Patricia Grisafi
No matter what you think about Disney princesses, there’s definitely at least one way to make them more inclusive for everyone: offer a plus-size princess! While Disney princesses have been slowly — and I mean slowly — movings towards agency, they still remain mostly white and all of them are thin. One Instagram influencer is trying to change that with her Plus-Size Princess Project.
Natasha Polis has a huge Instagram following, and she decided she was going to use it to promote the idea that Disney princesses should be available for all people. Over three months, Polis gathered a group of plus-size influencers to create a photo series showing women with larger bodies portraying classic princesses like Belle, Ariel, and Elsa. She also made sure to include non-princess characters so she could show a more diverse cast.
Polis spoke to Insider and said that while growing up in Orange County, Disney became “embedded” in her life, and she frequently visited Disneyland.
“I love to emphasize plus-size fashion and show characters in larger bodies,” Polis said. “I really wanted to create a project that would show people that we want inclusivity and diversity in our Disney princesses, and that we can do it — regardless of body shape, size, skin color, or background.”
“How amazing would it have been to see a plus-size princess growing up?” Hunter wrote on Instagram. “It’s incredible how much is ingrained in us at such a young age.”
“The princesses I grew up seeing were all thin and white and for the most part saved by a man,” she continued. “I hope we continue to see growth in this area so that one day when I have children no matter their size, they see representation.”
“I think a lot of girls were thinking it was going to be easy to find a costume, but with my experience as a plus-size person, trying to find princess dresses in my size that don’t look cheap and not cute, it’s a difficult search,” Polis said.
“It ended up being that people were choosing costumes or outfits based on their own style instead of being accurate,” she continued. One such model, Rosey Blair, chose to channel Cinderella by wearing a blue sundress and a black choker.
