Writers have a responsibility to reflect the standards of the society in which they are creating their works and earning their living. They have the good fortune of being able to “speak” directly to their readers, and thereby to inform and educate them (however subtly that might occur), as well as to entertain and inspire.

The people they write about in non-fiction works and the characters they create in works of fiction represent real people in society in one way or another: good, bad, mediocre or indifferent, or a mixture of some or all of those qualities.

As humans we all deserve to be depicted as we are and as we choose to be identified: authentically and respectfully, and not as caricatures or stereotypes. The considerable body of published research and other literature illustrates just how harmful stereotypes can be. For example, negative racial stereotypes, including internalised racism, have been directly associated with actual harm to people’s economic/material, physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual wellbeing.