A world that feels normal

Representation is often talked about in terms of recognition. Seeing yourself reflected in a story, a character, a profession, a possibility.

Race.

Gender.

Disability.

Identity.

It matters that people feel seen.

But there’s another side we talk about less: It also matters for the people who aren’t in those situations. The ones who’ve never had to think about it. The ones who grew up with a world that looked almost entirely like them.

Because representation isn’t just about showing people what’s possible for them. It’s about showing everyone what’s normal.

There’s a children’s show my kids watch with a character in a wheelchair. To them, it’s just a kid. In a wheelchair. No questions. No curiosity. No big deal.

But when I saw it for the first time, something caught in my chest. Because I realized: I never saw anyone in a wheelchair on TV when I was their age. Not once. Which meant that when I met someone in real life, I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to behave. I was awkward. Unsure. Hesitant. Not because I didn’t care. But because it was unfamiliar.

Unpracticed.

Unshown.

That’s what representation does. It teaches us what’s familiar. It rewrites what’s expected.

So when we talk about diverse worlds on screen, in books, in ads, in boardrooms ... It’s not about ticking off a diversity checklist:

• one white person

• one Black person

• one person of Asian descent

• one wheelchair

• one rainbow flag

It’s not about visual balance. It’s about normalcy. It’s about creating a world where the question isn’t “Why is she the pilot?” but“Why wouldn’t she be?”

It’s about the child who grows up never assuming that doctors are male. The student who reads about a brilliant scientist ... and only later realizes she’s queer. The viewer who watches a romcom and barely notices it stars two women. Because none of it feels exceptional. It just feels… normal.

This kind of shift doesn’t happen overnight. But it’s already underway. Because our kids are growing up watching shows and reading books where the world isn’t one type of person. They’re growing up seeing people of all backgrounds, all identities, all abilities ... just living their lives.

And that’s how change starts.

Not by making everything “diverse enough.”

But by creating stories where no one has to be “the exception.”

Where being different isn’t different.

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