The skinny Minnie Mouse ads planned for this holiday season have prompted a number of celebrities to speak out against the campaign. According to TV Guide , Virginia Madsen, Kristin Bauer van Straten, and Disney heir Abigail Disney have decided to speak out against Barneys proposed window display.
“There is nothing wrong with tall thin women. There is something wrong with changing a beloved children’s character’s body so that it looks good in a dress that almost nobody looks good in – adding to the tremendous pressure on young girls and women to attain photoshop perfection,” writer Ragen Chastain explained in the Change.org petition. Presently, over 125,000 individuals believe that Barneys New York should alter their ad campaign.
“That little girl who is going to become a 5’4, size 12 woman can’t just become a 5’11, size 0 woman when she wants to fit into a dress that was designed by someone who couldn’t be bothered to make a dress that looks good on someone who is not a model,” Chastain added.
Jezebel explains that the Barneys New York display, dubbed Electric Holiday, would feature a number of famous Disney characters re-imagined as very tall, very skinny fashion models. In addition to Minnie Mouse, the display includes such notable cartoon favorites as Goofy and Daisy Duck.
“Girls have enough pressure to be thin, now the beloved Disney mouse of their childhood has to add to the message that the only good body is a tall, size 0 body? Enough already. Let’s give girls a chance to celebrate the actual bodies they have instead hating them for not fitting into a Lanvin dress,” Chastain said.
To show their support, Virginia Madsen, Kristin Bauer van Straten, and Abigail Disney took their case to Twitter, posting links to the Change.org petition. However, it’s unclear whether or not the retailer intends to cancel their controversial advertisements.
Do you think the Skinny Minnie Mouse window display is inappropriate?