My Tumblr dash is what inspired me to reevaluate my entertainment choices. Specifically pictures of Emma Stone.
Jennifer Lawrence, Scarlett Johansson, and Emma Stone have been the most prominent actresses on my dash this year. After July 20th I’m sure Anne Hathaway will be added to the list. That’s fine. I admire all these women; they’re smart, talented and beautiful. But I found myself sighing, “Gosh I wish they weren’t all… white.”
My first instinct was to try to think of who I’d want to see on my dash instead. I was stumped. Who are the contemporary young actresses of color these days? I’m SURE they’re out there, but for people like me who only watch summer blockbusters and only know the names of the those in leading roles, they might as well not exist.
Now imagine if I were 14 years old and there wasn’t one actress of color on my radar. Imagine that every gif set I came across on Tumblr that was tagged “OMG she’s so amazing! I wanna be her friend!” was of a white woman. How could I not internalize that? How could I believe that people who look like me are also admirable?
Edit to add: Zoe Saldana! I’d love to see her in more movies. :)
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