Hall

Katurah Hall
Dr. Hornbuckle
English 203
22 April 2016

What if Cinderella were Fat, Black, and Gay?

The modern day fairytale that is the undoing of a classic.
In 1950, Walt Disney released a film about a princess and that princess has become a
household name: Cinderella. Based on Perraults classic tale of the oppressive step mother and
the oppressed step daughter (Perrault, The Little Glass Slipper) who, through a fantastic set of
circumstances (Grimm 119), meets her Prince Charming and lives happily ever after (Perrault,
The Little Glass Slipper). It is no surprise that this charming tale is the second highest grossing
Disney princess movie, right after Snow White. Here is the problem, for someone like me; a
black woman with a not so slim waist and a girlfriend, who is also a black woman, aspiring to be
Cinderella is not realistic. I cannot connect to her, her story does not relate to mine. My proposal
is that I cannot see myself in neither the Disney film nor the popular classical tales from Perrault
and the Brothers Grimm, in which the film is based, because their target audience was not me for
the fact that the tales are heteronormative, body conscious, and racist.
A quick Google search of Cinderella will yield plenty of images of young, blonde,
white faces attached to thin bodies. As stated in an article entitled Race, Gender, and the
Politics of Hair: Disneys Tangled Feminist Messages, it is clear that long, straight and blonde
hair still reigns supreme inside and beyond this fairytale, (Lester, Sudia, and Sudia 83).
Although Cinderella has been reinvented in several different cultures, it is the Eurocentric
Western countries versions of Cinderella (Walt Disney United States; Perrault France; the
Brothers Grimm Germany) that have continued to reign supreme when it comes to the telling

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and retelling of these stories; whether that be in film, literature or illustration. The blonde is
beautiful trope is repeated and perpetuated throughout these cultures and ultimately these fairy
tales (Lester, Sudia, and Sudia 85). Cinderella remains popular because she represents the tales
targeted audience in a celebration of white femininity with her long, flowing blonde hair,
beautiful white skin (Grimm 117) and thin body. And this beauty works to her advantage with
the winning over of her prize: Her prince charming.
It is quite clear that heterosexuality is promoted both in the written and cinematic
versions of Cinderella. In fact, it appears as though Cinderella is rewarded with her handsome,
white, slender, prince and they live happily ever after in their heterosexual marriage. In an
article entitled Look Out World, Here We Come? the pervasiveness of pursuing the prince in
these fairy tales is quite clear in its effort to indoctrinate children into the heterosexual
lifestyle, (Lugo-Lugo and Bloodsworth-Lugo 171). The article makes it quite clear that these
films, based on the classic tales, are portable professors of a sort, offering diagnoses of culture
for adults even as they enculturate children, (Lugo-Lugo and Bloodsworth-Lugo 167). In other
words, tales such as Cinderella, are teaching tools for children that set the expectation for a
culture. In the case of Cinderella, that expectation is to be the beautiful blonde, white, beauty
queen who ultimately falls for her prince and lives happily ever after.
The messages embedded within these films resonate with children and are reiterated
through other sources, (Lugo-Lugo and Bloodsworth 167). The lack of diversity in not only
race, but body type and sexuality in these written classical tales and their cinematic predecessors
sends a message. Tales such as Perrault/Grimm/Disneys Cinderella impose an unrealistic,
Eurocentric beauty standards and a rigid view that heterosexuality is normative.

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In an effort to break the spell Disney has cast over the name Cinderella, Ive developed
my own version that addresses what the tale does not: race, body type, and homosexuality. In
this case Cinderella is a young, fat, black, gay woman living in a modern day wonderland all on
its on: Washington D.C. In an effort to address my original question, while referencing classical
Cinderella stories, Ive altered Cinderella in a way so that someone like me can see themselves
within the story too.

Wouldnt [the black folks in Stamps, Arkansas] be surprised when one day I woke up
out of my black ugly dream, and my real hair, which was long and blond, would take the place of
the kinky mass Momma wouldnt let me straighten?... [Actually,] I was really white and...a cruel
fairy stepmother ...was understandably jealous of my beauty...turned me into a too-big Negro
girl, with nappy hair.
-

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya Angelou

Cinderella is the color of rosewood, like her momma and daddy. Its really a beautiful,
rich color. A dark brown with a red undertone. Deep in her roots you will find a few, lighter
stretch marks Near her breasts, stomach, and hips. She is as round as she is short. Her hair?
There is so much of it that she has broken several combs trying to tame it. She stopped trying
long ago, so its usually pinned up into a bun.
Unlike the Cinderellas before her, she doesnt live in an unimaginable land far away
(Perrault 109). She lives in a modest home with her father, step mother, and two step sisters at

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1434 Rhode Island Ave Washington, DC 20001. Her father is distant and has been since he
remarried her step mother a year ago. Her step mother is the color of an oak tree, she is brown,
but not too brown, she is almost as light as her step sisters but not quite. Her step sisters
Thats who Cinderella aspired to be. They were the color of sand at the beach, and their hair? It
could match the rhythm of the waves in the ocean. Best of all, they were petite as step-mother
put it. Cinderella? Well she was more like the coconut on the beach: dark, round, and fuzzy.
That was half the reason her step-mother and step-sisters did not like Cinderella. To
them, she was the ugly sister. Thats why no one questions when step-mother punishes her or
forces her to do chores. No one sees the beauty in her Not yet anyways.
Both of Cinderellas parents are religious. They go to church every Sunday, they host
bible study every Wednesday, and the pastor comes over every Friday and sings them songs
about Jesus. Cinderella doesnt believe and never has Her mother warned her about the
religion; they both decided it wasnt for them. Her father still believed and so does her step
mother. Church every Sunday, bible study every Wednesday, pastor every Friday.
But todays Saturday and every good Christian deserves a day off right? The family
thought so. Daddy and Step-Mother are gone for the day; they will be back for church on
Sunday. Step-Sisters got an invitation to a party on 1313 3rd Street.
The invitation read:
Youre invited to a Royal Ball.
Party starts at 10.
Cinderella hadnt been invited. Her step-sisters are kind to her when step-mother isnt
around, they actually get along on those occasions. In exchange for their kindness Cinderella
helped them pick out their dresses and fix their hair (Perrault, The Little Glass Slipper). They

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did look beautiful, radiant even, almost a little over done for a house party. They werent going
to just any party in all honesty, the older step-sister had a crush on the partys host. She was
going to land herself a boyfriend, or get laid, whichever came first.
When her step sisters walked out the door and waved their goodbyes she cried and cried
and cried. Part of her wished they would have asked her to come with them. She walked over to
a mirror in the corner of her room and could see why they didnt She didnt look like them.
She wouldnt fit in.
Where was her fairy godmother to save her? She was convinced her true self was hidden
under her exterior. If the sun would just melt her skin away, you would find a beautiful white
woman. With skin like porcelain, hair like gold felt, and the perfect hour glass figure. Instead,
she saw a woman who has been left baking in the oven too long, hair untamable, as dark as night,
and an hour glass with too much sand. There was no fairy god mother, there was no God. If
either existed, they would have saved her from this hell long ago.
There was a dress in the back of the closet that she wore to her mothers funeral. She
hasnt worn it since but its the only dress she owns. No one took her shopping since her mother
died (Perrault 110). The one time she asked daddy, he told her to ask her step-mother and she
decided it just wasnt worth the fight in the end. So she just never asks anymore.
The dress was short and black, nothing special. Since her parents were gone and her
step-sisters were out she went into the younger step-sisters room and saw it immediately on the
vanity. The jewelry chest: gold, pink, red, blue, purple, green and silver. She went with the blue,
her mother told her that was her color. She put on the necklace, let down her hair, and put on
some shoes (Grimm 119).

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As long as Im back by midnight, I can return the jewelry. No one will ever know I was
gone.
A walk, the red line, the blue line, and 15 minutes later she found herself on 3rd Street. It
wasnt hard to spot the party; you could hear the music and see the people from the metro station
exit.
I deserve to have one good night. Just one.
And she did. She laughed so hard, drank so much, and danced until the alcohol caught up
with her. She even handed out her number to a person whose beauty made her stomach fill with
butterflies. She left and got home before midnight, no one was in the house, all was well.
The next day, Sunday, Cinderella woke up to a smack so hard that her face turned a deep
burgundy color.
Where is it?
The necklace. The necklace that isnt here. The necklace that she cant remember.
Its gone.
And that began the real torture. Daddy and the step-sisters went to church as always.
Step-Mother stayed home and beat Cinderella mercilessly. Cinderella was no longer just the
color of a rosewood, more colors bloomed; blue, red, black. And when step-mother was done?
She would read her a biblical story that ended with a moral about how God doesnt like fat, black
ugly thieves and liars. That went on every Sunday for awhile. Daddy and Step-Sisters went to
church and Step-Mother came into Cinderella room. And more colors bloomed
For weeks no one ever stopped and questioned the scars. No one ever asked about
them Not at home and not at school. She didnt expect much anyways, no one noticed her at
school to begin with.

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It was around lunch time when she spotted it. She couldnt quite make out the face of the
person at first, but she knew it from a mile away.
The necklace.
She stared unsure of whether to walk toward the person or run away, but she didnt have
to worry. The person approached her instead. She took off the necklace and handed it to
Cinderella with a note, without a word. Cinderella was left standing there with the same
butterflies in her stomach as the night of the party. She slid the note in the pocket of her jeans
and put the necklace in her purse.
When she got home, she handed over the necklace to her step-sister. Step-mother stopped
the beatings and the bible verses. Her Step-Mother and step-sisters stopped talking to her
entirely. Cinderella stayed in her room and went to school. That was it.
A few weeks had passed and Cinderella found the note that she put in her pants pockets
weeks prior.
Hey Beautiful.
I lost your number. But every Tuesday and Thursday after school I am in the
library by the willow trees. Join me sometime.

After weeks of hopelessness, there was a glimmer of light.

So that Thursday, after class, Cinderella went to the library under the willow trees. A
magical place, filled with large windows that looked out into the forest behind the school. The
light illuminated the book shelves. Its almost as if the sun rays were pointing directly to her. The
mystery person; sitting at a table looking as beautiful as ever. Cinderella felt those same
butterflies again, they almost got the best of her. However, she went and took a seat

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Her name was Sienna.

And every week she and Cinderella would meet and they would talk. Talk about school
and family and the trees outside. They talked of running away together, in the forest behind the
school, not now, but someday. For the first time since her mother died, Cinderella found
someone who loved her. Someone who loved her for her rosewood skin and full hourglass.
And Cinderella loved her back.

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WORKS CITED:
Brothers Grimm. "Cinderella." The Classic Fairy Tales. 1st ed. Vol. 1. New York City: W.W.
Norton &, 1999. 117-22. Print.
Lester, Neal A., Dave Sudia, and Nadia Sudra. "Race, Gender and the Politics of Hair: Disneys
Tangled Feminist Messages." Valley Voices (n.d.): 83-101. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
<http://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=91914700&S=R&D=
lfh&EbscoContent=dGJyMNLr40Sep7c4v%2BbwOLCmr06ep69SsKq4TbCWxWXS&
ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGuskmxq65QuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA>.
Lugo-Lugo, Carmen R., and Mary K. Bloodsworth-Lugo. "''Look Out New World, Here We
Come''? : Race, Racialization, and Sexuality in Four Children's Animated Films by
Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks." Cultural Studies Critical Methodologies 9.2 (2009):
166-78. Sage Publications, 3 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.
<http://diyhpl.us/~bryan/papers2/paperbot/Look%20Out%20New%20World,%20Here%
20We%20Come%3F%20Race,%20Racialization,%20and%20Sexuality%20in%20Four%
20Children's%20Animated%20Films%20by%20Disney,%20Pixar,%20and%20DreamW
orks.pdf>.
M, Siofra. "Tale As Old As 1939: 10 Richest Disney Princesses Ever." The RIchest. N.p., 05
Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <http://www.therichest.com/rich-list/most-popular/taleas-old-as-1939-the-all-time-10-richest-disney-princesses/?view=all>.
Perrault, Charles. "Cinderella; Or, The Little Glass Slipper." The Blue Fairy Book. London:
Longman, Green, 1889. 64-71. 8 Oct. 2003. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/perrault06.html>.

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Perrault, Charles. "Donkeyskin." The Classic Fairy Tales. 1st ed. Vol. 1. New York City: W.W.
Norton &, 1999. 109-16. Print.