Posted on Jul 19, 2016

23 Reminders That Representation Is Everything

The fight is worth it.

by Alanna Bennett

BuzzFeed Staff

ㅤ @gyIlenhaaIs

THIS IS WHY FEMALE LED FILMS ARE IMPORTANT

03:05 PM - 10 Jul 2016
Reply Retweet Favorite

Jd Michaels @cabseverywhere

Thanks for this. @AVAETC @Barbie

07:33 PM - 04 Jan 2016
Reply Retweet Favorite

Rotten @reyzbian

jessica jones is still the most important ptsd representation i have and i love her very much

07:47 PM - 18 Jun 2016
Reply Retweet Favorite

Mila✨ @milas_universe

#representationmatters

03:36 AM - 04 Dec 2015
Reply Retweet Favorite

alexis nedd @alexisthenedd

Representation matters. To me, T'challa looks like my dad. My sister is a dora milaje. And you all get to see my people as asskicking royals
03:13 PM - 05 May 2016
Reply Retweet Favorite

Selina Wilken @SelinaWilken

Representation matters. Why? This is why. https://t.co/F0EKEfxhbm via @JacobSHall

03:43 PM - 12 Jul 2016
Reply Retweet Favorite

stacy-marie ishmael @s_m_i

Representation matters so much. https://t.co/skrYousTYg
05:49 PM - 09 Jul 2016
Reply Retweet Favorite

jodie jones @oh_JodieBaby

Gotta say I love how diverse #TheFlash is.My 5yr old daughter looked at me & said "Iris looks like me,we're beautiful" @candicekp #TheFeels
03:18 AM - 29 Apr 2015
Reply Retweet Favorite

Browse links

23 Reminders That Representation Is Everything

1. It's a potent and wonderful feeling when you spot something that shows you the world's possibilities.

2. Sometimes that happens simply because a person or a character exists in public. (And that existence is a bolder act than it's given credit for.)

3. The impact of representation starts young – and it can ripple out through the rest of our lives.

4. When you lack images of yourself in the art and media that claims to showcase the world – or when those images are warped, or ugly – it creates a palpable thirst for something more.

5. The effect of thoughtless representation is real, and so is what happens to your psyche when representation isn’t there in the first place.

6. But when it is there?? IT'S GODDAMN MAGIC.

7. The battle for diversity in representation is never really a thing that goes away – it's uphill and it's always, because we keep finding ways to slide back.

8. It's also a struggle with a lot of nuances and complexity – you can't just patch one of the cracks in a broken dam and expect that the entire system is suddenly functioning properly.

9. But the victories, when they come? They feel so, so good.

10. There's a feeling in your gut that comes when something in art and/or media recognizes something deep in you.

11. It can be pure magic.

12. It even has the power to propel you into your future – like when Lupita Nyong'o saw Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and the rest of the cast of The Color Purple and knew there was room for her to be an actor, too.

13. Or when Whoopi saw Nichelle Nichols on Star Trek and felt her world open up. The ripples go through generations.

14. Representation has the power to show us our own potential, whether that manifests in big moments of triumph at the Oscars...

15. Or in seemingly small moments that remind us that we are not alone in our experiences.

16. It's a pretty rad thing to feel seen.

17. When it's there it feels so good.

18. It's a fight, though – and when representation is robbed from us or stripped away, it can feel like an open sore.

19. Because we know the reverberations of it, and we know that it matters.

20. That impact's real AF.

21. I MEAN.

22. Never forget: Representation matters. And it's worth fighting for.

23. 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

23 Reminders That Representation Is Everything

1. It's a potent and wonderful feeling when you spot something that shows you the world's possibilities.

2. Sometimes that happens simply because a person or a character exists in public. (And that existence is a bolder act than it's given credit for.)

3. The impact of representation starts young – and it can ripple out through the rest of our lives.

4. When you lack images of yourself in the art and media that claims to showcase the world – or when those images are warped, or ugly – it creates a palpable thirst for something more.

5. The effect of thoughtless representation is real, and so is what happens to your psyche when representation isn’t there in the first place.

6. But when it is there?? IT'S GODDAMN MAGIC.

7. The battle for diversity in representation is never really a thing that goes away – it's uphill and it's always, because we keep finding ways to slide back.

8. It's also a struggle with a lot of nuances and complexity – you can't just patch one of the cracks in a broken dam and expect that the entire system is suddenly functioning properly.

9. But the victories, when they come? They feel so, so good.

10. There's a feeling in your gut that comes when something in art and/or media recognizes something deep in you.

11. It can be pure magic.

12. It even has the power to propel you into your future – like when Lupita Nyong'o saw Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and the rest of the cast of The Color Purple and knew there was room for her to be an actor, too.

13. Or when Whoopi saw Nichelle Nichols on Star Trek and felt her world open up. The ripples go through generations.

14. Representation has the power to show us our own potential, whether that manifests in big moments of triumph at the Oscars...

15. Or in seemingly small moments that remind us that we are not alone in our experiences.

16. It's a pretty rad thing to feel seen.

17. When it's there it feels so good.

18. It's a fight, though – and when representation is robbed from us or stripped away, it can feel like an open sore.

19. Because we know the reverberations of it, and we know that it matters.

20. That impact's real AF.

21. I MEAN.

22. Never forget: Representation matters. And it's worth fighting for.

23. 💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖

Share This Article