Disney will be dropping ‘fairy godmothers’ for more inclusive and gender-neutral titles at dress-up boutiques across its theme parks, the company announced on Thursday in an update on both the Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort’s websites.
The title of ‘fairy godmother’, which refers to the magical characters featured in several of Disney’s animated films, was given to hairdressers and makeup artists working at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutiques. The salons offer makeovers to kids aged 3 to 12, transforming them into Disney princesses or knights.
From now on, these employees, who were formerly called “fairy godmothers in training” will now simply be referred to as apprentices.
“This way, cast members that might not identify as female can still be part of the process to dress up & style the children without having to refer to themselves as a female Disney character,” Disney said in a ‘Streaming the Magic’ blog post.
However, it seems not all Disney fans are excited by the change, with some stating that the company had once again caved in to the demands of transgender activists.
The recent move is but the latest in a long list of attempts by Disney to appear more inclusive and politically correct. Last summer, the company scrubbed the use of “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” from its theme parks and changed its dress code policy to allow the cast to work with visible tattoos in a costume of whichever gender they wish.
Last year, it was also revealed that Disney had adopted the so-called ‘critical race theory’ as part of its employee training program and asked its white staff to 'decolonize their bookshelves,' participate in reparations and complete a 'privilege checklist' as part of their anti-racism training.
"I think it should be very clear that [Disney] makes its money on middle Americans who go to their theme parks and buy their content, and those people should know that this corporation, it hates you," said investigative reporter Christopher Rufo, who obtained the documents.
The Walt Disney Company has also been at the center of a culture war over Florida’s controversial Parental Rights in Education Act, sometimes referred to as the ‘don’t say gay’ law, which prohibits teachers from discussing sexuality and gender identity with children in kindergarten through third grade.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek condemned the legislation after outrage from company employees, and has since vowed to “work to repeal” the law. In response, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a new law that would strip Disney’s Florida theme parks of their self-governing status, which had previously allowed them to levy taxes, build infrastructure, grant licenses and institute their own zoning laws.