Women Matter April-May 2014 | Page 14

their smaller studio and stopped making all their female characters look like they were drawn from the same rough draft. With their tiny necks, giant doe-eyed eyes, impossibly slim waist lines, they’re very much close to what fashion magazines tell young girls to look like these days, which is impossible to achieve and often just unhealthy. Unfortunately that is not the only problem I have with the Disney. They’re a highly influential studio, in a way, that they could have access into almost every home, these days. Young children will grow up watching those movies and learn from them. It’s a position not many can say they have, and it’s not an easy one. It came to a point, when Disney should re-consider their current role and maybe have a look at how they could really make a change. Cause if I, as an 8 year old girl could be thought that reading books and being different, but yourself is okay, than imagine, what the implication of watching a Disney Princess fall in love with another princess would be? Maybe not now, but in 10 years from now, we could watch all these young adults, confidently fight against intolerance on more levels than just this example I gave. There is a lot wrong with the world these days, and I believe that sometimes all we need are small, positive changes, but ones that can be started early in our childhood. Disney could help shape a better future, but for that to happen they would need to do more than just go with their times. It’s been 76 years, it’s time for Disney to man up and stop playing it safe.