Opinion: Representation matters

By Kristin Crawford

Having recently signed up for dance classes, I found myself in need of a new pair of ballet shoes. I had heard of more diverse skin tone options, never having the option before, I was nonchalant and I thought I would stick with the classic pale ballerina pink. The person helping me started with the tan ones matching my skin tone, I tried on a pair of the classic pink for size, and it didn’t feel right anymore. Definitely an aha moment in seeing myself represented.  

Growing up, I rarely saw myself in the media other than on North of 60, Dances with Wolves and Where the Spirit Lives. My Barbie dolls never had my skin colour and were mainly blonde – it was just the way it was. Using a different colour pencil crayon or crayon than my classmates to represent my skin colour didn’t bother me. It never really occurred to me that it should. Over the past few years, there has been a call for more diversity in skin tone representation. I brushed it off because it wasn’t an issue for me as a child, so why should kids today have issues with it?  

I don’t wear a lot of make-up, as I got older that is where I started to feel the difference more on the rare occasions when I did. When I went to make up demonstrations, the foundations tended to be too light for my colouring resulting on occasion, as my husband observed, my looking too pale face. 

I get it now – representation matters – a person should see people like them represented in the media, not be forced to fit into a cookie-cutter when buying products that don’t suit them.  

One thing I find incredible this year, after #OscarsSoWhite controversy a few years ago, the diversity in the acting nominees in this year’s race. Two of the four major acting categories winners are visible minorities. Gender, race, sexuality are all things needing to be represented. Something also represented this year was age. Hollywood has long been known for not having many roles for women of a certain age. I am amazed that both the best actress winner Michelle Yeoh and best supporting actress Jamie Lee Curtis are both over 60! (Especially with the whole Lisa Laflamme/CTV debacle last year) 

I love the work of fashion illustrator Holly Nichols I’ve watched online because it is so inclusive and diverse that doesn’t feel forced. She draws people of all shapes, ethnicity, sizes, and colours. She has sketched people with mastectomy scars and in wheelchairs – we need more of that in society.  

Representation should feel organic, not ticking off boxes, like a lesbian couple of mix ethnicity, with one in a wheelchair (female check, 2SLGBTQ check, non-white check, disabled check). To be clear, I also believe the best person for the job should get it regardless of gender, race, etc., and not based on diversity quotas. 

So, I ended up going with the tan ones and feel great about my decision. More companies need to move in this direction. I will continue to make that choice and be proud and true to who I am and my Cree heritage.