Quotes About Representation

For example, the first time McDonald's put a deaf person in a commercial they saw a jump in sales. I think that happens with other kinds of disabilities and products and that is something that is being realized more and more.

I remember sitting in the theater watching 'Bridesmaids,' and I'm doubled over laughing, and then I'm crying in the same movie. It's the overwhelming feeling, as I'm looking up and seeing these women, and I'm realizing how rare it is to see that.

Pop culture does not frequently depict women of color realizing their happy ending.

All I know is it was very easy for us to write the Barb character and I think that, you know, Shannon Purser - who had never acted before - just did such a brilliant job realizing her. And, again, without very many lines - 25 lines. And I think everyone feels like either they knew this girl or they were this girl.

Even 'Lord of the Rings' had dwarf-tossing jokes in it. It's like, 'Really?'

For a long time, it seemed as if podcasting was a male realm, but no longer. Sure, there are lots of men doing podcasts, but women are voicing a lot of the form's biggest hits. 'Serial,' the podcast that made podcasts a phenomenon, was narrated by a woman.

Generally, the realm in which black playwrights have been allowed to achieve success has been social realism or musicals.

In the political realm, when I say I'm going to give everything, that means I'll represent the people to the best of my ability.

Hollywood is lacking realness in their female characters. I don't think I'm the only one who thinks that and wants to change it.

My career means, if you're a non-Indian writing about Indians, at least there's one Indian in your rearview mirror.

People ask me why my figures have to be so black. There are a lot of reasons. First, the blackness is a rhetorical device. When we talk about ourselves as a people and as a culture, we talk about black history, black culture, black music. That's the rhetorical position we occupy.

Often, as a young actress, you find yourself being the only girl in a room full of men... and one of the reasons why I like 'Grey's Anatomy' is because they have such strong female characters and the women really drive this show.

You don't get to recall a senator just because you don't like her or just because you want the seat for your own party.

When I was a kid, there were hardly any gay story lines or characters on television that I recall. Then when I was in college, 'Will & Grace' started up.

You only think about things when you see people doing it. Most girls know now they can be lawyers. They know that they can work in an emergency room - they've seen 'ER.' But I don't recall that anyone has seen scientists on a large scale, except for a few paleontologists in 'Jurassic Park.'

Not too long after 'OITB' debuted, I was at NewFest and I saw 'Black Is Blue,' a short film by Cheryl Dunye about a Black trans man trying to make it in Oakland. It was the first time I could recall seeing a Black trans man on screen and this was in 2015.

If the public doesn't receive what you say, people can start to build your brand for you.

You know, I'm very proud of the large number of Hispanic endorsements that I've received.

I would say that one of the things that encouraged me so much when I became elected to the leadership was the letters I received from fathers of daughters, saying that, 'My daughter can now do many more things because of what you did.'

I can only speak from experience, but as a little kid I remember Lisa Leslie, Sheryl Swoopes, Dawn Staley and Cynthia Cooper. I remember the mainstream media being involved and how much exposure they received.

I've been receiving a lot of emails and messages from folks that say, 'Hey, my kid saw you and they're so excited and it's great that he can look at the NASA TV broadcast and see someone that looks like him,' and I think that's important.

In recent years it's become really apparent, the division between what government is and what communities want.

Until recently, Hollywood offered only a handful of roles to actors of color. The majority of my opportunities have fallen into two categories: Scary Black and Funny Black.

I'm going to say yes, I reckon we'll have the first BME (black or minority ethnicity) prime minister.