Disney’s “fairy godmothers” who dress up children as princesses and knights at its US theme parks are now called “apprentices,” a gender-neutral term which is part of its efforts to be more inclusive, the company said on Friday.
The new title applies to cast members working at its Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique locations, where they transform children into iconic Disney characters with makeup, nail polish, hairstyles and costumes. The workers were previously called “Fairy Godmothers in training,” but they are now called “Fairy God Mother’s Apprentices,” according to an announcement on Disney’s blog Streaming The Magic.
The boutique has been a “long time tradition for families to bring their children to get dressed & styled as their favorite Disney characters,” the post said.
“This way cast members that might not identify as female can still be part of the process to dress up & style the children without having to refer to themselves as a female Disney character,” according to the announcement.
The decision reflects a wider effort by Disney to update its parks to be more inclusive. Historically, Disney has been specific about Cast Members’ appearance — favoring a clean-cut look, to stay consistent with the company’s family-friendly image.
Last year, the chairman of Disney’s parks division Josh D’Amaro said in a blog post titled “A Place Where Everyone is Welcome” he was committed to updating attractions, modernizing the parks’ values and changing the guidelines for how park employees look and dress.
D’Amaro said the company will provide “greater flexibility” to their Cast Member’s outfits with respect to “forms of personal expression surrounding gender-inclusive hairstyles, jewelry, nail styles, and costume choices.” The parks will even allow Cast Members to show off “appropriate visible tattoos,” his statement said at the time.
“We’re updating them to not only remain relevant in today’s workplace, but also enable our cast members to better express their cultures and individuality at work,” D’Amaro wrote.
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