Jewel Moore is an amazing seventeen-year-old girl from Farmville, Virginia with an interesting request for Disney: create a princess with some curves. Through her online petition, Moore hopes to gain enough attention so that Disney will take notice. So far the petition has 27,000 signatures and rising, while there still is no response from Disney on the suggestion. Moore’s argument has a solid case in my opinion. With the introduction of the first African American princess Tiana in the Princess and the Frog in 2009 and 2012’s Brave which depicted tomboy Merida, a plus size princess would seem like a natural next step. Disney should rethink their design aesthetic. Creating stories around Princess’ with disabilities, different ethnicity’s and body shapes would be a beautiful step forward. Besides the world isn’t just made up of thin white women and princesses are found in many cultures – they are also usually not white.

By artist Alexsandro Palombo

By artist Alexsandro Palombo

I grew up on Disney’s princess films. I’m part of a generation that was encouraged to believe the idea that if you are white and thin/perfect you will achieve a happy fairy tale ending. The reality is that there doesn’t seem to be much positivity around these films. I believe that if little girls only see one body type and ethnicity represented they will begin to feel insecure in themselves. A friend of mine has a 5 year old girl who loves the Disney princesses, she has everything princess-related. There have been a few occasions where she has asked me if I thought she looked fat in something and has even said she needed to go on a diet to lose weight. There is nothing more heart breaking than hearing a child talk about themselves like this. America is a country made up of so many different types of people, of all different cultures. This is something Disney should start to depict in their films. Unfortunately, with Moore’s request came much backlash from talk shows and internet blogs. A Fox & Friends segment that featured Elizabeth Hasselbeck debating the topic with known fat shamer Meme Roth and plus size model Emme Arson. Roth makes the argument that if you introduce a plus size princess you are glorifying obesity and “If you’re going to do a storyline with obesity, then you need to do Princess Diabetes, Princess Cancer, Princess Fertility Problems.” All you can do is really roll your eyes at such ignorance. Hopefully Disney gets the message and introduces a series of inspiring and encouraging female characters who do more than just promote a happy fairy tale ending. Source: Yahoo!

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