Disney Princesses With Disabilities

Disney Princesses With Disabilities
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AleXsandro Palombo

It's Disney princesses as you've never seen them before. Italian artist AleXsandro Palombo has re-imagined classic characters such as Snow White and Jasmine as if they had disabilities in a bold and thought-provoking series of images.

From Belle to Ariel to Mulan, Disney princesses are supposed to be 'perfect'. Whether you think they're a harmless girly fantasy or toxic propaganda for outdated gender roles, it is hard to deny that they uphold traditional standards of beauty. Palombo's pictures challenge us to rethink our definition of perfection.

"Do you still like us?" one picture of the group, including a double amputee Princess Jasmine and snow White in a wheelchair, asks the viewer. Palombo explains that it was these troubling beauty standards that inspired him to create the projects.

"Have you ever seen a disabled protagonist in a Disney movie?," the artist said on his blog, Humor Chic. "You sure don't, because disability doesn't match Disney standards!"

"I wanted to give visibility to a problem that affects a great amount of people in the world," Palombo told the New York Daily News.

Under-representation of people with disabilities is not only an issue in the Disney universe. Disability interest groups have highlighted the frequently inaccurate and stereotyped media portrayals of disabled people, often depicted as a source of pity or derision.

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