"Personally, I have never experienced misrepresentation or stereotypes based on my race. As a white woman who grew up in a largely white part of the UK, I have always benefited from seeing my race represented in many ways across all media; whether on the TV and film I watch or on the billboards and posters where I live. Having never seen myself portrayed in an unfair or discriminatory way, I didn’t start to recognise stereotypes of other races until it was pointed out to me. Even now, as I try to educate myself around this, it can be difficult to shift my own paradigm. White British people have grown up with character archetypes such as the ‘funny but charming Indian/Pakistani newsagent’ and the ‘sassy black woman’. Characters such as these are so common across all Western media that we mistake them for truth in every day life, until we re-educate ourselves. Unfortunately many people are unable or unwilling to do so."
Written by Ellie Wilkinson from UK
Illustrated by @dearmacherie
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