dear white people

no diversity here

(idk why i've been updated so much recently i'm prob getting annoying if you want me to stop tell me and i prob will lol)

Dear white people,

why is Wattpad consciously and unconsciously filled with female protagonists that are white? It's inexplicable at this point, considering that there's millions of users and patently they're not all white. If you're an author with a decent following and active readers, you must have some at least pre-conceived notions that not all your readers are one specific race, ethnicity, religion, etc. You're pushing them away from your stories by lacking unoriginality. I'm white and I've been pushed away time and time again, although I've still never had the burden of finding a story that can relate to me.

So because I've concluded that there's no diversity here, don't implore me to read your story by stating that the main character is in fact different from other girls when; she's not.

(i'm in no way making fun of mental illnesses and disorders. just the authors who think it's okay to romanticize them and forget what originality is."

"i lazily place my neff beanie on my straight chestnut hair, then adjust my hollister crop top making sure it sits just right on my extremely thin and petite body because i'm anorexic and bulimic. i cringe as i look at open and closed wounds on my arms from self harm because i have depression, anxiety, and bipolar. but when i look at my freckles and ravishing blue eyes it's like all my worries are gone because i'm still the most beautiful girl that the male main character has ever laid his eyes on. after i snap out of my thoughts, i throw on a pair of white vans, then hipster glasses. i'm a white, straight, cis, female but i'm deemed as different by everyone but myself because i think i'm ugly and will eventually have a mental salvation by the male main character."

This, my friends, is not different from any other female protagonist on Wattpad. White, straight, cis, females with mental illnesses have seemed to flood and take over Wattpad.

Another thing, why are mental illnesses romanticized on Wattpad so much? This is such a harsh topic that I cannot seem to grasp. What is beautiful about stories that have POV's with the severely mentally ill FMC talking about how much she hates herself and how she wants to die? Why is a chemical imbalance in someone's brain reckoned as something that's romantic?

News for you; it's not.

Instead of mental illnesses, why not physical impairments as well? Considering depression could be labeled as the mental version of diabetes, why doesn't anybody write about a FMC with a physical disorder/illness? Wheelchairs, forearm crutches, deaf, blind? That sounds like a taboo for the Wattpad community, and that's just wrong.

I think about a year or so ago, I got into constant arguments with the user @/dizzydolan or something because her story was promoting disgusting things that shouldn't be endorsed. Now she has over a million reads, and people love it. Why? Why are people like this? Why do people think abuse and self harm is cute?

Not only is there no diversity when it comes to the FMC personality, but evidently the physical features as well. They're all white! White, long and straight brown hair, freckles, blue eyes, skinny, etc. Okay yes, that is beautiful, and so is every other race too. Asians? I don't think I've ever seen a story with the FMC as an Asian. Latinas? That's rare, as well. Black girls? Not as rare, but still doesn't get as much recognition as white people. Like come on, let's bring some characters with beautiful cultural backgrounds to Wattpad. They deserve it. Every single girl should be able to get on Wattpad and feel comfortable reading because the FMC can in some ways relate to them, if not that, just not the typical white female.

Now, I get it...writing from a different race's POV sounds unusual. I feel it and I understand. It's hard solely because it's an unfamiliarity. That's a-okay, and if you can't do it, don't. Chances are you'll just offend people, so sticking to what you normally do best would probably be great. But God please, don't make your FMC's like the typical main characters on here.

Point - strive for some originality and inventiveness.

There's no diversity here, but we want it. So bring it!!! Comment your favorite stories or you know even promote your own if you got a POC FMC or just any kind of diversity in there. I wanna read and show a lil supportttt❤️

White people, diversity seems to be something that will never fit into your vocabulary. I hope one day that will change.