In the wee hours of a recent night, I had a dream that I think will lend itself to a cute short story. The story was from the POV of a white trans woman, which is no marvel since that’s what I am. But one of the other persons in this dream was a man of color. Should I keep this detail intact as I write?

I ask because of various reasons. First, there is the concept of “nothing about us without us.” Creators of various media are cautioned, if not forbidden, from including characters that are from cultures other than one’s own. But at the same time, white authors come under fire if their casts are too white.

Second, there is the relationship that evolves over the course of this dream plot. From the people I’ve known, I’ve encountered widely differing ideas regarding relationships and race as well as gender. It seems that there could be taboos that are not to be ignored … except when there aren’t. What are the borders? Talking to people and researching reveals completely conflicting answers.

In some ways, the races of the characters as they occurred in my dream didn’t seem to affect the direction of the story in any way. But at the same time, I know how frustrated I get when I see a dearth of trans or gender-expansive characters in media. With that in mind, it could be important to let races as I dreamed them stand. But if I do that, I violate the “nothing about us without us” idea.