As a white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes, I’ve seen myself represented in books, TV shows, movies and songs for as long as I can remember. I adored Cinderella (though I had many other blonde-haired, blue-eyed princesses to choose from) because I thought we kinda looked like we could be sisters. My dad took me to see the play when I was six and I just about lost it.

This is not the common experience. Many of my friends at school had very few characters with whom they could connect in the same way. And while diverse representation in media and the arts is certainly better now than when we were kids, it’s nowhere near perfect. Take the new live-action Aladdin movie: according to The Hollywood Reporter, “finding a male lead in his 20s who can act and sing has proven difficult—especially since the studio wants someone of Middle-Eastern or Indian descent.”

Black Girl Nerds (@BlackGirlNerds), an “online community for nerdy Black women,” recognized the need for representation and created the hashtag #FirstTimeISawMe to remind people that diversity matters.

Here are some of the most heartwarming responses.

Related:
This New Feminist Music Festival Is the Perfect Way to Wrap Up Your Summer
 GLAAD Report Says LGBTQ People Are “Nearly Invisible” in Hollywood
 “Why Hatecopy’s Trust No Aunty Is the Indo-Canadian Manual I Needed”

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