Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Shame on Disney or Shame on Us???

merida makeover






I saw this last week and thought i would share it and get a little discussion going.

Merida, the character from the movie "Brave" will be the new Disney Princess.  And the character in the movie was average size however Disney has decided in order to make her more marketable (i am assuming) has decided to make her thinner with eyes more wider and less frizzy hair.  
Really....even Cartoon Characters get makeovers?

I think this is definitely a sad commentary on our Society and what we value...not the strong female character but the skinny pretty one.  To say I am surprised with Disney would be lying because I am not...this is done everyday around us.  Celebrities are scrutinized for being too chubby while pregnant (Kim Kardashian) when they are a regular size.  Female Athletes are poked fun at for being too muscular (Serena Williams). Models are too fat when they are a normal size (Kate Upton).  
We admire our first lady not just because she is a smart lady but because she has "guns".  
The list goes on and on.  

It's almost expected for people on TV, in magazines and in our Society to be perfect and thin and flawless.  Therefore it doesn't surprise me that Disney would take it upon themselves to makeover their new inducted Princess.  It's all about the benjamins for these companies.  It's not about educating our children about true and real beauty.  That fall into our hands as parents.  The real sad truth is that most parents will go and buy the new Merida without raising an eyebrow.  And the idea that thin and flawless is what's acceptable.  After all, all the other Disney Princess are thin and flawless.

Although I say, Shame on Disney...it's more shame on us as a Society for accepting 
by buying what is marketed to us as real and true beauty.

Question of the Day:
 Has Disney gone too far? 
Or is this what we expect from such a mainstream company?


 Oh by the way, there is a petition by launched a petition on Change.org  
to convince Disney to leave Merida alone.  The letter on Change.org reads, in part:
The redesign of Merida in advance of her official induction to the Disney Princess collection does a tremendous disservice to the millions of children for whom Merida is an empowering role model who speaks to girls' capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired. Moreover, by making her skinnier, sexier and more mature in appearance, you are sending a message to girls that the original, realistic, teenage-appearing version of Merida is inferior; that for girls and women to have value -- to be recognized as true princesses -- they must conform to a narrow definition of beauty.


11 comments:

Printed Bonnet by AyoBE said...

Oh wow...I didn't even think they were referring to the same character in that pic! It is wrong. I prefer the original Merinda.

Babydreams2011 said...

I saw this last week too.. I signed the petition as well. Very sad that they are changing her when there was NOTHING wrong with her in the first place, she was/is beautiful!

Cece @Mahogany Drive said...

Sadly I'm not surprised. This kind of thing is very typical. Perfection sells better then normal or average. The original one is cute. There is nothing wrong with her.

Cam | Bibs and Baubles said...

I think it's to be expected. It's sad but it's totally a commentary on on our society as a whole. At the end of the day Disney wants to make something that sales and people tend to gravitate toward what they find most appealing... even if it's a doll.

Nicole said...

Doesn't surprise me at all...

Tia said...

Doesn't surprise me and it is the exact reason why Disney princesses are not celebrated in our house. My daughter does have DVDs but that's where it stops. We don't buy anything else by Disney Princess. I love the stories in the movies and I feel that (for the most) part they teach some good lessons. However, when I see stories like this it reminds me that society continues to tell our girls that it's not enough to be "Brave", you've got to be pretty and skinny too.

Anonymous said...

This is so sad. We allow it though by purchasing these things.

Heather said...

I like the original Merida and definitely think that making her more sexy sends the wrong message.

Sarah said...

This is HORRIBLE! She is beautiful as is!!!

Unknown said...

While I didn't like the changes, I had expected it. Disney has changed all the princesses and made them into little sex pots. But I am glad that there was a public outcry over this, and we didn't just sit there and accept it. Now Disney has changed her back to the original Merida.

Abby the Tiny Traveler said...

So not cool of Disney to do that. So many little girls look up to Disney characters and Merida was perfect just the way she was. She doesn't need to be thinner, with different eyes and straighter hair for little girls to want to be like her!