By Carolyn Danckaert, A Mighty Girl Co-Founder
Campaign Announcement: A Mighty Girl has launched a special Keep Merida Brave campaign page!
After our post last Friday about the redesign of the beloved character Merida from the film Brave generated over 800 comments in a single day, we were inspired to launch a petition over the weekend calling on Disney to "Say No to the Merida Makeover and Keep Our Hero Brave!" In its first two days, it collected nearly 20,000 signers and today it surpassed 70,000 signers!
The petition focuses on the redesign of Merida in advance of her induction into the Disney Princess collection. In it, we say to Disney:
"Merida was the princess that countless girls and their parents were waiting for -- a strong, confident, self-rescuing princess ready to set off on her next adventure with her bow at the ready. She was a princess who looked like a real girl, complete with the ‘imperfections’ that all people have.
The redesign of Merida in advance of her official induction to the Disney Princess collection does a tremendous disservice to the millions of children for whom Merida is an empowering role model who speaks to girls' capacity to be change agents in the world rather than just trophies to be admired. Moreover, by making her skinnier, sexier and more mature in appearance, you are sending a message to girls that the original, realistic, teenage-appearing version of Merida is inferior; that for girls and women to have value -- to be recognized as true princesses -- they must conform to a narrow definition of beauty. Continue reading Continue reading
