Labels

I have been thinking about this blog post for many months. It first came to mind when my friend Alistair Green highlighted a brilliant campaign his company was involved in. The campaign was #Labelsareforclothes by River Island, which was outstanding. They turned stereotypes on their heads

Signing my debut novel Flight
Photograph by Candy Gourlay

while highlighting that labels are for clothes, not people.

This campaign came at a time when I was getting used to attaching a label to myself again. A label which for many years I haven't really spoken about yet now I was shouting about it...and with good reason. 

Like so many before me I have had lots of labels attached to me over my lifetime:

Daughter

Sister

Wife

Mother

Ex-Wife

Divorcee

Single Mother

Businesswoman

Carer

Student

Doctor

Lecturer

Senior Lecturer

Consultant 

Mentor

Grandmother

Writer

and then the label I mentioned above

Disabled Writer

I've been disabled for nearly twenty years. If my body hadn't misbehaved there's a good chance several of those labels might not have happened. Becoming disabled opened doors for me so I don't regret it happening. I have spoken about this before here.

In the main, I have kept quiet about my disability whilst working in academia, rightly or wrongly, proving to myself that I can achieve regardless. However, in the world of children's publishing where inclusivity is so important, it is vital that I shout loud about my disability and say, if I can do it, so can you. I must be honest this does not come naturally and has taken quite a bit of adjustment. I have spent my life fighting against any label I was given not just the disabled one. I never want labels to define me. There have been many ready to prejudge because of labels they were far too quick to attach.

There is a risk with any label that it will define you too much particularly if attributed by others, putting you in a box while potentially feeling limiting. Perhaps that's why rather than a disabled author I would instead see myself as an author who happens to be disabled as that is something I feel comfortable shouting about. I know it is all about semantics, but sometimes that is all it takes to give you the power back.

As we move rapidly towards 2019 make sure you define yourself the way you want to be, but be proud to be that person, whoever that might be. Don't hide it away. In the same way don't be so quick to attach labels to others. Give everyone a chance. #labelsareforclothes, not people.

A classic but it seems appropriate Gloria Gaynor's I Am What I Am

Diversity

My lifeline 

I am feeling intensely irritated this morning. Lionel Shriver has yet again been given a chance to spout forth about her views on diversity. Fine, let her have her views on it, but do you really need to devote a whole article to them when they are against everything that the whole world is fighting so hard to achieve? I am not going to link to the article in this piece because I am not going to add to the traffic. Basically, she has had a go at Penguin Random House for their diversity policies.

Now I will start off by stating that I fully support and congratulate PRH in their efforts. And secondly, I should point out that I am potentially one of the people she is having a go about. I am not published by PRH, but I am a diverse author in that I am disabled. I have never really shouted about the fact and I would hope that my novel stands on its own merit. I am pretty certain that Firefly took my manuscript on because of the story and not because I happen to be a diverse author. It is only as the information has gone out about me and my novel that people have said to me 'I had no idea you were disabled!' Yes, I am. I have a PEG tube fitted through which I am fed. I also have issues with one of my knees now that means I am on crutches. I am registered disabled.  I am also a single parent, a woman, an academic, a writer, an editor and I was a carer. The list could go on. None of these things defines who I am on their own, they are all just part of who I am.

Diversity is vital or rather, maybe a better word is inclusivity, as we want everyone to feel included. It is important on so many levels, and when I am talking about this I am referring to the definitions used by the amazing organisation Inclusive Minds. It is not just about the stories, which, of course, are important. There is a great drive to get diversity within publishing itself, with increasing job opportunities (HaperCollins BAME traineeship programme for example) as well as authors themselves. I am thrilled to be part of the Quarto Translation/Golden Egg Academy Diversity Award which we set up because we felt every child deserves an author and story they can relate to.

What I mean is thinking in terms of windows and mirrors. Diverse characters mean children have an opportunity to see characters just like them but also for others to walk a mile in another's shoes. It is a chance to create empathy - opportune in the week of #EmpathyDay on 12th June. 'A good book is an empathy engine' as said by Chris Riddell former Children's Laureate. It should never be a tickbox exercise nor should they be seen 'just as issue books'. Look around at your group of friends. I imagine they are an eclectic mix. When creating characters in books they should reflect that fact.

I feel better having got that off my chest. I would welcome the day when we do not need to speak of diversity but I fear that is a long way off and certainly when articles like Shriver are produced. It will not stop us fighting for it though.

I love Laura Mvula's work and this piece 'Phenomenal Woman' seems appropriate: