It's not enough just to be represented. The work doesn't end there…
October marks Black History Month for many countries globally. It’s a time to celebrate our diversity, whilst also taking time to reflect on the current challenges faced by society. With this year’s theme as ‘Sharing Journeys’,‘ exploring the lives and stories of the people who came before us and helped lay the foundations of today’s diverse society.
But representation is a journey, not a destination.
It perhaps goes without saying that representation in all it’s forms is an important thing for minority groups. “You cannot be what you cannot see”, the famous sentiment goes. But representation is much more than just mean physical appearance — seeing people who like you and hear the stories, circumstances and past experiences and how you identify is empowering. When we fail to see ourself being represented by those who look like us in any aspect, can be one of life’s most debilitating aspects. Limit not only the confidence to go after the things you really want and aspire to but also the imagination of what we could.
For many of us, movies and television are often an escape from and a reflection of life unfolding. They play an outsized role in shaping and reinforcing cultural beliefs and attitudes about the views we have, both nationally and internationally.
Over the past year, minorities have finally been represented in multiple highly acclaimed movies. Films such as Girls Trip, The Big Sick, and Get Out not only were critically acclaimed and financially successful, but told stories written by and about non-white characters. This representation has been evident in mainstream media beyond film, too.
In fashion we’ve seen the likes of Halima Aden became the first Muslim woman to don a hijab on the cover of Vogue and took Yeezy and Alberta Ferretti catwalks by storm during fashion week in New York and Milan respectively.
For the first time, there’s a chance that some minorities might see someone who looks like them or someone they can related to —a Black Muslim woman who wears a hijab—on their screen.
Exciting as this is, it also reveals that representation might not be enough, or reflective of reality. While we can now visibility see many PoC in various aspects of mainstream media and culture, this type of representation is also somewhat misleading to other viewers, who may falsely believe those representations accurately reflect how minorities are perceived by much of the country in real life.
Representation is not equity, is not equality.
We know representation is inherently important for both diversity and inclusion but not all representation is created equal.
Representation should never be the final goal; instead, it should merely be one step toward equity. Having diverse and showcasing diversity is meaningless if those in the storylines promote harmful stereotypes or fail to address societal inequities.
Being the “first” at anything is pointless if there aren’t efforts to address the systemic obstacles that prevent people from certain groups from succeeding in the first place. Representation is great, but we need to be conscious of what such representation is actually doing.
Representation should be intentional. For those in power, should aim for their content to reflect their audiences—especially if they know that doing so could assist in increasing people's self-esteem and wellness.
Beyond the mere physical appearance of minorities in our culture, what we really need is stories that authentically capture our unique perspectives that can be told and related to positively, because stories really do have the power to create meaning and perspectives for many generations to come.
Now more than ever is an important time to realise that the conversation on representation needs to shift to include more diverse voices and stories because it is hugely impactful on society as a whole. We have to stand together from every corner of the planet and empower one another’s efforts in a bid to show the world what we are made of as we seek to change the world by shaking up the status quo and creating real representation.
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