Line #70 SoYouWantTo/AvoidUnfortunateImplications


1	Whether you're creating something that may or may not touch on known issues, or you're wanting to avoid creating new tropes with their own UnfortunateImplications, you may find it useful to have a simple guide to handling potentially loaded tropes and situations with care.
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3	This guide is intended only as a simplistic overview not applicable to each and every situation (and sometimes ignoring its advice may be a good idea), and some of you may know far more than it illustrates. Its purpose is to help the average/inexperienced writer avoid creating unintended offense and/or badly creating intended offense.
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5	Sadly, anything that we may see as acceptable today may not be considered acceptable to people in 100 years' time. This is unavoidable. But below are some examples of how to avoid UnfortunateImplications that we ''are'' aware of... at least, ways that don't just boil down to [[{{Dismotivation}} "just don't write at all".]]
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7	* ''''' Do not assume the ViewersAreMorons, do not use SmallReferencePools, and refuse to play to the LowestCommonDenominator'''''. This is as close to a "golden rule" of avoiding UnfortunateImplications as one can get. Specifically, assume that your viewers will be of a diverse nature, smart enough to understand implications, and expecting well-rounded, interesting characters and plotlines in many cases. Even if they are JustHereForGodzilla or {{Fanservice}}, your objective is to assume that even [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Godzilla battling an armada of strippers]] will not make the viewers morons who ignore everything else along the way.
8	** As for the LowestCommonDenominator, there is a reason it is a virtual TrojanHorse of tropes with unfortunate implications. That's because in many societies, the LowestCommonDenominator ''is'' playing to bigotry, specifically racism and sexism, and opens the door for the worst mistake one can make in creating bad implications--not thinking.
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10	* If you're looking into a potentially problematic or controversial issue, '''do your research'''. Read up on it, look for accounts of those with experience, maybe even talk to people involved in those areas. The more understanding and perspective you have on the issue, the more effectively you'll be able to write about it. However, please keep in mind that no one is obligated to share their experiences and some may find such questions uncomfortable or offensive, especially if the one doing the asking is an outsider. Finally, it might be worth letting someone with experience in these areas--and whose opinion you trust and respect--have a look over your work to offer their comment; they might be able to pick up on potentially problematic areas that you have missed.
11	** Some editors and consultants specialize in checking works for problematic content that mainstream readers might miss. If you're planning on getting something published professionally or even semi-professionally, it's absolutely worth the fee to hire a sensitivity reader, preferably someone from any demographic in your work that you're not from yourself. [[note]]Large enough publishing houses often have such readers on retainer, or they can be booked directly the same as you'd hire any other consultant.[[/note]]
12	** Even so, don't make the mistake of thinking that any one person can be the main spokesperson of an entire group. If you find yourself having to explain that you did do your research to people who are still upset, it may turn out to be, or be perceived as, a case of SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX.
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14	* Treat all characters as people regardless of race, gender, etc. Are characters of a specific group being marginalized or [[FlawlessToken ludicrously idealized]]? Is the character a legitimate part of the story or is said character in it solely for the sake of filling a TokenMinority slot?
15	** Be ''very'' careful when you're depicting interracial relationships and don't put your own fantasies in them. Is it really judicious to make the Asian girl your WhiteMaleLead is [[MightyWhiteyAndMellowYellow dating]] a subservient doormat who doesn't talk back? Is making the [[WhereDaWhiteWomenAt black guy who dates a white girl]] a pimp or a hoodlum necessary? If at the end of your romantic show the Asian guy and the Black girl are the only ones left dateless, did you ask yourself why? Because of all this, when two people of a different race get together, make it 100% clear that race isn't involved in the reasons why they are together. However, that doesn't mean you can't explore their cultural differences. If you want to make it a drama piece about racism, avoid the white/black plotline because it's so overused it has become a full-blown cliché. There are plenty more possibilities yet to be explored.
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17	* Write characters, not caricatures. '''Never write stereotypes.''' You can have an Asian character who is smart or a black character who is athletic, but people are more than just one character trait.
18	** Behavioral or cultural characteristics are not inherent aspects of race, apparent gender, or genetics. However, this does not mean they should be ignored either. It's never a bad idea to research why social constructs such as ethnic identity exist and how they affect people (and your characters). See the second bullet point on this page.
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20	* Avoid sexual stereotypes like ThePlague, seriously.
21	** Combined racist-sexual stereotypes are ''the worst''. Yes, some people might still see them as funny. Many more see them as offensive or at the very least, stupid and pointless. This includes "race is somehow a gauge of penis size" (it isn't, outside of very vague generalities which are by no means universal and full of exceptions), that "race determines sexual submissiveness/availability" (no one race or ethnicity is universally more sexually submissive or "lusty" than another) or ''anything'' else that equates race to what someone is, is not, or does or will not do in sexual situations.
22	** Homophobic/transphobic sexual stereotypes are just as bad, even if people do, unfortunately, still believe them. This includes the "AllGaysArePedophiles" canard[[note]]In fact, the amount of sex crimes per LGBT people is ''lower'' than that of self-proclaimed straights, especially when antiquated crimes (e.g. from when being gay itself was a crime) and "crimes" involving consensual adult sex and couples within three years of each other's age are not included. For the record, more LGBT people are ''victims'' of crimes such as rape and sexual abuse than perpetrators[[/note]], the notion that being penetrated makes a man less of a man, the equation of same-sex relationships with anal sex, and the notion that transgender people are severely mentally ill or have some sort of deceptive "agenda" to make people give them attention and sex against their wishes.
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24	* Don't use real people as "freaks", and avoid the [[SubcultureOfTheWeek Freaks Of The Week]] trope like the plague. Transgender people are real human beings with feelings and real lives. As are little people. As are women with unusual hair growth. As are people in that freakish little scary subculture that just got torn to bits on ''Series/{{CSI}}'' or ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit''. And so on. If you absolutely ''must'' have someone treated as a "freak" for laughs or in using someone's "freakishness" to amplify their villainy, either pick something not realistic or among real people and refrain from the pitfalls of FantasyCounterpartCulture while doing so, or, in the case of amplifying villainy, pick something real but that ''does'' have an effect of violence or murder (e.g. serious alcohol abuse with the alcohol abuser becoming a violent drunk, uncontrolled intermittent explosive disorder, a severe and uncontrolled impulse control disorder, or [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malignant_narcissism Malignant Narcissism]] ) as opposed to something that doesn't (e.g. being a punk or metalhead or goth, being autistic or having anxiety or depression, or even having an antisocial personality or LackOfEmpathy but without any drive to violence from it).
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26	* Also for more in depth on TheMentallyDisturbed, if you're going to depict a character as such, do research into the exact illness(es) they have, the ''many'' ways they can be treated (e.g. it's not always "take your pills and get better, don't take them and become a SerialKiller"), and keep in mind that ''most'' mental illnesses do not cause violence to others in and of themselves.
27	** A major pitfall here is the stereotyping and depiction of mental illness as the most severe and all-encompassing. For example, most major unipolar depressives or severe anxiety sufferers can be functional even if untreated[[note]]even if not in specific areas or on specific bad days or when triggered, which is why the illnesses are disabling if those areas relate to working/maintaining income, family relationships, and so on[[/note]], and even with overwhelming disorders like schizophrenia or untreated bipolar 1, there are milder degrees where patients ''aren't'' hallucinating nonstop and entirely divorced from reality and violent or cycling moods every single day or week and acting out on those moods. Something else to keep in mind with the mentally ill is that for many, suicidal or even violent impulses/thoughts are ''resistable'' and most who have them ''do'' resist them and may even seek help to stop having them rather than act on them.
28	** Suicide and suicidal thoughts may be the ultimate act of violence to oneself, but most suicidal people ''aren't'' a risk to anyone other than themselves, unless somehow interrupted mid-suicide ''and'' armed with a lethal weapon like a gun. This is actually one of the worst depictions with [[JustForFun/TelevisionIsTryingToKillUs some of the worst implications possible]]--portraying suicidal people as evil, dangerous, or only capable of being dealt with by professionals encourages people who believe these depictions to abandon them out of fear rather than be what they need most--friends who can watch out for them and discuss their feelings without judgment or the threat of arrest and incarceration.
29	** On the other hand, in depicting suicide, be careful not to ''endorse'' or ''encourage'' it in RealLife. The two most common ways of accidentally making your work suicide-inspiring are including suicide [[UsefulNotes/{{Trigger}} triggers]] such as graphic depiction of suicide or an absolutely unrelentingly dark yet reality-like atmosphere without even the HopeSpot or GallowsHumor without warning for them, and/or invoking the Werther Effect by making suicide or suicidal behavior seem best for all involved/glorious/honorable/sexy or something else that might easily convince someone feeling the same things or at a bad place emotionally that suicide will improve matters.
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31	* Go to the SexualHarassmentAndRapeTropes index. See all of the incredibly misguided at best and horrifically awful ways existing media has depicted rape or dubiously consensual sex. If after this you still wish to include one or more of these in your work, ask yourself why?
32	** Is it for simple cheap fetish thrills? If it is, be honest with yourself that that's what it is, do your ''damnedest'' to make it clear that the story is a fantasy or screwed-up kink that ''should never happen'' in reality, and make use of trigger warnings. Or, better yet, go look at the ways to make it into SafeSaneAndConsensual BDSM as opposed to actual rape.
33	** Is it for a {{Wangst}}y backstory or to make the viewers feel sad for/sorry for someone? Reconsider it. Look up TearJerker and think of ways OTHER than rape, because [[RapeAsBackstory Rape Is the New Dead Parents]]. RapeAsBackstory is overdone, and especially for throwaway angst, there's many other worthy ways it can happen than rape.
34	** Is it for BlackComedy? Then make it as absurd and obviously unrealistic as possible. You are CrossingTheLineTwice, so at least try to make it so obviously absurdly stupid, over the top, and FanDisservice that, while it's a joke, it's a joke at the idea of rape itself and/or at the expense of rapists.[[note]]A couple of good examples of rape as black comedy concept (though your mileage may definitely vary) are Creator/GeorgeCarlin's "Porky Pig and Elmer Fudd" joke--e.g. no real humans involved, and the humor is not in the victim or saying anyone "deserved it" but in the absolute stupid absurdity of the scene itself; and the "how many times can we say rape" RunningGag of ''Manga/DetroitMetalCity'', where the "20 rapes a second!" joke is actually a bit of incisive snark at how lightly "rape" is treated as a concept in HeavyMetal.[[/note]] Use your trigger warnings, and (it should go without saying) be prepared for quite a few people to say "DudeNotFunny". Expect others to be triggered, upset or offended.
35	** Is it for RapePortrayedAsRedemption? Unless you do not care about being called out, censored or sued, avoid using the variant where someone is raped and this makes them "realize" how much they were engaging in risky behaviour, needs to settle down, acting provocatively, etc. Any justification you may come up with will most likely fall flat on its face. Please note that victim-blaming is ''extremely'' likely to offend the audience, and even more so in the context of rape; the only possibly workable exceptions may be the UnreliableNarrator or a highly skillful BlackComedy. The rape or realization thereof being the HeelRealization moment for the ''rapist'' ''may'' be workable, ''as long as the victim is not being blamed by the narrative and the act of rape is not idealized or glorified or somehow sympathetic,'' '''''and''''' ''the victim doesn't exist solely for the redemption of the rapist.''
36	** Is it really intended for RapeAsDrama, with all attendant respect it deserves as a traumatic experience? Then '''[[ShownTheirWork do the research]]'''. Go to RAINN, go to sites for victims, read and listen to interviews with victims so the subject may be treated for what it is as opposed to a lazy angst catalyst.
37	** On the other hand, beware of RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil. Do not treat rape as the epitome of heinousness in a story where other villains commit crimes just as bad or worse, such as genocide, harming or killing children, or ColdBloodedTorture. Rape is disgusting, but presenting it as worse than murdering and torturing thousands of people is just as offensive as trying to justify it. It's all about good measure in the end.
38	** If you are going to have a character rape someone else as a MoralEventHorizon, make sure to present it as such, meaning having the act coming from a character whose LackOfEmpathy and [[ItsAllAboutMe sense of entitlement]] or [[TheUnfettered total amorality]] is otherwise established in all other interactions with your story's character, as opposed to an affinity for paraphilias or lust for example. Rape coming from some random character out of nowhere will just cheapen the heinousness of the act or be seen as plain lazy writing. Like FalseRapeAccusation below, it is never a bad idea to consult with people who work with victims or offenders for a living, as they can give good advice on the mechanics behind why people offend and help you build a realistic, believable characterization for a character who could conceivably rape someone.
39	** {{False Rape Accusation}}s ''are'' a thing, sadly. But this subject is touchy and it demands seasoned writing skills. One of the best way to treat it is to inspire oneself from a RealLife instance that clearly convicted the accuser as a callous liar out for shameless personal gain at somebody else's expense, or someone who was seriously mentally ill and actually believed it happened. The long-lasting effects a FalseRapeAccusation incurs, like how such a behavior just might bar actual victims from being believed shouldn't go unaddressed. And also the long-term effects it has on the accused person's life and ruined reputation if it has been proven beyond the shade of a doubt that they were innocent and the whole thing was a malicious fabrication. In general, it is best to consult with people who work with sexual assault victims for a living and can give advice on how to realistically and respectfully work with this, because if done badly, it can very easily look like a rapist sympathy tract or an incel/MGTOW rage-fest.
40	** A sympathetic pedophile trying to resist urges that they know are horrible and unnatural can be a great and believable source of drama in a story, but the topic should be approached with great care to avoid looking like you are sympathizing with pedophiles as a whole. Beyond consulting with people who work with child sex offenders or non-offending pedophiles, it is generally a good idea to emphasize that their urges are deeply wrong, that they know it, and that they are trying everything in their power to not offend and avoid situations where any sort of temptation could arise. If they ''have'' offended and are facing the consequences, but have taken responsibility, it is still important to maintain the balance of giving them credit for recognizing the gravity of what they have done, while also making it clear that [[MoralEventHorizon they have crossed a line they can never return from]].
41	** Stay away from the NotIfTheyEnjoyedItRationalization, unless it comes from the UnreliableNarrator. Some people are LiteralMinded and just might not get that conscious consent and bodily reactions are two different things.
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43	* Check out the GenderDynamicsIndex for guidance on how to portray gender in your works and keep in mind a few basic things if you want to avoid clichés and stereotypes:
44	** Gender doesn't trump morality. Just because a character is female doesn't make her automatically [[FemalesAreMoreInnocent harmless or kinder than any male]]. Her ladyparts alone don't justify her horrible actions nor do they make it "less bad" than if it was a man who did it. A villainess doesn't have to have a FreudianExcuse--maybe she's just a selfish person who only cares about herself and what she wants, plain and simple. Conversely, a male character isn't necessarily more threatening or perverted than a female.
45	** The men/active--female/passive dichotomy isn't an obligation. Just remember that sticking to it at all times will need to be justified by the plot, else it may pass off as sexist even if you don't mean to be.
46	** Gender does ''not'' define emotional depth. A woman can be TheStoic, for example, and a man can be horrifically traumatized and act believably as such.
47	** Direct physical violence isn't always the fact of men. If you're depicting a physical fight between two women for instance, don't make it a CatFight, unless it's meant to be one. If two women are trying to kill each other, don't sexualize the scene if you want it to be taken seriously.
48	** As a note on the SexualHarassmentAndRapeTropes above, beware of DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale. A woman ''can'' rape a man (objects, coercion, and especially with the advent of date-rape drugs and erection-inducing drugs) and the effects can be just as devastating for a male victim (in the same ways and sometimes in different ways) than for a female victim, ''especially'' if emotional abuse or drugs were the means of the assault (since men "aren't supposed to be" vulnerable to either in most male-dominated societies). Being "hot" is not a valid excuse for rape, either.
49	** Women can also be pedophiles targeting boys or girls - female pedophiles are far more rare than male, but they exist and are also more easily disguised, since a female pedophile will generally target her own children or be a teacher targeting students rather than roaming playgrounds or the internet. The TeacherStudentRomance trope actually ''feeds into'' justifying these pedophiles' RealLife behavior and should be used with ''extreme'' caution if at all unless one wants to deal with trying to prevent the UnfortunateImplications almost inherent in both. Similarly, be very careful around the UsefulNotes/OedipusComplex as that, in RealLife, is often the result of a pedophile female carer (or at least one with improper boundaries) engaging in grooming then victim blaming.
50	** Similarly, don't fall into the trap of justifying stalking or unironically playing it for laughs just because the stalker is female, or alternately, defining innocent behavior as somehow "more" creepy or stalkerish coming from a male than from a female. A woman you don't know breaking into your house and masturbating on your bed is just as creepy, possibly danger-implying behavior as a man doing so, and on the reverse side of the coin, a man asking you out for a cup of coffee or giving you his business card isn't more "scary" or "dangerous" than a woman would be, all other factors being equal.
51	** Don't confuse 'strong female character' with 'a female character who is physically strong'--a 'strong female character' is a female character with a strong ''personality'', who has some inner depth and has an existence outside of being a plot device. If that's satisfied, she can be anything on the spectrum between an extreme badass and a UselessProtagonist with all sorts of {{Phobia}}s, and still be a great and powerful character. There is a fallacy that a one-dimensional ImpossibleGenius ActionGirl is automatically less sexist than a one-dimensional DamselInDistress ScreamingWoman. The truth is that both characters still come off as sexist because they are both the result of writing women as props or ideas rather than people, and both present worrying implications about the expectations the writer has of women. A common example is the character who is written as brilliant to make her a more appealing TokenRomance for the AuthorAvatar male character, so he can look cooler himself by proving himself 'worthy' of her love--usually characters like this will [[FauxActionGirl end up being useless in the final act, so the hero can take care of it, with their abilities and achievements included only for aesthetic colour]].
52	** Women make up roughly 50% of the people on the Earth. Unless you're setting your story in a time or place where the absence of women is justified, it doesn't make sense to make all your minor characters male, with the only women in the entire cast being important characters whose gender is important to the plot. These settings promote the idea that MenAreGenericWomenAreSpecial, which is offensive to everyone (and makes your female characters into glaring [[ChekhovsGun Chekhov's Guns]]).
53	** [[RealWomenDontWearDresses Depicting the more masculine of two women as the more competent one]] isn't progressive--it's still pigeonholing women into a rigid mold that they must comply with or be mocked. If anything it's ''anti''-progressive, since it implies that the only "acceptable" woman is one who acts, for all intents and purposes, exactly like a man.
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55	* Consider who you are putting at the center of the story. Is it reasonable for a MightyWhitey outsider to take leadership and save the day rather than native leaders with lots of experience of solving problems on their own turf? Remember that characters do not necessarily have to be white, male or heterosexual. Every culture has something to share, and having a more variegated cast adds a more diverse outlook on life. And [[LeadYouCanRelateTo main characters]] [[WhiteMaleLead are one of the least likely character types to be members of a minority]], which can send unfortunate implications that the straight white male perspective is the most important or the 'default', so at least consider varying the POV character a little.
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57	* Don't make evil groups or evil characters [[SpaceJews distinctive for an appearance feature that parallels a specific real world race or culture]] and especially do not make them parallel to said culture. Your "aliens" who happen to have hooked noses, wear hats that suspiciously look like yarmulkes, and who are greedy bankers aren't "funny" or "getting crap past the radar", they're a stereotype recycled.
58	** On that note, be ''very'' careful around the SuperiorSpecies trope. If you're going to use it, don't make it parallel to a real-life culture either.
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60	* In general, be careful with FantasticRacism. If you want to portray it as unjustified (which is pretty much inherent in the trope), be careful not to accidentally introduce [[BrokenAesop good in-universe reasons to discriminate against the "victim" species]].
61	** Trying to justify TheMasquerade with "there's no way the different groups would get along", while presenting it as a good/necessary thing to uphold at all costs, ''will'' have racial segregationist undertones and validate the beliefs of real life bigots. If you must have a masquerade, either give it another explanation, or [[DeconstructedTrope explore the problems with this reasoning]].
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63	* For the straight yaoi and yuri fans, keep in mind that real gay and bisexual people exist, and some of them ''are'' also fans of yaoi and yuri as well. This doesn't mean that all of your stories have to have aesops about LGBT rights or be entirely 100% realistic--in fact, going off on an AuthorFilibuster about this or driving your characters out of character to do it is one of the worst mistakes you can make, because it makes you look like a white knight as well as showing off privilege. It does mean that having your characters be unexamined stereotypes of LGBT people will be noticed and taken badly, and it does mean you should understand at least a little beyond what you learn from porn or SlashFic or manga or whatever.
64	** It also means that you need to be well aware of the setting for your LGBT characters. EternalSexualFreedom ''does not exist'', and for this reason certain times and places can be problematic as settings. For example, setting your yaoi fic in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany without it being either a BlackComedy parody or without your seriously considering the implications[[note]]e.g. those LGBT people were put in concentration camps and otherwise murdered unless they were ArmoredClosetGay and in an important position[[/note]] is going to upset a lot of people. Even if you are writing in a far more tolerant subset of an intolerant time or culture[[note]]e.g. the LGBT culture of a CapitalCity in general past the 1960s, GlamRock in the 1970s or VisualKei in the 1980s or UsefulNotes/FurryFandom in the 1990s.[[/note]], you need to recognize that once the characters stepped out of that bubble, they couldn't even have as much as a public display of affection that wasn't "justified" as something else, until AT LEAST the late 1990s or early 2000s.
65	** In combination with the note on rape tropes above: rape and questionable consent are STILL rape and questionable consent (and have the same painful emotional and physical effects) if the rapist and victim are the same sex. And no, this doesn't incur love or a long-standing relationship. A part of the audience may find this deliciously kinky but, in general, romance novels, particularly the BoysLoveGenre, already suffer from the reputation of being low-quality smut so you might want to avert this if you want to be taken seriously as an author. This also applies to YuriGenre - yes, a woman ''can'' be sexually assaulted or raped by another woman, and the result isn't love or an ongoing relationship but fear, trauma and suffering--the same as if she had been raped by a man.
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67	* Acceptable targets won't be seen as such by everyone. No matter how acceptable you believe the target is, you should not be surprised if some of your audience disagrees. At the ''very'' least, expect members of that acceptable target group to be offended.
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69	* Do not apply AlwaysChaoticEvil to ''any'' group of sapient beings--race, ethnicity, nationality, age group, religion, gender, sexuality, species (whether you are writing SpeculativeFiction or not), etc. Ever. Even ideological movements populated by large numbers of true believers, or active conformists, inevitably have a handful of inactive conformists or quiet dissenters. Even ''[[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons the Wehrmacht]]'' had a handful of senior commanders who couldn't have been hung for War Crimes (admittedly among hundreds), and several actively good people were party members. For example, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rabe John Rabe]] helped protect Chinese civilians in [[UsefulNotes/WhyMaoChangedHisName Nanking/Nanjing]] during the UsefulNotes/SecondSinoJapaneseWar, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oskar_Schindler Oskar Schindler]] protected Jews from enslavement, rental, and death during UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust (as depicted in ''Film/SchindlersList''), and [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gert_Fröbe Gert Fröbe]] (who's now known for his postwar acting career in movies like ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'' and ''Film/ChittyChittyBangBang'') also helped Jews escape.
70	** Even when applied to a fictional race, it actually justifies treating groups differently, even if it means mass genocide.
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72	* Be ''very'' careful in regard to children or young teenagers (or childlike looking characters) and how you choose to depict them. The TokenMiniMoe, the Really700YearsOld childlike, and the underage-looking {{Uke}} may be nigh-omnipresent characters especially in {{anime}}, {{manga}}, and VisualNovels, but often these characters are created solely to pander to a [[LoliconAndShotacon specific demographic]], one you may not want your work associated with (or one you may not want associating with your work or yourself). If there is no valid plot or setting reason[[note]]e.g. DeliberateValuesDissonance as applied to mediaeval fantasy[[/note]] for their existence beyond a HandWave created just so they can be there, at least consider the idea of making the character an older teenager or an adult instead, ''especially'' if the character is portrayed as sexually available.
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74	* Avoid tropes like CrazyHomelessPeople and the LowerClassLout unless you really do want to engage the class and social issues of ''why'' ''some'' homeless people are "crazy", and why ''some'' lower class people are prone to criminality and violence. Do not make the mistake of depicting ''all'' homeless people as CrazyHomelessPeople or jokes or people who "just need to get a job", ''et cetera'', or all lower-class people as prone to drunkenness, fighting, and violence. Finally, it's important to consider the conditions that could drive lower-class people to criminality or sex work.
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76	* With respect to sociopolitical issues, absolutely avoid painting exponents of any ideology with a broad brush. Words such as conservative, liberal, democracy, and dictatorship will not mean the same thing to everyone. Two individuals with the same basic politics may still have a lot to disagree about. Also do not assume that two ideologies that seem to be at odds in some issues will be polar opposites in all things. Some conflicting ideologies may have little more than subtle differences. And being pro-something does not necessarily mean being anti-anything else. Pride in one's culture, creed, or ethnic heritage, for example does not necessarily say anything on their view towards other cultures, creeds or ethnicities.
77	** Be conscious of geopolitical and social context for political views as well: if you're writing a historical setting and your characters have certain political or philosophical views, make sure to research into how those views were, well, viewed at the time: same for specific issues like women's emancipation, racism, homophobia etc. Keep in mind the implications of certain views as well: politics definitely doesn't exist in a vacuum, so some ideals or concepts may meet a completely different reception due to social attitudes or recent events. For example, anarchism in the early 20th century had a bad reputation amongst the wider public, especially due to high-profile assassinations by anarchist groups or individuals. While it's not particularly well-favored today, it's less maligned, and also less active on the ground.
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79	* Be careful how you handle religion in your story. Generally avoid using a real-life religion, beyond having characters who ascribe to a religion, if you don't know much about it, especially if it's a religion you disapprove of or if you disapprove of religion altogether. It's best to go to the source and research the religious texts yourselves since, in some cases, some religious teachings or even texts can be interpreted differently. Similar care should be taken if you make [[CrystalDragonJesus a fictional counterpart to a real religion]]. As with sociopolitical issues, do not assume that two ideologies that seem to be at odds in some issues will be polar opposites in all things. If you are trying to promote a particular religion in your story, keep in mind that not everyone in your audience may have the same views as you and handle other beliefs in a respectful manner.
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81	* Be aware of what your characters have in common, not just traits, but their roles in the story, their reactions, and the events that involve them. Be careful not to give the same sort of plots to the same type of characters; if you do it often enough, it creates the impression that those events and reactions are inherent to that ''type'' of character, not to the character as a developed individual. For a short example, if a large number of your female characters have episodes of [[HystericalWoman irrational, inconsolable panic]], but your male characters don't, it leads to the impression that in your work, women are just naturally irrational. If your LGBT characters all [[BuryYourGays die]], and especially of AIDS or kinky sex accidents or in a particularly spiteful way for the work, it leads to the impression that you're expressing hatred toward real LGBT people. If all your religious characters are portrayed as naive, regressive and/or fanatical while your non-religious characters aren't, and especially if religious beliefs get aggressively refuted [[OutgrownSuchSillySuperstitions or disparaged]] within the work itself, it leads to the impression that you're expressing hatred toward real religious people (the reverse is true regarding non-religious people). Consistent, repeated depictions can look like endorsements.
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83	* Do be aware that the attempt to avoid ''some'' UnfortunateImplications can create ''others'', and occasionally worse ones. For example, if you aren't careful picking a victim character to avoid BlackDudeDiesFirst or DisposableWoman or BuryYourGays, you can end up with one of the ones you ''didn't'' pick if that applies. Trying too severely to avoid the UnfortunateImplications in GetBackInTheCloset and HideYourLesbians and similar tropes can backfire into AllGaysArePromiscuous, and vice versa. Misogynist or sexist toward women unfortunate implications are a huge minefield for this--carelessly trying to avert them without an idea of why they are problematic can make a work seem misandrist and applying {{Double Standard}}s--with racial implications being similar (e.g. having the white guy do the UncleTomfoolery in a case of PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy doesn't instantly make it not-racist).
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85	* Have multiple, varied examples of any given minority. [[WesternAnimation/{{Pocahontas}} If you must make the tribe chief bigoted and aggressive, make his daughter compassionate and open-minded.]] If your female protagonist is a proud warrior who's never picked up a saucepan in her life, place her alongside a [[TomboyAndGirlyGirl peer]] or [[FeminineMotherTomboyishDaughter authority figure]] who's typically, confidently feminine--and whose personal agency ''doesn't'' [[RealWomenDontWearDresses suffer]] for it. Increasing the emotional diversity of whatever group you're focusing on is the easiest way to avoid stereotyping--and create new plot opportunities, as well.
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87	* There will always be racist people out there [[MisaimedFandom that try to use your work to confirm their (often unfairly biased) beliefs]]. As a writer, you can try to make clear that they are clearly part of the MisaimedFandom. If you for instance write about a black character (and aren't black yourself), it is a good thing to look at sites like [[http://midnightbreakfast.com/writing-people-of-color this one]] to see how NOT to write a black character.
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89	* Be careful using historical or history-influenced fantasy settings to justify bigotry:
90	** There are definitely examples of works set in TheDungAges-based fantasy worlds which use the misogyny and racism of their settings to skewer the way these operate in the real world, but there are also definitely examples of these sorts of stories which use oppression as superficial window-dressing [[DarkerAndEdgier to indicate that it's 'gritty']] (or even as titillation).
91	** If you're going to use historical bigotry, have some idea how bigotry actually operated in those times and places. See the second bullet about that point. Not everyone at a less tolerant period of time was overtly, proudly hateful. Not everyone in the South in the 1960s was proudly and openly hateful of black people, not everyone in a high school in the 80s was a violent homophobe, and not everyone in a frat in the 2000s was a drunken, drug-addled, over-privileged rapist who viewed every woman as a hole to fuck. Casual, unthinking ignorance from people who didn't mean any ill will and may not have been able to understand why it wasn't okay was far more common in many contexts, and if you are writing a period piece that includes expressions of bigotry that were common to the era in question, making them invariably be the most extreme and virulent examples is lazy and unrealistic writing.
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93	* Portraying disability is ''not'' easy--even if the portrayal of the disability is [[ShownTheirWork heavily researched]], even based off of [[WriteWhatYouKnow your own experiences as a disabled person]], it's ''not'' a universal experience for everyone.
94	** Most notably, these are actual ''people''--they have their own thoughts, needs, desires, personalities, like literally everyone else. Many disabled people have grown up [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman being seen as "Broken" and patronised like children]] when [[DoYouThinkICantFeel they do in fact have feelings]].
95	** For portraying neurodivergence, you cannot just look at a list of common symptoms and apply that to your character. People with experience such as therapists, psychiatrists, advocates, and even the people themselves can tell you just how ''different'' neurodivergent people are from one another--not just "Neurotypical" people. It isn't uncommon for a highly researched and "accurate" portrayal of something such as say, UsefulNotes/BipolarDisorder to be met with someone with Bipolar Disorder to say "That's nothing ''like'' me..."
96	** The idea of "Curing" a disability can be very appealing, but it easily can be viewed as "Erasure" or even genocide by others. For some people who are disabled, having something that is inherently tied to who they are treated as a "condition to be cured" or compared to a "Disease" can be seen as insensitive. Many of them want to be treated as a person--not for their condition. At the bare minimum, if you have a character seek out a cure, try to emphasize specific quality-of-life concerns rather than a desire to be normal for the sake of being normal.
97	*** Even if the disability is something that causes suffering by its very nature, and that many people really would rather be rid of (depression, chronic pain etc), this still often comes across as disheartening to audience members with those conditions because they don't have the option of a miracle cure, which the narrative tells them is the only way to have a decently worthwhile life or contribute anything to the world.
98	*** If your world has advanced technology or magic that can be used to get around some disabilities, and your character is the type who wouldn't turn it down (eg. they're a soldier who loses an arm but still wants to fight for their cause, so they get a high-tech prosthesis), be careful not to have it essentially erase the disability. Think of the issues they'll probably still have - the soldier may have an awesome cybernetic limb, but they'll also have to learn to use it, frequently maintain, clean and possibly charge it, and it's likely they'll sometimes have it break on them during fights. They may experience discomfort from using it too long, and/or have to deal with a phantom limb sensation/lingering mental trauma from the incident. In short, don't make fantastic assistance devices or treatments [[ResetButton reset buttons]].
99	** A story about someone overcoming adversity (be it linked to a disability or not) is a classic story. However, sometimes the message of "You can too" can easily turn into "If ''they'' can do it, why can't ''you''?" They struggle too in different ways, and seeing stories that portray ''only'' disabled people as experiencing adversity often downplays them, suggesting that "Non-disabled" people aren't allowed to have any kind of adversity.
100	** Similarly, disabilities are not there to be used for inspiration porn, and poorly written examples of disabled people transcending hurdles and/or becoming successful with savant abilities ''will'' be seen as InspirationallyDisadvantaged. The reality is that disabilities absolutely can vastly reduce one's quality of life, and plenty of people with them may never lead independent lives or will have to fight tooth and nail just to get by. While you do not want to send the message that people with disabilities are to be pitied and babied, you also do not want to patronize people with disabilities or invalidate their struggles by only focusing on the uplifting and wholesome side and not acknowledging that being disabled often sucks.
101	** When attempting to avoid idealising disability and disabled people, it can be all too easy to accidentally demonise them instead by going overboard with tropes like DisabilityAsAnExcuseForJerkassery and EvilCripple. While it's true that disabled people aren't inherently sweet and innocent, being as diverse in terms of personality and morality as anyone else, using these tropes clumsily increases stigma by equating disability with moral inferiority. Autistics, for example, are often stereotyped as [[LackOfEmpathy cold and callous]]. And the "faking it for special treatment" version can be particularly problematic, because many people with legitimate disabilities get accused of this.
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103	* Deconstructing a genre typically aimed at an underprivileged group as a power fantasy? Be ''extremely'' careful - many [[MagicalGirlGenreDeconstruction magical girl genre deconstructions]], for example, get accused of sexism for taking something that empowers girls and tearing it down. Yes you can explore the struggles and trauma your AmazonBrigade or [[IdolSinger idol singers]] would realistically face, but don't reduce them to downtrodden victims - show how they cope with their issues and maintain as much agency as possible in a harsh world. And whatever you do, don't go DarkerAndEdgier just for the sake of it, because this can come across as exploiting suffering minorities for torture porn. Alternately, if you want to explore such a genre in depth, try doing a {{Reconstruction}} as this would keep the WishFulfillment aspect.
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105	* If a villain's motivation is related to matters of social justice (such as a victim of wanton discrimination who wants more out of life than their oppressors think they deserve), don't just have the heroes shut them down and call it a happy ending. Even if said villain doesn't care one bit about harming innocent bystanders, the audience is going to pick up on the fact that there is a legitimate injustice underneath their villainy. Insinuating that they're [[InformedWrongness in the wrong for wanting to correct said injustice]] is going to leave a bad taste in many people's mouths (and likely have them RootingForTheEmpire), especially if the audience doesn't see anyone other than the villain doing anything about it, or if the circumstances are such that a peaceful resolution to the injustice in question seems unlikely. Consider having the heroes take up the cause themselves, or guide the villain to an alternate strategy with less risk of collateral damage.
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107	* And finally, the most important of all: '''''LISTEN AND ADMIT WHEN YOU MAKE MISTAKES AND TRY TO DO BETTER.''''' We aren't perfect and have our own biases, whether or not we are willing to admit it at the time or even recognize that bias. When hearing criticism it is tempting to either lash back at the critics or ignore it. But ignoring legitimate criticism is a good way to ensure that the Unfortunate Implication will repeat in your other works. Not only is this hurtful, it prevents you from growing as a creator.

Context SoYouWantTo / AvoidUnfortunateImplications