Hey all!

So I read a post written by @Halszka454 that some of you may have already come across a while back discussing whitewashing in Winx Club, particularly with Aisha and Flora's characters. I think that this is a really important topic that needs to be acknowledged and talked about more frequently/openly. I wrote a reply to that post bringing up other related issues that I don't hear about often/at all in this fandom and I thought I should also share it as its own post so that some of you have a chance to read about it and hopefully open up the discussion again. This is a link to the original post and my reply, so if you haven't read it, I strongly recommend you do: https://winx.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000000000359/r/4400000000000049199

Skintones | FandomI'm really disappointed how winx' skintones have…winx.fandom.com

This was my reply to that post, with a few, minor changes:

Not trying to stir old tea, but I always felt like Winx Club "struggled" with diversity. I say "struggle" because I can see how the creators of the show tried to be more inclusive even before inclusivity became the status quo, but there were definitely a lot of things that just didn't age well.

The first thing that comes to mind @Halszka454 has already discussed: skin colors/tones. It’s obvious that Aisha and Flora's skin became lighter over the seasons, but can we talk about Musa for a sec? Musa is inspired by or supposed to be of East Asian descent based on her character design and the culture represented in her realm of Melody. Her mother, Matlin, is very clearly of East Asian descent and her father, Ho-Boe, looks like he might be either East Asian or white (or both, its a bit unclear). I’ve always wondered that if Musa is supposed to be of East Asian descent, why is her skin tone lighter compared to some of the other white Winx? This is especially evident in the earlier seasons. The thing is that most East Asians have naturally tan skin with a yellow undertone (I’m not trying to use a racial slur here btw). While pale skin is considered "desirable," I don’t feel like Musa is an accurate representation of what East Asians actually look like, but more like the beauty standard in that part of the world, which it’s in or itself exclusive toward people with darker skin. In any case, it wouldn’t make sense that Musa would be much lighter than the rest of the girls (with the exception of Tecna, who is white and has the same exact skin color and tone), and it would’ve been nice for the Winx to be made up of girls with a variety of skin tones and colors, not just two noticeably dark-skinned girls. I’m not even going to dive into the idea of “token” characters because Winx Club was certainly not the only show guilty of this during the 2000s. However, I think that this needs to be acknowledged and I hope that they make a more sincere effort to be diverse in the future, particularly with the main cast.

Then there’s that weird scene in season 1, which did not age well at all. I’m talking about that scene in “Miss Magix” (s01, ep12) where one of the pageant contestants (who is black) becomes upset and cries because the Trix turned her “straight” hair into what pretty much looks like an afro. To be fair, the spell was supposed to make her hair turn into a jelly-like consistency but it just looks like an afro. It literally feels like they were putting down textured hair and while it definitely was not an isolated, Winx-only problem, I cringe when I look back at that episode.

And finally, there’s the way that the show’s creators market the Winx girls of color. I recently came across this old, since-deleted website that was used to promote the first Winx movie in Italy. It contains the profiles of a few of the characters and for some reason, both Aisha and Musa are singled out for their race and ethnicity. Half of Aisha’s profile is just talking about her appearance and she is described as having a “chocolate complexion” (“carnagione color cioccolato”). This is what they had to say of Musa: “The slightly elongated eyes and the shape of the face are even more reminiscent of the typical oriental features, don't you think?” (“Gli occhi un pò allungati e la forma del viso ricordano ancor più i tratti tipici orientali, non trovi?”). They did not single out any of the other white fairies for any “exotic” features and some of this language is super outdated and objectifying. I can’t help but roll my eyes while reading it. (You can take a look at the website yourself, it's in Italian: https://web.archive.org/web/20081220155718/http://www.winxclub.com/personaggi_it.php?id=5&lingua=en)

All in all, I’m not trying to say that Winx Club is racist or a bad show for not being inclusive enough, especially when kid shows were not held up to that standard 15+ years ago. I just hope that they push toward a more inclusive cast of characters and celebrate diversity in the future. It’s not too late to make improvements.

Does anyone else remember the old Winx Club website? The current one is alright, but I miss the old one.

Here's what I'm talking about:

The Winx Club website was basically the OG Winx Club Wiki. I remember reading the info cards about each character. I even remember reading about Valentine's Day (that knowledge came in useful earlier this year for a Kahoot game).

Here's a website page that talks a little bit more about the site, with pictures showing the Portuguese version: https://winxrewatch.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/do-you-remember-the-old-website/

Do you remember… the old website?Winxed

Ah, the memories. 😪

Do you have any memories of the old website?

I wanted to know what the name of the song is at 0:51. Please tell me.

Winx Club - All Side Fairies/Characters Transformations! HD!YouTube

http://chng.it/FtGMgYCDjJ - Join in my petition for remake of season 8 with the original designs!

Sign the PetitionChange.org