RealGirls is a 50 page coloring book created by many different artists with the aim of providing girls with healthy and realistic images they can identify so that they might remain proud and confident. Our story began 9 years ago when my daughter, Lydia, was eight, she and I were sewing clothes for her Barbies, and had trouble making the dresses fit well on their tiny waists. In frustration, I said, "Why don't they just make real girls?" And with that, we began our long journey producing a book that celebrates girls' unique and beautiful differences.
First, I reached out to community groups, student associations, art galleries, and college art programs, to meet with artists who were equally passionate about creating an alternative to the limited, and highly stereotyped, princesses and dolls that saturate our mainstream popular culture. Artists include: Alexandra Doty, Bohrha Yoon, Brianna Verser, Christopher Harrison, Jessica Wen, Ji Un Kim, KB Lor, Kia Vang, Lara Fuentes, Liza Goncharova, Lucy Bixby, Magdalena Szymaniec, Michael Maley, Paige Miller, Rachel Beenken, Ricardo Grijalva, Tara Sullivan, Yasmine Nur, Yolei Yang, and Randall Nelson. They identified things they felt weren't represented, and created girls that incorporated those qualities, or sketched friends or family members they felt embodied those qualities. They also used the opportunity to invest their artwork with visual messages addressing things that were important to them like, socioeconomic concerns, education, and cultural identity. One artist created a girl with a huge smile, understated clothing, and books in her arms, another created a girl wearing a traditional, culturally-specific scarf. These are just two examples of how artists chose to communicate pride in education and cultural identity.
As artists gave me their pencil sketches, I brought them to artist Randall Nelson, and challenged him to develop a line art style that could accommodate all of the fine details needed to capture the subtle qualities each artist was embedding in their sketch. He transformed the sketches into the intricate line art style. Artists provided feedback, thoughts, concerns, and corrections, until finally, they gave their approval of the artwork. Each RealGirl has taken many rounds of corrections and many months to complete.
Along the way, we had the idea to reach out to organizations that support girls with physical differences, girls battling illnesses, and girls with learning challenges, to request permission to feature girls they recommended. We were honored to have partnered with: Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, Lucky Fin Project, Helping Hands Foundation, National Down Syndrome Society, Axis Dance Company, and The Cleft Lip & Palate Foundation of Smiles. Through these partnerships, we've met some amazing girls who are breaking stereotypes and defying any and all limitations in their own way every day.
Holding the first copy of the book in my hands was so rewarding. All of the hard work of so many people finally came to fruition. Our mission to provide girls with images they can identify, to celebrate and empower girls. was finally ready to go out into the world. We know it's a lofty goal, but we hope to begin a self-confidence revolution, among girls everywhere.
