FOR many people, when they were children, Disney princesses were role models of beauty and grace. They were gorgeous, brave, and always found their happily-ever-after. But as years went on, people began to point out flaws with these princesses, claiming that they weren’t diverse enough or that they always played the role of a damsel in distress and sent an unfortunate message to developing young girls.

    The latest person to have an issue with the beloved princesses is fashion illustrator and artist Jonquel Norwood, who, after struggling with her weight her whole life, saw the “perfect” body types of these Disney princesses to be detrimental to others. So Norwood drew the Disney royals with fuller figures and posted the images to her Instagram account in hope of inspiring young women to feel better about their bodies.

    The body positive advocate decided to start the series, which she has called Magic Has No Size, after being fat-shamed herself.

    Norwood, who is a plus size woman herself, said that the lack of diversity in both Disney and the media in general impacted her growing up.

    So the stylish artist decided to reimagine her childhood heroines as modern, fashion forward women.

    All the princesses have different styles, with their outfits inspired by real life designer pieces.

    “I dressed them in clothing from and inspired by great brands that cater to the plus community.

    “Like Snow White, who is sporting a Layne Bryan bomber jacket and Society+ inspired cage top. Or Ariel’s dress that was directly inspired by a Courtney Noelle dress.”

    Another thing that all the princesses in Norwood’s drawings have in common is their love of glamour.

    Despite their unique outfits, all the princesses, from Jasmine to Sleeping Beauty, are glamazons, wearing heels, jewelry, and with impeccable makeup.

    “My inspiration for this project came from two things: A sheer love for Disney and a recent study that was released,” explains Norwood. “The study stated that the ‘average’ American woman is a size 16-18 and another study showed that 67 percent of women are plus-sized, yet we have very little positive representation in the media.”

    “I was body-shamed most of my life and like most, I believed I had to slim down in order to truly be a member of society,” Norwood says.

    “My princesses are sassy and confident (very different from their normal sweet and sometimes passive selves),” she explains. “The reason for this is because if a plus size woman decides to have confidence and put her self out there in anyway, she better be bold. As many plus influences have said before, the media and the world are not always kind to those who don’t meet beauty standards.”

    Unsurprisingly, Norwood’s Instagram followers — roughly 12,000 — were largely supportive of her drawings, writing things like, “Omg! Please tell me these prints will be available!!!” and “Rocking feed!” on her account.

    “Just like beauty, magic has no size, race, or gender,” Norwood says.(SD-Agencies)