Armchair BEA is the experience for book bloggers to participate in Book Expo America (BEA) from the comfort of their homes. This experience is created lovingly by book bloggers specifically for our peers who for whatever reason are not able to participate in the main conference in Chicago. We bring publishers, authors, and bloggers together in celebrating our love for all things literary by hosting celebrations such as sneak peeks, daily discussion topics, and sponsored giveaways.

If you would like to know more, please visit http://www.armchairbea.com/p/faq.html

Today as part of Day 1 #ArmchairBEA we are talking about Diversity in Books
Two areas that I’ve noticed either lacking or tend toward the negative/stereotypical in books and in society, as well, are abuse and what limited characters appear in literature as Left-handed or southpaws. Traditional superstition held that being left-handed was a sign of evil tendencies and in many cases, people still perpetuate that in art and literature today. Life, in general, is not friendly to left-handers either as we are a minority and most devices are designed to be utilized with the right hand which makes them difficult if not impossible to manage if you are not either right-handed or ambidextrous. In literature and art, most characters if they mention dominant hands at all are right-handed or they are portrayed as villains if they are left-handed.

Abuse is a prevalent societal issue in many places around the world these days in many forms, however, victims are generally blamed both by abusers and the authorities one would expect should be there to assist them. It is rarely seen in fiction partially because of the stigmas associated with speaking out and partially, I believe, because fiction is seen as entertainment and a form of escape so there are many readers who think realism doesn’t belong in that realm.

Are you at BEA this year? Chime in with comments about your experience at the conference. Are you participating in #ArmchairBEA? Please join in the discussion by posting a link to your post(s) for today and/or respond to what I’ve shared in the comments.

Related Posts