Earlier this week, the adorable and relatable protagonist from the animated film “Brave” was turned into a sex kitten for Disney’s princess website and hoards of people were like, “oh no you didn’t!”
Following news that the lovable redhead Merida was turned from a positive childlike figure to some kind of Jessica Rabbit-looking thing, Carolyn Danckaert, co-founder of the site A Mighty Girl launched a Change.org petition to protest the “makeover.”
Well, it looks like that petition worked, because Danckaert took to the Mighty Girl Facebook page to announced that the new version of the character was pulled from Disney’s website.
“Numerous supporters have written to us to share the news that the new makeover version of Merida is no longer appearing on Disney.com,” she said.
In addition the the wave of articles and blog posts condemning the sexed up version of Merida, Brenda Chapman, the former director of the film (she was replaced my Mark Andrews during filming) also put her two cents in on the issue.
“Disney marketing and the powers that be that allow them to do such things should be ashamed of themselves,” Chapman told the Marin Independent Journal. “When little girls say they like it because it’s more sparkly, that’s all fine and good but, subconsciously, they are soaking in the sexy ‘come hither’ look and the skinny aspect of the new version. It’s horrible!”
For what it’s worth over 200,ooo people signed Carolyn Danckaert’s petition. Isn’t it amazing what citizens of the world can achieve when they come together?
So what if the outrage, and subsequent change because of said outrage, was over the look of a Disney character? This proves that dwindling public opinion can be extremely powerful.
It also tells us that many are tired of the representations of women in the media. Can you imagine if people had this kind of outrage over the horrendous advertising campaigns featuring women, or the fact that they’re presented poorly in films, or the countless magazine covers that encourage flawless “post baby bods” just weeks after a woman gives birth?
[H/T: Hollywood Reporter]
