 When my daughter Alyssa was six, back in 2018, she asked me why her hair was different to her friends' at school. We began to talk about textures, and how her hair worked. That her afro was beautiful, and could do amazing things. It was about this time that Alyssa was into dress up games, too. She loved all the typical doll brands and avatar style dress up apps. Except, no one in her favourite games looked like her – offering very few afro hair styles and textures for her beloved characters. Black representation simply wasn't there. It was something I was determined to change – and with her by my side as my mini co-founder, we founded and launched the UK's first afro hair championing game. See, I come from a creative family, and I'm a self-taught graphic designer by trade, so I wasn't going to let this slide. 'How about we create our own game?' I asked Alyssa. Truthfully, I had no idea where to start, but I knew how important it was to help other little girls like her. Black representation simply wasn't there (Picture: Frobelles) I was determined to create an app that featured young Black girls, with an array of afro hair styles to pick and choose from. To help them feel seen. Shockingly, I also found out that only 2% of game designers in the US are Black, with Black characters being mis- or underrepresented – directly having a negative impact on the self-esteem of young girls, like Alyssa. Children naturally want to express themselves when playing dress up games or personalising avatars – experimenting with their hair, makeup, and outfits, especially as they begin to form their own identities. But, sadly, for a lot of young girls, it isn't that straightforward. This can lead to a lot of heart-breaking questions about why they're not featured in their favourite games. Alyssa has also had the incredible idea to introduce an educational section of the game (Picture: Google Play) Unsurprisingly, the exci){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
When my daughter Alyssa was six, back in 2018, she asked me why her hair was different to her friends’ at school.
We began to talk about textures, and how her hair worked. That her afro was beautiful, and could do amazing things.
It was about this time that Alyssa was into dress up games, too. She loved all the typical doll brands and avatar style dress up apps.
Except, no one in her favourite games looked like her – offering very few afro hair styles and textures for her beloved characters.