I’m going back to the main topic token friends.
They are usually the side character that the MC calls their “best friend”
Unless the character has an actual MEANING to the story there is no need to have them in your story.
No matter the race, if they don’t have a meaning they shouldn’t be in the story. Readers will start to not really care about the character and when the get the chance to interact they won’t.
Lotta times Best friends dont add anything i wish we had an actual friendship shown not just title. I also wish black characters were better made and didnt just speak ebonics be sassy and tick off the diversity box.
Also thanks for remaking this
Agreed
Agreed, some authors just give into stereo types, if you don’t know how to represent them then don’t.
I see what you mean.
yeah, the token gay or POC best friends are honestly just so insulting.
it’s like the only reason the MC keeps them around is they add diversity to the story.
I can’t think of anything more insulting then being kept around because of where i’m from or my sexuality.
usually the author thinks making them a POC or giving them a LGBTQ+ trait is enough to make them their own character & they don’t need a personality.
agreed
If they don’t have a meaning . . . does that default to they should be skin color-white unless they have a meaning?
No. Honestly I’m sick and tired of seeing best friends that don’t actually have a realationship with the MC as I said doesn’t matter the race, gender, or sexuality.
It’s less about the actual skin color and more about how they’re presented.
On the surface, there’s nothing wrong with having a best friend who happens to be black. That’s perfectly fine.
It’s when the character is entirely defined by this trait. For example, they’re treated like a trope – usually in the form of making them “sassy” or sometimes “nerdy” if they’re male. It’s just a tired stereotype that boils a demographic people down to a few popular traits & expects that to be enough to be considered an actual character.
preach, I 100% agree. I recently read a story, where the best friend was just there to be there as an obstetrical for a love interest.
Ah yes, the sassy best friend. Can’t forget about that one. I wonder how that default came to be XD