I wrote a blog post back in 2019 about why we need Diabetic characters in fiction, it is my most read post. I still get people messaging me about it five years later. I wrote that post because it felt like it was really important to talk about.
To quote that post, "Another reason lesser represented conditions need to be is exactly why people want representation in other ways, so that people can see themselves reflected in a character, a hero. There are children's books with diabetic characters, because they are about being diagnosed and being okay with it. And that's great and all, but what about when those little kids grow up into teenagers and young adults and no longer see themselves accurately represented in books or movies, or represented at all?. . . we need diabetic characters in fiction is because a lot of people don't know the difference between Type 1 and 2 diabetes, and gestational diabetes, and pre diabetes. And through books, we could educate people on the differences between these two very severe, very common diseases. Because chances are, you know a diabetic."
I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in April of 2010. Today, I've spent well over half my life with diabetes. And when I wrote that post, I realized I'd never read a diabetic in fiction.
Let's talk about why there aren't diabetic characters in fiction and why you should include one in your story.
*Like in my first post, this will focus on Type 1 Diabetes, not Type 2. While these two conditions are similar, I don't know as much about type 2 and don't feel good about giving advice on writing type 2 characters. The average person tends to know more about type 2 than type 1 anyways, so we'll focus on type 1 here.
Five years later, and I've still never read a book with a type 1 character.
There are books out there, but most are middle grade, and few are fiction. The problem is even if we are often diagnosed as kids, we grow up. And we don't stop wanting to see ourselves represented in fiction.
I want to be the someone who writes that epic fantasy with a diabetic main character someday. I want there to be stories like that out there. The overwhelming majority of disabled characters in fantasy are blind, or deaf, or amputees. Those are the norm in fantasy, rarely do we have chronically ill.
From a writer standpoint I get it, it's easier to write these things than it is to research a chronic illness we don't know anything about. But the opportunities writers are missing by not using a wider variety of health issues is crazy. It's overlooked until we want our main character to lose their hand in a fight, or lose their eyesight. I can think of so many stories where these things happen. Both fiction and non-fiction.
In my original post I shared this quote from Susan Nussbaum's article on the Huffington post that I think says it all. It says, "Disabled characters are written into stories for one reason: the disability. Do most people actually believe real disabled people spend our days obsessing about being cured? Or rhapsodizing about killing ourselves? Here is the truth: Disabled people barely ever even think about our disabilities. When we do think about them, it’s usually because we are dealing with an oppressive, systemic problem, such as employment discrimination. Can’t there ever be a disabled character in a book or film just because? Where the topic doesn’t ever come up? All sorts of interesting stories can be written about a disabled character, without the disability ever being mentioned. You know, just like real people."
So why aren't there diabetic characters? Here's my theory.
I think not enough people understand diabetes or don't realize they know a diabetic. 15 in 100,000 people are type 1 diabetic, and it's becoming more and more common.
I also think writers don't know how to incorporate diseases like diabetes into their story.
This second one is even a problem for me. I've brainstormed stories with diabetics, and they always end up being about diabetes, not about a character who happens to have diabetes. I know so well how many cool moments I could write in an epic fantasy with a diabetic character having their health get in the way, and yet struggle to put one into a story.
But the same things are true for other medical issues characters stumble into. I don't know what it's like to be an amputee, or to be blind, yet I have characters who deal with both. I don't know what it's like to be royalty, or to fight with swords, yet the not knowing doesn't hold us writers back. We research and write and re-write and learn.
Why should you write a diabetic character?
The amount of drama and complications it could add are endless. Maybe they don't know they have diabetes yet. Maybe they pass out at an important moment. Maybe their insulin pump breaks, or they run out of insulin. Maybe their insulin pump's alarm goes off and blows their cover. Maybe their blood sugar is low and their hands are shaking too badly for them to complete a complicated task. Maybe they have a diabetes related complication and have to be hospitalized.
Giving a character a medical condition adds another layer to the story. Are you worried about not having enough going on in your story to carry you through the middle? Is one character not complex enough? Do any of your characters struggle with any medical issues? Most of us do, and most of us know a lot of people who do.
Within my immediate family, I have diabetes, my sister has an allergy to the cold (it's a real thing, google it), my mom has a thyroid condition and a million food allergies, and my dad has lupus. If you're striving to make your world feel more real, adding medical issues is extremely realistic.
If you haven't, check out my earlier post about diabetes in fiction, and if you're interested in writing a Type 1 Diabetic character I'd love to answer any questions you have!
Do you have a character who has a lesser represented illness? I'd love to hear about the unique stories you are writing!
Much love,
Thane
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