#StoriesWithInsight: Why we need to tell stories that matter
On our literary campaign and the importance of diverse literature.
by Hannah Christie
This summer, With Insight Education launched its first ever literary campaign #StoriesWithInsight in collaboration with popular and indie Black British authors from across the UK. The events had different themes, romance, queer literature, navigating careers and coming of age.
The first event on writing romance was hosted in collaboration with my book club, Her Heritage Book Club. It featured authors, Lizzie Damilola Blackburn who wrote the bestselling novel ‘Yinka Where is your Huzband’; Constance Chitiyo who self published her novel ‘Inside Me’, and Lisa Bent, who wrote ‘Symona’s still single’.
Our discussion was divided into three themes: “Love on her terms", “Romantic love vs realities” and “Writing love as a black woman”. The first theme; “Love on her terms" was a discussion surrounding how Black women navigate romantic expectations in society, family, and culture. Having to put up with consistent questions surrounding marriage, children and “biological clocks”. Lizzie spoke about how cultural expectations can govern our choices with regards to who we date and when we choose to do so. Constance, whose novel takes place in Zimbabwe, criticises the patriarchal underpinnings of society. Ultimately, addressing and dismantling stigmas and stereotypes about the desirability of women with children, educated women and women who have experienced abusive relationships.
The second discussion, “Romantic Tropes vs. Realities” explored the differences between the portrayal of black women in media; film, literature and television. This discussion explored how many impressionable black girls are fed the idea that love isn’t something to be enjoyed, but rather endured. That love for black women should be a struggle and a fight. My favourite question was whether modern romance novels can set readers up with an unhealthy perception of what love can look like? Particularly black female readers? Lisa spoke about how media targeted towards black women can be harmful in their depiction of love, especially certain reality tv shows and films. As fore mentioned, can feed black women, who are not a monolith, a certain narrative about the way they should conduct themselves, in public and in relationships.
Our final discussion, “Writing Love as a Black Woman” was the most interesting in my opinion. Constance, who works as a midwife, decided she wanted to publish her first novel independently and use her voice as a writer to empower women, particularly Zimbabwean women. Lisa on the other hand, used to write detailed reviews of her dates and post them on facebook. She started to gain a lot of online attention and decided to write a novel originally titled something to the effect of "Dating in the Modern Day," which was later renamed “Symona’s Still Single”. Both Lisa and Lizzie agreed that the disparity between the depiction of black women in media and the behaviour of black women in real life, is a result of a lack of diversity in media organisations. Often black writers’ experiences are misunderstood and they are asked by editors and publishers to remove things from their novels to make themselves more palatable to non-black audiences and there needs to be more representation of black people within media companies, not just as authors but executives.