Disney’s new film “Cinderella” is set to be released March 13. The film stars Lily James.
Although my friends and I are adults, we are just as excited as the millions of little girls who are waiting in anticipation to see the movie. We viewed the preview multiple times to admire the beauty and magic of the movie. However, we noticed Cinderella’s waist appeared to be abnormally small.
We weren’t the only viewers who noticed this. A debate sparked over social media of whether or not Disney digitally altered James’ waist.
Sources at Disney claim James’ waist appeared to look small because she was ?wearing a corset.
Digitally altered or not, Disney sent the wrong message to millions of female viewers by making Cinderella’s waist so small.
Young girls know they cannot be an actual princess. However, that does not stop them from wanting to at least look like them. If you walk through many stores that sell toys, you’ll see adorable, tiny Disney princess dresses to be worn by toddlers and grade-school children.
Disney understands the ways in which it presents women in its movies directly affects how young girls want to see themselves.
By emphasizing Cinderella’s feminine female features so much that they look unnatural, Disney is setting an unrealistic expectation for young girls of how their bodies are supposed to look and develop.
This unrealistic appearance affects not only young girls. It has an effect on adult women as well. Because many young adults grew up watching Disney’s animated “Cinderella” movie, many of them will likely attend a showing of the ?newer version.
The appearance of Cinderella’s unrealistically small waist may spark a feeling of inadequacy among young adult female viewers. Many young adults are incredibly aware and careful of their physical appearance because of the existence of social ?media sites such as ?Instagram.
We are constantly posting pictures of ourselves and we often compare ourselves to other members of those sites. Watching an inspiring movie with a main character whose feminine features are exaggerated may cause ?damage to our self-esteem.
It’s surprising Disney still thought it needed to emphasize the ideal female body in its most recent rendition of Cinderella.
During the past decade, there has been so much discussion about how women are presented in the media. Advocates have pushed for more fashion models who have more common weights and appearances. Huge companies such as Aerie have released ?advertisements with models who have not been digitally altered.
Sports Illustrated has ?featured a plus-size model in its recent bathing suit ?edition. So much progress has been made to feature women who look more realistic and relatable.
Disney has a large ?female fan base with a wide age range. By making an ?influential main character look unrealistically small, it is taking a step back in the progress we have been ?making.
eshrack@indiana.edu
