Let the Cultural Appropriation Begin!

A Literal Literary Loser Takes Yet Another Risk

Today is the big day! It’s the official announcement of my upcoming historical fiction novel, “Go On Pretending!” As per the press release:

A family saga following three generations of women, Go On Pretending begins with Rose Janowitz who leads the transition of radio soap-operas to television in the 1950s, hiding a secret about her radical past and a forbidden romance with the African-American leading man of The Guiding Light’s popular spinoff. Meanwhile, in the 1980s, Rose’s daughter Emma Kagan leaves her privileged life in the USSR to navigate political complexities amidst the collapse of the Soviet Union which sends her scrambling for survival. In 2012, Libby, Rose's granddaughter, embarks on a dangerous quest for utopia in war-torn Syria, uncovering long-buried family secrets. Together in Rojava, the three women struggle to find something to believe in and a place to belong.

Read a more in-depth description, here.

And then let’s unpack all the cultures I’ll be appropriating:

According to some, one may only write in the voice of the gender/race/ethnicity/sexuality/religion, etc… to which one belongs.

For a historical fiction author, this is already a problem. I live in one time period. I write about others. Is that cultural appropriation?

At the start of “Go On Pretending,” Rose, the heroine of my story, is a Jewish woman living in New York City. Hey, I’m a Jewish woman living in New York City! Rose works for the soap opera, “Guiding Light.” Hey, I used to work for the soap opera, “Guiding Light!”

But Rose works for the radio version. I worked for the television version. Is that a problem?

Also, Rose was born in NYC. I was born in the Soviet Union, immigrated to San Francisco as a child, and only moved to NYC in 1994. Is that a problem?

On the other hand, Rose’s daughter, Emma, was born in the USSR. Hey, I was born in the USSR! But Emma grew up there. I only lived there until I was 7. Is that a problem?

And then there’s the real conundrum. While working on the radio version of “Guiding Light,” Rose hires an African-American actor for a key role. But when the show makes its transition to television, keeping him on becomes a very big issue between her and GL’s creator, Irna Phillips.

I am not an African-American man. Then again, “Go On Pretending” is not written from his perspective. It’s written from Rose’s perspective. Rose falls in love with this African-American man.

Hey, I’ve been married to an African-American man for over 25 years! Does that count for anything?

When writing from the point of view of Rose’s daughter, Emma, I asked my own daughter, “Can you pretend you’re the child of a Russian-Jewish soap-opera writer and a highly educated Black man who grew up in Harlem?”

She squeezed her fists, scrunched up her face, concentrated really hard, and said, “I think I can do that.”

But my daughter was born in the 21st century in NYC. Emma was born in the 20th century in Moscow. Close enough, or still a problem?

For extra insight, I went to my oldest son, who once lived in Moscow and got a good sense of the Russian attitude towards biracial people. But that was in the 21st century, and in Russia, not in the Soviet Union.

As you can see, it is very, very easy to get lost in this level of self-censoring minutia. My question is, should I be getting lost in it?

Or should I tell my story with my characters… and see what happens?

Would love to hear your thoughts on the subject!