“The Frozen Society”
I started illustrating this series of portraits, a depiction of kids sporting symbols of their favorite Frozen characters, after a train ride spent sitting in front of a beautiful Indian girl wearing an Elsa T-shirt. It struck me more than ever how Disney princesses are, and almost always have been, blue-eyed skinny & blonde. How numerous ethnicities have been left out of the love, inclusion, and support for many generations.
We can see how the Disney narrative has evolved: girls now don’t always need a prince to achieve great things and live a happy life. But it still it feels like there’s a profound lack of representation - one I believe manifests in the struggles many young boys and girls face with self-confidence and self-love.
Frozen has now turned into cultural emblem, embraced by a generation of kids crazy about the story of Elsa, Anna, and Olaf - and it’s a wonderful thing. I just wish they had access to heroes in whom they could actually recognize themselves.