Invisible is a series of essay collections edited by Jim Hines. They contain essays and a few poems written by various authors from minority groups, explaining why representation in science fiction and fantasy is so important to them personally. I find these books very enlightening to read.
Of course, part of fiction is about reading and writing characters who are different from yourself. Understanding another person’s (even a fictional character’s) life experience that is different from your own is valuable. But seeing people who are like you represented in a positive light, in real life or in fiction, is even more valuable. It shows that you are not alone, that people like you are important, capable, valid. Diversity in genre fiction is so important, showing that people who are not white cis males can tame dragons and travel to the stars too. The introduction to Invisible 3 puts it aptly:
“Let’s make more mirrors for the mirrorless. Even if they’re partial mirrors, stained glass art with reflective shards intertwined among the opaque and the clear showing worlds that are made up of more than one truth, more than a handful of ways to be, more than the same story over and over.”
K. Tempest Bradford in the introduction to Invisible 3: Essays and Poems on Representation in SF/F
There are currently three books in this series, and I am hoping more will follow, as the scope of fantasy and science fiction is forever evolving. I am hoping these kinds of essays will become less necessary in the future, as positive representation and intersectional representation increases. But realistically, there will probably still be some minorities who don’t feel represented in mainstream media, and we need to listen to their voices.
Q’s Book Reviews rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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