DEI in Writing — Not for Me!
If DEI were to DIE, I would gladly attend the funeral.
You may have come across DEI, which stands for ‘diversity, equity and inclusion’. When I say ‘may’, I mean ‘most certainly’ because these days, DEI is inescapable.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are popular buzzwords that brands, companies and organisations simply can’t get enough of. They love bragging about how committed to DEI they are and they gladly boast about the excessive, highly contrived policies they have in place to promote DEI and improve the diversity, equity and inclusion of whatever they’re involved in.
As someone who doesn’t believe in identity politics, DEI is something I will always roll my eyes at and ignore.
When it comes to my writing, I’m in complete control over what I write and self-publish. I answer to no one and the only rules I have to follow are my own. Do I embrace DEI and apply it to my writing?
Absolutely not!
DEI is divisive, engenders discrimination (both positive and negative) and, frankly, can be patronising and insulting. While it’s all about everyone coming together and being happy and getting on and loving one another no matter what, there’s underlying hypocrisy to it.
This is because DEI is welcoming, so long as you agree with it. You will undoubtedly have read stories in the press about someone being banned from something riddled with DEI because they don’t match its values, beliefs, principles — whatever!
Anyway, I digress. I don’t want this post to be a pure rant, so I’ll pivot it back to what it’s meant to focus on: DEI and my own writing.
So why don’t I infuse my written works with DEI? It’s simple: there’s no need.
When I write, I focus on what I want to share with the reader, whether it’s a story, a poem, a rant or something else. I don’t have diversity, equity or inclusion in mind when putting together an e-book.
If someone thinks a particular e-book of mine — or even my whole writing output — isn’t DEI friendly, I couldn’t care less. I’m not writing to promote DEI because I don’t like it, I don’t agree with it and I’m not in the least bit interested in it.
But just because I don’t follow DEI principles, doesn’t mean my writing isn’t worth reading.
If you really want diversity, equity and inclusion, there are lots of writers who actively infuse those concepts into their writing and are sincere about it.
I don’t actively go about writing with DEI in mind because, given my stance towards it, my approach would be insincere and I would only be doing it for the clout, which isn’t how I go about things.
Humanity is incredibly varied and it’s a great thing — wouldn’t the world be so boring if we were all the same? I love how varied we all are, but if I choose not to reflect that in my writing, it isn’t a bad thing.
If someone criticises a single work of mine or my entire output for not being diverse, not promoting equity or not favouring inclusion, they should be reminded that not everything has to align itself with DEI.
I’m never going to look through a piece of my writing and add characters that tick certain boxes or mention certain social justice topics just for the sake of it. That’s not to say that I won’t ever write about characters who belong to a particularly minority or discuss a particular social issue, because I might.
I would only do this if it felt meaningful and authentic; I wouldn’t shoehorn things in just so I can earn points for meeting DEI requirements or feel good about myself.