Intersectional and diverse stories for children and young adults

A list of books, TV, films, comics suitable for children and young adults to introduce the concept of intersectionality and diversity.

One of our most important duties as parents is to expose our children to a diverse array of intersectional characters in the stories that shape their perception and beliefs of the world.

Note - This is an ongoing list. If you have any recommendations or spot any gaps of intersectionality, or indeed more appropriate and respectful language to use, please let me know on Twitter, send me an email, or create a pull request.

Films

  • Home (2015) - A wonderful story about friendship, being wrong and making mistakes, individuality, understanding and accepting those that are different, love and loss, dealing with emotions. The protagonist is a strong, young female person of colour. Don’t let the reviews put you off, this was fantastic!
  • Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) - This is a stonker of a film! The visual lusciousness, wonderfully rich universe and bangin’ soundtrack are all unmatched amongst the long list of superhero films. A story about family relationships, masculinity, loss, right and wrong, finding your voice, teamwork. The protagonist is a young male person of colour as he navigates an array of male relationships and what it means to become a young man.
  • The Speed Cubers - A truly inspiring true story about autism, dedicated parenting, and the emotions of competition and friendship. The story follows two young men, one with autism and his long-time competition rival and role model, on their emotional journey of winning and losing.

TV

  • She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) - An inventive reboot of the 80s TV show with a refreshing representations of strong female characters. A fantastic array of rich, honest and vulnerable characters that makes this, in my opinion, some of the best TV. It feels like more like a contemporary sitcom than a children’s television programme. It follows a strong a group of strong female protagonists, mostly white, and subtly addresses femininity, friendship, identity (good/evil), understanding and choose between right and wrong.