A New York-based artist hopes to make the Disney universe more inclusive by reimagining beloved animated characters from โ Sleeping Beautyโ to โThe Princess and the Frogโ as transgender people.
The artist, who identifies as transgender but asked to remain anonymous, began presenting their series of images, which show the trans version of the character alongside his or her classic counterpart, on Instagram this week. They kicked off the colorful series Sunday with Ariel from โThe Little Mermaidโ re-created as a short-haired, tattooed trans man. Cinderella, Peter Pan and Aladdin are among the other characters to get makeovers as part of the series, which is simply titled Trans Disney.
As is the case for many fans, the artist told HuffPost that they first became enamored with Disney after viewing many of the classic films as a child. โWe literally grew up watching them. We saw โ and were influenced by โ the narrow way they portray love and define gender,โ they said.
As they grew older, however, they became more and more vexed that transgender people had yet to be represented by Disney. โI wanted to break those clichรฉs,โ they added, โto state that transgender people also dream of finding love and happiness.โ
Furthermore, they added, โSome of the patterns and plot elements can be read as a metaphor for the LGBTQ community. For example, Iโm thinking of how the Beast could be a metaphor of an individual who is keeping his real sexuality in the closet, and sees himself as a โmonster.โ I also came across an article debating whether Elsaโs โdisabilityโ and desire for loneliness can be related to her secret homosexuality.โ
The artist began their series with โBeauty and the Beastโ heroine Belle, who is their favorite Disney character. โShe is an outcast, people treat her differently, but she doesnโt let it get under her skin,โ they said. โShe stays faithful to herself and falls in love with someone who also is an outcast. I can relate to that so easily, and I think a lot of people can for different reasons.โ
Ultimately, theyโve opted to present the series anonymously via Instagram because they want to keep the focus โexclusively on the project.โ So far, they feel like theyโve succeeded.
โIโm receiving a positive response from many fellow LGBTQ people, as well as from people who are not LGBTQ,โ they said. โThis is just the beginning. My goal is to show more nuances of a transgender personโs transformation, the moments and goals of being one.โ
Check out the rest of the Trans Disney series below, and be sure to check out the official Instagram here.
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