The Gross Sisters: Victims of Colorism? 🧴🧴🧴 

Honestly the gross sisters are the nicest characters in either show compared to how passive aggressively terrible everyone else is.

The Gross sisters were low-key less toxic than Penny's friend group. At least you knew exactly how they felt about you.

"We're not picking on them because they have two dads, we're picking on them because they have two dads WITH MONEY!" I live to see this progressive bullying.

Funny how they redesigned the Chang triplets with their own unique look instead of stereotypes but can't give the Gross sisters regular skin tone.

I actually kind of liked the Gross sisters growing up. I remember noticing that two of the girls names were basically lotions, because my mom had Oil of Olay and Nivea products in the house. I'm white and grew up in areas with very few black people and didn't hear about using ashiness as an insult until the show had been out for a few years. Then the names and treatment of the sisters suddenly made sense. It's just like the canker sisters from Ed, Edd snd Eddy. I grew up living in trailers and small apartments with not enough room for the six people in my family. So, seeing characters villainized for being poor and living in trailers bothers me on a personal level. The classism was just right there on full display, but not to be critically examined. It's cool that you're discussing these topics, and I'm glad I was recommended your channel!

gross sisters were better firends to penny than her own friends

I feel like this show has a lot of colorism in it and the one time they decided to address it they were just racist to the white girl bc “she’s ugly how dare she get the famous pretty boy [that we favor over OUR OWN BOYFRIENDS bc he is light skin with light eyes]”

Besides them being negative stereotypes of darkskin black people, they were the best characters in the original series. Pennys friends were awful and Oscar would get annoying sometimes

What’s sad is that they’re also some of the only characters with natural based hairstyles.

Kiwi makes some amazing points. She’s a very smart cat

So you're telling me that they're blue because they're ashy? So when they gave Olei a makeover... they didn't give homegirl any lotion?

I would also say that this is racist given that in the reboot we find out that they are Jamaican, which I think there is a stereotype of black immigrants being ashy. Sadly adding on to the issues between black Americans and black immigrants.

Kiwi is so cute! I always asked why the Gross sisters were blue and why they were bullies. They reminded me of those girls in high school who thought they were "all that" and would bully almost everyone. I think their last name is Gross because of their gross attitudes.

There's definitely overtones of classism, in how poor the Gross sisters were. Proud Family help deconstruct certain prejudices and problems, but perpetuated others. And it's a shame they didn't fix many of the problems in the reboot.

I don't really think it's colorism. Possibly featurism. But what it really is to me is CLASSICISM. The Grosses are "have-nots," and they do what they do because of that.

Honestly, as a dumb little white kid, I thought they were blue because I remember that Doug used to make characters weird colors, so I thought that was just a style thing. 😅 Edit: Ah, you mentioned Doug after I typed this.

The reboot doesnt need the Gross Sisters as mean girls/antagonists, Penny's already got all her "friends" lol Honestly id love to see them as a voice-of-reason in a situation, cuz they were witty and smart. I think its be cool to see them be the smart ones, especially in direct comparison to Maya's hypocrisy

It's very tragic re-watching it and realizing that the sisters were victims of severe poverty, couldn't afford hygienic products, and were made to work on the weekends by their parents. The reboot tried to step away from this, but realizing as an adult viewer that these girls were suffering from neglect, child abuse and economic disparity hits very close to home.

In original series the "Cultural Shock" episode it was insinuated that the Gross sisters were aggressive and mean because they had very strict parents compared to the other kids

Kiwi 🥝 is definitely the star of the show lol 😂 she was getting all her camera time lol 😂

I remember there was an episode where penny essentially becomes another member of the gross sisters and they made her blue as well.

im really glad you made a video on the gross sisters. honestly seeing olei always made growl and monster notices and always thought they were funny but wow the underlying meaning with the characters is insane.

That explanation actually makes way too much sense. Like,I knew that they had ashy skin but (being white/not racist) I had no idea about the "your skin's so dark you're blue" thing but mix that stereotype with the fact that it's an over exaggerated cartoon and it makes PERFECT sense and is absolutely what they were going for. I'm learning things.XD

The Gross sisters were there for Penny at times when her “friends” weren’t. And even as “bullies,” they were far from being genuinely horrible given that they would just shake everybody down for money.

The Gross Sisters remind me of Helga Pataki; they’re girls who will use intimidation and/or aggression to get what they want, but still have a moral compass, along with being clever and insightful too. Both shows also imply them having troubled home lives. The sisters had such wasted potential

Olei’s makeover was so wholesome. Idk how they managed to get her braces off though lol.

I like that one episode where they were playing baseball, and Suga Momma tells one of the Gross Sisters to steal home, and she just takes the base and runs off the field, and then she's just gone for the rest of the episode. 😂

I never thought of the Gross sisters being super villainous I mean they did some stuff as a typical teenager but they weren't to the point where they'll beat up just anybody. Nubia was always my favorite for some reason

My Bullies became my friends as I grew up, I went through divorce, poverty, 6 brain surgeries in 1 summer and eventually my bullies and me understood “Yeah, life sucks in different ways…” The kids who tried to beat me up were the first ones to visit me when they could. Learn your real friends guys and give people a chance and try to understand, not always enemies.

I didnt watch the show enough as a kid to realize a) they had names nor b) they were blue cuz they were ashy. I always assumed they were "so dark theyre blue" until i rewatched the show as an adult during covid. Even if they had a certain intent, there was definitely more room for interpretation than there shoudlve been

I'm white and when I was a kid I only knew maybe four black/African Americans growing up. I legitimately thought they were blue to make them seem depressed and bullies. Though I was seen as weird for liking the proud family by my friends but I really felt similar to Penny because a lot of my friends acted like Penny's friends... 😅

I thought the Gross Sisters were had argyria. However, I learnt that some black people can have their skin so dark that it can look blue. But it never made sense during the cartoon on why they never gave them lotion. Like the adults didn't want to talk to the kids? Think about helping the gross sisters? I thought they were cool characters too. Very honest side note: Kiwi is a cutie. You can tell Kiwi REALLY loves you. The tip of her tail is bent. It's a sign that they show happiness/respect to the person they love.

Honestly, a rap, or any musical number, seems way too animated for the Gross Sisters. They’re more sarcastic quips, like you said. Can’t really comment on the colourism, since it went over my head when I watched it as a kid. Now all I can think about is a gag episode where Penny eludes them by spraying them with skin lotion. Like it hits them, and they instantly turn overwhelmingly nice. Like, once they actually get the attention, love, and care they need, they’ll transform into normal teenaged girls.

I cannot seem to understand that type of colorism, I always found beautiful that people with dark skin come with all types of hues, some have blueish tones, others have purplish tones, some few have pinkish tones, a bunch have reddish tones, a lot have orangeish tones, some are extremely black, that is just reality, but what makes no sense to me is stripping the humanity out of someone because of their skin tone. There is a lot of sociocultural condition that never made sense to me, I have always been amazed by rare skin tones, instead of disgusted.

I grew up watching the original and I always liked the gross sisters! I never made the connection on why they’re blue. As a child I just thought it was a weird way to categorize them as “bullies” since they were the only blue ones. But a bully character is made by their actions. I think they should explore them more! I would love more on the gross sisters. Also as a kid I didn’t know if “gross” was just their last name 😂 I’ve had teachers only call me by last name so I didn’t know if it was similar for them since they didn’t look “gross” to me

I kinda always just figured they were blue for the same reason Marie Kanker from Ed/Edd/Eddy had blue hair. Villains just had blue/purple/green hair/skin or whatever I guess lol.

If anyone was racist it was la Cienega’s grandfather Pappy!

Honestly I always felt the original series did them dirty at moments. Like we saw glimpses that there is much more to them then being bullies. Mainly I always enjoyed that they will ALWAYS have someone’s back. Like if they’re chill with you they will always be at your side. They also know when something does too far. Such as when penny tries copying them and gets sent to Juvie. They say she is TOO bad for them. It shows they do have their limits. It also shows they have a good relationship with their parents Idk I wish we got more

I hated that they didn't give them a glow up in the reboot 😐

When they gave Ole the makeover why couldn't they put some lotion on her?

I suspected they were based on the saying “she’s so black she looked blue” When I saw the Gross Sisters that was the first thing that sprang to mind and I’m not too sure how to really feel about that.

Anyone can be beautiful in the skin they were born in to, what affects others and their perception of you and your beauty is the confidence you have in your own body, so feel proud of your skin color for every one person that doesn’t like it there are a thousand that do. Humans come in all shades

In the episode Pulp BootCamp, Penny mentioned being ashy in a blink and you’ll miss it line. “Yeah, I’m ashy” And we realized that’s why the gross sisters are blue.

I didn't fully understand the 'ashy' bit until I saw the episode of Sister Sister where the mom was saying her elbows were starting to look a little ashy to the twins and they agreed and she recoiled. That was all the context clues I needed for that and I didn't think they needed to represent that in that way using the Gross sisters in the Proud Family, especially since they didn't seem like all bad characters.

I agree with wanting to see the gross sisters backstory. I also want to see them in a less aggressive manner like the episode where they gave one a makeover. When the reboot was first announced I was really hoping they'd go a different approach with them and change their skin tone (like Mya's or darker), not necessarily overly feminine but I'd think they'd rock a neo-soul aesthetic

Kiwi is adorable aw

When i first saw the grosse sisters i felt off about the fact they were blue, and im a white chick so i dont even know all this context, but it just felt some kind of malicious to make them smurfs. Glad to know that i’m not the only one who feel off about it.

Hate it when people go, "Oh it's just a cartoon/anome/for kids, the character's design/costume doesn't matter!" As if every one of those designs didn't go weeks if not months or years of thought, approval processes, and tweaking in order to give a very specific impression and look for each of them. Characters aren't subject to the genetic lottery and trials of daily life, someone did that on purpose!!! (I know you get that, but just ugh, it's such a bad take that can lead to such bad places.)

Completely unrelated. But I love Kiwi 😍😍so adorable

Thanks for sharing this, I've never heard of most of these things before. I feel like there's just so much I never even knew about & still finding out new things every day. It constantly reminds me about how confused & sad I was when I first started to learn that discrimination in general even existed (still makes me sad). I'm grateful that my parents tried to shelter me from it's existence because I feel it gave me a good foundation to automatically think everyone is equal & should be treated as such. Maybe we'll get there some day. Take care everyone 💜

The Gross Sisters, their mom and their dad were all blue, even Penny turned blue in that one episode where she went to boot camp. There are people with blue skin in real life but I think that was because of some blood disorder like with that one family in Kentucky, I think it was. The Fugates are one known example of people having a disorder that makes their skin look blue, which was caused because the family and everyone in the town were inbreeding due to how cut off they were from the rest of the world. I have heard of some guy who's skin turned blue because of mercury, I think it was. So yeah, blue skinned people do exist!

As a child, I never understood why they were blue. It was odd to me. I also never made the connection with lotions. I didn't realize anything as a kid, and I still don't. Edit: a word. I did realize that they were bullied and poor. My partner, ten years ago, said that, it's a long story, but used the term "blue black". I'm ridiculously naive with racism and terms like that, and that's because racism of any kind makes zero sense to me. But he said, "it's a thing that we would say, blue black, because you're so black that you're blue. In color theory, you can get a black so black it looks blue, usually in media that means "immigrants from Africa"." So, I was like, literally when he said that over ten years ago, I was like, "oh maybe that's why the proud family gross sisters are blue." Like, literally, that was what I thought. So I just assumed that they were the darkest black people in the show who were actually immigrants from Africa, that they were designed with that in mind. I'm not saying this is right, but, yep. You just got to the thing I was typing. Yes, that's what I also thought. It's not right, but, it's a thing. I think that's what was being strived for. I literally think that's what it is though. I didn't understand what ashy meant until college because, I knew it wasn't a nice thing to say so I never asked, but my friends there, there explained a lot to me cause, again, I'm naive AF, and I said something and hurt my friends feelings, not understanding, and, I immediately apologized. We're still friends to this day, thank God because that woman is amazing and a beacon of love and hope, but anyway. I have a random thought that I've been having watching your videos. The writers are men, they're black men, but they're still men, and I wonder if their personal feelings have helped shape this show, regardless if it's wrong or not, because, not all men are like that obviously, but if perhaps those thoughts have shaped the show. Cause I feel like it could be the case. You don't see this much stereotypical behavior with the males in the show, not to the capacity of the women, so I'm wondering if that's what's going on. Good video as always, 🕊️ Edit: oh yeah, I did like their characters though. I found them to be funny and they reminded me of my friends in elementary school. I hope that we see more of their background. I've been so curious about them since forever, and I did love that episode where she got a make over. It was very humanizing and I enjoy that.

Intresting to hear this take, also love how Kiwi is watching you talk with your hands.

Great video! I felt empathy for the Gross sisters due to their toxic upbringing. They grew up with the street edge mentality. I feel they needed a more well rounded background. Blue skin color is what made them stood out but......I saw their BEAUTIFUL features and I wondered sometimes....the producers of the show did it on purpose to shade them as black women. And the episode when one of them got a makeover it was REFRESHING but ALL of them should've got makeovers. The short end of the stick mentality needs to stop because overall their dynamic and natural appeal is important for a backstory. I feel the new series will have to go on hiatus for a new era. I enjoyed this video. Keep up the amazing work!!!

It didn't hit me that they were blue because they were ashy until the reboot! Growing up I thought they were ghosts or supernatural characters because they looked like they were supposed to be from the past. Their old fashioned clothing and singing talent reinforced that idea. It kind of made sense considering the magical talents Wizard Kelly and Al Roker had. I actually really liked the Gross sisters much more than Deejonay and Lacieniga (spelling?). Figuring out that they were parodies of those stereotypes- also poor, so classicm on that list too- it makes sense that Disney wouldn't want them to be in the series more these days. But they are iconic characters so they couldn't *not* have them in the show since it would raise more questions about them that the creators probably wouldn't want to answer. Also according to the comments here (haven't seen S2 yet) the Gross family is of Jamaican heritage? Like wtf??! The only black characters of Caribbean heritage and the creators treat them as the punchline to a long, unfunny joke? As a Caribbean person it's already hard to get representation that isn't offensive in some way, and they may not have gone down the 'stereotypical Jamaican' portrayal you see in media, but they literally gave the family a laundry list of bad traits. Hi Kiwi! 😍💕 She's so cute, she looks exactly like my Boogie!

I always felt bad for them. They were way friendlier then Penny's friend group.

I learn so much from your videos. I watched this show growing up, but because I grew up in a town that's almost 100% white (small town in rural Illinois), I didn't know a lot of this context/nuance that you discuss in these videos. It's very eye-opening.

I didnt realize they were supposed to be ashy ,I always thought they were just REALLY dark skinned. (Back to the whole 'you're so black you're purple aka. One of the insult my best friend in elementary school was 'blurple' it stopped real quick cause we beat they ssa quick fast.) The fact that when they gave the one a makeover and her skin hadn't changed only enforced it to me.

Soo glad ypu touched on the Gross sisters! I noticed this right away. I would LOVE to see a backstory on them, especially Olei. My favorite episode from the OG was when she was given a makeover. She looked so cute and happy!

I always heard The Gross Sisters were painted out to be the ashiest… I could be wrong.

I always wondered if they were related to Dr. Drakken.

On an unrelated note, was the TLC shirt with them with the blue toned skin colour photo planned when talking about the Gross sisters' blue skin tone? 💙

Your cat is adorable

First video I've found from you - and that cat 100% adores you omg. I definitely didn't understand this at the time but omg - the fact that their names are lotion. I definitely understood that they were "the bad characters." It was obvious to me that they represented almost the kids that got bussed in versus the kids that lived in the suburbs with you (read - with me, white kid watching this show). Also - they're literally called the gross sisters - "gross" is like a kid-coded word. Now with this revisit I feel like I'm seeing so much more. Like it was both more and less upsetting than I remember. But there is still more subversion than I saw.

You should do more storytimes. I really enjoyed the last one

I love your content. This was a great character study

Honestly the whole "its just a cartoon don't think about it" thing is really dumb, the fact its a cartoon means that a whole studio of artists had to sit down and draw every little motion and detail of these characters and picking apart the biases and blindspots of that design and direction is super insightful and interesting.

i always thought her name was nubia cuz of nivea i thought it was because of that reigon in sudan and egypt called nubia

Besides oscar and sugermama the gross sisters were my favorite characters when i was a kid. I never knew that their names were based on lotion and i thought they were blue to make them stand out more, like how the bully from Fairly odd parents is more grey looking then the other characters. I definitely think they should get more backstory.

I haven't thought much about this show in years, but I think a backstory episode would be very interesting.

Aww your cat making an appearance was so nice!

i’ll admit- as a white kid, whatever kind of subliminal messaging the creators used in their designs, intentional or not, absolutely worked on me. i distinctly remember being pretty intimidated, sometimes even a bit uncomfortable, whenever the gross sisters appeared. not only was it their aggressive energy, but the fact that they were the only characters in the show with such an unnatural skin tone was really confusing and made them pretty unsettling to me. growing up and realizing that so many characteristics of the sisters are associated with a particular shade of skin really makes me look at things a lot more critically. i hope the reboot shows them some love, they deserve it 💙

6:49 kiwi listen like yooooooo that’s mad wild fam

I remember during the Culture Exchange Week episode (which if you asked me has aged REALLY POORLY) we saw that the Gross sisters parents were awful people too, who put them to work.

Kiwi is adorable, I love when she shows up

As a kid I thought it was a visual gag about them being cold and calculated, so cold they were literally blue like they had extreme frostbite or something from being that sharp. But yeah now that I'm older I'm pretty sure it's the a play on them being darker skinned. That's kinda depressing.

I think there was also a term made for lighter black people. They called them light brights

I remember the time Olay hot a make over but she was still blue so I thought they were so black they were blue.

I thought the Gross Sisters were named cause they get money and "gross" also means "an individual's total earnings before taxes or other deductions."

I agree with everything you've said. I actually want to go back and watch it with a new perspective. But they did mention that penny was ashy in the episode when she became bad.

I've been asking this for years

I didn't understand in the OG series why the girls were blue. I though it was a medical condition or metal poisoning, or it was a Power Puff girl situation like those green skin guys

I remember being a little kid and not understanding why the Gross sisters were blue, but just sort of taking it in stride because I was used to shows like Doug, where some characters have realistic skin colors and then others are randomly green, purple, or whathaveyou. Then one day someone told me, and I didn't know how to process.

Dejonay is also prone to colorism

Okay but their rap was fire tho-

I’m here for the insightful commentary and the cat

Peeping ur tlc shirt in light of this topic.

Yeah its super odd that they never properly delved into their background. Their skin color reminds me of how Spiderman 2099 (iirc) is supposed to have a black and red suit, but the artists made it blue to stand out in the dark panels. The only thing I ever thought seeing the Gross Sisters was that they remind me of Deebo from Friday. The neighborhood bully/black air force one energy type of character. Fun to watch, but again, horrible archetype to give to the "darkest" skinned characters in the show.

I liked them as a kid. Haven’t even seen the reboot but I will soon. I want more back story on them too. They could make some deep story where they are poor maybe thuggy parent who don’t care for them properly maybe they bullying people for money everyday to take care of eachother. Idk there is so many things they can do to give them a deeper backstory. Even as a kid I understood they were blue to represent the “ darker thuggier poor people”

We need another episode of penny getting along with the gross sisters (especially a follow-up to penny's and olei's friendship). The gross sisters were nicer to penny than her so-called friends and Nubia definitely noticed how bad penny's friends are toward her. If penny spent more time with them, possibly nubia would tell her to dump her toxic friends and stand up to her parents. [It is too sad to see penny praise her toxic friends so much and the only time penny encounters someone telling her that she needs to stand up to her parents is one quick rematk from maya about how trudy and oscar are treating her.] The show could also bring back agatha, who basically a mix of anti-lacienga and a nicer zoey with a backbone.

The TLC Fanmail album cover shirt is iconic!

As an outside observer just hearing what people have to say and stuff. I know it's not my place to say anything but I'm side eyeing the writers and producers. 👀

I never thought of that but I'm glad you brought it up I loved them though

You know they could have done something similar to the Kanker sisters from Ed, Edd, and Eddy. Like this trio they have last names that are meant to be as bad as they are, since canker sores are annoying and ugly. They are seen as trashy because they live in a trailer park and have bad manners, they are also thirsty for the Ed’s so some have even called them lesser names because of what they do. They are also sisters who are very tight, they fight like cats but would most likely kick someone’s butt if they made fun of their other sister. And just like the Gross sisters they each have their own personalities, the leader and mouth Lee, the wit/sass and some muscle would be Marie, and the “nice” one being May, though she is the least intelligent she is also the most emotional. However what sets them apart is the very subtle story telling elements woven without that can be drawn to make a deeper and frankly more disturbing and sad story. Everyone loves these characters because they are characters, not just stereotypes and they are given breathing room to develop and be explored. If anything needed a “here’s them but older and more nuanced” series it’s that show. It didn’t handle the more adult stuff Proud Family did, it was very silly but it had its moments and if you ask anyone at least one out of 10 people will say Marie Kanker was their first crush.(Even the artist said something similar). It would have been all too easy to make the Gross sisters have an amazing backstory and change to be more complex. They feel almost like diet versions of a Power Puff villain of the week, but at least those characters had reasons to be weird skin colors. I don’t know it just seems odd that one show can do so well exploring a sister trio and this one can’t.

Huh... When I was younger I always thought they were blue like that one family from Kentucky, the Blue Fugates and they had some sort of rare genetic thing that made them blue. Not that they were the results of inbreeding, but just two people happened to have this very rare trait, met (possibly bonded over it) and had kids. As for their last name I thought it was like "Gross Income", relating to them constantly demanding money from people. ... I was a weird kid always going down the google rabbit hole. And white, so there are a lot of nuances to black culture that I would not have picked up on, but its really interesting hearing about these aspects I had no way of knowing at the time.

Honestly, The Gross Sisters were better friends to Penny than Dijonay, LaCienaga, and Zoey…..

I Love Your Channel & Videos

I'm also inclined to wonder if it was partially a stylistic choice for practical/animation reasons, like wanting the line art of expressions and such to be readable at a glance which might be harder with darker skin tones? But that's also just where the majority of my perspective and experience would sit, like... I'm sure it's a ton of factors, at the end of the day. Just wonder if that was one of them, I guess?

I was wondering why they’re blue too. Honestly I’d rather have gross sisters as friends than Penny’s friends

I almost wonder if they gave the gross sisters blue skin so that children would easily accept that they are different and are mean because they are so different. If so it backfired because of them being “ashy” but I think maybe the show was ironically trying to use a fictional color to allow themselves to make mean character without racist allegations.