Written by Harmony Korine, Kids (1995) is an American coming-of-age film that features the hedonistic lives of a group of teenagers based in New York City. It depicts their involvement with sex and substance abuse during the height of the AIDS epidemic in the mid-1990s. The film generated widespread criticism for vulgarity and exploitation of children, as many of the actors were still teenagers when they took on these roles. However, the movie’s producers defended the film as an honest look at the lives and activities of teenagers, saying that if people didn’t like what they saw in the movie, they should keep a closer eye on their children.

Kids was the first film of Rosario Dawson’s acting career. She plays Ruby, a sexually active teenage girl. There is no direct reference to Dawson’s Afro-Latina heritage, and without this reference, Ruby’s tanned skin, brown eyes, and dark hair only point to ethnic ambiguity. There is not much reference to Ruby’s background or any other descriptive factors that would flesh her out into a three- dimensional, complex character. Her role is largely just a tool to support Jennie, played by Chloe Sevigny. Ruby and Jennie are both tested for STDs. Although Jennie has only had sex once and gets tested along with Ruby to offer her  moral support, she tests positive for HIV while Ruby tests negative even though she regularly has unprotected sex with multiple partners.

Arguably, the scene that most characterizes Ruby is the “Girl Talk” scene:

This scene shows Ruby and the other girls graphically talking about their sex lives. As one of the most sexually experienced in the group, Ruby is confident. She is sure of her likes and dislikes, and is even able to discern and explain the difference between the different ways sex can take place. She is witty and carefree, sure of herself. Unfortunately, outside her sex life, there is little else that the audience can take away from Ruby’s character. She is certainly entertaining, but she is not a well-developed character. Furthermore, the characters of the two friends, Ruby and Jennie, play into the stereotypes that tend to represent black or mixed-race subjects as more sexual and promiscuous and the white, blond girl, as innocent, inexperience, and even “pure”. In the “Girls Talk” scene, most of the “experienced” girls are people of color, and use explicit and even vulgar language, while the white character appears to be in an awkward position, inexperienced, and barely speaks.