Why aren't non-white people depicted on birthday cards?

[whatever117]

I just bought my (black) mate a card and everything was hilarious and funny and really looked like her.

Apart from the colour. I have just got off the phone and we always joke (each year) that the cards would be spot on - and should we colour the figure in.

We actually had a serious chat than all humourous cards etc do not depict people of colour.

Do you mean cartoon figures? Cos most of them tend to be yellow from memory?

Because only white people have birthdays, anniversaries and other occasions to celebrate?

I honestly don't know -I find it infuriating as I have friends in many colourways, and in order to find a card that is suitable I end up getting something with birds or flowers on, or seeking 'specialist' stockists which tend to be very, very twee.

I do make my own cards, but they seldom feature people - if they do, then I tend to use a photograph of the person the card is intended for.

In a way, this is tantamount to discrimination, albeit quite subtle - card manufacturers should be pulled up over this.

I'm pretty sure that I have seen them in Clintons Cards. I think they were 1930's style, very glamorous couple, a bit art deco ish.

Otoh, I might be talking total shite, cos I wasn't looking specifically for them, just vaguely remember seeing them.

I know it's silly, but I always try to get my mates personal cards ie "Karen loved working from home as she could let the milkman in" etc - no fun if the depicted person is the wrong colour!

Round our way there are loads of cards with POC on (in rural Devon not so much). But they do all seem quite soppy, I've never seen a funny one (not that I've looked hard).

Thank heavens for the internet in general and Moonpig in particular - this would have been genuinely insoluble before they were invented.

Market forces tend to decide what is depicted on cards, rather than what might be appropriate or right.
So what would be the market for the cards depicting the ethnic diversity of this country, percentage-wise?

It's never even crossed my mind for my black friends - human beings are human beings as far as I am concerned, but now you come to mention it, it does seem strange in a country as diverse as the the UK, that there aren't any.

I have a Sri Lankan friend who had a card business, making all sorts of cards for all variations of people. Went out of business as there was seemingly no market for it despite her best efforts. And this was also an online business before Moonpig and the like.

Not sure what that tells us but thought I'd mention it...

the cards you mention use old fashioned photos and I should imagine it is more a sign of those times. they were taken in a time that only white people were used for advertising etc in this country

in my newsagents the cards have all sorts of people on them - no age, rac etc discrimination there!

Locally run newsagents tend to be better than chain stores cat64 if you look in them you should find something, though they're not normally to my taste - they tend towards the 1970s gran aesthetic.

I can well believe it. My friend's DD is half Spanish, very Mediterranean with almost black hair, and could I find a birthday card with a girl with even brown hair? They were all blonde. Very narrow selection, getting black, Asian or mixed race would be almost impossible.

London - so I accept that may be why I find them easily!

DS's last birthday card had a black cartoon fireman for example

I think that all aspects of advertising, TV and cards should show the variety represented within our population, but I don't need to make a profit.

According to the 2001 Census, the ethnic composition of the United Kingdom was:[14]

Ethnic group Population Proportion of total UK population
White British 50,366,497 85.67%
White (other) 3,096,169 5.27%
White Irish 691,232 1.2%
Mixed race 677,117 1.2%
Indian 1,053,411 1.8%
Pakistani 747,285 1.3%
Bangladeshi 283,063 0.5%
Other Asian (non-Chinese) 247,644 0.4%
Black Caribbean 565,876 1.0%
Black African 485,277 0.8%
Black (others) 97,585 0.2%
Chinese 247,403 0.4%
Other 230,615 0.4%

Don't know what the current statistics are, but it was why I was offering it as a reason for the absence. Doesn't mean I think ethnic diversity is a bad thing. The school I teach in has 22 different countries of origin within it, and around 25% bilingual.

It's not just ethnicity that is lacking

Fathers day for example is impossible to find a card that DOESN'T say
To a great dad
I want one that says to shite most of the time dad

I don't know about the situation with adult cards, but surely for girls there are cards with Dora the Explorer and the Disney Princesses on, some of whom are from non-white ethnic groups.

Yeah, Milly, you are right, but Dora or Disney?

Odd - I asked my black friend where I could buy appropriate cards and she told me I would be a patronsising XYZ if I did so and mainstream cards were fine.

*Fathers day for example is impossible to find a card that DOESN'T say
To a great dad *

If you think your dad is shite, then why bother getting him a card anyway... ??

Birmingam indoor market always has a lovely selection of cards featuring black people. Never bought them but they always catch my eye - possibly because you dont tend to see them in Wales! Market forces again though.

What I have noticed is that adverts are changing. TV ads almost invariably used to feature white people only, but I've noticed that is gradually changing. But there is greater diversity in US advertising imo (maybe where manufacturers are targetting certain ethnic groups?).

Cards are almost all awful. This is an additional (good) point. They infuriate me. The casual sexism, the recent tendency to insulting cards (What?), never anything individual. I wouldn't buy anyone cards except for everyone I know seems to really enjoy getting them. The time I spend trying to find something vaguely appropriate, though! Then I just get back in return something garishly pink with shoes on or something. (I am not a shoe, or a pink person).

Similar with a lot of children's books. You'd think it was the 1950s.

not a birthday card, but a rare exception that I rather liked