Creator Bless Hutcherson on the Importance of Black Representation in Media

For 19-year-old Chicago-based content creator and actress Bless Hutcherson, social media is more than simply just an app; it is an important tool to facilitate Black representation in the media. 

“Throughout my time on TikTok and Instagram, I have strived to be a positive role model for the Black community in its entirety, through makeup, fashion and my experiences,” says Hutcherson. “With every video, I transform myself with hair and makeup as a means of displaying the ethereal beauty of Black women that society, unfortunately, has undermined throughout history.”

Now, the creator has helmed over 53.9k followers on Instagram and 421.1k on TikTok, creating her own community of like-minded individuals who value the art of ethereal beauty and solid representation through the means of social media. Below, we speak to Hutcherson about her journey with content creation, building her community, and what she feels she’s accomplished with the use of her large platform.

How did you first get started with content creation?

Even though I started my interest in content creation almost 9 years ago, I didn’t take it seriously until March 2020’s quarantine. One of the most important things about content creation is finding your niche, knowing what you’re passionate about and wanting to create. I chose skincare and beauty content because that's what I knew and already loved. 

It was truly a fun place to escape during a time when things weren’t the best. I loved having others tell me what they wanted to see, asking me for my recommendations and letting me know when they purchased one of my holy grails and if it's working out for them or not.

Content creation helped me find my own community and be welcomed, which often wasn't the case in my reality. Regardless of where I started, I knew I had room to grow whether that meant changing my content or trying a trend or two.

Tell us about your history with beauty and cottagecore fashion. How has your style and the way you’ve carried yourself grown over the years?

My style evolution has been a journey, to say the least. I like to remember my style in phases – from experimenting with different aesthetics like "vintage" to my take on "athlete off-duty" looks.

My first little spark with my own sense of style was when I was a freshman in high school and I attempted to dress vintage. This was the beginning of my love of fashion, but when you're 14 in 2016, my outfits weren't trendy or cool, and teenagers could be cruel. With the negative comments from my peers, I put my style on hold. 

If I was asked to describe my style now, apart from words like ethereal, cottagecore and romantic,  vintage would be one of the words I would use. I guess you can say it found its way back to me. There was a rebirth for my style during quarantine – trying colours I wouldn’t have ever thought of trying, different necklines, skirts and outlandish lengths of everything while not worrying about judgment. This confidence also translated into my beauty journey – wearing makeup I felt most beautiful and most importantly comfortable in.

You’re known for your Disney content on TikTok. What part of the escapism and fantasy of Disney do you enjoy most when creating your content? 

As a content creator, I enjoy escaping through the nostalgia of Disney, giving my viewers the same fantasy from their favourite Disney movies, from Snow White to Aurora and many more. 

With every video, I want my viewers to resonate with my own take of a Disney fantasy, but also rediscover their own version of fantasy and what Disney can be for them in their own eyes. I want my page to be a world of creativity, vibrant and enlivening – a safe space for everyone. 

Filming for TikTok seems like a minuscule way to change the world, but giving people an outlet to escape allows them to create their own fantasies which can then create inspirational ideas that can change the world. Creating your own escape and fantasy is how most people get through their day. 

What goes into your creative process when creating said content?

Filming a TikTok is like its own little movie production; every TikTok starts off with the sound. It's what makes the whole video. After I have found the right sound, I then plan around it. I also ask myself questions like “what story do I want to tell” and “how can I utilize my 15 seconds on someone's phone to the best of my ability”. 

It can take days to fully plan a TikTok video. I take a lot of things into consideration when filming, from the outfit to the positioning that I'm in. For example, when I sit farther away from the camera, I appear smaller like a magical fairy in a garden. When I sit closer, I appear larger, almost like a portrait in a castle. It's a science, to say the least. 

Lighting is extremely important when creating content too. I strictly use natural sunlight so the sun plays a huge role. The mood of the video is determined by the lighting. Direct sunlight can make a video look more ethereal or otherworldly, while overcast can make the video look moody and mysterious. 

pay attention to every single detail, and one of my most important details is how I accessorise my hair. To completely tie in the look of a princess in a castle or a fairy in a garden, I add the most vibrant daisies or the daintiest array of baby's-breath and many colourful butterflies to my hair to capture that fantasy. 

What are some of the comments on your TikToks that have stayed with you to this day?

One of my favourite things about posting as a content creator is reading all the comments. Within the first eight hours of posting, I’m usually in the comments section replying to every single comment. My followers and I even have a signature emoji that we use to let each know that we are doing well. I'm proud of how positive my page is. We are all kind to each other and we can make each other laugh, comfort each other and just vent. That's not to say I haven't gotten negative comments or currently do get them.

I just try to not let the hate comments overshadow the positive comments. All my comments stay with me and give me the motivation to post every day, but the comments that really stay with me are the ones that say I’m already their favourite Disney princess. That's heartwarming because it feels like regardless of the direction my acting career leads to, this can be a role in a coming of age movie or an action movie. 

Some of the comments that have stayed with me include: Me inspiring their artwork, they way they dress and sparking their creativity. I’m my followers' biggest fan when it relates to any of their amazing artwork. I love reposting their artwork and flooding their comments to let them know how talented they are. There are many upsides to being a content creator and these things may vary from each creator. Speaking for myself, reading my comments and interacting with my followers is one of my most cherished upsides.

You created a Change.org petition to become the next Black Disney princess after many of your followers expressed interest in having you represent Black women on film. Why is Black representation in the media important to you? 

Black representation in the media is extremely important to me in several ways. It’s about the future of exclusivity, breaking down and removing subject matters like colourism and featurism in Hollywood, and throwing out tropes of stereotypical Black characters and reinventing them. It is important to see different archetypes of Black women in the media because we are not monolithic.

We as Black women want to see different versions of ourselves in an array of films, ranging from coming of age films where we are not just the main character’s best friend and are only used for comedic relief. We want to see more films where we are the main love interests, and even superheroes saving the world in the multiverse, and of course, Disney Princesses singing all of their problems away through catchy songs. 

Black representation in the media is also seeing Black women proudly wearing their natural hair on screen from Type 4 curls to Type 3 curls; this also includes the many protective styles we may wear in our daily lives that we are often ridiculed for. Black representation in the media is also breaking down mainstream media and Hollywood’s beauty standards; deeming what they believe is beautiful or not. 

This starts with including a wide range of skin tones and seeing darker-skinned women on our screens. We are slowly breaking down these long-lasting stereotypic issues by seeing more representation in films from superheroes like Monica Rambo to Disney princesses like our new Ariel. Seeing women that look like you can truly uplift one’s self-esteem. That’s why it's so important to me.

While we are making progress, we still have a lot of work to do. Getting representation on our TV screens and in blockbuster films is the representation we need, but in order to get the representation out there, we need to have more roles created for Black women and written by Black women. 

Creating these roles open up opportunities to see the representation we need in the media. Writing these roles makes it possible to have Black women present on screen. If there are no roles dedicated to a certain demographic, the representation won't be in the movies we want to see.

With time and amazing new directors and screenwriters, we as the new generation can become the domino effect to change this subject matter and have the change be long lasting.