Diversity Horror

“You want many things, you are full of want, carved out of it, made from it, yes. But the truth does not care about what you want; the truth is what it is. It is not moved by want, it is not a blade of grass to be bent by the wind of your hopes and desires.”
― Akwaeke Emezi, Pet

“The first step to seeing is seeing that there are things you do not see, it said. Jam paused and frowned. I don’t understand. The creature sighed and rustled its fur a little. If you do not know there are things you do not see, it said, then you will not see them because you do not expect them to be there. You think you see everything, so you think everything you see is all there is to be seen.”
― Akwaeke Emezi, Pet

“I was twelve when I told my parents that I would much rather find a princess than a prince. They had gone into a state of panic, from which they emerged with a renewed sense of determination. They told me that in order to survive I would have to hide how I felt. I was never very good at it, and the weight of that mask grows heavier with each passing year. I want nothing more than to cast it aside.”
― Kalynn Bayron, Cinderella Is Dead

“Every family has a myth for the young to inherit–an undocumented fable passed between mouths, a grave illness to be contracted–as if the very words were a blight to infect the youth with and let them know they’re now welcome to the fold.”
― Eric LaRocca, Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke