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Hannah Diviney, a patient with congenital cerebral palsy, wishes that the Walt Disney Company will create a princess character with disabilities. She leads a community campaign supported by film actors Reese Witherspoon, Jameela Jamil, and Mark Hamill.
Living in Sydney, Diviney believes that her struggle with her condition could be different if there were positive representations of people like her in movies.
In an interview with Reuters, Diviney shared, 'Essentially, the campaign is to create a Disney princess with disabilities because Disney princesses are the most ubiquitous characters'.
'These characters appear on bed sheets, toys, books, birthday parties, and Halloween costumes. So, I really want my character to be as present in those spaces as possible'.
Diviney initiated an online campaign in 2020 for Disney to create a disabled princess character, and her petition has received over 64,000 signatures of support.
A 23-year-old young man, currently working as an editor for an online women's news platform and recently seen in the Australian TV series 'Latecomers,' believes that maturing with a unique perspective compared to other children is not an easy feat.
Last year, Diviney called out Beyonce and Lizzo on Twitter for their use of the word 'spaz' in their songs, which is an offensive term for people with cerebral palsy. Both artists later removed the language and re-recorded their songs after Diviney's tweet went viral.
Cerebral palsy affects approximately 0.1% of Australia's 26 million population. The most common form is Spastic Diplegia, a type of cerebral palsy that causes paralysis in the limbs. This is also the condition Diviney was diagnosed with.
