Ebony Elizabeth Thomas speaks about the whiteness of Western fantasy writing on the podcast “Into It” with Sam Sanders

On the September 8 episode of “Into It,” podcast host Sam Sanders asks SOE Associate Professor Ebony Elizabeth Thomas why public outrage feels so predictable when People of Color are cast in fantasies. “Whiteness,” says Sanders, “is so entrenched in Western fantasy, that when a Black character shows up, it’s shocking.” 

Thomas notes that this reaction comes from a power structure which is deeply ingrained in our society. “People have been carefully taught to see the world as white and heroic, and dark and savage…However, that means we have an obligation as a society to begin to unlearn,” says Thomas. “If we’re erased in the imagination, then it is easier to erase us in the real world. The imagination is where racist ideas are seeded.” 

In 2022, with notable fantasy literature being published around the world by first-generation African millennials, Indigenous, and First Nations people, and magical realism in Latin America, Sanders asks why so many fantasy worlds are still white. 

“People may have the best intentions when it comes to diversity, multiculturalism, and sharing space, but money and power rule this world and humanity, unfortunately,” says Thomas. For real change to happen, she adds, people who have traditionally held places of power and privilege will need to give up some of the space they are accustomed to having. “Sharing space means giving up something you have always had. And that’s hard.”