How The Cheetah Girls Diversified the Representation of Young Women of Colour In the Media
The Whitney Houston produced multimedia franchise was more than just entertainment for a generation of kids. Find out why the series resonated with so many people of colour worldwide.
The Cheetah Girls was originally based on a book of the same name by author Deborah Gregory. In 1999 she began publishing the Cheetah Girls.
She drew inspiration from Destiny Child; she eventually opted for Disney Channel to be behind the live-action production with having icons like Whitney Houston being a producer for the film.
The Cheetah Girls was a massive success with the youth at the time, showcasing comedy, dancing, singing talent, and strong female leads. The success allowed three films to be produced, three nationwide tours, and over 11 million records worldwide. The songs they performed are still anthems to this day.
Raven recently cleared up all the rumours about her clashing with co-star Kiely Williams and rejecting the role for the third film on a joint Instagram live with Kiely.
Raven stated that she felt “excluded and ostracized” from the other girls when filming the second film. Kiely and Raven resolved any bad feelings on this Instagram live and discussed how they were both happy that they took the time to speak and sort out the controversy for good.
Cheetah Girls effortlessly delineate diversity as the movie's main cast was Puerto Rican, Ecuadorian, African American, Mexican, and Spanish descent. This is another reason why the Cheetah Girls reached its success as it had inclusivity; a whole generation of people of colour could look at this film and identify with it.
The racial representation and how the group all had a different ethnic background highlighted how they are all just young adult girls going through the same dreams and passions.
Regardless of their race, they all had individualistic talents and combined, that created their friendship.
A whole new generation was growing up with these figures and witnessing the success they received created a positive attitude for people of colour to not feel outcasted from the media. People of colour can reach success if the audience can support it, like everyone supported the Cheetah Girls.
Stream the first Cheetah Girls movie on Disney Plus here.