Finding inclusive images
Images can reinforce teaching points for students and add interest to slides, particularly when teaching online. When images are not selected with diversity in mind, however, some students will feel that they are literally left out of the picture. Culturally responsive teaching should include the use of images that reflect the diverse representation of the students in your course.
A quick Google image search for the term "University students" reveals that, though there does appear to have been an attempt to be inclusive in the representation of students, there are still many gaps (such as visible religious minorities, trans inclusion, size inclusion, age diversity, diverse abilities, etc.).
Google image search (August 2021).
Other image searches, such as those for people in Computer Science students or Engineer, can return results that have gender biases, and some identities, such as visibly LGBTQ+, short-statured, and physically disabled students, are almost entirely absent. When selecting images for your presentations or class materials, keep diversity in mind, and try to ensure that your students can see themselves represented in the content.
Sources for inclusive images
- Blush DesignEasily create and customize stunning illustrations with collections made by artists across the globe.
- Images of empowermentToo often, images from low- and middle-income countries focus on poverty and tremendous need rather than what we see everywhere we go: women in decision-making roles, working to earn income, and accessing and providing reproductive health information and services to care for themselves and their families.
- PixtonGive your students superpowers!
Turn them into comic creators. Pixton cures classroom boredom and empowers every student, by unleashing their artistic and writing potential. - Vice Gender Spectrum Collection:The Gender Spectrum Collection is a stock photo library featuring images of trans and non-binary models that go beyond the clichés. This collection aims to help media better represent members of these communities as people not necessarily defined by their gender identities—people with careers, relationships, talents, passions, and home lives.
- ALLGO Free Plus-Size Stock PhotosA collection of images of plus-size people "doing normal things and existing". Free to use.
- Disabled and HereDisabled And Here is a disability-led stock image and interview series celebrating disabled Black, Indigenous, people of color (BIPOC).
- NappyWe launched nappy; to provide beautiful, high-res photos of black and brown people to startups, brands, agencies, and everyone else. Nappy makes it easy for companies to be purposeful about representation in their designs, presentations, and advertisements.
- PIcnoiWe are a coop of stock image photography. We recognize that most other FREE stock image sites have very few or no images of people of color. We sought out to create a space where publishers, bloggers, website owners, marketers, designers, graphic artists, advertisers and the like can easily search and find diverse multi-racial images.
- WOCinTechStock photos of women of colour in tech, free to use.
- TONLFind culturally diverse stock photos that represent the true world we live in. Creating an inclusive culture takes both commitment and action. A diverse mix of voices leads to better discussions for everyone.
Digital Blackface
Coined by Joshua Lumpkin Green and popularized in a Teen Vogue article by Lauren Michele Jackson, digital blackface refers to the use of images and videos that create a caricature of Black people and culture. These appear in memes and gifs that are often used by white posters. The digital phenomenon is related to blackface minstrelsy, theatrical performances in which white performers would blacken their faces and perform exaggerated, racist stereotypes of Black people. Gifs, Bitmojis. and memes of black people, often black women, reacting expressively and including what Jackson refers to as "butchered AAVE [African American Vernacular English]" have become common in texts and social media platforms, posted by white users to represent their own reactions. This use of digital blackface often reinforces negative stereotypes about Black people and contributes to online anti-black racism. When including memes and GIFs in your presentation slides, think carefully about which ones you are selecting, ...
Content warning: This video contains historical footage of blackface minstrel shows which you may find offensive.