person. Well yes, I agree we should look top Shakespeare for that. In my last reply, I forgot so much stuff, and Iām sorry for that. (And yes, the Tempest was great) I agree with all the points you listed in the paragraph. Itās the age of femininity, but I think it may be misinterpreted incorrectly, which is what I think is also a problem. There are many women in history (Iām not saying their motives were good) that have been able to lure men by not just their beauty, but by their friendliness and brains, I think the problem is that ālureā is the theme right now, whether it is to lure, or be lured by. This is extremely consistent. I agree with your points about history, and Iām sorry for my rebuke,
yes. Iām sorry. I was looking more to America when I was talking in terms of LGBT community, or just modern times, really. I know that some monarchās had preferences which I had read, and at the time wasnāt controversial at all. I know this wasnāt your main point, but Oscar Wildeās homosexuality is most likely a misconception. See: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/may/07/top10s.oscar.wilde. I agree, having this would a theme of historical homosexual people would be quite emotionally grasping.
I understand your message completely and Iām sorry I didnāt look out for that.
For your point of gender fluid stories, I understand that you think there are stories with badly thrown in characters in a poor attempt at diversity. There are, however, some stories with a LGBT (MC) and in some stories, you get to choose in the start your preferred gender. I understand you think that embracing diversity is a huge problem. However, some peopleās target is not on LGBT- their main characters are supposed to be straight, because of their envision, and maybe because of the stress of this new theme, it may be poorly managed. I saw think itās hard to think for a LGBT mind if youāre straight, which messes up the way they are portrayed. Overall, I agree that there should at least be background characters of the sort to show reality, but the sexuality should be up to the author0- you can give them as much as itāll mess up their vision. I think there could be more of LGBT stories, of course, but I donāt think blame should be put on authors entirely. Hereās the thought process:
This new theme is making authors frantic, which causes them to try implementing these themes. However, it comes out wrong, because theyāre not exactly sure how it should be used. In consequence, we blame for this. However, I think, either they use it, or they use it properly- which is harder for them.
I agree, there should be more stories not set in America. Again, I think this is just propaganda and generation influence from the American dream. (And I really am not trying to offend anyone, but propaganda has been Americaās biggest weapon since the 1950s. (Riddle, Lincoln. āAmerican Propaganda in World War II.ā WAR HISTORY ONLINE (blog), August 6, 2016. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-ii/american-propaganda-world-war-ii.html.) ) Well, I really havenāt heard of these right wing people before, but your view on it should be correct. I completely agree with you about terrorists and all- but for me, itās because of the news circulating recently. However, the times are changing, and I think it becomes better. When I think of someone doing a heroic act, I think of a woman, I think mostly because (and Iāll mention this again) now being the age of femininity, and also because of Wonder Woman. (The movie) I agree we should definitely not be promoting women as weak. My point is not to say that women should control men, which is the wrong way of seeing feminism. Instead, itās equality, I see it as gender equality, and we should not hold it down.
Sorry for the reply being such a long time difference! I started writing this 11 hours ago, in the morning at school, but I had only a few minutes breaks everytime I started typing, and I typed more on the bus, but I couldnāt press reply because of the wifi. Anyhow, thank you again for such a lovely long reply, and how you spent so much time thinking of this.
Yes, I agree, even now, Iām basically putting out propaganda with what Iām saying. Itās everywhere.
Edit: However, I do have to agree with @/S.Langdon that, (and if you look at this from their perspective) Episode is a money making app. American cliche gang/well I wonāt mention, but those stories are what bring in the audience. I would like to say that they are at least, trying to help. Perhaps they will as this is quite the topic currently. However, I would have to say that keep in mind Episode also cannot function to run on everyoneās opinions as everyoneās biases varies.
Anyways, happy reflecting!
Hello again!
Thank you so much for your reply! Iād like to respond with a few things
This is very true and I have a lot of respect for strippers. One of my friends is a stripper who does it to put herself through medical school, which I find so inspiring (even if I donāt have the body confidence to strip regardless of if I needed the money or not) that sheās using her job to make a better life for herself. My problem with sex as a game comes actually from the more patriarchal implications of this. Sex as a game is often for the pleasure of men and at the expense of women, which is frustrating and sexist in my opinion. In general, the culture of sex shouldnāt be about one-upping people and mind games. If any games are played, it should be literal ones between consenting individuals who are enjoying themselves. I should have mentioned that, so Iām sorry! I agree with pretty much everything else you said here.
I agree with this. However, I people in Paris donāt really go around speaking English all their lives. They speak French! I think the author should have done a Les Miserables thing where they make it clear that the characters are speaking French even if we hear it in English. This could be done by incorporating words like āMonseuirā every so often instead of making French a foreign language class in her French school. A lot of Parisians speak English as a second language, sureā¦ but if sheās gone to France as part of an exchange programme, itās ridiculous that she can function and get around in France with terrible French without a single person in a supermarket or library or something trying to speak to her in French before switching to English. Thatās realistically what happens when youāre in a foreign country. Unless they know youāre a tourist, people are going to try to speak to you in their own language before switching to English. If sheās living and functioning in a French school and not just mini America given the name France, it should at least be clear that the English weāre reading is just a ātranslationā of what she said, because French teachers arenāt just going to deliver the whole lesson in English just to suit one student who came to France unprepared.
Itās pretty easy to pull off, actually. You start the sentence with a French greeting and continue in English. That way, people understand that itās actually French theyāre speaking. Also, if her French is really that terrible, it would be funny to have her speaking poorly in English and for the people around her to say āYour French is terribleā, so we understand better. I donāt think the whole story should have been in French, but I think the writer should have made it clear that even though weāre reading English, theyāre speaking French there.
That is fair enough, but if the writer is trying to make us aware of how quintessentially British this person is, choosing the 1% of American names youāre unlikely to find in Britain is disingenuous. There are so many names that Britain and America share, but itās bizarre to me that British people who are supposed to be āso Britishā in an Episode story (or even TV show) would have one of the 5 names you wonāt find in England. There are hundreds more that they could use! It shows a lack of research to me.
Forgive me, but this article says that Wilde wasnāt gay from Childhood and that he came out of the closet later in his life:
-
āHis āconversionā to homosexuality probably came about in 1886/7 with a young man who was to remain a lifelong friend, Robert Ross.ā
-
āAfter Oscarās conviction he [Douglas] wrote a defence of their love for a French journal, which would have done more harm than good, and was never published. He also helped Oscar financially after his release from prison.ā
He was also on trial for homosexuality because of his relationship with Douglas.
These happen a lot in community stories, but the featured stories rarely deal with this. When they do, itās often a āI know weāre friends but I like youā at the end.
That may be true! I hope, therefore, that Episode works with some LGBTQ writers to create LGBTQ Featured stories.
I have to admit, this really made me smile. Iāve asked so many people this and they always answer with a character like Iron Man, Batman, Superman or Spiderman. The thing I personally think of when I think āheroic actā is Lily Potterās sacrifice for her son in Harry Potter.
The sad thing is that Episode is also an influential app. They do contribute to create the ideas of what sells. If Episode pushed good stories that broke from the mold slowly and well, they could really make an impact. They just need to make the leap.
I donāt know, the rich in general were all pretty dramatically fabulous in the 1700s, at least by todayās standards.
On a more serious note, I agree that LGBTQ+ people have always existed. The same language hasnāt always been used, but thereās historical evidence that the experiences of LGBTQ+ people have always existed. They havenāt even always been demonized.
That being said, Oscar Wilde was most likely bisexual. Some historians have just been arguing over whether heās gay or straight because they like to ignore the existence of bisexuality.
Thatās true! Although it is clear that he has an innate attraction to the male figure. He attributes masculinity to the ideal aesthetic! People do often forget that bisexual people can be attracted to men and women for different reasons, too!
Oh lord. Iām so sorry, this will have to be an extremely short reply, as I have to do my homework now.
Yes, I agree with what you said in your first paragraph.
I agree, I think at least common phrases and terms should be used, which is what I suggested as well. This would make it at least more accurate according to itās setting, and give more of a vibe. I agree with the āyour french is terrible,ā actually. This is actually pretty funny and would give the author an excuse to use google translate so that the characterās French is bad enough to seem bad enough.
I understand the āSo Britishā theme, but I think being British doesnāt necessarily come down to your name. You could be mixed and born in Britain with the name of Muhammed. It comes down to your behavior, language use, and the way you present yourself as well as your common traits with other people of the same country as you.
You caught me there. Forgive me on WIde. I was looking through mostly on his relationship with his family, and I didnāt read the second part. I assumed the first part meant he was accused as he was friends with Robert Ross, but it wasnāt anything, and I didnāt read about Douglas. (And, I have to say, that Douglas from what you said, seems like a great guy). Anyhow, thank you for correcting my mistakes.
Well, I canāt judge how LGBT stories are, as I donāt usually have time to read stories and I rarely read LGBT stories (based on my own sexuality, please donāt judge me, because I feel like people are more inclined to read stories of their own sexuality). I think this whole new theme is a leave it alone, or do it well sort of thing. You canāt go on a middle ground, It is also excessively annoying from a different sexuality if the sexuality you arenāt attracted to continues does pester you during the story, but obviously, I canāt judge because they at least put two different options. I would just prefer to have a story stick to one sexuality (Iām not trying to accuse bisexual stories here, but Iām just saying itās a little annoying to jump around all the time and itās just my preference. I have respect for people who spend so much time working on these and really, I donāt mean to offend anyone at all).
Lily Potterās sacrifice was amazing. Now I think about it, I understand why I thought women- because a motherās love is always portrayed as a brilliant, amazing one. That is a stereotype- but it doesnāt state a father cannot be as loving, which I like. Also, a mother has connection to her baby through her womb and pregnancy, so I genuinely cry when these parts come up.
Yes, I agree. Episode is influential- everything popular is. However, I canāt tell if they choose the be or not. At its base, the core of it was to make money. Sharing stories and creating them is part of its function, and influence is what comes after money and popularity. I agree they have to work harder in terms of diversity, but Iām extremely happy where they are starting to listen to our suggestions ( see the new updates) hopefully, for diversity as well.
Iād have to agree diversity is different for everyone else in terms of how you cope with the word. Diversity is diverse, and diverse things are diferent for different people. However, I think the true word isnāt diversity at all, itās accepting.
However, if to be abel to accept all the ādiversityā then all types of relationships might just be included. For example, syudent- teacher relationships.
Now, I canāt judge if itās wrong or right, but mostly I stick to how I was taught.
Episode has to take big risks to put ādiversityā out there.
I agree my point may not be valid, because student teacher relationships are all out there on Episode, butā¦
agh, my point doesnāt make sense. Let me rephrase:
Diversity is a confusing topic.
Thatās what I mean.
Alright, Iām starting to get confused now, so anyways, again,
Happy Wondering!
I really think some people donāt understand some things about this, so let me just keep it short and simple: If you supposedly think we are all equal then why arenāt people from different minority groups shown as much? I donāt have a problem with seeing white, cis characters but itās very constant and always ignored other races. We are trying to say that we shouldnāt have to ask for diversity, it should be already done and added. We shouldnāt have to correct people for how to do it. But since we have so many stubborn, close-minded people, we have to speak up. Thatās the problem. Itās messed up that we have to continuously have this discussion. We need to be all shown and not ignored nor silenced. Thatās all we want and people need to understand that.
@ShanniiWrites is highkey queen atm, well written and said.
People seem to forget diversity should come off as natural, blend and synthesized in the story.
Honestly, I canāt even think of a single white person in my own story thatās truly significant lmao. Somehow I havenāt gotten 'ur a reverse racist!!!111" yet.
I just donāt understand how people are so BORING with the same kinda characters (even background characters) over and over again. Likeā¦ itās honestly not even just racist.
It straight up tells me youāre not creative enough to create a plethora of a rainbow of POC, LGBTQA and disabled people, EVEN as background characters. Enough for me to lose interest real fast.
The fact that people here are STILL stuck on us people tired of hearing excuses and believing that we want a āquotaāā¦just proves that youāre missing the damn point.
I hate being a POC sometimes, and the sad part is, itās because of silencing and speaking over our frustrations.
When your voice has been suppressed so long, donāt expect someone to not scream if they finally get a sliver of the chance to.
Here is the definition of a story
story:
noun
an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment.
So what exactly are you proposing? to force writers to write stories about cultures, and or under represented communities because?.. you want them to.
like you stated yourself, Episode posts what sells. They are a company, and I am pretty sure they arenāt going to risk losing money simply to please a small number of people.
Yes most of the stories are based in the United States because it is an American made company.
People read more heterosexual stories because they are a majority, sure a lot of people support LGBTQ but that community only makes up about 1% of the population. Over all they are a much smaller group.
Sure it doesnāt mean they shouldnāt be represented, but they should be represented by people who want to do it and will be able to do it well.
Yes, story books and Entertainment TV and Entertainment movies, are simply that ENTERTAINMENT. sure they get some ideas from real life, But Iām sure no one is out there yelling that fairy tales and animation movies arenāt realistic enough to represent everyone. (although I am sure there will be some people complaining about that) That is truly ridiculous. Episode is no different. books and film and such do not let you pick your character or give you different possible outcomes. This app was created to entertain.
Learning a lesson or having a theme in a story is completely irrelevant to the fact that stories are not real.
Yeah slow and steady wins the race, the fable about a turtle and a rabbit racing (not a real thing). One has nothing to do with the other, they could have used an old man vs a young man and you would end up with the same lesson.
No one reads a story because they want to learn something. People read stories because they want a good read. If it so happens to teach a lesson then great, usually the lesson is for the character. Many times the reader will catch it as well and learn something, depends on the person.
And with the reference to Hitler, are you serious? It was never written to persuade, he wrote down his thoughts ideas and thats where he himself went back to. He had other means of propaganda. Are you seriously taking things to that extreme? saying that if episode doesnāt do what you want they are basically agreeing with hitler. For not giving light to other cultures or people. Give me a break.
What is truly not fair is subjecting people to give you what you want by force just to make yourself feel better.
Lastly, Yes the United States has people from many backgrounds, but Iām not sure if you realized this but, there are 50 states, and not all 50 states are extremely diverse like states that have major cities.
Its like forcing a person who lives in China to tell a story about Latino people. How ridiculous does that sound. While there are people of different races who live in China, they arenāt all over China and they arenāt a majority either. No one would expect them to accurately represent a Latino person because that would be ridiculous. That doesnāt make you ignorant or that they are avoiding anyone. Would you write a story about a group of people you donāt surround yourself with, donāt live around, and not nothing about their culture? I know I wouldnāt.
Iām from New York, but Iām not going to write a story about what its like to live in Japan or Africa, because Iām not from there and I wouldnāt be able to accurately write a story about it, even if it is for entertainment purposes.
Same way Iām not going to write about what it is like to be gay, because Im not gay.
Ignorance would be me actually writing about that as if I knew what I was talking about.
BTW not all people of color have the same experiences, same with LGBTQ or disabled people or any other āminorityā group.
Iām afraid to share my view on this problem since there is kind of a huge argument going on at the momentā¦ but Iām going to. I donāt want to start any fights and this isnāt exactly my āopinionā, I just try to see the problem from all points of view and this is mine.
I am not a POC or a part of the LGBTQ+ community, or at least I donāt think I am, and so I cannot speak for the people who are. I respect them and understand they want to be represented. When I read stories, race isnāt something that comes to mind to me, and of course, that can sound somewhat ignorant i canāt think of the right word coming from a white female, but itās true. Iām not saying I donāt appreciate it. I often get delighted when an author includes a character from a different race or religion than I am. Iām just trying to say I focus on the story, which is odd to say because all I read is romanceā¦ Back to the point! When I write and I want to include a POC or a LGBTQ+ person because thatās how I imagine the character or thatās how I created them, I am afraid I am going to represent them wrong and offend so many people. Although I can just ask on the forums or research it, itās still something that lingers in the back of my mind because I canāt have them accurate enough. I donāt want to have a character just be the āstereotypical black femaleā or āstereotypical trans maleā and offend readers. I think that other authors feel the same way, or maybe theyāre just dumb, closed-minded people which is more likely the case.
I apologize if this is offensive. Iām not intending it to be. I completely get if it does, and Iām sorry for that. Iām not trying to say this to āpityā POC or LGBTQ+, because I know some people do, thatās just plain rude imoā¦
I donāt read Episode official stories so I canāt discuss how POC and LGBTQ+ communities are included in them, because I think they all suck, but from what I hear on this topicā¦ they arenāt represented either, which actually really upsets me because it might have them loose business.
That is exactly what I have been saying.
It isnt ignorance to acknowledge there may be some things thats you donāt know. Because you know that you donāt know. lol (not sure that made sense.
Ignorance would be if:
you did write about what you didnāt know.