Skinny Minnie

Unbelievable! You know, I thought Minnie Mouse was safe. Yes, it’s true that Disney princesses have gotten criticism for not having the best body image message out there; just check out Ariel or Jasmine, for instance, to see the exaggerated, unrealistic body of a teenage girl. But recently, the department store, Barney’s announced that their 2012 holiday display window would feature an altered Minnie Mouse: one who is 5’11 and extremely elongated and thin.

She is certainly not the Minnie we’ve come to know and love from our childhoods.

Of, course, there’s controversy regarding her depiction; the alarm is raised for how this especially impacts little girls. And, you know what, it should. I was a little girl, influenced by the princess and Barbie forms, which, again, for a typical young girl, are not realistically attainable. No teen girl has the voluptuous bust line, contrasted with the teeny tiny waist. It doesn’t happen. And it is even less likely to occur with Minnie’s altered elongated physique for Barney’s holiday window. The reality? Check out these statistics: “The body type portrayed in advertising as the ideal is possessed naturally by only 5% of the American females.” The Renfrew Center Foundation for Eating Disorders, “Eating Disorders: A Summary of Issues, Statistics, and Resources” “The #1 wish of girls 11-17 years old is to lose weight.” “Body Wars: Making Peace with Women’s Bodies,” by Margo Maine, Ph.D. This Minnie Mouse will certainly not help that situation. Children mimic. Do we really want them mimicking a harmful image in something which is supposed to be a children’s character? Eyes are always watching. How many little girls will pass that window during the holiday season? How many little girls will look at Minnie and say, “That’s what I want to look like when I grow up?” And, in an article about this window display, clinical psychologist Jeffrey Gardere of the Touro School of Medicine agreed about this Skinny Minnie message. “This can affect how young children, especially young girls, view body image, and try to live up to an impossible body image of size 0.” It’s not cute, clever, fashionable or creative; it’s promoting harmful messages and body rejection. It certainly is not the holiday spirit! Copyright © 2012 by Sheryle Cruse