Most of us grew up watching Disney movies. Snow White was the first full-length film Disney released, in 1937. Since then, eleven other princesses were added to the mix – Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, and Moana. Of the twelve total Disney princesses, only one, Tiana, is black.
Over the years, Disney has made strides to diversify its representation, but like other franchises and big businesses, there’s still a lot of work to be done.
In the spirit of hearing, seeing, and representing the black community, CreativeSoul Photography did a series of photos capturing beautiful black girls taking on the roles of Disney princesses. Take a look at this amazing project and share their work!
The caption for this lovely photo explains a bit more about the project:
Aaaaaand THIS is how our princesses show up. Excited to share this black princess series which was a personal project orchestrated by @imlachanda. The mission was to redefine and reimagine the traditional princess with our own dash of style, culture and swag. 🥰❤️ Thanks to all of the models and vendors who helped bring this project together.
Husband and wife duo, Kahran and Regis Bethencourt, are the artists behind the camera. Their vision and passion for this project is evident in every shot! Like this Ariel interpretation. There’s the bright red hair we all associate with the underwater princess, but instead of long and flowy, this princess wears her natural hair with pride.
Kahran told Today, that they heard from a lot of black parents after the photos went viral on Facebook, getting over 12,000 likes.
“Traditionally, little girls want to be the princesses, but they didn’t see themselves represented,” she said. “After all these years, there’s just one black Disney princess, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog.”
The Bethencourt’s started out with a passion for children’s photography, specifically children’s fashion. While flipping through catalogs, the couple noticed the lack of diversity and representation. Thus, the idea was born, not only for their photography business, but for the Disney princess project as well. Check out more of their work on Instagram!