As a young outspoken black woman, I often find myself creating representations of black beauty from men and women that I wish I had seen more of as a child. I’ll never forget the first time I saw Disney’s ‘Princess and The Frog' , it was the first time I ever looked at a screen and thought ‘she looks just like me’ and though detractors don't consider the concept of diversity a necessity, I find that position usually comes from one of privilege and ignorance.
Representation in the media is a topic that has gotten much more attention in the past few years. A plethora of articles, studies, speeches, and Twitter threads have stressed the importance of on-screen diversity. The media has a habit of demonizing black people; for example, the comic of Serena Williams after she threw her tennis racket after a match. They masculinized her and racial caricatures were added to her face and body to make her seem wild and animalistic. It’s the microaggression in our society like those that have caused the black community to have to close its doors to others to marginalize our extraordinary beauty.
I use my art to exemplify the complex beauty of the different shades and features of black love, sensitivity, and sensuality. Combatting the stigmas of black women and men’s inability to be soft and demure or strong and wise. Representation matters, as many know and I’ve taken it upon myself to use my art to normalize beauty standards that are eurocentric.
From black barbie dolls to black superheroes to black actors and politicians, It’s important to show young children of all races that their skin color, hair type, or any other difference decides what they can do or are capable of; and just as black representation is crucial, so is LGBT+ representation, (South and East)Asian Representation, Latinx Representation, Representation of mental and physical disabilities and etc. is important in telling men, women, and children that they matter just as much and are just and loved and adored as the non-disabled blonde princess.
In the places I grew up in, mostly the rural and then urban south, I find artistic expression is the only way I can convince others to actually listen. As a young black girl, living in Georgia the outdated principles of "Children and women are meant to be seen not heard." engulfed a large part of my life and every opinion I had on anything was deemed an impertinent question or silly anecdote.
When I begin painting concepts, sketching outlines for homes, and making graphic designs, suddenly everyone wanted to listen to the story of my creations. I felt heard for the first time in a long time. I was an expert among novices. I felt like I finally had something to offer the world. When I drew as a five-year-old, the people in the congregation of my church wanted to know what it meant! Even if the answer was 'I like Dinosaurs.' When I sat in my architectural design and graphic design classes, people walked up to my computer for help and called me for feedback on their designs. Art has always been a voice for me to the masses, and whether or not I'm offering something philosophical and political or witless to the world, I hope my perspective will always be acknowledged.
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