#lanas not crying again but she is a bit annoyed bruv

[imsiriuslyreading]

here's the thing I've found about fanfiction...

representation is so important. like, obviously. i personally have seen myself represented in the most incredible ways I've never seen before, sometimes in an exceptionally niche way (aka, Mary from KYD being a queer Lebanese woman).

and i don't believe that you need to be from a race or culture to write about it well, i really don't. the same way i believe you don't have to have bipolar to write bipolar, etc. (again, i see rep in ways i never expected to, and that really means more to me than i can say)

but i do think there's such a thin line between appreciation vs appropriation.

if you're latching on to a point of diversity for the sake of it, without doing the necessary research or putting adequate care into the topic that you're including in your writing, then you are doing potentially irreparable damage. you're giving impressions and setting expectations that aren't accurate, aren't fair, and are in fact often, pretty offensive, ignorant and outdated.

i suppose what i'm saying is... please don't borrow my culture/ethnicity/mental health for clout. or anyone else's for that matter.

treat these features that make up our identities with the respect and care that they deserve, and if you can't, then leave it to people who can.