A professor implied that I'm a racist/sexist — may I have your input on this situation?

College Life
1

I’m a sophomore at a small LAC, and though it’s far from perfect and I’m very happy that I live off campus, I’m enjoying myself thus far. However, my professor and I had a discussion that really rubbed me the wrong way, and I don’t know what I should do about it, if I should do anything at all.

Up until now, this has been one of my favorite courses, creative writing and storytelling. The course is thrice-weekly, and we’ve a running assignment to write a short work of fiction relating to the previous week’s topic — most students write individual short stories each week, but I have written them as a sort-of serial, with different stories taking place in the same world and with the same characters. Until now, the professor has praised my creativity and my grades thus far reflect my hard work and writing skill.

However, this morning, my professor told me that she’d like to talk about my work after class. When we spoke, she essentially told me that she’s concerned about the lack of diversity in my work, that in everything that I’ve written there aren’t any non-white characters, and only one female character who remained nameless and (according to her) was demeaned and humiliated to serve the story. I told her that while I could easily add an arbitrary black female character, I’m not going to unless the assignment requires it — as a writer, I write who and what I know and what I want to write about, that I create worlds and characters that I want to create, and that I’ve a right and am obligation to remain authentic to myself.

She took that statement to mean that I want to live in a world with only white people, where women remain nameless and are limited to degradation. I refused to answer any of her attempts to ascribe intent to me, telling her that I write what I write and whilst it holds certain meaning to me, it can hold different meaning to her and she should interpret what I’ve written on the basis of what’s written and not on the basis of assumed authorial intent. She told me that although she thinks that my work is of high quality, it has many aspects that she sees as being “blatantly problematic” and she suggested that I take one of her courses on feminist literature or postcolonial black literature next semester. I was honest, and told her that I’m a Classics major and that I take courses on writing and European literature(s) because it interests me, whereas feminist or postcolonial black literature doesn’t interest me at all, and then I excused myself.

I’m very upset about this, because she essentially called me a racist and a sexist. Whether I am or am not is irrelevant — since I keep my political and social opinions out of class — what is relevant is that I’ve never said or done anything that could reasonably be construed as such within the context of her course(s). She’s projecting her interpretation of my work onto me, and the kind of implications that she’s making could hurt my academic career. How should I handle this? I don’t know if I should make a formal complaint to the university, have another conversation with her about this, or just let it go? My fiancée wants me to file a complaint, but she’s very defensive of me and my work so I would like another opinion. Either way, I refuse to put my name on work that isn’t authentically me and doesn’t say what I want it to say, which means that I’m not going to make my work “more diverse.”

I apologize if there are any errors of a typographical nature in this post, I’m writing it on my cell phone so that I can post it whilst I’m still at school.

2

I guess I can understand how when you said you were staying true to yourself, that sort of got her angry, but natural writing that just happens to have a lack of diversity is certainly not wrong. As long as you wouldn’t withhold diversity when you feel that it is right for your story, you’re good right? And from the way it sounds, you wouldn’t withhold diversity from your story. Deliberate avoidance of diversity in your writing when it is the best thing is really not okay, which may be how your teacher interprets your writing. But no, you’re not in the wrong here. That comment about staying true to yourself though - that could be taken the wrong way.

3

Let it go. Just write what you know. Your life experiences will expose you to different people as you go along. You can now add this jerky professor to your quiver. If she brings it up again thank her and tell her you are ‘growing’.

4

EVERYONE can benefit from examining why they write what they write.

Most people don’t set out to write something sexist or racist or ableist or homophobic, but unconscious biases can certainly make the writing come out that way.

I’ve read books where nothing happened to the female characters except torture and humiliation. I’ve watched movies where previously interesting female characters turned into cardboard cutouts with no purpose other than to cheer on the male protagonist. The people who wrote those things probably wouldn’t call themselves sexist, and maybe they’re generally not, but they did create works that appear sexist, and that’s something that could use some introspection on their end.

5

Your writing in the post, from your phone yet, is extraordinarily articulate.

You can PM me. I think this is basis for a complaint, yes. Good for you for standing up for yourself and your right to write “what you know.” This is political correctness going awry and the professor has an ax to grind that she is inappropriately projecting onto your work.

What do you mean she is “defensive” of your writing? Do you mean she is a potential recommender in spite of this conversation?

I commend you for your integrity and strength of character. Ironically, in the name of victims of harassment and bias, you are being subjected to the same.

6

@bodangles We should all examine what we write, and when we read our own work we should make sure that what it says to us is what we wanted to say, however one can’t really know how their work will speak to another person, and it shouldn’t concern us. All I can do is say what I want to say, you know?

I’m conscious of how I feel about things, but that’s beside the point. My professor is entitled to interpret anything out of my work, but I feel that she should’ve known better than to project her implication onto me, I’m sure she knows what those kinds of accusations can do to a career…

7

“I’ve read books where nothing happened to the female characters except torture and humiliation.”
Yes, The Road by Cormac McCarthy comes to mind.

I personally wouldn’t file a complaint. She’s giving you feedback on your work, correct? I don’t aways like what people have said about my work in creative writing classes (that was my minor.) Is she threatening to fail you, or is she suggesting you expand your horizons to become a better writer–even if you disagree?

Sometimes you can just ignore feedback. It’s fine.

8

@cruiser18 @Greymeer Is there really an “okay” and “not okay” for art? I always do what’s assigned to me, but the assignments are very broad and so for the most part I’ve been able to write about what I want to write about. I’m an Angeleno and thus I know of and about all sorts of people, but I’m not writing non-fiction, trying to be demographically representative of Southern California — I’ve created a fictional world with fictional characters that I like and like writing in and about.

Your advice is all very good. I’m just going to ignore it and not take any more classes with this professor.

9

All writing is by nature describing part of life. You can’t describe everything at once. In some sense I might interpret your post as suggesting that you want to write about one part of life, and the professor wants you to write about what she cares about.

Unfortunately you and I live in a country where one side of the political spectrum wants to make everything about race. This doesn’t make you a racist, nor does it necessarily lead to good political outcomes. However, it is something that you are going to need to live with if you want to take classes in writing and story telling, or even if you just want to live in the US. I don’t think that you want to buy into the theory that everything is about race, but I don’t think that you can fight it either – you don’t want to try to fight half of the world, or even half of the country that you live in, by yourself. Also, fighting your professor is likely to lead to a bad outcome, for example your professor gets to pick your grade.

As such, I think that you need to do whatever you need to do to get past this one course. Then never take another course from this same professor. Unfortunately you are likely to run into the same problem again with other professors.

I will admit that what OP is describing is one of many things that would make me reluctant to major in anything other than mathematics or engineering or computer science.

“This is political correctness going awry and the professor has an ax to grind”

I agree completely. However, I am not sure that fighting this is going to lead to a good result.

OP, do you have a good enough relationship with your guidance counselor or the head of your department to ask them for their opinion?

10

I wonder if she was simply asking you to stretch yourself as a writer - to try a different voice or experience - and when your response was “I don’t know anything else”, she offered a way to get exposure. She may not have meant all you’ve read into this, just that she was offering a way to take your talent further. It sounds like you have a real gift and enthusiasm for it. Perhaps the way you have chosen to do the assignments is not achieving the goals of the class?

I would ask myself why it felt so threatening. She may have seen it as an observation yet you see it as an accusation. Fwiw, when something sets me off like that, I try to figure out why because a strong emotional response deserves my attention.

11

I think you ought to think about what she said. You don’t HAVE to change your writing. But empathy for other viewpoints probably would make your writing stronger – unless you plan to write in the first person all the time. I don’t think you have any basis for a complain. Stop being aggrieved and consider whether you want to be able to write characters with a more realistic voice.

12

I cannot imagine a professor initiating a discussion along the lines you describe without there being some actual area of concern in your work or behavior. If your work is disturbing to your professor, it may be disturbing in ways you did or did not intend to other readers as well.

I cannot see how whether or not you are actually racist or sexist is irrelevant. This has personal implications for your professor (does she want to hone your skills to be used for an ideology she finds repugnant) as well as for your fellow students (does she need to be concerned about keeping a respectful classroom environment). If the class involves group critiques, asking students to read work she finds blatantly problematic is a problem.

Part of getting honest feedback about your work may at times involve difficult conversations. Sometimes difficult conversations go off the rails. I would say that unless there are actual consequences (grading affected for example) that you try to figure out what you can learn from the conversation. Simply “hitting a nerve” is not academic malpractice. Suggesting that you learn about other perspectives besides those with which you are most comfortable is part of good academic advising in a liberal arts setting. (But perhaps take a such a course with a different professor if you feel bridges may be burned.)

13

White male here.

You’re taking a course to learn. The professor raised a point of concern that she had that you don’t agree with. It gets you out of your comfort zone. You push back. She pushes back. You feel insulted.

You are taking the whole interaction the wrong way. When you are a professional writer, by all means do whatever you want. However, perhaps, getting out of your comfort zone, even just for now, would be good for you to experience. Perhaps it will make you more versatile. Perhaps it will force you to think from points of view that you’ve never had to think from before. Perhaps you might learn something that makes you a better writer. It doesn’t mean that you have to give up your voice. It doesn’t mean that your experiences aren’t valuable. It’s a way to expand the breadth of your portfolio.

14

You could just say that you’re interested in representing more diversity but you’re not ready to do it since, based on your lived experience, it would feel like cultural appropriation. You haven’t even done what you want to do with ‘what you know’ yet – and (arguably) that’s something that has to come first no matter who the writer is.

15

It’s a creative writing class. However your creativity inspires you is what you should write about. I would make a mental note of what the professor said but continue to write about what you want. Don’t let her suggestions place parameters on your writing. When that happens it is no longer a creative writing class.

16

White lady who has worked in book publishing for 20 odd years here…what the instructor is talking to you about is something that everyone in publishing is talking about now. There are a lot of different ways to approach this - some that you’ll agree with and some that you won’t. I am not sure what you would complain about though - if anything, I’d take her feedback to mean that you are talented but she thinks you could stand to broaden your horizons and your subject matter. That said-there’s a lot of debate going on right now about writing diverse characters-who should-how to do it-and especially-what does it take to do it well. There’s a movement called Own Voices which is championing stories by diverse people for diverse people, and is very critical of white people just randomly inserting people of color into their stories in the name of diversity-I think your philosophy aligns very nicely with that, give it a google. And then there’s the school of thought that even fiction should reflect the real world and account for many different kinds of people. If I were in your shoes I might tell her that you’ve been thinking a lot about the conversation, that you felt defensive but you are thinking about it, and wondering how you could include women or minorities in a way that would be organic and not potentially offensive, since it’s not your background. Read a bit about that Own Voices philosophy and let her know that you are familiar with that debate (many don’t agree, google Lionel Schriver. I am pretty sure her intent was not to call you out as a racist or a sexist, but to get you to think about your content. Creative writing classes can be fun, but they are also hard work and good writing takes an enormous amount of care and thought and stretching.

17

Everything these days seems to be about race it is insane it is sad.

18

It is indeed sad that the effects of racism permeate so many aspects of life, I agree. :slight_smile:

19

I do not get the impression that the side of the political spectrum that makes and endorses a textbook definition of a racist comment is the side that the OP’s instructor is on, at least on this issue.

20

For starters:
“Whilst”?
That’s a bit affected. I’m an editor; I would take great delight in slashing a red pen through every one of those.

Now that I’ve got that off my mind, here’s a suggestion: Do what makes you feel very uncomfortable. If you insist on staying in your cozy bubble, with the rest of the world just an annoying buzz in the distance, you will not grow. If you normally write in the first person, write in the third or second. If you normally cast your characters as sympathetic, try making them unsympathetic. If you normally write about white men, write about small unicorns. Or black drag queens.

You get the idea. You seem to be pleased with your work right now? Try something new, and when you realize that you’re not pleased because it was hard and unfamiliar, figure out how to make it better.