Brown haired white kids never in photos

[StevieChicks]

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.

As a dark haired white person, I've never felt that way or noticed a blonde bias

Who spends that much time looking at the photos in a school prospectus?

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

My kids are blonde blue eyed and have never really appeared in the school prospectus, website has brown haired pale kids on it.

My dd is in her school prospectus - she is pale with mousy brown hair. (Her older who is blonde and very conventionally pretty has never been featured)

I think for teens and adults being fair has less of an impact on your attractiveness because it’s more based on other things. For kids, what their cuteness/attractiveness is based on is more limited and I do think there’s a bias for very fair children. Good thing is that I don’t think it lasts as people grow up! Of course some will have indvidual preferences for blonde hair/blue eyes even in adult beauty but they are more things impacting attractiveness. I hope I’ve explained what I mean effectively.

My kids are ginger.

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

@Fizzyjuice there's loads of red heads in there! Sorry for the oversight

One of my DC look like this. They are on the front page of the school website.

I think this is something you’re sensitive about from your past, sounds like.

One of my DSs was in a photograph in a school prospectus Years ago now

Light brown hair and big dark brown eyes

As a blonde it seems like we are the last hair colour it's acceptable to openly dislike.
I've experienced white privilege throughout my life but received hatred not privilege for my hair colour.

Maybe it’s your kids’ school which has a bias? I can’t say I ever noticed it with the schools mine went to. They’ve all got brown hair and pale skin, like me and dh. Now I think about it, mind you, none of them ever appeared in a school prospectus….

I just looked at my school website (not to be deliberately antagonistic but just because I’d never noticed this and wanted to see if it is borne out by my own experience)

blonde 4
ginger 1
mixed black/white 1
black 1
asian (sub continent) 1
chinese 1
brown hair pale skin 8
brown hair tanned skin 2

We’ve not even got a school prospectus!

I just had a quick look at my daughter's old primary school.
The photos are a few years old so actually from my girl's time there (she's 16).
No blond children in the photos. One red head - who had the most pale skin it's practically see thru - and several of white skin with brown/brunette hair.
Plus many other children of different looks.
When my girl was in the younger years there were a lot of blondes - the class looked like the Midwich Cuckoos sometimes - but none are in the pictures.

Just checked the prospectus's and the homepage of the website for the 3 options for college that my daughter had, and there's only one blond white kid to be seen.

I really don't think this is a thing @StevieChicks

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

Yes....white dark haired and a ginger....still never noticed anything like that

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.

I am also white and dark haired and have NEVER felt under represented 😂😂

I'm guessing it isn't a Catholic school then?

Assuming you are in the UK, that seems like a pretty fair representation of a UK school

I disagree. In the prospectus’s I’ve seen that didn’t stand out to me. TBF, I didn’t pay that much attention as I was too just reading the writing but certainly nothing stood out to me. I certainly don’t think they pick out a certain looking child.

I will also add being blonde doesn’t make you attractive facially. It’s the same with adults, being blonde doesn’t make someone pretty at all.

Very few people are truly naturally blonde as adults and even when they’re teenagers. The blondest children can turn mouses brown by the time they hit secondary so again, anyone can be blonde, you just need to get it bleached.

I think that’s just chance or confirmation bias. You see plenty of brown-haired white children in advertising etc.

Just looked at the school I work at both senior and prep - loads of brown haired white kids. Sorry!