Have we ever discussed the fact that 2001 - 2012 Disney channel’s shows all had strong female leads, with the exception of Zack and Cody but they had a black man in charge, a smart poor white blonde girl and a dumb rich Asian so still beautifully diverse.
Disney was 100% female empowerment and showed diversity. Who did they employ to create the shit they have today?
Of the shows with girls as leads, two of them were POC and their heritage was actively acknowledged throughout the show. We have a Wizards of Waverly Place episode featuring a quincenera and we have That’s So Raven, which actually did a lot to talk about body image and addressed the issue of antiblack racism.
Not to mention Zack and Cody had a working single mother (a divorcee at that!!) who was respected, strong, and amazing. Also a PoC bellhop who was a crucial role and in nearly every episode, and whose heritage was always known and respected. That’s So Raven had a lovely and diverse cast of friends/family, tackled topics that every teenager faces, like stress from school and work, body positivity and racism that runs in our country, all while still having banter that was classic in Disney. This also doesn’t even brush on the animated series that Disney had at this time, like Lilo and Stitch, The Proud Family, Kim Possible, and American Dragon Jake Long, which all had either strong female leads, PoC, or a mix of both.
