Representation

I think that it's safe to assume that everyone wants to see themselves represented, whether it be in books, movies, or media in general. Sometimes though, some people don't get to grow up with character that are similar to them.  For most little girls, some of their biggest idols are Disney princesses, and as a little girl my favorite princess was Jasmine. However, I liked her not because she was brave or because she wanted to be independent, but because she was the only princess who looked like me. And as much as I want to say that I feel more represented in media now, I can't do so 100% truthfully. While, yes I do see many more Indian characters on television today, they always seem to stand out in a way that I hope I never do. For most of these characters, rather than feeling like a character similar to the rest of the cast, minority characters always seem distinguished by the fact that they are in a minority. It seems as if everything they say and every decision they take happens because of the fact that they are a part of that minority group and that the only thing they have going for their charecter. And more often than not, they are fit into they typical stereotypes as well. Because of this I related to what Nancy Mairs was saying about representation. I agree that It is important to keep in mind that when we do represent multiple groups in media, as we increasingly should, we should also remember to make them normalized. This is something I think that today's media is getting much better at. In ads nowadays, where multiple people are being asked about there opinions, I see people from multiple minorities just slipped in, and the fact that they are in a minority just isn't that big of a deal.