As Serena Williams once said, "Since I don't look like every other girl it takes a while to be okay with that. To be different. But different is good."
 
Children are being influenced by the lack of diversity in the television shows they are watching. They are constantly being shown images that do not depict who they are, nor who others are.
 
An article by Grady news source said that Disney had produced 58 animated feature films. Out of those 58 films, only 11 featured a racially diverse main character. Even when a person of colour is represented, they are often portrayed stereotypically. There should be a lot of criticism for negative depictions of marginalized groups. It's The 21st century. Kids are more on their screens than ever before, and the things they see on their TVs or ipads can have a substantial impact on their beliefs from a young age. Specifically, popular kids tv shows such as Winx Club, Barbie, and Bratz can have a persistent effect on how children view their bodies, and it is perceived as a standard they must live up to. This needs to stop, as it has a terrible impact on their beliefs that will affect them for the rest of their lives.
 
According to Phycology In Action, in kids media, "Fifty percent of female characters were shown to be wearing revealing clothing and had other physical traits that symbolize "sexiness." This is twice the number of males that were sexualized." (5.3.20). But why not portray women wearing different things as that is the reality of the world. Nobody wears the same clothing. It is also problematic because it is urging them to view what "sexy" is and what society portrays as "sexy" although this is not necessarily that as it is simply women wearing "revealing" clothing, it is the message that they are sending which gives a very wrong impression. These ideas that production people are implementing into TV shows are sending wildly inaccurate messages to children. 
 
When looking at categorizations, there are offensive stereotypes that are portrayed in the media. For example, when a non-white character is represented, they are typically the sidekick and fit into a certain stereotype. Even the fact that all the "sexy" women are portrayed, mainly as white, skinny, blondes, wearing specific clothing. And typically, we see a strong muscular man, a cool or attractive character and a less-built guy as a geek or loser. These stereotypes are so damaging to living people's images. Stereotypes can lead kids to believe that they should be implemented in real life or live up to these depictions.
 
Focusing on the animated TV show "Winx Club", there is a lack of body diversity as all these fairies have a skinny or "ideal" figure. There is no representation of what different bodies can look like. They all have slim, unfeasible bodies. In accordance with an article by phycology in action, "Research shows that a lack of representation in media can lead to negative psychological outcomes for those with identities that are underrepresented or negatively portrayed." When I was younger, I watched Winx Club. I remember always wanting to look like them, and that was very discouraging for me as a kid; already thinking about those things can be challenging to deal with. I would stare at them up on my TV screen and think to myself, how much I wanted to be that skinny and have that thin nose and perfect features. It was so discouraging for me growing up. I always thought I had to look like that because there were no other people represented, and therefore I should look like them. I felt the weight of those stereotypes every day. I don't want little kids to believe the things that I did because it gave me such misleading ideas about how I should look, and nobody deserves to feel that way. 
 
Some may argue that as a kid, the media does not heavily affect the way they think. However, this is untrue, as it is a fact that the ages at which a person's brain grows the most are during early periods or in childhood. A child's brain is constantly evolving and learning new things, and being fed the things in TV shows, can make them believe certain things that are wildly inaccurate. They can lead them to trust in stigmas around people who are portrayed in a prejudiced way. A news article from theconversation.com states, "the animated worlds children see on television are out of sync with their real environments". This statement is accurate. Kids shows don't have to represent everything going on in the world but rather present more believable characters and storylines.
 
 We have all seen those unflawed, skinny, blonde, blue-eyed Barbie dolls on TV. Seeing them and wanting to look like them because that's all the media portrayed. Kids must get a good and diverse representation of many people who do not look the same as one another: a broad representation of many different people because that is what the real world looks like. But what shows do have a diverse casting? Are there shows that production companies should aspire to? One show that does this well and is appropriate for kids is Sesame Street. It has a comprehensive representation of people cast and discusses some important things. Overall, an inaccurate ratio of characters to actual people is being represented, which is a problem as it is not accurate to the world. It is not about demolishing those who are represented but rather uplifting those who are not. We do not realize that our childhood years are when our brain grows and learns the most. We pick up on so many things, and the media helps us do that, and therefore we need to give future generations a better understanding of the world by providing a wide diversity of people cast and playing in kids TV shows.