Fri. Nov 22nd, 2024
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Hannah Diviney’s got some serious runs on the board when it comes to true representation in media. 

Armed with nothing more than a phone and a decent social media following, she has taken on Beyoncé and Lizzo, successfully convincing them to remove ableist slurs from their music. 

And now the writer and actor has an even bigger target in sight. 

The magical world of Disney.

“Trying to get the House of Mouse to do anything is quite tricky,” Diviney said with a smile. 

The thing she wants is for the Walt Disney Corporation to create a Disney princess with a disability

Diviney has cerebral palsy, a physical disability that affects her fine and gross motor skills. 

As a result, she navigates the world with the assistance of a wheelchair. 

“Representation is the most important thing in the world,” she told ABC Victorian Mornings. 

“Without it, it’s really easy to fall into the trap of equating the fact that you don’t see yourself anywhere with this idea that you shouldn’t be in the world.”

Hannah Diviney standing in the front yard with her walking frame
Diviney believes “ableism is often the forgotten prejudice.”(ABC Life: Luke Tribe)

What’s taking so long?

It’s been three years since she first started her petition to Disney for better on-screen representation. 

More than 65,000 people have joined the cause, something Diviney said made her feel like a rock star. 

“I’ve chosen one of the biggest companies in the world to target,” Diviney said.

“It’s going slower than I’d hoped; I think that’s definitely a slow burn.”

A man wearing a cap and a woman in a yellow tshirt are in a wheelchair as another man and a woman stand in the background

Hannah Diviney says she has created her own space in the entertainment industry, through acting and writing.(Supplied: SBS)

Associate Professor Lauren Rosewarne, from The University of Melbourne’s School of Social and Political Sciences, has spent years researching representation in media.

Dr Rosewarne said “we’re a while away from” the likelihood of Disney acceding to Diviney’s request. 

“Hollywood is risk-averse and they do not spend big bucks on a film with an unknown talent at the helm … therefore risky projects tend not to be made,” she said.

Lauren Rosewarne portrait

Lauren Rosewarne is an associate professor at The University of Melbourne.(Supplied)

The fear of failure

Dr Rosewarne said that fear of fiscal failure was partly why Hollywood was seemingly obsessed with reboots. 

She said it would likely be up to TV series and production companies like Netflix to pave the way for larger corporations to have truly representative characters in cinema. 

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