Blog written by Tanisha Alam, Youth Community Animator – TERT, BCS.
Growing up, I never felt beautiful. Brown people like me were not often portrayed as attractive or desirable in the media when I was younger. The few brown characters I saw were ridiculed with harmful stereotypes. These portrayals in the media made it difficult for me to see myself as beautiful. It wasn’t until I grew up and began to see more brown people represented positively in the media, that my perspective shifted. One significant moment for me was watching “Never Have I Ever,” a show featuring a young brown girl named Devi navigating high school. Seeing Devi be the main character and embrace her culture was eye-opening. For the first time, I felt seen and represented while watching a show. Racism is apparent everywhere, even when we don’t see it directly in our faces. This is why we must strive to end racism so we can build a world where everyone feels beautiful. Join our battle now to make this our reality #EndRacismNow.
If you have any feedback about this blog or would like to contact the TERT campaign, please email us at YouthResilient@bangladeshi.ca. Thank you!
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