Brown Representation in Western Media
Two writers’ opinions on how brown representation has changed from our childhoods to now, and where it should go from here
By: Vishalli Alagappan & Srihita Raju
Vishalli: I never really felt a connection to my assigned Disney princess. Although Jasmine was brown, she didn’t really seem “brown” to my five-year-old self. To my 19-year-old self, she doesn’t seem like a person at all. Jasmine is supposed to be an Arab princess, but she has an Arab-adjacent name, is dressed like a belly dancer, and is a two-dimensional object of desire, catering to distorted white perception of the orient. She is also the sole woman character with substantial lines in the movie. Watching “Aladdin” as a kid simply affirmed that I did not have a voice in the American narrative.
In search of this voice, I sought out media with brown representation, which I must say has been steadily increasing. In this crazed search, I have realized that brown representation in media is akin to having naturally curly hair. When the water pressure, curly hair products, humidity, and the angle of the sun are all perfect, we get the representation like Priya from Turning Red. The desi diaspora imparts great importance on physicality since that is the main source of our identity, so Priya’s deep complexion, curly hair, and nose ring made me feel seen. Priya’s depth of character is natural and intrinsic from her sick dance moves to her to her affection for her friends and to being told by her parents that she can go to a concert when she’s 30. Priya is the representation that I craved as a child.
Brown representation in media can vary from your mom brushing out your curly hair to make it “straighter,” like Disney writers haphazardly piecing together what little they know about Middle Eastern and desi culture to create Jasmine, to stunning wash day hair, like the mindful and artful character development of Priya. The steady increase of brown characters in visual media has been a joy to witness and beautifully real depictions of South Asians like Priya promises me hope for the younger generations.
Srihita: For me, as someone who has grown up being a big reader, it was always glaringly obvious to me that the publishing industry tends to neglect brown voices. Thumbing through picture books in the elementary school library to walking through the Young Adult section of Barnes & Noble with my friends in high school, I never saw covers with faces like mine or author names that felt familiar to me. But lately these past few years, I’ve seen so much more brown representation than I ever imagined I would. Walking into a bookstore now, the YA section is filled with fantasy stories of Indian-mythology storylines, and the romance section has books starring brown couples. Does this mean that the U.S. publishing scene has completely applied itself to fixing the grievances of brown voices? No. Because even with brown stories being published, there are still brown authors who are getting paid far less than their white counterparts.
While it is important for little boys and girls to see themselves being represented, it is equally important to pay brown adults a proper amount for their hard work. Like Vishalli mentioned earlier, proper representation comes from multiple things being done right, and as happy as I am to see brown characters in books and movies, I don’t think it is time to settle. The choice to not include brown bodies and voices in media acts as a reminder that, to some, being American means being white. Diverse media is inclusive media, and anything less is damaging and inaccurate.