I had written a short story in which there was a girlfriend of a white character who was black. She's smart, and although she uses some black English for the most part, she's very well-spoken. But my agent suggested that I change this person to a white character,. And they rejected it. We would never know whether or not it was rejected, because I was culturally appropriating, or the story just sucked. In some ways, I have some protection, just because I have been, as you said, so disingenuous.