When we write stories, and when we publish them, we are legitimizing the experiences of the people within the texts. We are telling the stories of cultures, and of humanity – but when there is no difference, the text becomes problematic instead of an illustration of human difference. Over and over and over again, “human” becomes very narrowly defined – “humans” become those who are white, who are straight, who are upper-middle class, who are able-bodied, who are cis. How are children supposed to learn to appreciate difference if they hardly recognize that it exists?
Furthermore, when we ask children of color and children of other diverse groups to always be sympathetic to the plights and existences of children of this very narrow population, we are denying them a certain level of personhood. What does it mean if their story is never told? Is it not worth telling? Is it less important? Are they less important?