If you’ve had anything to do with Young Adult or Children’s Literature over the past five years or so, you’ve likely heard about sensitivity readers in rather exhaustive detail. The practice has become increasingly common in adult literature as well, but I’ve found that it’s often misunderstood or unfairly maligned (I’ll get to that).
I started off to do a simple, instructive post explaining what a sensitivity reader is and why an author might hire one. However, in doing research to supplement what I know about the practice, I found myself almost immediately in the weeds. There’s been a lot of controversy over sensitivity readers (albeit mostly in the tempest teapots of the Twitter-verse and op-ed spheres); and I thought this was well worth unpacking because sensitivity readers—along with the online call-outs they’re meant to guard against—exist right at the intersection of race, representation, and book publishing.
As I’ve discussed extensively over the summer—representation of marginalized groups in publishing is abysmal. As you can imagine, this leads to some truly out of touch and downright offensive content not only being released form big five publishers, but being celebrated and given a massive marketing push (examples forthcoming, HOLD ONTO YOUR HATS!). Sensitivity readers are meant to help bridge the gap between the cloistered, monochrome publishing world and the actual world in which the readers of those books exist. Understanding who they are and what they do—as well as the conversations around the practice—is important as both an author and a consumer of books. Away we go:
What is a sensitivity reader and what do they do?
A sensitivity reader is essentially a beta reader (someone who reads a manuscript pre-publication) who is a member a marginalized group and is hired to read a manuscript specifically with an eye toward problematic issues concerning the way that group is portrayed. This can include problematic tropes, stereotypes, inaccuracies, and offensive portrayals. I’m not alone in wishing the name was different—sensitivity reader sounds a little like something Tucker Carlson would dream up and I find it doesn’t quite do justice to what these readers do. I’ve also heard these referred to as cultural consultants—which I prefer—but since sensitivity reader is the most common term, that’s the one I’m going with.
Examples?
So, what kinds of things might a sensitivity reader be looking for? It obviously depends on the manuscript and the reader, but they may have an eye towards broad issues like tropes and stereotypes. Does your white protagonist have, for example, a ‘sassy black friend’ who exists only to further the former’s narrative? Or perhaps her bestie is a flamboyant gay man who works as an interior designer? Is your book falling into a white savior narrative or does your story feature happy slaves? Readers also might have an eye toward overused and offensive descriptors for characters of color, think ‘almond-shaped eyes’ for Asian characters or comparing the skin of characters of color to various types of foods.
Sensitivity Readers Add Value
A common misconception about sensitivity readers is that they exist just to scold a writer for being prejudiced. But, as with any other expert you might consult for a book, they can also help add and refine details to make your story ring true. Any writer knows that the believability of characters hinges upon the details. For example, I interviewed four different professional skiers to get detail about that culture—with which I had only a passing knowledge—for We Came Here to Forget. If you haven’t written something outright offensive, you don’t want a jarring detail about dialog, hair products, food, etc. to take your readers out of the moment, a sensitivity reader can help you nail those details.
Cultural Appropriation
I’m working on some practical advice for trans-cultural writing for a future post, but it’s important to touch on the concept of cultural appropriation at the outset. If you you’re using a sensitivity reader, you’re likely a member of a dominant culture (i.e. white, male, straight, cis) who’s borrowing from a marginalized one. No one is suggesting that you shouldn’t write characters outside of your identity; outright exclusion of any culture other than your own is not a good solution. However, it is tricky to write about cultures you’re not a part of and will take some extra work because the culture around you has not set you up for success. Writers are, at the end of the day, solo artists, so unless we want to work with co-writers, we have to rely on research, expert consultants, and editors to help us get it right. Sensitivity readers can be extremely helpful as part of this team.
Understanding Own Voices
A key piece of framing for this conversation is understanding “Own Voices” and the lack of representation in book publishing. Own Voices began as a hashtag created by sci-fi writer Corinne Duyvis; which is used to recommend books in which “the protagonist and the author share a marginalized identity” and steer readers away from books in which those identities are being portrayed in a problematic way by an author who is not a part of that group. It emerged in response to a slew of controversies around various children’s books in 2015, around the same time the concept of using sensitivity readers became mainstream. Much of this conversation originated in the world of Children’s Lit and YA, where for obvious reasons there is added scrutiny given the impressionable audience. Own Voices has since broadened to encompass reviewers as well and has become something of a shorthand for representation in publishing.
A Response to Lack of Representation
I’ve discussed this in detail, but it’s worth a quick recap of just how bad the numbers are in book publishing really are. As of the well-regarded Lee & Lowe survey in 2019, 76% of the overall industry is white, along with 86% of editorial (the people who choose the books and work most closely with authors). The industry’s bias is reflected by its overwhelming tendency to use white “comp titles” to make purchasing decisions and results in big disparities in author advances, and less visibility for BIPOC authors overall. The bottom line is, as an author, you cannot rely on the publishing industry to catch problems around race and representation. Your name is ultimately the one people will remember and you need to take accountability for how you’re representing characters and cultures. As you will see when I delve into the case studies, plenty of extremely troubling content makes its way through the publishing process.
When Might You Need to Hire a Sensitivity Reader
If a main character—especially one you’re writing from the perspective of, and especially if you’re writing in their voice—is part of a marginalized group you’re not a part of, or if a big theme, plot point, or setting has to do with a marginalized group, it’s probably a good idea to hire a reader in addition to doing lots of research on your own first. Listen, if you were writing big blocks of French as a non-native speaker, you’d want someone to take a look, right? You wouldn’t just run it through Google Translate and all it a day. Hiring a reader can keep you from writing harmful content AND make your writing on that character or culture more authentic, which just makes for a better book.
Keep in Mind
Hiring one, or two, or a dozen sensitivity readers to go through your manuscript does not give you immunity. No one reader can speak for an entire identity, obviously. Sensitivity readers are one tool to help you on your way. You are still responsible for your work so don’t even think of throwing your reader under the bus if you get called out.
Ultimately, sensitivity readers are a band-aid and will not fix publishing’s representation problems. We should all be pushing for book publishing to get its act together on this issue, but since it’s unlikely that things will magically be fixed before your or my next book comes out, sensitivity readers are still a good idea.
Read More:
· A great interview with Dhonielle Clayton, author, publishing entrepreneur, and one of the chief executives of We Need Diverse Books who has been a sensitivity reader for high-profile authors such as Jodi Picoult. What the Job of Sensitivity Reader is Really Like
· A thoughtful piece on the problems sensitivity readers are meant to address, as well as the ones they might create: Meet Publishing’s Sensitivity Readers