Disney’s fairy godmothers get ‘woke’ gender-neutral makeover

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Disney’s fairy godmothers, famous for transforming little children into princesses and knights at its theme parks, are getting a gender-neutral makeover.

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When Disney’s Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique reopens in August, castmembers who were once referred to as “Fairy Godmothers in Training” will be called “Fairy Godmother’s Apprentices” at Disney Parks, Walt Disney World (WDW) News Today reported.

“This way cast members that might not identify as female can still be part of the process to dress up and style the children without having to refer to themselves as a female Disney character,” wrote Disney blog, Streaming the Magic, in a post.

The title change has already been made on the theme park’s websites, which are taking bookings once they reopen Aug. 24 after being shutdown due to the pandemic.

The beauty salons cater to giving children ages three to 12 a “royal head-to-toe transformation” with prices starting at US$99.95, according to Disney World’s website.

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News of fairy godmother’s makeover generated mixed responses on social media.

“Get woke, go broke @DisneyParks,” one person commented on Twitter.

“Fairy God Birthing Persons,” another wrote, apparently mocking it with a reference to the gender-neutral term “birth person.”

Though several comments in response to Walt Disney World (WDW) News Today’s tweet about the change were negative, one person responded to the critics with: “I don’t see the problem, Disney being more inclusive is a great thing. The world needs less of cookie cutter expectations and images of the world. Newsflash, it’s a big world out there and there are billions of people and everyone is different.”

The fairy title transformation is among one of Disney’s recent changes toward being more inclusive.

Last summer, Disney removed any use of the phrase “ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls” from its parks.

The company also made changes to its staff dress code handbook, removing gender references to allow staff to wear whatever costume they choose.