This is a response to Pop Culture Needs More Plus Size Protagonists.

Presented within many media related sources, there is one component that always seems to be missing: representation.

In tv shows and movies, there are rarely any characters that represent people of color, different sexual orientations, or people with other body types. The typical representation that is seen in the media are characters that are society’s ideal image. They show animated characters as skinny for female characters and muscular for males, and these characters are usually heterosexual and white.

Let’s take Disney as an example. Disney princesses, or just any Disney female shown in general, were always portrayed as skinny. I have seen multiple TikTok videos of individuals converting Disney princesses into a more curvier body to see what they would look like if they weren’t as skinny as they are shown in the movies. Disney should take note and start showing more diverse bodies.

Now with the race of Disney princesses, it wasn’t until 1992 when Disney released the movie Aladdin with the first ever poc character being Jasmine. In total, there are only 5 poc princesses— Jasmine, Mulan, Pocahontas, Moana, and Tiana, while there are 7 white princesses with many more white characters than poc ones.

Usually if any people of color are being represented, it is typically in a way that presents them with racial stereotypes that are formed around the character. A movie that incorporates this is the 1953 film Peter Pan. At the time, this portrayal wasn’t seen as controversial and seemed completely normal. One of the characters Tiger Lily and her tribe were referred to as “redskins” since they are Native American. As well as the name calling, the dancing in headdresses by Peter and the Lost Boys mocked and appropriated the Native peoples’ culture and imagery.

Moving into a more positive light, a recent special that came out on December 15th 2022 was ABC’s Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration. Featured in the 30th celebration of the original movie Beauty and the Beast, was musician H.E.R who played Belle. Not only was she black playing a white character, but Gaston, LeFou, Cogsworth, Maurice, and Chip were played by non white actors as well. Actor Joshua Henry posted a stitch on TikTok where he reacted to a young black boy who was watching him as Gaston. In the video, Henry was so happy to see the child react with such positivity he cried happy tears.

Disney's 2021 film Encanto was very popular due to the fact that it showed so much representation. The movie received massive praise for the accurate way it portrays the Hispanic Madrigal family and the depiction of its many characters to fully represent the complexity of Colombian culture.

Now of course there was controversy for a literal 2 second clip of a lesbian couple kissing shown in the 2022 Disney movie Lightyear. There was also angered individuals when another Disney movie produced in 2020 called Onward, featured a lesbian police officer. The most revolutionary thing that Pixar has done in advance of the movie’s release is not tell anyone about it. Representation-starved Disney fans have been down this road before, seizing on the image of two women in the 2016 Pixar movie Finding Dory, suggesting that they might be the animation studio’s first lesbian couple.The 2017 remake of Beauty and the Beast starring Emma Watson, LeFou was portrayed as gay who liked Gaston, which, as you guessed it, caused a problem for homophobic bigots.

The live action remake of Disney's 1989The Little Mermaid set to release in May 2023, caused controversy due to the fact Ariel is being played by Halle Bailey who is black. Ignoring all the negativity, videos of moms posting the reaction of their children watching the teaser trailer on TikTok went viral which trumped the hateful commentary provided by racist bigots.

Now that movies are being adapted into live action remakes and new ideas are being produced, there are opportunities where little kids and even adults can see themselves being represented. As someone who has always seen myself being represented in movies and tv shows, it is heartwarming to see little kids joyful to see characters that look similar to them. We can finally live in a society where everyone gets to see themselves being represented, which is why representation matters so much in a world that usually discriminates.