by
Christina Patrice
Editors Note: This post has been amended to reflect this episode of The Winx Club never aired on the Nickelodeon network in the U.S. The character featured in the clip is not the reoccurring character, Aisha.
In today’s installment of the never-ending series “mainstream media insults natural hair,” I present The Winx Club. In season 1 episode 12 of the Italian fantasy/action cartoon a black female character laments over the disaster of her hair going from straight and silky into an afro:
https://youtu.be/SZGluCGIPgc
One character calls the afro “a catastrophe”, while the blonde princess Stella gasps in shock and horror asking, “what’s that?” the black character was already crying, and the responses from her friends sent her in to full-blown meltdown mode.
Even when watching cartoons, our little girls can’t catch a break.
The storyline was later re-dubbed (beginning at 7:55):
https://youtu.be/AIB6k2I-sEE?t=8m
Instead of her hair being the problem, the character cast the wrong voice changing spell. Wouldn’t it have made much more sense to just do that from the very beginning?
Although this episode is not new, (it originally aired overseas in 2004, and in 2010 in the United States), old Winx Club episodes are still airing on Nickelodeon television and streaming online. This recycling of content has led to a new wave of naturalistas being made aware of yet another attempt to impress upon little Black girls that their natural beauty is a “catastrophe”.
I’m not even going to ask what the creatives behind the show were thinking, because I already know. It’s a pretty clear-cut case of racism and ignorance and the advent of the internet and social media makes it difficult to completely scrub.
Let’s continue to make sure that our little girls have the resources and support to embrace their natural selves and resist the standard of beauty that society and popular media continues to try and impress upon them.
Are you familiar with The Winx Club cartoon? What are your thoughts on the storyline changes? Have you noticed any other cartoons that did something similar? Share below.
81 Responses
I can’t believe this, Winx club has always been about accepting yourself the way you are and to be yourself no matter what. This scene was showing that the Trix used a spell to make her hair jelly to run her out of the game. If you have ever listened to the Winx club song ‘Mon ami, my friend’, it’ll tell you the exact opposite about the show as this article told you.
The lyrics are about how all people should be respected “Africa to Miami, America to Tokio, people are no different at all. We all love our buddies, we laugh when we are happy, remember that wherever you are.”
Not only this song, also the countless of people the Winx have encountered and helped, always looking different, but accepted for what they do and who they are. If Winx club is being stamped as racist, I don’t know what is not anymore.
Hmm, it seems that this post and the comments are a absolute dumpster fire. I know that this a old post but.
As a mixed race Mexican-American (Yoruba, Spanish, Italian, Arab, Jewish, Indian, Native American, German, and a lot more), I find this absolutely ridiculous.
One, this show is a Italian made show. Italian beauty standards are far different from American beauty standards. Straight hair is considered beautiful, same with wavy hair. That is why her hair was considered a disaster. Are you seriously going to hate on a culture that you have a lot of your “American” things from? The cast is filled with multiple different race coded characters, maybe you should have done more research on Italian culture. There is also a debate on if Italians are even considered “white”. It’s a pan ethnicity, as Greeks, Arabs, even Vikings left their mark on the gene pool and demographics.
I agree it’s a shitty thing for your hair to be judged, but hey, different culture and all. It must be a sad existence to think that everything is out against you.
Girl, farewell and goodbye. This space is not for you.
What did I do wrong? State my opinion?
I DO agree that is it not okay to make fun of someone over their hair. I agree I was wrong to not watch the show before replying to this, I only found this because my niece was watching it and I was concerned about this scene.
I apologize for sounding rude, and since watching it, the girl before hand had naturally straight hair. That is actually why she was crying.
I am of African heritage, and I just went it in with a narrow minded aspect, so that’s why I reacted the way I did.
I decided to reread that this post, being open minded, and I agree with you, while I do have some minor disagreements, as this show being racist.
I really do apologize for sounding rude, though.
I’m a black Winx fan who’s had natural hair all her life.
When I was in school (in the 90’s and early 2000s), I was teased for my hair, but NOT by white students — but by other black students. They’d laugh at my hairstyles, tell me I needed a perm, refuse to spend time with me because of my “nappy” hair, and draw ugly caricatures of me on the whiteboard. They’d even invite friends from other schools over to join in on mocking me. This went on until at least my sophomore year of high school.
I told my mom about this post. She said this natural hair movement didn’t really start until about 2009, after Chris Rock released the documentary “Good Hair.” (We’ve both seen it, and I can see why.) This episode of “Winx Club” premiered in 2004. IF the scene above was commenting on natural hair, it’s possible more blacks would have AGREED back then than do now, 11 years later. I read an article recently that suggested that, too.
I just wanted to add that perspective. As many Winx fans (black and otherwise) have said, “Winx Club” is NOT racist. It’s a very culturally diverse and very progressive show. It’s safe for black kids, and I hope you’ll all look past this and give it a chance.
This article is incredibly trite and poorly researched.
I agree, this scene was done in extremely poor taste, and it was both a huge risk, and inappropriate to do so, but in the original Italian episode, the character [who is not Aisha, will get to this later] used a wrong ‘spell’ [the show is about magic] and it turned her hair into a jelly blob of sorts. Another character extends a hand to touch it and it makes a splooshing noise and wobbles like water. –– Again, I think the choice to use an afro to convey this aesthetic was stupid and for obvious reasons could be taken as offensive. –– Once the cartoon came to America in the early 2000s, this scene was changed to the girl being a singer who accidentally cast a spell on herself that ruined her voice. Not to mention, young children [who this show is aimed at] are not that intuitive. If they’re watching the original dub with the jelly hair, they’re likely not going to think, “hey, they’re slamming natural hair!” They’re going to take what’s being presented verbatim, “oh no, her hair is jelly!” and not delve into any deeper meaning.
Now about the REAL character Aisha, she was not present in season 1, when this episode aired, calling the writer out for dubbing this character with Aisha’s identity is important because the pair have nothing in common but their skin color. Different hair, different clothing, different abilities, etc. So either the author is simply trying to get a rise out of people, or, they simply knew of a black main character named Aisha and assumed the first black girl she saw was her without doing a second of further research. How is that okay? –– Also, while on the subject of Aisha, she is a black girl with natural hair shown in a bevy of beautiful styles throughout the show. Not only that, but she is strong, empowering, intelligent, brave, independent, compassionate, oh, and a Princess. –– Aisha is not portrayed as a stereotype in the slightest in this show; she was not brought into the story as a slave seeking freedom, a girl from a broken home, or a poverty-stricken girl from an inner city slum desperate to better herself. No, she was born into royalty, has two loving parents, a happy and stable relationship, and is always portrayed as self-confident and exuberant. Why is this important? It’s an archetype we rarely see on American screens: a black person with status, and a woman at that.
Not to mention, as someone who has kept track of the series since the very beginning, I can tell you that the show has featured many recurring characters and background people of color. Yes, the show is still very white-dominated, which is something a lot of us in the WC fandom want to see change, but the point is, don’t call a series out on being something it is not [racist] when the reality is, it’s done a better and more open job of positively portraying people of all kinds of races ever since its release than many shows do right now in 2015. –– I the main cast, there are three white girls [again, still a predominantly white show], a hispanic, an asian, and a black girl. They have also showcased interracial relationships in a positive light; Flora, the hispanic female in the main cast, has an asian fiancé. Aisha, the black member of the main cast, has had both a black and a white boyfriend, and there have been numerous background couples in the same boat. Not to mention the fact that the series’ creator and his wife are in a longstanding interracial marriage.
If the author had done an ounce of research on the series and its content, or even watched a few episodes, they would see that this is loaded with positive role models of many races. –– Does the show in its continuance need more representation with people of color? I think so, and I think it could happen! Again, I think that using an afro for the scene was just a foolish choice. But Winx Club racist? No way.
Exsqueeze me? Hi, I’m a Winx fan and I kindly disagree with you. I’m sorry but your research is incorrect. Nickelodeon did not air that episode because they picked up the show at season 5 and it costed too much to dub the first two seasons, so they aired specials in their place. The episode was not redubbed because of that scene. The voice cast in the first video was not approved to air on 4kids TV, they wanted to have their own voice actors for the show. Also, PLEASE do not judge a 6 season series by about 45 seconds. I find that ignorant. I fact, I argue that the show is not racist. Have you met Princess Aisha/Layla of the Winx Club. An black PRINCESS who is easily ONE OF THE STRONGEST IN THE ENTIRE SERIES. I will go on to say that there are no such things as racial boundaries in the Winx Club world. I have seen EVERY EPISODE at least 3 times, and racism has never been brought up. Please stop feeding your readers ignorant crap.
I’ve actually had people who touched my hair without permission say that they thought it was going to be bouncy and smooshy like that. I do think that this video is a really negative representation about afros.
the character literally says “Normally my hair is straight but then it just poofed up.” And she melts down. She runs into other girls around the corner who look at her and sneer “Nice hair” at her.
I think it’s definitely making fun of her hair.
And I don’t think that a child, the target audience of this show, is going to be sitting watching this and going “well clearly, the issue is that it’s mooshy like jello, not that it’s no longer straight.” I think the mooshy animation is done by someone who has never touched natural hair and is making an assumption about what it feels like, like people I have met in my own life.
And I don’t think that we can just shrug it off and say “we’re being too sensitive,” because frankly – it’s the small, seemingly-innocuous things that, when not knocked down while they’re small, become huge towering redwoods – especially in the minds of kids. Watching a favorite character freak out when her straight hair became poofy really is not a good image to show to a child you are trying to convince of the beauty of poofy hair. =p
It’s kind of a no-brainer. We don’t have to accept what other people dish out. And frankly, I don’t accept this.
My boyfriend’s daughter is only 7 years old but she has already learned (somehow by only watching Disney when she’s at her maternal grandparents’ house) that white people are prettier. Does Disney show anything specifically targeting ethnic minorities and portraying them as being uglier? Not overtly. Has her family? Not overtly – she’s Mexican and white, her dad’s girlfriend is black – her school is full of just about every ethnicity you can imagine, BUT she has still learned that white people are prettier. So correcting that is my current mission.
Cartoons are not harmless.
The girls who sneer at her are the ones who turned her hair into that mass or wobblyness in the first place. They are witches who are bullies. But to me this episode is not wrong. At the time this episode aired in the early 2000s, most Black girls I know (and I am black) would have felt the same. They all wanted straight long hair and made me feel that my designation to remain natural was wrong. This ideal is perpetuated by their own mothers who have done the same to themselves and took their daughters to get their hair done so they can be more beautiful. This episode reflects the real life that I lived in.
I do understand that cartoons aren’t harmless but I believe that if we are to teach our children and raise them with confidence 20 second incidences like this shouldn’t influence their self image. It certainly didn’t mine and I was the same age as the protagonists when I watched the show. Still I am happy that you are going to help your niece.
Nevertheless, the idea behind Winx is a show which highlight people from different planets and dimensions. Racial issues are not intended to be a factor because the show population is supposed to be very diverse and interracial couples play a big role. With 6 seasons aired that contain 26 episodes each, this 20 second play is the only instance of “racism” and even I cannot rationalize it as such despite my proud heritage.
As a black person with ALL NATURAL hair that I have worn in a fro many times AND has seen this show, I find your post rather shallow. I have seen every dub of this show including the one that you speak of and was not in any way affected by it. I have confidence in myself and my hair. I do not need a show to tell me who I am or acknowledge my race or uniqueness.
Furthermore, I would have been more deeply affected if there were constant instances of ignorance and racial discrimination. Having seen every episode of the show as a long time fan, I can tell you this is the only episode with such an occurrence.
For all the people who are wound up about this article Unadinoiwinx has written an informative, truthful article about how she feels about the matter. Do yourselves a favour and read the article. Here’s the link
http://www.unadinoi-winx.com/my-response-to-afrogate-winx-club-is-not-racist/#more-23757
I love how people seem to think that this scene, clearly taken out of CONTEXT can somehow going to damage their kids self esteem. My question is this. WHO IS RAISING YOUR KIDS, YOU OR THE TV. When i was young i watched shows that where blatanly racist. Like in your face racist. Alot of parents overlook these shows. My mother brought me up in a loving environment, where i knew who i was and that i was loved and cherished regardless. All the comments on this page, show how lazy some parents are. Instead of allowing your kids to be raised by the media, why dont all of you sit down, bond with your kids and actually teach them a thing or too. PARENTING IS NOT A NOUN , ITS A VERB, which means its the act of DOING. If you expect your child will somehow MAGICALLY GAIN SELF ESTEEM FROM THE SHOWS THEY WATCH Then you are not being a parent. PLAIN AND SIMPLE!!
I think all the negative comments on the show, are just a reflection on parents attitudes towards their kids. DO YOUR JOBS AND RAISE YOUR OWN KIDS. THE WORLD IS NOT GONNA DO IT FOR YOU.
My daughter is 6 & she loves that show. She watches it on Netflix all the time. I never saw this episode. I am going to check & see if it is on Netflix with all of the other episodes. That is so mean to make a cartoon that implies that straight hair is good and pretty & afro-textured hair is an ugly mistake. Yes, that is very racist and will damage the self-esteem of little girls if they see it.
RAISE YOUR OWN KIDS, DONT EXPECT THE WORLD TO DO YOUR JOB FOR YOU! STOP BEING LAZY AND ACTUALLY BOND WITH YOUR CHILD THEN
I fail to see what difference it makes that this character isn’t some Aisha character. I was under the impression that the point was that this show had shown natural hair in a way that’s bloody disrespectful.
I don’t care what the character’s name is or that there’s a cool character that shows up in the second season blah blah blah. The point that all these people seem to be missing, is the disrespectful and racist way natural hair was portrayed with THIS character regardless of what the character is called.
I don’t understand the apparent need some people have to completely miss the point.
your the one who completely have missed the point. you are all basing your opinions on information that is inaccurate. The point is the righter obviously doesnt know about the show then has the confidence to write about it. Secondly when writing about the show completely took the scene out of context. Whatever situation in life we deal with, we all know that the context is the most important thing.
I haven’t missed the point. You’ve either failed to make yours or have no idea what the point actually is and are making a completely specious argument.
It doesn’t matter who the character in question is. The point is about how natural afro-textured hair is depicted. Whether the character is Aisha, Mary, Tamika or whatever, the point is how natural hair is depicted. Bringing up this Aisha character is a ridiculously derailing and blatant changing of the subject.
As to taking the scene out of context did you bother to watch the video? The character is wailing because her hair “puffed up” and is no longer straight and there are other characters petting her like a bloody dog. That is disrespect. Once again, who the character is is not germane the point is how natural hair is treated.
Now your love for whatever the hell the character you’re talking about has jack to do with this ridiculously disrespectful scene. If you want to justify your love of this show that’s a conversation for another topic, one I have no interest in indulging in whatsoever.
I did not know about this cartoon, but I now know that when I do have kids I will not let my children or any child watch this and make them aware of people like this.
I feel people in the natural hair community are overly sensitive. Being natural is still a new concept to many people. When we made the decision to step outside of mainstream standard of Black beauty, we also made the decision to be judge, stared at, or criticized for our decision. Everyone won’t embrace or promote our kinks and curls the way we think they should. Black people have a distinct look that is all our own. Naturally we don’t look like any other race. We need to understand that everyone is not going to embrace us as beautiful as we are naturally. We need to love ourselves; then, our daughters will see the confidence we have and reflect it. It is not the media’s job to raise our children. Parents are the ones to instill values and beliefs in their children, so they won’t be confused in this world. If we were point out every racist thing in media and take it to heart, we will continue to be a damaged and lost people. Differences are persecuted. Know that you are different, accept the risk, and move on with life. I love being different.
Again we ask, please take this down
Who are all these hysterical children screaming ‘it’s not racist’ ‘It’s my whole childhood!’ If that ridiculous shallow mess up there is your childhood, I shouldn’t really be surprised that you have no concept of right and wrong. Why was the girl’s hair straight to begin with? And what was wrong with it being ‘puffed up’? And why the hell did it go ‘boing boing’ when touched? And are you seriously trying to justify that by saying ‘it’s like jello!’? Good grief. I’m smh – some of these comments are so utterly inane. Why does every damn body feel the need to remind us about how we’re not good enough? When my hair ‘puffs up’ I let it go – straight or not, I accept my natural texture and when humidity takes hold, I let it do what it needs to do. The above is the reason why I went natural and stayed that way. I am who I am – I am not a catastrophe, and my hair is very NICE thank you.
Again another one who has completely decided to cover her eyes when reading the comments. How can people read with such a lack of understanding or comprehension. To think that most of these people with negative comments are adults. You guys need to educate yourselfs as well as the author of this articles. Stop expecting to get self esteem from the media. This show is not incharge of developing your self esteem, you are and if you cant don that then its your problem.
So I read the comments before I watched the video. From the way people were becoming defensive and supporting the Winx show, I expected the video to be innocuous and the claims of racism overblown. I was wrong. This is clearly racist and her hair is clearly an Afro. I don’t agree that it is a gelatin texture. It looks like a dense Afro and the girl clearly states that she is distressed because her hair “puffed up”. Who describes gelatin as puffy?
Also, the producers at Nickelodeon clearly thought so as well because they decided it was too offensive to air in the U.S. I am not saying the Winx brand is racist but this scene certainly was. I am not even remotely easy to offend but they are clearly conveying that Afro-textured/kinky hair is inferior and unattractive. Call it culture or make excuses or whatever you want, but it’s wrong and its offensive. I am glad that we have started bringing attention to these incidents. We have to speak out and let it be known that these insults will not be tolerated. Period.
I disagree whole heartedly with the comment above.
Please take this down.
I’m sorry can we talk about how dumb the credit music is?! I was going to say that Winx isn’t racist. I think that people are being too sensitive when it comes natural hair. Afros don’t wobble like that? Thalles de Andros is correct on what it is all about.I don’t see where the racism is. One of the Witches has poofy hair it’s just not around afro. Besides haven’t we all had hair nightmares? It doesn’t matter whether we were going for curly or straight we’ve all have had oopsies where our hair was just NOT! Would it have better if they flipped it? Where she was going for curly and instead fried her hair and as she ran screaming down the hall you could see the strands of hair falling out her head?
Let’s talk about how when Ole Girl’s Glamour was taken off and she was no longer stunning that they disqualified her. How about that no one seems to have chub in the show. That is just being picky, but if we are going to be upset over a mess up over a wobbly afro ( which was taken out of context) then why not add those 2 things to the mix as well?
I’ve said it before and I will continue to say it. That’s why it’s important that you talk to your kids. Especially after episodes like this where you can open up some dialogue. To the aurthor of this article. You need to do BETTER research before you cry wolf. Especially Racist Wolf. Look at all of these Fans that are telling you how wrong you are and that you didn’t even have the right character! You should maybe not write until you get a better handle on proper research. I mean you are getting readers all up in arms on the cartoon and they don’t even know either they are going on what you are writing which it inaccurate. So people are upset for no reason. Look at all the others in the series that have afro like hair. Not everyone is silky straight in this cartoon.
Okay. I do not know why you replied directly to me with all of this. I was quite clear in my post that I couldn’t possibly care less about this cartoon. Nevertheless, I’m sure the creators of this show and fellow fans appreciate your support and devotion.
As a BLACK, NATURAL haired girl, I feel that this article is so misinformed it should actually be taken down. I am a natural hair girl myself, as stated and have been on the natural hair journey for two years now.I understand how the author could have seen this, and obviously jumped to the wrong conclusions. Issues like these can really hit home sometimes and i understand this. However this article is COMPLETELY taken out of context,for reasons that are mentioned by some of the winx fans in the comment section below. As a black girl who HAS WATCHED the show, from the very beginning , i can tell you this:
There is more to winx club than this website may lead you to believe. For some of us including alot of people of colour, winx club was a defining feature in our childhood. This is the show that set my imagination on fire, its the show that made me proud to not only be different, but with the introduction of the character of Aisha/Layla, made me proud to be black.This is also a show that made it cool to be a girl, that portrayed their female characters as three dimensional characters with real issues and problems, that we all to some extent relate to. In a time where you see masses of television cartoon shows aimed at boys, seeing a show that concentrated on female empowerment and girls standing up for what they believed in, was indeed refreshing. Thus im In my twenties and still watching the show.
But apart from that, do you realize that winx club is the only show that i know of, where one of the MAIN leads in the show, is not only a person of colour, but is in actual fact BLACK (both her parents are black and her father is the KING-not a servant,but KING of Andros). Tell me of any cartoon where a person of colour has EVER been given such a prominent status or part. Exactly NEVER. Not only that,but constantly thoughtout the seasons, (season 7 is coming out, for all you people that DONT EVEN WATCH THE SHOW BUT FIND THE NEED TO DISCREDIT EVERYTHING ABOUT IT ) we have constantly seen people of colour not only as main characters but supporting characters and even the people in the background. This also extends to the comic books as well.
As stated by alot of the winx fans, this show is about love, friendship, and most importantly ACCEPTANCE! Each of the characters is different and has their faults just like Stella, who is mentioned in the article. IF YOU HAD WATCHED THE SHOW you would known the type of person Stella is. Is she racist?, ABSOLUTELY NOT. Does she sometimes talk without thinking?, YES thats definately one of her many faults. In fact in the later season, Stella ( the blond haired) actually became great friends with Layla/Aisha, after they each realised that, true friendship is realising someones faults and loving them regardless. AND AGAIN ILL SAY, PLEASE WATCH THE SHOW!!!!
PS
If you had even taken the time to watch the show or even the rest of the episode at least, you would realised how wrong your observations were. WELL SOME OF US ACTUALLY WATCHED THE SHOW SO LET ME BREAK IT DOWN FOR YOU:
If you had watched the show from episode 1 you would have known the detrimental and hazardous effects that playing with magic can have. This is what happened to the character above.This is also a lesson that Stella learnt herself, when she got expelled from school when she blew up the science lab. Winx fans will know EXACTLY what im talking about, since we WATCHED the show. So i assume the black girl above was doing her hair(which ever way that was).She mixed the wrong ingredients in and it had detrimental effects on her hair. The issue is not that her hair is an AFRO, NO!, its the consistancy of the hair that is problem. When bloom (redhaired girl) approached the crying girl, TRYING TO HELP!, when she felt her hair, you could clearly see something had gone wrong with the formula or spell she had used, as her hair had a jelly-like consistancy. Like i said, I have natural hair and the last time i checked, my hair doesnt go Boing Boing when you touch, now does it? Exactly it doesnt. Now was Stella being insensitive when she stated that her hair was “catastrophe”, especially considering that fact that the girl was such an emotional state?, YES, but is what she said racist,NO IT WASNT! given the CONTEXT at which it was said .
Personally ive been on your site before and read quite a few of your articles. Ive always considered you well informed and truthful. However you have COMPLETELY missed the mark with this article. Sometimes we make mistakes, we say things we dont mean or misinterpret certain situations. This article is an example of that. If you have respect for your readers and strive to present information that is unbiased and truthful, the least you could do is to remove this article.
Oh and if you want to talk about offensive cartoons how about you start with the likes of BEN 10 ( a cartoon that had like 3-4 spinoff, yet rarely features anyone of colour) and Johnny Test ( which at one stage featured two detectives that were called “Agent White” and “Agent Black”-because one was caucasion and the other black), how about you ask why Disney waited so long to have a Black princess( Princess Tiana)…Maybe people should question the motives behind these cartoons, cartoons made in America, that blatantly show racism or exclusivity in some shape or form
As you can see from this post. Im angry, in fact, i’m livid. I couldn’t even type this reply before-this is actually my third try.This bothers me because for you guys,this may be some stupid cartoon that should be taken of the air, for some of us, this is our childhood. I am a confident black woman partly because of this cartoon. It made me proud to be who i am and not compromise myself for anyone, just like Layla/Aisha, just like Musa just like Tecna and even Flora, who were NOT willing to do so either. I applaud these girls and the creators of this show. Mr Straffi ( the italian creator of the show) did an amazing job.
So please check yourself and your information before posting such articles.
Oh and do remember, there’s more to winx club than fairies and magic. It about HEART, LOVE, SPIRIT and FRIENDSHIP. This is what the show represents. This is what being a winx girl means to me.
You still sound like a child. Grow up and face reality.
Really and here you are commenting on a childrens show. Maybe your the one who needs to grow up.
I totally and completely agree with you, I might not have a colored skin myself, but a lot of my friends do in fact have a colored skin. The main thing I always liked about Winx club is the acceptance towards everyone, no matter how you look. The winx girls have accepted Aisha and never looked at her with any kind of disrespect and you are completely right about her family, who are king and queen of Andros. Aisha herself is courageous, caring and such a strong and fine character and definitely one of my favorite characters of all time. She has had so much character development. I was really mad when I read this article, because clearly this person didn’t research anything at all. I’m glad you wrote this comment with your heart and it showed the true side of Winx club, the part where everyone is accepted, loved and so strong of heart. Friendship is so important in this show and I am so proud when people call me a Winx fan, because I know what Winx represents.
BGLH is becoming obsessed with articles based around racism…sometimes i wanna read articles about hair and not get worked up…i come here to take a breather not leave upset.
This article is wack . I used to watch Winx Club . I’m pretty sure it was my favourite cartoon at some point .This show is in no way racist . One of the main characters is black . I don’t remember Aisha but I do remember Layla as the black character . Maybe when Nickelodeon acquired the series they changed her name or I just forgot this character .
considering that this article has basically got a lot of the information wrong, I think it should be rewritten so the misinformation doesn’t spread any further. :/
no its the RAI English dub. In the 4 kids dub they changed the issue to be her voice. nick didn’t dub the first few seasons at all.
Hi, I came to give my opinion on the fact Winx Club being racist or not.
Well, the design is not racist, one of the protagonists is black and has african hair, and is strong, beautiful, she’s perfect, I am a big fan of this character, back to the subject, the design itself is not racist or prejudiced, but some fans, many drawing fans despresam Aisha (character which I have spoken above), due to the color, if you follow the drawing, you will see that the design is not racist, I wanted to re-evaluate your opinion about it, please, thank you.
So it cant be racist if there are black people in the show? You sound very naive.
BGLH, you done goofed. Thank you BGLH readers for explaining the error in this article.
First of all look at them not to talk nonsense! THIS GIRL IS NOT AISHA! Aisha first appears in the second season, this episode is from the first, and second the girl was crying because her hair was straight and become a living gelatin, you can clearly note when she puts the hand on it and starts swinging. Winx is nothing racist. The true Aisha has Afro hair and have used it several more topping time in series as you can see below!
The video girl is not Aisha
This girl is the Aisha
Before you write something like this, do your research. Nickelodeon NEVER aired this episode. The only American dub that aired this episode is 4Kids. Nickeldeon never even aired the first season in it’s entirety, only 3 1-hour specials highlighting important events, not irrelevant things like this. And public outrage? What magician hat are you pulling this info from? 4Kids changes the script completely anyways so this isn’t any different.
And did you not hear the video? She said her hair is NATURALLY straight. I would be in complete shock too if my straight hair became a huge afro all of the sudden. No one is attacking black girls hair here. No one even said, “Oh no! My afro looks like black people hair! What a catastrophe!”
Before you write articles slamming down shows because of these things, do thorough research, examine the situation from all sides, and don’t bring out issues about race when there isn’t one. If this is another article of a series, I’m not surprised if the others are full of false statements as well…
This girl is not Aisha. Let me tell you something… The real problem is not the hair form but the fact it was like a jelly. Come on, how can you say that about Winx if you don’t even know who’s this character.
Now please, listen who Aisha really is: The most brave, cool, clever, strong woman in this show. Everybody loves her style. It’s really sad you judge so much without knowing the hole story.
Look at her beautiful hair. They were not trying to insult anybody.
Hope it makes you change your mind!
Hm… The first scene is seemingly from the Fox 4kids network, and I think the second one is from Nickelodeon. Nickelodeon and 4Kids used different voice actors for each of the characters and different editing.
Anyway, I do remember this episode but barely.
A bit before Winx Club started airing, ABC showed a show called “W.I.T.C.H.” Based in a younger high school setting In which there was a black character (African, perhaps) named Taranee. However, this character actually wore her natural hair and African clothing pretty often in the series, where as the black (and the Asian) college-aged Winx girls would be more into European fashion and straight hair. :/
Aaaand the confusing part is that both series are Italian.
O.o;
I know that the issue of Racism is huge and all, but let me tell you, that woman is NOT Aisha. Aisha first appears in Season 2, not Season 1. Before you highlight something like this, I suggest that you do your research properly. I know what Aisha looks like and that woman that you put in calming that she’s the Fairy of Waves/Morphix, that’s just an extra, who’s ended up having a bad hair day because of a competition (MIss Magix is similar to the Miss America Pageant if you haven’t realized already) so looks does matter and you should know that for any pageant like this. I challenge you (and anyone who read this) to watch not only the original, and the 4Kids version of Miss Magix. 4Kids when they were still around had to do edits because they had rules to follow, and they toned this scene really well so it didn’t have the attack of racism that you mention on the African-Americans. Why else did Rainbow S.r.l make the 4 part specials for Nickelodeon for the American Reboot and not the first 2 seasons?
Rainbow S.r.l didn’t mean for this to happen, nor making fun of the
African-Americans and people with the similar hair color. It’s how
someone view things and it ended up as this. It’s not their fault that
this happened, and everyone reacted because over a hairstyle gone wrong!
Get a grip! There is another girl in the main group who is tanned but
no-one make a complaint or made a fuss about her, so why just pick out
on one race when there is another race that is similar? Didn’t you guys
know that the show was inspired by Sailor Moon? Like I said, do your research. Don’t base it on one small thing.
For those interested in actually learning anything about the show:
THIS is Aisha, not the girl above in the videos. Aisha is a fairy from the realm of Andros, a realm of water and mermaids. She’s sporty, active, loves to dance, in one version of the show is called ‘Layla’ and has a serious issue with boys who think she’s a damsel who needs saving.
She has gorgeous wavy hair, and as the series progresses her hair goes into all sorts of styles like everyone elses. Wavy pigtails and afro’s included.
She’s actually my favourite character because she’s a kick-ass fairy with amazing water based magic.
Please, do some research before you post something like this.
This is not Aisha, it’s a random girl that never appears in Winx except in this short scene. Also she said herself that her hair is naturally straight, so in which way is it insulting ‘her afro’? In this episode the antagonists of the series tried to manipulate all participants of a beauty contest (like her). Also the main problem the girl had with her hair was that it was pretty gummy and dosen’t look natural.
The second version isn’t the Nickelodeon version, but the 4Kids one. Nickelodeon didn’t take over Winx before 2012 (I think). And they never aired the first season.
Winx actually is one of the least rasist cartoons I know. Characters in this show all have different skin or hair colors and no one in it seems to have a problem with it. Winx basically shows little kids that your nationality doesn’t matter, so I don’t understand how this short scene that is taken out of context shows racism.
And to finish my ranting of this poorly written argument I finish with this…
I have reached out to black fans of the series and they have commented on how they find it offensive you would label this character ‘Aisha’ when she clearly isn’t the Aisha in the series. What? All the black characters in this are now interchangeable and ALL the black girls portrayed in the series are instantly ‘Aisha’.
Disgusting.
Cut out the fake outrage . If you women are so spineless you’ll let them poke fun at your ass because they have some black girl with blue eyes you like in the show the you’re pathetic .
Wait…but you do realise that there are people on this planet that are black that do have blue eyes. It happens, its one of the awesome things about genetics…it just happens. And secondly i dont think you are in a position to call anyone spineless. First you have never even met angrywinxfan and for you to insinuate something about her character, based solely on the fact that she has an opinion about a specific matter, a matter where the author of this article, was in fact misinformed, she has every right to voice her opinion. And your comment shows a complete lack of maturity on your part. you dont have to attack a persons character just because your views are one dimensional
Please do your research, that character isn’t Aisha, that’s just a background character.
That’s not even princess Aisha/Layla. She didn’t appear until the second season. Second, the version (Rai version) that does make the hair an issue never appeared on nickelodeon or in America. Only the 4kids versions that made it about her voice did. The Rai version is on Netflix though.
My toddler loves a show called Daniel Tiger. There are 3 black characters in it, and all 3 have natural styles and it is never an issue. Just want to share the good that is happening in children’s cartoons!
Ohhhhhh my god. Oh my god. Okay, sit down and read this. First of all, this is NOT Princess Aisha. Aisha isn’t introduced until season 2, and her hair is BEAUTIFULLY natural from the start. In fact, the designers always give her special hairstyles to show off her (beautiful) frizziness. This girl is just some random who appeared for like ten seconds in just that one episode. Also, Nick never dubbed that episode, that’s the 4kids dub.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not excusing this scene. Winx Club did cross the line with this one. But here’s the thing: Winx Club is one of the least racist cartoons on children’s TV. Three out of the main six girls are women of color. That’s 50%. Obviously, that’s not really much, but when you compare it to other children shows……. wow. It’s a lot. And these girls are never, and I mean never, made fun of for their race. (in case you’re wondering, Aisha is black, Flora is latina and Musa is asian)
TL;DR: yes this joke was racist but in the future please educate yourself about the show before talking shit please thanks
Guys, that AIN’T event Aisha… It was before her character was even introduced, and ever since she WAS introduced in the SECOND season, the writers have learned to be very open and accepting about her race- and her hair is always beautifully big and puffy.
Yes, there is some racist mentality in Italy because it’s not very mixed there, but this show is revolutionary for them because it shows such strong and racially-diverse girls, and the writers do learn from their mistakes.
JEALOUSY! Always have and always will be. Mainstream is America’s way of expressing envy for something they cannot achieve. We are likely the only group of people who do not have to use root lifters huge rollers and such to copycat volume. Just let it be known!
I think it needs to be pointed out that this is actually one of the original dubs done by a company called RAI English. When 4Kids Entertainment dubbed the show for america it was them who changed the script and got rid of this part. Nick only started dubbing episodes in 2011 so they have nothing to do with the earlier episodes. The original version is still up on netflix too.
Okaaaay, not trying to be disrespectful, just trying to give constructive criticism to the author of this blog post. This post is filled with misinformation, more than likely because the author may not know much about the show. If you’re going to post about a show you don’t know much about a little research helps a lot. Yes, the Winx Club is an Italian made show that went global due to popularity. It is an ongoing show in Italy, but here in the US is been taken off the air twice. The clip you are showing is the dub done by Rai, it’s when they first tried to bring the show over here, which was back in like 2004. 4kids TV bought the rights to Winx Club and dubbed/edited the first 3 seasons of the show and changed that scene because they thought it too “risque”, however they gave up the rights by 2008. In 2010 then Nickelodeon bought the rights to Winx Club and continued on from where 4Kids left off. So blaming Nickelodeon for the whole thing is pretty ridiculous since they only acquired rights and didn’t make it themselves, this is also the network that gave us Avatar: The Last Air Bender and Legend of Korra. They did no “switcheroo” due to outrage as pointed out in the article, this never happened at all. They’ve only aired the 4kids version as I pointed out. The only place that has the original Rai dub is netflix which I’m assuming everyone discovered this on. Second, you got the characters all wrong in this post saying that that character is Princess Aisha because well she’s not. It’s just some random nameless character, not anyone from the main cast at all. This episode is from season one, Aisha comes in season two. Aisha has long flowing curly hair that is never straight, so to confuse her with a character that is crying because her naturally straight hair was turned into an afro she can’t manage is kind of a boo boo. Princess Aisha is always shown as beautiful with her hair, and even the evil witch character Stormy is shown to be “fab” with a fro of her own. Hope this clarifies things a little. I grew up with Winx Club, was a huge fan as a little girl and have seen all dubbed version. They don’t have issues with “black beauty” and honestly taking this clip out of context is a bit silly. I can see why it’s problematic for people who know absolutely nothing about the show because going by the clip alone makes it look terrible, but all these natural hair sites posting this over and over with misinformation is making this out to be what it was not meant to be.
How about some research?
First this isn’t Aisha, as Aisha didn’t appear in Winx Club until the 2nd season. This is just a random girl who wanted to take part in a Beauty Contest. The antagonists of the series put a spell on her hair, because they manipulated all participants, so someone for whom they ‘worked’ can win.
Then she said her hair is normally straight, so she doesn’t seem to have an afro (not too mention that the problem this girl has with her hair isn’t only how it looks, but also that it is gummy).
And then the second version of it isn’t the Nickelodeon one, but 4Kids. Nickelodeon didn’t air Winx back then and they never dubbed the first season.
Winx Club has characters of different nationalities in it. Hair or skin color doesn’t matter at all. Actually no kind of racism happens in this cartoon. [And there are also characters in it who do have an afro.]
This was a short scene that was taken out of context.
This is just a tip of the iceberg of Nickelodeons inappropriateness. Why is the black female character on a children’s show dressed like a prostitute from a blackploitation film? What message are they trying to send about black female sexuality when the rest of the characters have on complete tops? I will not stand idly by and watch corporate America turn our girl children into whores. They are also in very hot water about drawing a woman with completely exposed breast in a recent cartoon. If this doesn’t convince parents to turn the channel then disaster will follow. Wake up!
Italians have an “interesting” view of Black people.
Unfortunately when other countries buy in series they don’t look at how all the characters are portrayed.
Let’s remember that if people actually respected the beauty and versatility of kinky hair, if the world was largely educated on its characteristics or even had passing familiarity with common styles, we would not be outraged. The outrage is not the problem, the continued devalue of Afro-textured hair is. A black character’s Afro being called a catastrophe is a symptom of ignorance. We can say all day that “it’s just a silly cartoon” or “who cares”, but the same mentality going into cartoons are going into international beauty advertising and adult television. That mindset is in every professional office. Call it out (calmly and with temperance) whenever you see it because that’s the only way people will learn.
WELL SAID!
But that wasn’t it. Does your Afro wobble like Jello? Mine doesn’t. Besides what’s wrong with wanting your hair to be one way then doing something wrong and it doesn’t come out right?
Well, the winx club is actually an Italian series brought to America. So when you put it in that context we should’t be surprised. When you bring stuff over from other cultures you can’t be shocked if they may upset you. * Also ,NOT IN ANY WAY DEFENDING WHAT HAPPENED*
Yes this is very bad to see in cartoons, because of this show im studying animation so that i can create a positive pro black cartoon for girls and boys one day soon!!!! Woah ok this cartoon is actually an Italian kids show that started airing in 2004 in Italy on a network called Rai Due . The episode above aired actually when i was age 14 back in 2004 later in the United States. Not 2010 this show was on 4Kids TV Fox network for a very long time from 2004 – 2008. Cartoon Network stated airing Winx Club in 2005. Nickelodeon did not start airing until 2011.
Basically this is not a Nickelodeon issue this is a world wide issue about people of color with kinky curly and coily hair. We need more Black Cartoon Animators the cartoon animation field is ran by white people. I have noticed its always a white cartoon hero or heroin. If it was ever a black character in a cartoon that character would be a side kick.
This was everything I was about to say. Thank you !
Thanks for explaining this.
Italians often have very curly hair which they straighten and have a known issue with calling Black people names in public, including their own Black government ministers, which are now unacceptable in English speaking countries. This explains the reactions and actions of the White characters to the Black character’s afro.
If the cartoon was from the US, Canada or the UK then the White characters would have looked at the Black character confused rather than voicing an opinion. The reason I state that is I remember there was a scene in Austin Powers where Beyonce’s natural hair changed size and Austin Power’s looked extremely confused.
It would have been great if her original character design had a fro or something.
It doesn´t surprise me anymore… It´s a white tv program made by white people for white people. Yes it´s insulting but we have to stop expecting them to value our beauty or who we are. Instead we should focus on creating and broadcasting content that represent and respect the black community. Hopefully the others communities will learn to respect us. In the meantime, we can teach our kids how to be critical so that they don’t give due importance to those kind of s**t.
We always have to remember that this is aimed at children. My children watch this show. We need to teach our children to look for this kind of disrespect and be aware of it.
I used to be all about the Winx Club back in the day! I had no idea that scene existed, but the writers obviously were unaware that afros are a thing. Even with the rewrite I couldn’t help but see the original scene because it hits so close to home. And considering how Aisha never looks like that, one could use context clues and see that the girls were probably not talking about her voice.
And Isn’t Aisha the princess of the sea or something? Her hair shouldn’t be straight in the first place lol.
That’s not Aisha. That’s a background character from season 1, in an episode which aired WAAAY before princess Aisha was even introduced into the show.
lol dang my bad! I haven’t seen the show in a while. Shouldn’ve double checked! But I really liked it back then.
This isn’t Aisha
Oh, I’m a little surprised a major network would actually pull this. But I really shouldn’t be I suppose.
This made me sad.
Racism? Girl bye. I’m getting really sick of everyone shouting that at every single representation of black people or black issues they don’t like on tv. Not everything is a controversy. Especially not some cartoon. It’s YOUR job as parents to instill in your children values, morals, and self-esteem. Not Hollywood. Save your anger for real issues that matter like black rights and police brutality.
In a way I agree with you. Our own people feel this way about their hair. It could have been all the creators heard about natural hair and just associated with some bad. It’s not all on them. It’s on us as well.
The problem is that there are women who definitely behave like this. While attitudes are thankfully changing, it is a slow process for the message to make it to the mainstream media. There is no denying that there have always been digs made at our hair and that the characteristics of our hair are routinely mocked or seen as unwanted by others. I often see non blacks bemoaning the fact that their hair has turned into an ‘afro’. It’s good that Nickolodeon changed the plot but sadly there are many black women who think like and behave like this character. The portrayal wasn’t born in a vacuum.
Wow i use to watch this show when i was younger smh thats sad afros are beautiful idc what anyone says about black hair but its the best!!!
I had never seen this show. Now that I’ve seen a clip of it, I realize I didn’t miss anything. So, an idiot made a stupid cartoon many years ago with characters saying what many people still, and always will, think of our hair? Got it.
I have read comments in other places about this video. At no time should we be silent when faced with blatant disrespect, but it is interesting to observe how some people seem to be pining for acknowledgement, approval, and validation from outsiders to make up for their own apparent lack of pride in themselves and their own culture.
To be honest, if something happened to my afro, and all of a sudden my hair became straight, I would be having a meltdown worse than hers. Why? Prepare yourselves to be shocked…straight hair is not everyone’s standard of beauty.
The writer of this article didn’t do their research and I suggest others do before shaming the show.
Winx club has always shown a broad range of girls with a lot of different beauty standards. The show encourages friendship, being nice and helpful, girl power and being accepting of everyone.
The girl in this clip isn’t a main character, and the ‘afro’ isn’t an afro it’s hair messed up by a spell to look like jelly.
The actual character of Aisha, who DOES NOT have straight silky hair, nor is she even in season 1 has long, curly/wavy hair which is often put up into an afro.
Don’t allow television and radio to raise/ guide our children. Start at home and they will have the tools needed to overcome any injustice that will appear during their lifetime.