To wonder why every ethnicity on the Disney Channel looks decidedly...

[lastnerve]

White.

I've noticed this a lot Handy Manny doesn't look remotely and only sounds slightly Hispanic.
and now on OSO an eastern Chinese/Japanese family the only indication of their race was the names and indoor decor, no accents and looked very 'white'.

AIBU to wonder if anyone else has noticed this??

there are lots of cards without kids on though, it would be easier.

Yes, that's what the DCs' non-white friends get most years. But there are lots and lots and lots of cards with fair-skinned blonde or brunette children/fairies/pirates/princesses on. Lots and lots and lots. And generally not even one with a black or Asian figure (except Tiana and possibly Mulan). I just don't believe that there's no demand at all. Yes, it's easier to accept fair-skinned as the default option. I don't think anyone would dispute that.

don't have the disney channel but agree that its hard to find positive ethnic role models in childrens media (british tv excluded, as i think a real effort has been made there). i am finding it difficult (but not impossible) to find kids books with decently illustrated ethnic lead characters, i.e. (1) not cheaply and quickly illustrated books that would not enchant a child, (2) good looking ethnic players not covered in flies, abused or starving and (3) in the role of the lead character. i have quite a collection but it hasn't been easy and i still don't have any with a nicely illustrated south or east asian character :( - glum faced.

Lara -- are you looking for picture books specifically? In chapter books the Ruby Lu books (I think there are three or four of them) might meet your requirements, but as they are chapter books the illustrations (which I quite like) are small pen-and-ink drawings.

Or in simple picture books maybe some by Chihiro Iwasaki? (e.g. A Brother for Momoko, which I loved as a child). They are gorgeous (although her style of illustration is impressionistic so the ethnicity of the child isn't a big deal).

Hmm; trying to think of something in between those two points, though (i.e. a more complicated picture book with an engaging story and good illustration).

Casey i'm still on the picture book stage and always on the look out for books that represent a strong diversity. do you have any other recommendation as if you dont mind me saying so I think Ruby Lu looks rather on the white side of Asian American . i really like books like Anna Hibiscus, Phillis's Big Test and The Lady and the Lion etc for showing strong characters of obviously different ethnicities, here African-American (or a synonym) and what i think is Kazakh or Iranian. I think it is important that my DD is presented with strong visual ethnic diversity so she doesn't see visual differences between people as important.

sorry OP dont mean to hijack. i can start another post on this topic.

Thinking some more... I'm guessing you're looking for books where the main character just happens to be South or East Asian? These probably don't quite meet your requirement (but the art is lovely so I'm listing them anyway...)

The Seeing Stick
New Clothes for New Year's Day
Sparrow Girl
Stone Soup

The Cinammon Baby is also totally cute.

Handy Manny can come and be handy round mine anytime.

Abiyoyo:

www.amazon.co.uk/Abiyoyo-African-Lullaby-Reading-Rainbow/dp/0689718101/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344365036&sr=1-1

Mufaro's beautiful daughters:

www.amazon.co.uk/Mufaros-Beautiful-Daughters-African-Picture/dp/0140559469/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344365265&sr=1-1

The Apple-Pip Princess is also a particular favourite. The story is great and the heroine is lovely. More more more.

Jessie has a decidedly multicultural family.

Teddys best friend in good luck Charlie is black (and her whole family)

The suite life has different ethnicity in their actors.

I've noticed it in some things too. DS picked up a Pocahontas book from a charity shop and reading it Pocahontas looks distinctly white and caucasian The only differentiating thing about John Smith is that he's blonde and slightly paler.

I've also noticed (totally unrelated but) I play The Sims and sometimes download things for it, one thing you can download is a new set of skin tones, if you want more detailed ones or supernatural ones or whatever. But I've found that with a lot of natural type ones, they are either all white or they go dark but they don't go dark enough for a normal skin tone range.

Like this for example, or this or this or this. These are literally the first four skin tones I picked out from the first page of a popular download site.

(Pictures might not be safe for work as there are naked, if genital-less, people in them)

When I was in Singapore there were adverts everywhere for skin lightening products and the beauty ideal was very much seen to be having the lightest asian skin possible. It was also tied up with ideas of success, education, job prospects and even intelligence, it was draw-dropping. Talking to other women it appeared that theses ideas were fairly widepread across asia.

I wonder whether TV networks are more likely to buy the programmes if they fit with these aspirations or I could be talking coswallop.

Never watch Disney but my friend calls Disney World "Hitler youth happy nazi funland", I'm led to believe Walt Disney was incredibly racist, perhaps it's still rubbing off onto Disney shows.

they are american are they not Dora sounded hispanic if i remember right from dd2 watching it, how should they sound a lot of ethnic americans and brittish sound well American and British

Pocahantas was native American and like most people with east Asian descent wouldn't have necessarily been dark in skin colour.

I think for animators it must be difficult to try not and offend, I love handy :o

Felicity makes a good point. and whilst some with east asian, north african or arab origins may have lighter skin, the majority don't and thus are not represented in many childrens books or most media. where discrimination exists it is often experienced by those with darker skins who differ from "the norm". whitened skin in ethnic representations does not go towards changing this from childhood on.

handy is a fine representation

people who are not white ( i know that is a naff way to put it ) dont all have the same skin tone some are darker than others or lighter or have different face shapes they dont all look the same,

I've not watched much recent Disney but I'd be interested in whether there are any differences in representation between 'bad' and 'good' characters. Are 'good' characters more likely to be closer to particular cultural beuty ideals and 'baddie' characters further from them? I'm thinking of Hollywood's obsession with facial/physical disfigurement = homicidal baddie.

There aren't any bad characters on Disney Junior.

Penis. I knew there was a good reason we don't have Sky/cable!

The question is WTF is Mouk about??? Do any children actually like it?