When I was seven, the first Cheetah Girls movie was released and, like most other seven-year-olds, I was excited by the prospect of a singing girl group (boy bands were just not my thing back then). As an adolescent girl, I was drawn in by the promise of friendship and flashy dance numbers, but besides these obviously necessary aspects of a hit motion picture, there was something about the movie that really clicked for me. It was not until recently that I realized what exactly made this movie so memorable and important — not only for myself, but for so many of its viewers. It was the first time I remember seeing someone like me in mainstream media.