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Brown haired white kids never in photos

191 replies

StevieChicks · 16/07/2024 12:00

Just that really.
Seen the new school prospectus. Beautiful blond children everywhere, front cover and throughout, a few mixed race children, fewer black and Asian students (because racism) but without a doubt the least photographed children are kids like mine. Children with naturally brown, mousey or dark brown hair.
It's not the same as racism and I would not for a second think that this trivial matter is in any way similar to other discourses around representation. And maybe I have a chip on my shoulder from the eighties when I was never a Disney princess and had to be the evil witch. It doesn't feel like much has changed.
My son's hair is thick and dark brown/ black. He has very pale skin. I just don't see this as the desired aesthetic. The world still goes mad for blonde children.

OP posts:
Somepeoplearesnippy · 16/07/2024 15:33

lol. Just looked at DD's old school website. A good sprinkling of different ethnicities (as there should be because it's in a culturally diverse area), 1 redhead, and the rest are mouse/brown hair and fair skin. The closest thing to a blonde is a black girl with platinum hair braids.

My brunette daughter was once the poster girl (literally) for a local youth theatre. I was very proud.

catin8oots · 16/07/2024 15:33

My kid is ginger and he was on the school advert outside Sainsbury’s. Only noticed because I was queuing up in the pandemic.

StevieChicks · 16/07/2024 15:28

@Zebedee999 sorry but how is not featuring black or Asian children as predominantly as white children not racism when you live in an urban city centre with a huge global majority demographic?

OP posts:
Zebedee999 · 16/07/2024 15:25

StevieChicks · 16/07/2024 12:00

Just that really.
Seen the new school prospectus. Beautiful blond children everywhere, front cover and throughout, a few mixed race children, fewer black and Asian students (because racism) but without a doubt the least photographed children are kids like mine. Children with naturally brown, mousey or dark brown hair.
It's not the same as racism and I would not for a second think that this trivial matter is in any way similar to other discourses around representation. And maybe I have a chip on my shoulder from the eighties when I was never a Disney princess and had to be the evil witch. It doesn't feel like much has changed.
My son's hair is thick and dark brown/ black. He has very pale skin. I just don't see this as the desired aesthetic. The world still goes mad for blonde children.

"racism" ! Get a grip. How have you made it into adulthood without completely melting down?

HucklefinBerry · 16/07/2024 15:22

Fizzyjuice · 16/07/2024 12:14

My kids are ginger.

You don't even acknowledge their existence in your OP.

Ooo. There's always a super ginger in there.

HucklefinBerry · 16/07/2024 15:22

StevieChicks · 16/07/2024 12:10

@Samdrad do you have children? You will notice if they look like mine.

I find it's always white very blond kids, very red haired kids, obviously Asian. Obviously Indian, obviously black.

Never ambiguous blend like mine. I guess that sort of aligns with what you've noticed.

ThePotholeHelpdesk · 16/07/2024 15:20

Brown haired white kids never in photos

This statement is clearly a load of codswallop

Benjilassi · 16/07/2024 15:15

I just checked my son's school prospectus and it seems to represent the school intake - mostly white (all hair colours), and then some darker skinned children. I don't see any hijabs, but I don't recall seeing any muslim girls around the school (I'm not there much).

RottenApplesSpoilTheLot · 16/07/2024 15:13

I've just looked at the websites of 3 independent schools and two local state schools. Simply not the case on any of those.

Hmmmmokay · 16/07/2024 15:04

Come to think about it, my blonde child has made it into the school newsletter a few times but brown hair child hasn’t 🤔

Exactlab · 16/07/2024 14:57

This is all in your head.

DinosaurWhizz · 16/07/2024 14:55

SkeletonBatsflyatnight · 16/07/2024 12:23

Not my experience at all. I have very dark brown hair and grey eyes. I spent the 80s playing Mary every Christmas both at school and church (multiple schools/churchs as dad was in the military). I was Snow White a lot including in a play we put on as a joint guides/scouts thing. I also featured in the prospectus of every secondary I attended, playing hockey, cross country, debating etc.

My youngest has my hair colouring and eyes. Can't say I've noticed any difference in the way people treat her compared to the way they treat her blue eyed blond big brother.

Mary and snow white both have dark brown hair, so not sure what your point is?

StevieChicks · 16/07/2024 14:52

I've said this lots of times throughout the thread. This is in an inner city primary. Very diverse. Lots of Syrian, Kurdish,Italian, Spanish, polish kids with similar hair are also excluded.

OP posts:
Genevieva · 16/07/2024 14:50

Maybe they just chose nice photos without thinking too much about representation. If your children smile at the camera and do lots of activities (and if you have agreed to them using photos of your kids) then they are more likely to be in the school’s advertising, brochures and website pages.

Moreveganice · 16/07/2024 14:46

What age are your kids OP. In many schools with a predominantly white British intake there is noticeably more blonde kids in the EYFS and infants than once you get into KS2. as many kids start of fair haired and darken significantly as they grow up - me, DH and DCs all have this hair colour. White blond as small children - mouse to mid brown by 7 years…

perhaps blonde is representing your schools kids?

Idtotallybangdreamoftheendlessnotgonnalie · 16/07/2024 14:40

It's usually kids/relatives of staff, nice kids and "chill" families (ie not the knobheads!) at our school who end up being on the marketing info.

JustHereWithMyPopcorn · 16/07/2024 14:40

We don't have prospectus but, for research purposes, I just opened the home page of our school website which has four rolling pages of photos as follows:

Page 1 - 7 brown haired white children, 1 Asian child with brown/black hair, and 1 blond haired white child (in the distance).

Page 2 - 1 white blonde child, one black child and one Asian child.

Page 3 - 5 brown haired white children, 1 Asian child and 1 blonde white child.

Page 4 - 7 brown haired white children, 1 blond child and a photo taken from the back all with hats on where you can't really tell but looks like 4 brown haired children and 1 light brown possibly blonde child.

Seems that the brown haired kids are very well represented in our school.

Workoutinthepark · 16/07/2024 14:37

StevieChicks · 16/07/2024 12:10

@Samdrad do you have children? You will notice if they look like mine.

If this is your only worry in life, then your life is good.

MrHarleyQuin · 16/07/2024 14:33

StevieChicks · 16/07/2024 12:00

Just that really.
Seen the new school prospectus. Beautiful blond children everywhere, front cover and throughout, a few mixed race children, fewer black and Asian students (because racism) but without a doubt the least photographed children are kids like mine. Children with naturally brown, mousey or dark brown hair.
It's not the same as racism and I would not for a second think that this trivial matter is in any way similar to other discourses around representation. And maybe I have a chip on my shoulder from the eighties when I was never a Disney princess and had to be the evil witch. It doesn't feel like much has changed.
My son's hair is thick and dark brown/ black. He has very pale skin. I just don't see this as the desired aesthetic. The world still goes mad for blonde children.

Yes I noticed that in the 1980s.

Also that cats were always the bad guys, dogs good.

I really wanted blonde hair. I have been blonde as an adult but am back to natural hazelnut now, with grey streaks, and my hair is in much better condition. It's quite hard to have shiny long blonde hair.

Re Disney princesses, I was delighted when Belle showed up! 😆 Snow White is much darker than me.

Biffbaff · 16/07/2024 14:32

Sugargliderwombat · 16/07/2024 14:10

I'm not very invested in this but I am genuinely curious - when do you think White Blondes have been discriminated against?

In phrases like "having a blonde moment" and in blonde jokes where the punchline is that blondes are stupid.

Hatty65 · 16/07/2024 14:26

LutonBeds · 16/07/2024 12:21

I wasn’t allowed to be an angel in my nativity play because I had dark hair. The school only
chose blond children.

I, on the other hand, was blonde as a child and always played the sodding Angel Gabriel in a white nightie and a tinsel halo.

I was desperate to be Mary, but she always went to the dark haired girls. 😂

StevieChicks · 16/07/2024 14:20

@Biffbaff I did not say discriminated against. Ignored maybe.

OP posts:
damebarbaracartlandsbiggestfan · 16/07/2024 14:14

The most typical hair colour for kids of British heritage is blonde, which comes in lots of shades, running from very light to dark, with and without reddish tones. Many will become much darker haired as they age. Not that unusual to see people who were light blonde infants end up with extremely dark hair in adulthood!
And gently OP, did you realise that you yourself described the blonde children in particular as 'beautiful'?
Only a few of the Disney princess are blonde, and two of them: Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty were created way back in the 1950s.

MrsSunshine2b · 16/07/2024 14:11

Sugargliderwombat · 16/07/2024 14:10

I'm not very invested in this but I am genuinely curious - when do you think White Blondes have been discriminated against?

Most blonde girls will tell you they get very sick of being assumed to be thick.

Asthenia · 16/07/2024 14:10

Can’t speak for photos, but DD 2.5 has very blonde curly hair and we get lots of comments about it from strangers when out and about. MIL has said she’s relieved DD is blonde as she was worried she was going to be dark haired like I am…thanks MIL. I’m just totally bemused by it all!