I Want To Be a Princess Too: Representation in Children’s Entertainment

Next Sunday is my daughter, Zanai’s 6th birthday. Every year I let her take a birthday photo shoot based on the theme of her party. This year I chose to take her to Disney world for her birthday, so her pictures are a Disney theme. As I started to plan her photo shoot, I asked her which Disney princess she wanted to be. After thinking for a while she said “Princess Jasmine. We are the same color, right?” I replied “yes, baby.” This was one of the many moments which showed me my daughter is paying attention and processing how the characters on the big screen look in comparison to herself.

I had a similar experience with her about two years ago. We were in the middle of watching Frozen for the umpteenth time, when she went to grabbed a towel and put it on her head as if it was a wig. She walked over to me and said “look mommy, now my hair is long and straight like Elsa’s.” Then she followed up with the question “why is my hair puffy and Elsa’s hair hangs?” The innocence in her question made me pause for a second. I took the towel off her head as I explained to her that people have different types of hair. Whether your hair is puffy, curly, straight, long or short anyone can be a princess. It’s how you treat people and what’s inside that makes you a princess.

These moments show me that it is important for our young boys and girls to be represented in the entertainment they consume. Seeing characters that look like them gives them a sense of hope and aspirations that one day they too can be a princess like Tiana, superhero like Black Panther or doctor like Doc McStuffins. Self-esteem builds from early and positive representation in children’s media allows them to associate themselves and people who look like them with positive thoughts. If they are continuously bombarded with massive positive media and images of people they can’t physically relate to, then subconsciously they will start to dislike themselves.

Back in 2011, I remember watching the documentary called “Dark Skin,” which aired on the Own Network. There was a particular scene in the documentary where a psychologist was sitting with a black little girl that was probably around 5 years old. The psychologist held a card in her hand that had images of the same animated character, but with different skin tones that ranged from very dark to very light. She asked the little girl a series of questions about the images on the card. The little girl associated all of the negative questions with the black character and all the positive questions with the white character. This was so sad to me because the little girl was dark skinned, which lead me to wonder how she felt about herself? This way of thinking is something that is taught. Believe it or not, the media has great influence on our children and this is how self-esteem issues start.

Over the last few years more minorities started to be represented in cartoons, books and among toys. While there have been improvements, we still have a long way to go before our children can see more representation of themselves in their entertainment. You would think the media would reflect the audience in which it entertains, but if you look at the diversity of the US population verses the diversity in children’s entertainment; you will see a big disparity. Take a look at the below picture which shows 21 of the most popular Disney princesses. Do you think they are a proportionate representation of how America looks? There are only 5 princesses of color out of 21. We need more characters that accurately reflect the diversity in our population. Our daughters should be able to look at this picture and see more than one princess that resembles them.

At the progression rate the media is going, it will be a while before they proportionately and positively represent our children. Unfortunately, I do not have time to wait because I am raising my daughter right now. Instead I take matters into my own hands by regulating what she watches, reads and the toys I buy her. Most of her entertainment reflects positive images of black people. Not only do I teach her to love and appreciate herself, but I also teach her how to love and appreciate others. I do this by including entertainment that relates to other cultures. If you look in Zanai’s room you may find a Latino doll, a book about the Chinese New Year or even a DVD about the significance of the Holi festival. The media can be very exclusive, so I do my best to make sure her entertainment is inclusive.

Children absorb everything they watch. The media does not do a great job at creating content for children that represent the diversity of the world around them. Minorities are only represented in a handful of children’s entertainment, which makes it difficult for them to see where they fit in society. Not only is it important for them to see representation of themselves but it’s equally important for them to see positive representation of themselves. Frequently seeing positive images of people who look like them help them formulate positive opinions about themselves and their people. If the media is not doing its job to be inclusive of all races, it is up to us as parents to diversify what we expose our children to. It is also up to us to fill the void by creating our own content and encouraging our children to do the same. Right now, Zanai and I are working on creating her own storybook. Sometimes change starts with you.

Below are sources for different forms of children’s entertainment that includes positive black characters. If you know of any good content that’s not included please share in the comments. You are free to share content about other ethnic groups as well.

African American Literature Book Club

https://aalbc.com/books/children.php

Black Comic Books

Malice in Ovenland by Micheline Hess

Nowhere Man, GWAN Anthology by Jerome Walford

New Kid by Jerry Craft

Mama’s Boy by Jerry Craft

N. Steven Harris by Watson & Holmes, Ajala

Wash Day by Robyn Smith

Toys for Black Boys

https://binoandfino.com/blog/2015/6/12/soft-toys-action-figures-for-black-boys

Plush Dolls

https://www.uzurikidkidz.com/