A woman born with cerebral palsy started her own campaign in hopes that Disney will create a princess with a disability.
In her campaign on Change.org , Hannah Diviney shared the purpose behind creating it. The petition, which started in 2020, now has over 64,000 signatures with a goal of 75,000, as of Friday morning.
She began her message by writing that she is “a young woman who has always loved Disney films but never seen herself in them.”
“Creating a disabled Princess (we know how influential those characters are) would give millions of children around the world the invaluable chance to see themselves having adventures, rich full lives and being the hero of their own stories,” she wrote.
Diviney, who is the editor-in-chief at a publication platform, is “dedicated to addressing the marginalisation of women in news, media, and democracy.”
She added in her petition that as a result of adding a disabled princess, Disney will be “working to dispel the painful idea that many children subconsciously absorb life with a disability has to mean a life without joy, adventure, friendship or love.”
Diviney continued: “For decades now, you as a company have stood at the forefront of children’s lives by providing high quality emotionally intelligent entertainment full of valuable lessons and important tools to help all of us understand the world. As the first company to hopefully take this bold step, Disney would be a visionary leader in what I hope will become a powerful trend of better representation across the board.”
@neilhimself I’m campaigning @DisneyStudios for a disabled Disney Princess and would love your support 😊 https://t.co/kC0i5SwWAB
— Hannah Diviney (@hannah_diviney) January 29, 2021
She concluded, “You have the chance to give us that magic.”
In an interview with Reuters on March 3, Diviney, 23, further explained how much representation for those with disabilities matters to her.
“She believes her life, and journey towards self-love and acceptance, would have been different if she had seen positive representations of people with disabilities in movies while growing up,” the publication wrote.
The Australian native has also received the support of celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon, Mark Hamill, and Jameela Jamil.
“The campaign is basically to create a disabled Disney princess and the reason for that specifically is because Disney princesses are the ones that get the most visibility,” Diviney told Reuters.
Continuing, she said, “They’re the ones you see on the bedspreads and the toys and the books and the birthday parties and the Halloween costumes and all of that, so kind of wanted to go for maximum visibility with my choice there.”
