--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Readers need to stop assuming characters…" description: "\"Readers need to stop assuming characters are white if race isn't explicitly defined.\" — Roxane Gay" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/roxane-gay-520_assuming_readers-need-to-stop-assuming-characters_2415135.png" --- # Readers need to stop assuming characters are white if race… ![“Readers need to stop assuming characters are white if race isn't explicitly defined.” quote by Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/roxane-gay-520_assuming_readers-need-to-stop-assuming-characters_2415135.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/roxane-gay-520_assuming_readers-need-to-stop-assuming-characters_2415135.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/roxane-gay-520_assuming_readers-need-to-stop-assuming-characters_2415135.png) > “Readers need to stop assuming characters are white if race isn't explicitly defined.” [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Assuming characters are white by default erases diversity and reinforces bias. **In simple terms:** Avoid defaulting to white assumptions. Key Takeaway Challenge assumptions about character race. Themes representation bias diversity Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical educational When to use this quote - writing - casting - media analysis - education Key Concepts critical theory intersectionality Questions to Reflect On - How does your own perspective shape character perception? - What steps can creators take to avoid default bias? A Different Perspective Assumptions may be based on limited context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assuming/) [Assuming Characters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assuming-characters-6093061/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Characters White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/characters-white-478699/) [Defined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defined/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Race Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race-isn-756100/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Stop Assuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stop-assuming-837830/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-race/) ## Related quotes > [When your characters are not white hats or black hats but something in between, you do have to be very careful about your details.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-levin/when-your-characters-are-not-white-hats-or-black-hats-but-something/) [Victor Levin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-levin/) > [ One of the ways \[racism\] pops up is when they turn a comic into a live-action movie and there's this temptation to make Asian… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-luen-yang/one-of-the-ways-racism-pops-up-is-when-they-turn-a-comic-into-a-live/) [Gene Luen Yang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-luen-yang/) > [I'm just trying to get rid of all the mystery surrounding me and let people see what I'm thinking. So they can understand me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliana-hatfield/i-m-just-trying-to-get-rid-of-all-the-mystery-surrounding-me-and-let/) [Juliana Hatfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliana-hatfield/) > [The truth is a lot easier to see when you stop assuming you already have it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-norton/the-truth-is-a-lot-easier-to-see-when-you-stop-assuming-you-already/) [Mike Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-norton/) > [I was very conscious of race as I was writing. I was lucky to have spent real time in Portuguese Africa, but I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-weisman/i-was-very-conscious-of-race-as-i-was-writing-i-was-lucky-to-have/) [Jon Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-weisman/) > [“When you assume you make a you-know-what out of U and me. Yep, so let's stop assuming so much. We are often quick to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-leonhardt/when-you-assume-you-make-a-you-know-what-out-of-u-and-me-yep-so-let-s/) [David Leonhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-leonhardt/) > [Lots of times when you watch anime, the characters all have white skin - all the characters in fantasy stories all have white skin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shinichiro-watanabe/lots-of-times-when-you-watch-anime-the-characters-all-have-white-skin/) [Shinichiro Watanabe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shinichiro-watanabe/) > [We'd all be alot happier if we'd stop assuming we're supposed to be happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garrison-keillor/we-d-all-be-alot-happier-if-we-d-stop-assuming-we-re-supposed-to-be/) [Garrison Keillor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garrison-keillor/) > [To me the industry has always said that the lovers and haters and principal characters will always be white in Hollywood, and black people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haile-gerima/to-me-the-industry-has-always-said-that-the-lovers-and-haters-and/) [Haile Gerima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haile-gerima/) > [First of all, all fear is 99% assumption-based. In fact, almost ALL worries in life would disappear if we just stop assuming things. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hrithik-roshan/first-of-all-all-fear-is-99-assumption-based-in-fact-almost-all/) [Hrithik Roshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hrithik-roshan/) > [One of the things I'm concerned about is that I really want to make sure the races of all the characters are kept. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/one-of-the-things-i-m-concerned-about-is-that-i-really-want-to-make/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [If more women are in leadership roles, we'll stop assuming they shouldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/if-more-women-are-in-leadership-roles-we-ll-stop-assuming-they/) [Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/) > [We must stop assuming that a thing which has never been done before probably cannot be done at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-m-nelson/we-must-stop-assuming-that-a-thing-which-has-never-been-done-before/) [Donald M. Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-m-nelson/) > [When I go to the movies, I'm expected to identify with all of the characters, and most of them are white. But when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-james-marshall/when-i-go-to-the-movies-i-m-expected-to-identify-with-all-of-the/) [Kerry James Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-james-marshall/) > [I had been thinking for a while about how bored and tired I was of playing straight-down-the-middle everymanish characters that have what I call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-long/i-had-been-thinking-for-a-while-about-how-bored-and-tired-i-was-of/) [Justin Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-long/) ## More by Roxane Gay > [“Human endurance fascinates me, probably too much because more often than not, I think of life in terms of enduring instead of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/human-endurance-fascinates-me-probably-too-much-because-more-often/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Being useful was a balm.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/being-useful-was-a-balm/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [No woman or man is any one thing and the men in my stories, well, some of them are good and some of them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/no-woman-or-man-is-any-one-thing-and-the-men-in-my-stories-well-some/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I was a daydreamer and I resented being pulled out of my daydreams to deal with the business of living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-was-a-daydreamer-and-i-resented-being-pulled-out-of-my-daydreams-to/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Feminism is, I hope, a way to a better future for everyone who inhabits this world. Feminism should not be something that needs a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/feminism-is-i-hope-a-way-to-a-better-future-for-everyone-who-inhabits/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Fiction offers escape but it also interrogates the world we live in, whether the past, present or future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/fiction-offers-escape-but-it-also-interrogates-the-world-we-live-in/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I've noticed while cooking, how ingredients in their individual and naked state and be a bit repulsive but necessary, kind of like people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-ve-noticed-while-cooking-how-ingredients-in-their-individual-and/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I shouted, “This is not right,” knowing my words were useless. There’s no room for such distinctions in a country where too many people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-shouted-this-is-not-right-knowing-my-words-were-useless-there-s-no/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Most of my favorite tweets go completely ignored but most of my favorite tweets are probably really lame or inside jokes between me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/most-of-my-favorite-tweets-go-completely-ignored-but-most-of-my/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“What about other women of color? For Hispanic and Latina women, Indian women, Middle Eastern women, Asian women, their absence in popular culture is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/what-about-other-women-of-color-for-hispanic-and-latina-women-indian/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [There has been, and there will continue to be, vigorous discussions about race in America. I worry that little will come of these discussions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/there-has-been-and-there-will-continue-to-be-vigorous-discussions/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [Writing, at its best and truest, can offer solace and salvation for both readers and writers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/writing-at-its-best-and-truest-can-offer-solace-and-salvation-for/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“I knew I was in love with The Hunger Games when I did not want to get off the treadmill”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/i-knew-i-was-in-love-with-the-hunger-games-when-i-did-not-want-to-get/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Just because you survive something does not mean you are strong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/just-because-you-survive-something-does-not-mean-you-are-strong/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) > [“Celebrities understand the economy of thinness, and most of them are willing to participate in that economy, taking to social media, where they pose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/celebrities-understand-the-economy-of-thinness-and-most-of-them-are/) [Roxane Gay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) [Explore all 503 Roxane Gay quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/) ## More Assuming quotes > [Some books are not read in the right way because they have skipped a stage of opinion, assume a crystallization of information in society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doris-lessing/some-books-are-not-read-in-the-right-way-because-they-have-skipped-a/) [Doris Lessing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doris-lessing/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) [James T. Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-conway/) > [Everyone assumes writers spend their time lounging around, writing and occasionally striking a pose whilst having a think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-sheridan/everyone-assumes-writers-spend-their-time-lounging-around-writing-and/) [Sara Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-sheridan/) > [Islam never differentiates between men and women as regards political rights and puts them on an equal footing. However, even if a woman is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yusuf-al-qaradawi/islam-never-differentiates-between-men-and-women-as-regards-political/) [Yusuf al-Qaradawi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yusuf-al-qaradawi/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Assuming normal winter weather, we currently anticipate the coal markets to remain difficult through 2015; while we always strive to operate a full capacity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-craft/assuming-normal-winter-weather-we-currently-anticipate-the-coal/) [Joe Craft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-craft/) > [A state of mind is something that one assumes. It cannot be purchased, it must be created.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/a-state-of-mind-is-something-that-one-assumes-it-cannot-be-purchased/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [One must believe that every living thing whatsoever must change insensibly in its organization and in its form... One must therefore never expect to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baptiste-lamarck/one-must-believe-that-every-living-thing-whatsoever-must-change/) [Jean-Baptiste Lamarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baptiste-lamarck/) > [I think the biggest problem working with me would be that I'm an only child, and so I have an internal dialogue that goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-think-the-biggest-problem-working-with-me-would-be-that-i-m-an-only/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [It is worth noticing that those who assume an imposing demeanor and seek to pass themselves off for something beyond what they are, are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/it-is-worth-noticing-that-those-who-assume-an-imposing-demeanor-and/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [People just assume that if you're famous, you're in Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/people-just-assume-that-if-you-re-famous-you-re-in-hollywood/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [The behavior of any bureaucratic organization can best be understood by assuming that it is controlled by a secret cabal of its enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-conquest/the-behavior-of-any-bureaucratic-organization-can-best-be-understood/) [Robert Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-conquest/) > [Humans suffer from self-centred notions as to the nature of life. 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Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) [Browse all 2,452 Assuming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assuming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Readers need to stop assuming characters are white if race isn't explicitly defined.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Roxane Gay" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/readers-need-to-stop-assuming-characters-are-white-if-race-isn-t/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Assuming" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/readers-need-to-stop-assuming-characters-are-white-if-race-isn-t/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/roxane-gay-520_assuming_readers-need-to-stop-assuming-characters_2415135.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/roxane-gay-520_assuming_readers-need-to-stop-assuming-characters_2415135.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6a1/roxane-gay-520_assuming_readers-need-to-stop-assuming-characters_2415135.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Readers need to stop assuming characters are white if race isn't explicitly defined.” — Roxane Gay", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Roxane Gay", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roxane-gay/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Readers need to stop assuming characters...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/readers-need-to-stop-assuming-characters-are-white-if-race-isn-t/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxane-gay/readers-need-to-stop-assuming-characters-are-white-if-race-isn-t/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```