Well, not OUR family exactly, but a family just like ours. Where we don’t all have the same skin colour, but we love each other just the same.
Can you believe that in 2013, an ad like the Cheerios commercial is receiving racial slurs and hated on their YouTube channel?
Our family is constantly confronted with issues of colour and difference. Not as obstacles but as an open dialogue that helps our kids explore not only our own family, but their heritage and background. We talk about the differences in the colour of our skin and how they are so lucky to have a beautiful combination of their mommy and daddy.
On a recent trip to Jamaica, both boys felt embraced by the culture that is part of who they are. They felt connected to the people, the island and the culture. Jayden asked questions throughout our trip about “how much Jamaican” he was and if he could tell his friends he was from the island. He loves to watch reggae on YouTube and listen to some Jamaican songs from our trip- to truly celebrate that culture that makes up the beautiful combination of who he is. We talk about the culture that makes up part of who our boys are, a culture that goes far beyond making their skin a beautiful brown.
On the other hand, as open as our family is, I find that Jayden is still stuck on the notion that our white Barbie and our white Ken should be the ones to get married. Last week, while playing with the dolls, I suggested that our brown skinned female doll should marry the white Ken. He looked at me, as if I was crazy and told me that the white dolls should marry each other. How can this be? How can he still believe this in a family where his mom is white and his dad is black? Is it as simple as “matching” the colours or does it go deeper? Has he seen so many tv shows, books and movies where the white couple is married, that he also has started to believe that that is how it should be?
This dialogue will probably become an even bigger topic, as our boys become more independent and identify with different parts of who they are. As they also choose their mates, I’m sure we will also have these discussions of the ways in which love can overcome any social stereotypes.
Thank you, Cheerios.
Thank you for showing OUR family on TV. For reminding my sons and his friends, that it is not a matching skin colour that makes a family…it is love.
Watch the CTV news coverageto hear more about the comments as well as the insight into our own culture of racism.
Watch the video for yourself, how love comes in all colours.