While many Disney movies address characters’ issues around coming-of-age, a different artist is reimagining them going through a different sort of transition.
The New York-based artist, who is remaining anonymous but does identify as transgender, is attempting to make Disney’s characters a touch more inclusive by imagining a selection of them as trans.
The re-imaginings cover a swathe of Disney favorites, including characters from films such as Cinderella, The Princess and the Frog and The Little Mermaid.
A new look: An anonymous New York-based artist has reimagined favorite Disney characters such as Mulan as transgender
Making a change: Each image in the series features the characters as they are known standing beside a version having gone through a gender transition
Each image features the characters as they are known, standing beside a version of themselves having gone through a gender transition.
Mulan is pictured with a close-cropped haircut and a denim jacket, while Ariel is featured having apparently undergone top surgery with a shorter hairstyle and a shoulder tattoo.
The artist, who prefers to use they/them pronouns, explained to Huffington Post that inspiration for the series came about from the perception of gender taught to them by the films.
‘We literally grew up watching them. We saw ― and were influenced by ― the narrow way they portray love and define gender,’ they explained.
The little merman: Ariel is depicted as having undergone top surgery and gained a shoulder tattoo
Looking up: The artist explained that they viewed classic Disney films as having a ‘narrow’ view of gender
The hard stare: Aladdin’s Jasmine is morphed from crop-top wearing princess into a T-shirt clad young man
The original: The artist’s first attempt at the project was this reimagining of Belle
In order to change the way that people perceive these favorite characters, the artist decided that they needed to ‘break those clichés.’
The artist recently started debuting their creations on Instagram with the Trans Disney account, beginning with their distinctly more masculine Ariel.
However, the first character they tackled was Belle from Beauty and the Beast, saying that they perceive the Beast in the film to be a possible ‘metaphor of an individual who is keeping his real sexuality in the closet.’
Reaching out: The artist hopes that the series will help to show that trans people can have their own stories of finding love
Back to Neverland: Peter Pan is shown having grown curves, a long ponytail and more feminine features
A real wonder: The artist, who identifies as transgender, has decided to remain anonymous
They have since moved on to characters including more of the Disney Princesses, such as Cinderella and Aurora of Sleeping Beauty.
The series also includes possible male-to-female transitions depicted through reimaginings of the likes of Tarzan, Hercules and Aladdin.
The artist’s decision to remain anonymous was made in order to keep the public focus on the work itself rather than on them, they told Huffington Post.
So far, the artists says that the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive. The Instagram account has only been open for one week, but already has more than 1,500 followers.