A young woman with cerebral palsy leads a campaign to ask Disney to create a “disabled” princess that’s gaining momentum around the world.
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Hannah Diviney, a 23-year-old Australian, explains her approach by saying she would have felt better if she had seen more people with disabilities when she was young. “This initiative is the evolution of a childhood dream into something tangible and real,” she explained during an email exchange with Fox News.
Youtube Screenshot (Change.org Australia)
On one of her websites, the young woman says that “the creation of a disabled princess could inspire millions of children to dream of her adventures. We would give them the opportunity to become the heroes of their own stories.”
Hannah Diviney also points out that princesses are the most recognizable characters in Disney movies.
“You could break with the idea that a child’s disability absorbs all of life around them and destines them to a life without joy, adventure, friendship or love,” she continues. They also enable able-bodied children to understand us better.”
She adds that this initiative would allow the company to cement its position as a “visionary on what could become an inspirational wave.”
A petition started in 2020 caught the attention of many stars like Reese Witherspoon, Jameela Jamil and Mark Hamill. It collected 64,736 signatures.
Youtube Screenshot (Change.org Australia)
Hannah Diviney caused a stir last year when she criticized the lyrics to the song Heated from Beyoncé’s Renaissance album. The singer had used the term “Spaz”., as a pejorative reference to spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. It also serves as an insult to call a person stupid. The artist had responded by removing the phrase from the song.